NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
New York at Chicago
In one of only two scheduled for the NBA Thursday the Red-Hot Knicks travel to Chicago to take on injury plagued Bulls. Knicks destroying Wizards 120-99 on Tuesday have won 13 games in a row and are a cash stuffing 12-1 ATS over the thirteen game span. Knicks solid on both ends of the court during the streak netting 105.8 points/game on 50.1% shooting while surrendering 92.8 per/contest will try to avoid being swept by Bulls (0-3 SU/ATS). Knicks will also try to solve Chicago's United Center a venue that has been a house of horrors for the Knicks as they'll enter on a 0-7 (4-4 ATS) slump in the Windy City, 3-14 (10-7 ATS) slide last seventeen visits to Chicago. Carmelo Anthony shooting the light's out last five racking up 40.6 PPG on 61.1% from the floor including 58.6% from long range and Bulls with Luol Deng (16.7), Joakim Noah (12.2) joining the ranks of the injured Knicks are worth a second look as they're on a 10-1 ATS stretch as favorites.
NBA Doubleheader: Knicks at Bulls, Thunder at Warriors
By Covers.com
New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls (+4, 190.5)
Two weeks after ending the Miami Heat's string of 27 consecutive wins, the Chicago Bulls have a chance to play streak-busters again when they host the red-hot New York Knicks on Thursday. The Knicks have ripped off 13 straight victories but have dropped all three meetings this season to the injury-riddled Bulls, who are trying to hold off the Atlantic Hawks for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
While Chicago has faltered down the stretch, losing back-to-back games to conference also-rans Detroit and Toronto, the Knicks are on their best tear in two decades. Tuesday's rout of the Washington Wizards clinched New York's first Atlantic Division title since 1994 and gave the team its longest winning streak since winning 15 in a row during that same season. The Knicks own a 2 1/2-game lead over Indiana for the No. 2 seed in the East.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (51-26, 43-32-2 ATS): Carmelo Anthony continued his Jordanesque roll with his fifth consecutive game of at least 36 points. He is averaging 40.6 points during that span and holds a razor-thin edge over Kevin Durant (28.6 to 28.3) for the league scoring title. Tuesday's win was dulled by an injury to forward Kenyon Martin, who suffered what coach Mike Woodson termed a "severe sprain" of his left ankle. The injury to Martin, who missed the previous two games with a sore knee, further depletes a front line. Center Tyson Chandler sat out Tuesday due to soreness from the neck injury that recently caused him to miss 10 games.
ABOUT THE BULLS (42-35, 34-43-0 ATS): Chicago was missing four players in Tuesday's loss to Toronto and that figures to be the case again versus the Knicks. Center Joakim Noah, who aggravated a plantar fascia injury in Sunday's home loss to Detroit, is planning to get a cortisone shot to help him get back on the court. Forwards Luol Deng (hip) and Taj Gibson (knee) are expected to sit out against New York. The status on Rose, who has yet to play this season following major knee surgery, remains the same. On the plus side, guard Richard Hamilton (back) saw his first action since Feb. 26 and Marco Belinelli was back in the starting lineup.
TRENDS:
* Over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings.
* Underdog is 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings.
* Knicks are 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. New York hasn't been swept by the Bulls since losing all four meetings in 2003-04.
2. Seven of Chicago's last eight games have been decided by four points or fewer.
3. Anthony is the first Knicks player with five straight games of 35 or more points since Bernard King in 1984-85.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors (+3.5, 204.5)
The Golden State Warriors clinched their first playoff berth since the 2006-07 season on Tuesday. Ironically, if they want to avoid beginning the playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it would be in the Warriors’ best interests to beat the visiting Thunder on Thursday. Golden State is trying to beat out the Houston Rockets for the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference, which would avoid either Oklahoma City or San Antonio in the first round.
The Thunder are tied with the Spurs for first place in the West and home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. Oklahoma City helped the Warriors clinch a playoff berth by beating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday and has won four of its last five while focusing on the defensive end. Golden State will try to keep Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant out of the lane with their Andrew Bogut-led frontline while making them work on the perimeter.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (57-21, 47-29-2 ATS): Oklahoma City has been tuning up for the playoffs by showing off on the defensive end. The top-scoring team in the NBA for much of the season, the Thunder have slowed the pace recently and have held opponents an average of 84.9 points in their last seven wins. Two of the best performances of that span came on the road at Indiana in a 97-75 victory on Friday and in Tuesday’s 90-80 victory at Utah. Kevin Durant has not slowed his own scoring much during the recent run and went for 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists against the Jazz on Tuesday. Westbrook has put up 27.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists in the last five games after scoring 21 or fewer in each of the previous five contests.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (45-33, 39-38-1 ATS): Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson can match Durant and Westbrook shot for shot when they get going, and Thompson has recently pulled out of a long slump. The second-year guard scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half on Tuesday to keep Golden State in the game before Curry came alive after the break to guide the Warriors past the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-89. Even more impressive than Curry and Thompson on the perimeter Tuesday was the inside play of David Lee, Bogut and Harrison Barnes. Each of the three finished in double figures in rebounds as Golden State dominated up front. Bogut has turned into a defensive force in the middle who rarely scores unless it is off an offensive rebound. That leaves Lee to grab rebounds off the weak side and focus on scoring while Barnes and Carl Landry offer support.
TRENDS:
* Home team is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.
* Thunder are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings.
* Favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings.
* Over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Curry (249) and Thompson (203) are first and second in the NBA in 3-pointers and are the first pair of teammates to each go over 200 since Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker for the Boston Celtics in 2001-02.
2. Oklahoma City has taken five of the previous six in the series but lost at Golden State 104-99 on Jan. 23.
3. Durant has averaged 30.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 20 career games against the Warriors.
Inside the Paint - Thursday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
The NBA regular season ends next Wednesday and 15 of the 16 playoffs spots have been locked up, with the eighth seed in the Western Conference still up coming down the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah. The Lakers are up a game on the Jazz after they rallied past Portland 113-106 for a road win last night. Los Angeles was one of four late-night favorites on Wednesday’s that helped bettors chasing with the ‘chalk.’
Underdogs started the night with a 5-1 record both straight up and against the spread. Phoenix stole the show as the biggest pup when it humbled Dallas 102-91 as a 13½-point road underdogs. The number was inflated and the Mavericks got caught sleeping in their first game back from a three-game roadie.
While Dallas was getting pushed to the brink of elimination, a short-handed Miami squad knocked off Washington 103-98 and clinched home-court throughout the NBA playoffs. The Heat were listed as 3 ½-point road underdogs.
Total players watched the ‘over’ go 8-2 last night and with the playoffs near, you certainly saw a looser game being played on the hardwood last night.
Will it continue tonight? Let’s take a closer look.
New York (51-26 SU, 43-33 ATS) at Chicago (42-35 SU, 34-43 ATS): Based on current form, you shouldn’t bet against New York right now. The Knicks have won 13 straight and they’ve gone 12-1 ATS during that span, with the lone non-cover coming in a backdoor by Charlotte. New York led by 22 at the break and pulled off the gas as a 14-point home favorite and only won by nine (111-102).
New York is certainly playing with confidence lately. The team is shooting the ball well and All-Star Carmelo Anthony is playing at an all-time high. In Tuesday’s 120-99 blowout win over Washington, Anthony became the first Knick to score 35 in five straight games since Bernard King did so in during the 1984-85 season.
While the Knicks have been scorching, the Bulls appear to be resting up for the playoffs. They’ve dropped two in a row, including a 101-98 home loss to Toronto on Tuesday. Chicago has been decimated by injuries all season and it will be short-handed again tonight. Joakim Noah (foot), Luol Deng (hip) and Taj Gibson (knee) will all be sidelines for the Bulls. The already thin New York frontcourt won’t have Kenyon Martin (ankle) and Tyson Chandler (neck) suited up tonight. With all of the above injuries, the Bulls’ Carlos Boozer might be the biggest player in the paint tonight.
New York opened as a three-point favorite and the number has jumped to as high as 4 ½ at some outfits. The total was also steamed from 189 to 191, which makes sense since both teams run more with the smaller lineups.
Chicago has won and covered all three meetings against New York this season. Keep in mind that the last encounter between the pair came in early January and the Bulls had a healthy squad.
The Bulls have gone 22-17 at home this season. New York owns a 22-16 mark on the road and six of them have come during the recent winning streak.
If you’re looking to back Chicago as a home ‘dog, you could go back a couple weeks and recall that it did snap Miami’s 27-game winning streak at the United Center. The venue is always tough but Deng and Gibson had a lot to do with the 101-97 win over the Heat and the Knicks will miss them here.
New York’s franchise record for consecutive wins is 15. After tonight, the Knicks head to Cleveland for a game on zero days rest tomorrow. If the streak is still intact, they can break it Sunday afternoon at home against Indiana. A victory over the Pacers would also lock up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
TNT will provide coverage of this game at 8:05 p.m. ET.
Oklahoma City (57-21 SU, 47-29 ATS) at Golden State (45-33 SU, 39-38 ATS): Similar to the Knicks and Bulls, these two teams have already locked up playoffs spots but they’re both jockeying for seeds. Coincidentally, these two teams could meet next weekend in the first round.
After watching San Antonio lose to Denver (86-96) last night, the Thunder control their own destiny for the No. 1 seed in the West. If OKC wins out, it will capture the top spot. Looking at the schedule, this might be the most difficult game left. After tonight, the Thunder head to Portland tomorrow for a back-to-back spot and finish the season with a two-game homestand against Sacramento and Milwaukee. I would expect an all-out effort from Oklahoma City tonight and tomorrow.
The Warriors are currently the sixth seed in the West but it only leads Houston by a game and the Rockets own the tiebreaker. After the regular season ends next Wednesday, Golden State will likely meet the Thunder, Spurs or Nuggets in the first round. Along with the Warriors, the Lakers and Rockets are the likely opponents for Oklahoma City in the first round.
Tonight’s tip between Oklahoma City and Golden State will be the fourth and final encounter between the pair this season. The home team has won and covered all three meetings. In the last matchup from the Bay Area, Golden State nipped Oklahoma City 104-99 as a 6½-point underdog. The combined 203 points fell ‘under’ the closing number of 208. The two games played at Oklahoma City easily went ‘over’ the number.
To no surprise, the Thunder have been installed as road favorites (-4) against the Warriors again. After losing to the Knicks (120-125) at home on Sunday, OKC rebounded with a 90-80 road win against Utah on Tuesday. The Thunder have gone 24-15 SU and 20-17 ATS on the road this season, which includes an 8-5 record away from home since the All-Star break.
TNT will provide coverage of this game at 10:35 p.m. ET and the late-night televised matchup always gets ‘over’ action from bettors. Unfortunately for them, this has been an ‘under’ spot all season and VegasInsider.com handicapper believes you’ll see another low-scoring affair here.
He explains, “The Thunder has averaged less than 96 points per game over the last six road games even with an overtime game included in that mix, hitting triple digits just once. The ‘under’ is 8-3-1 in the last 12 Oklahoma City road games. Golden State has been an ‘over’ team for the season but the numbers have caught up to the Warriors. The ‘under’ is 8-3 in the last 11 Warriors games and 9-4 in the last 13 home games for Golden State. The Warriors are not the high scoring team that their reputation suggests as Golden State is barely averaging 100 points per game on the season. The ‘over’ will be the popular play tonight but the ‘under’ is 23-15 in Oklahoma City road games this season and both teams should be focused for this matchup which will mean more defensive intensity.”