Thursday's Best NBA Bets
By Covers.com
San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets (N/A)
You have to hand it to the San Antonio Spurs – they seem to be handling this shortened schedule better than most teams in the Association.
While rolling along on a 11-game winning streak, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave veterans Tim Duncan and Tony Parker the night off against Portland. The Blazers then cruised to a 137-97 blowout victory.
“With this schedule, everybody rests players at some point,” Popovich told reporters. “When it's time for them to rest based on the schedule and the time they've been playing, that's what has to happen if you want to put somebody in the bank for later."
It’s a cagey move by Popovich, who will presumably have his two big guns back in the lineup for Thursday’s game against Denver, the last stop on San Antonio’s annual Rodeo Road Trip.
The Nuggets visit the Clippers Wednesday night and should have a rested Spurs team to deal with Thursday.
Pick: Spurs
New York Knicks at Miami Heat (-10.5, 198.5)
Earlier this week, LeBron James told reporters he and the Heat have been happy to share the spotlight with Jeremy Lin and the Knicks this season. Expect Thursday’s Miami-New York game to be a major media frenzy.
The Heat have quietly put together a seven-game winning streak, while covering the number six times during that stretch.
“You can get sidetracked in this league so quickly if you get caught up in all the story lines,” coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “Right now, there happens to be other story lines around the league, but we know how quickly things can change and turn on us."
Dwyane Wade scored 30 points and handed out 10 assists, while James scored 18 and added eight assists in Miami’s 120-108 win over Sacramento on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in New York Lin and Melo are going to need some time to get everything worked out on the offensive end and could get a good tutorial from the Heat here.
Pick: Heat
Thursday's NBA Tips
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The All-Star break is quickly upon us in the NBA following the hectic two-month stretch of games. The Thursday card provides bettors with four contests to wager on, including the Heat hosting the Knicks and the Lakers traveling to Oklahoma City.
Knicks at Heat
Miami is cruising into All-Star weekend with seven consecutive victories as the Heat welcomes in the Knicks. New York will be playing with no rest after Tuesday's home game against Atlanta, as the Knicks look to avenge a loss in South Florida last month.
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The Knicks fell short in Miami, 99-89, as 12-point underdogs on January 27, while shooting 36% from the floor. Carmelo Anthony sat out that defeat with an ankle injury, as New York put up an NBA season-high 43 attempts from three-point range, making 18 treys. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 59 points in the win, while the Heat converted 23 of 26 free throws.
Miami's train kept rolling with Tuesday's shootout victory over Sacramento, but the Heat failed to cover as 13½-point 'chalk' in a 120-108 triumph. The 'over' of 202 was never in doubt, as the Heat and Kings combined to score 71 points in the third quarter, while Sacramento tallied at least 32 points in two separate quarters. The non-cover ended a six-game ATS hot streak for the Heat, dropping Miami to 4-5 ATS as double-digit favorites.
New York has been one of the best teams to bet on since January 31, compiling a 10-3 ATS record. The Knicks are rolling as an underdog in this stretch by going 6-0 ATS the last six games when receiving points, including four straight wins in this scenario. Mike D'Antoni's club will have the advantage at point guard (Jeremy Lin) and center (Tyson Chandler), while the frontcourt matchups with James and Chris Bosh battling Anthony and Amare Stoudemire will be exciting to watch.
Lakers at Thunder
Los Angeles has won the Western Conference title in three of the last four seasons, as the Lakers take on an Oklahoma City team that looks to be the squad to represent the West in the NBA Finals in June. The Thunder owns the best record in the West at 25-7, while trying to close out a five-game homestand with their 15th win of the season at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
These two teams haven't played each other yet this season, as the Lakers grabbed two of three meetings from the Thunder in the 2010-11 campaign. The only victory by Oklahoma City came in mid-April at Staples Center as the Thunder caught the Lakers in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Oklahoma City's coming-out party came in a back-and-forth series inside the opening round of the 2010 playoffs, as the Thunder pushed the eventual champion Lakers to six games.
One of the bigger problems for the Lakers this season is finding consistency away from Southern California. Mike Brown's team is 5-11 SU and 4-12 ATS on the road, including a 3-7 ATS mark in the away underdog role. The Lakers' offense has struggled all season, but on the highway is where the most problems occur by scoring 100 points or more just once in 16 road games.
The Thunder is only one of two teams in the league that has lost only one home game all season (Spurs), which came back in early January to the Blazers as 4½-point 'chalk.' Oklahoma City has run off 10 consecutive home wins since that defeat to Portland, but the Thunder owns a 2-4 ATS record the previous six games at home. The offense is rolling thanks to defending scoring champ Kevin Durant and the explosive Russell Westbrook, as the Thunder has eclipsed the 100-point mark in eight of the last nine contests.
Hot Teams
-- New York won nine of its last eleven games. Miami won its last seven games (6-1 vs spread).
-- Magic won six of last seven games (5-1-1 vs spread).
-- Spurs won 11 of last 12 games, but lost last game by 40.
-- Oklahoma City won its last 11 home games (7-4 vs spread). Lakers won five of their last six games.
Cold Teams
-- Hawks lost five of their last six games.
-- Denver lost nine of last 12 games, with dogs covering last four.
Wear and Tear
-- Knicks: 7th game/10 nites. Heat: 3rd game/5 nites.
-- Magic: 4th game/5 nites. Hawks: 3rd game/4 nites.
-- Spurs: 3rd game/4 nites. Nuggets: 7th game/10 nites.
-- Lakers: 4th game/5 nites. Thunder: 7th game/10 nites.
Totals
-- Five of last six New York games stayed under the total.
-- Five of last seven Orlando road games stayed under total.
-- Last five San Antonio games went over the total.
-- Last four Laker games went over the total.
Armadillosports.com
NEW YORK (17 - 17) at MIAMI (26 - 7) - 2/23/2012, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 35-18 ATS (+15.2 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 35-22 ATS (+10.8 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 33-19 ATS (+12.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 15-5 ATS (+9.5 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
MIAMI is 4-4 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI is 6-2 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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ORLANDO (22 - 12) at ATLANTA (19 - 14) - 2/23/2012, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 11-23 ATS (-14.3 Units) in February games over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 11-8 against the spread versus ORLANDO over the last 3 seasons
ORLANDO is 10-9 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
17 of 19 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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SAN ANTONIO (23 - 10) at DENVER (18 - 16) - 2/23/2012, 9:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 5-4 against the spread versus DENVER over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 6-3 straight up against DENVER over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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LA LAKERS (20 - 13) at OKLAHOMA CITY (26 - 7) - 2/23/2012, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LA LAKERS are 21-33 ATS (-15.3 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 120-97 ATS (+13.3 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 17-6 ATS (+10.4 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 7-6 against the spread versus LA LAKERS over the last 3 seasons
LA LAKERS is 9-4 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
7 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK vs. MIAMI
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing Miami
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of New York's last 12 games on the road
Miami is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New York
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against New York
ORLANDO vs. ATLANTA
Orlando is 1-10 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando's last 7 games on the road
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Orlando
SAN ANTONIO vs. DENVER
The total has gone UNDER in 17 of San Antonio's last 24 games when playing Denver
San Antonio is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Denver
Denver is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against San Antonio
Denver is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games at home
LA LAKERS vs. OKLAHOMA CITY
LA Lakers are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the LA Lakers last 9 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Oklahoma City's last 16 games
Oklahoma City is 3-8 SU in their last 11 games when playing at home against LA Lakers
Hoop Trends - Thursday
By Vince Akins
VegasInsider.com
SU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Magic are 11-0-1 ATS (10.3 ppg) since January 13, 2007 on the road after a game on the road in which more than 70% of their baskets were assisted.
OU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Heat are 0-14 OU (-9.9 ppg) since March 28, 1997 after playing at home against the Kings.
PLAYER TREND OF THE DAY:
The Thunder are 0-7 ATS (-6.1 ppg) since March 07, 2011 after a win at home in which Kevin Durant was not the Thunder’s high scorer.
CHOICE TREND:
The Hawks are 0-10-1 ATS (-9.5 ppg) since January 10, 2004 as a dog with at most one day of rest after a double digit loss in which their opponent stole the ball at least twelve times.
TODAY’S TRENDS:
The Hawks are 0-10 OU (-16.7 ppg) since April 04, 2009 at home versus the Magic.The Knicks are 0-7 OU (-18.6 ppg) since March 18, 2011 on the road after a win in which Amare Stoudemire was not the Knicks’ high scorer.
NEW YORK at MIAMI
NEW YORK: 30-11 ATS as road underdog
MIAMI: 20-9 Under after scoring 110+ last game
ORLANDO at ATLANTA
ORLANDO: 1-12 ATS off BB games outrebounding opponent by 10+
ATLANTA: 17-4 ATS after failing to cover 5 or 6 of their last 7 ATS
SAN ANTONIO at DENVER
SAN ANTONIO: 22-9 ATS at Denver
DENVER: 43-23 Under vs. Spurs
LA LAKERS at OKLAHOMA CITY
LA LAKERS: 25-40 ATS playing 3rd game in 4 nights
OKLAHOMA CITY: 19-9 ATS off BB home games