NBA Knowledge
Thursday's hot teams
-- Thunder won seven of last eight games (7-1 last 8HF). New Orleans won last two games, by 14-4 points (5-2 last 7AU)..
Cold teams
-- Wizards lost six of their last nine games (6-2 last 8AU). Bucks lost seven of their last nine games (4-1 last 5HF).
Series records
-- Thunder lost four of last six games with New Orleans.
-- Wizards won seven of last eight games with Milwaukee.
Totals
-- Over is 7-2-1 in last ten New Orleans games.
-- Five of last seven Washington games went over.
Back/backs
-- New Orleans covered four of last five if it played night before.
Armadillosports.com
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Washington at Milwaukee
The unofficial first half of the NBA season wraps up Thursday night when the Washington Wizards visit the Milwaukee Bucks. Both teams are coming off victories on Tuesday. Washington beat the New York Knicks 111-108 as 2-point road favorites, while Milwaukee upset the Boston Celtics 112-111 as 5-point home dogs.
The Wizards (23-27 SU, 26-24 ATS) have been the better team this year, although injuries have limited their performance. The team is relatively healthy now, but the Bucks (21-32 SU, 26-26-1 ATS), on the other hand, are without power forward John Henson, who has missed six straight games with a sore back. He's considered day-to-day going into the All-Star break. In his absence, Milwaukee has gone 1-5 SU and 2-4 ATS.
This will be the fourth meeting of the season between these two teams, after Washington swept the first three games at 2-1 ATS. The disappointing Bucks are near the bottom of the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and Henson (18.9 PER) is by far their best defensive player. The Wizards have a strong frontcourt now that Nene (15.9 PER) has returned from the injured list to support fellow big man Marcin Gortat (17.8 PER).
Inside the Paint - Thursday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
Favorites went 9-3 straight up yesterday but the underdogs prevailed at the betting counter with a 7-5 mark against the spread. Bettors riding the contenders got smacked around as the Spurs, Cavaliers and Warriors all failed to cover heavy numbers despite winning. Plus, Toronto was one of the few favorites to lose outright as Minnesota captured a 117-112 win as a six-point home ‘dog.
The Raptors and Timberwolves played to the high side and that result helped the ‘over’ go 8-4 last night. A couple of the results could’ve went either way but the ‘over’ is 13-4 the past two days in the Association and that’s a bit surprising to me considering these guys are going on break for at least seven days.
We’ve got two more games tonight and below is my quick handicap.
New Orleans (20-32 SU, 22-30 ATS) at Oklahoma City (39-14 SU, 21-31-1 ATS)
The Pelicans are coming off a very solid 100-96 win last night against a Jazz team that had won seven straight games. New Orleans has been devastated by injuries all season and it could be without guard Tyreke Evans (knee) for the rest of the way while he waits for another opinion on surgery.
Oddsmakers aren’t expecting New Orleans to win Thursday, listing Oklahoma City as an 11 ½-point home favorite. New Orleans has struggled on zero days rest this season, going 3-8 SU and 6-5 ATS while the ‘under’ has gone 8-3.
The Thunder have gone 18-2 SU and 9-11 ATS when listed as a double-digit home favorite this season while the ‘under’ has gone 12-8.
In mid-November, Oklahoma City dropped New Orleans 110-103 but failed to cover as a 12-point home favorite. The combined 213 points barely jumped ‘over’ the closing total of 212½. Despite losing this game, the Pelicans have won four of six against the Thunder and covered five of those games. The ‘over’ has gone 4-1-1 during this span.
Most of my handicapping is focused on situation and current form but sometimes you can’t ignore the emotional factor. Oklahoma City Thunder assistant head coach Monty Williams lost his wife last night in a car crash and he was also the New Orleans head coach for the previous five seasons. These guys are professionals but it’s hard to imagine anybody focused tonight, especially the guys on the Pelicans who knew his wife.
Oklahoma City is on an 8-2 run to the ‘over’ while New Orleans has also been cashing to the high side, 11-2-1 in its last 14. Tonight’s total opened 220½ and has already dropped to 219 ½. Going back to the emotional off-the-court issues, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this game play low tonight.
TNT will provide national coverage at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Washington (23-27 SU, 26-24 ATS) at Milwaukee (21-32 SU, 27-26 ATS)
The Wizards will be looking to complete a four-game season sweep of the Bucks on Thursday and the oddsmakers are giving them a good shot with Milwaukee listed as a short (-1) favorite.
In the first three wins, Washington averaged 113 points, which helped the ‘over’ go 2-0-1. The total is sitting at 211 for this game and it has a shot based on Washington’s fast pace and inept defense (105.5 PPG).
Bettors could be scratching their heads on side bets because neither club is in great form despite entering this game off wins, lucky ones too.
Washington hit 16-of-26 bombs from 3-point land on Tuesday and barely beat the Knicks 111-108 on the road. Meanwhile, Milwaukee was outscored 37-19 in the fourth quarter by Boston and still managed to earn a 112-11 win over the Celtics.
The Wizards haven’t won back-to-back games since mid-January when they ripped off four in a row and Milwaukee hasn’t strung together two in a row since it had a three-game winning streak around the same time as Washington.
Even though the line is short, Milwaukee has gone 6-2 SU as a home favorite this season and its 4-3-1 ATS.
Despite owning an overall losing record, Washington has been better on the road with a 12-11 SU and 14-9 ATS mark. In their last 10 games as visitors, the Wizards are 6-4 SU and 8-2 ATS.
Thursday's Top Action
By Sportsbook.ag
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (20-32) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (39-14)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Oklahoma City -12, Total: 218.5
Both the Pelicans and the Thunder will be hoping to enter the All-Star break on a high note when the teams meet in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
The Pelicans are finally playing some solid basketball and come into this game on a two-game winning streak both SU and ATS. New Orleans most recently hosted Utah and won 100-96 as a 1.5-point home favorite. The Pelicans were extremely efficient offensively in that game, shooting 47.6% from the field and turning the ball over just nine times. It was their fourth straight game with less than 10 turnovers and the team will need to continue taking care of the ball moving forward.
The Thunder, meanwhile, are coming off of a 122-106 victory as 12.5-point road favorites against the Suns on Monday. They have now won six of their past seven games and have been on fire offensively recently, shooting 45% or better in nine of their past 10 games.
These two teams met in November and the Thunder won that game 110-103 as 12.5-point home favorites. Yet, New Orleans has played Oklahoma City well over the years. The teams have split victories SU over the past three seasons, but the Pelicans are 5-3 ATS in those games. That includes a 3-1 ATS record when playing in Oklahoma City.
One trend favoring the Pelicans coming into this game is the fact that they are 28-15 ATS after having lost four or five of their past six games over the past two seasons. The Thunder, however, are 9-1 ATS in home games after a game where they made 12 or more threes over the past two seasons.
The Pelicans will be going for their third straight victory when they face the Thunder on Thursday and PF Anthony Davis (23.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.3 BPG) is going to need to have a big performance for his team in this one. Davis has been a force recently, averaging 27.4 PPG on 55.9% shooting from the field over the past five games. He is taking good shots and will need to keep it up against the Thunder. Davis does have a challenge in store for him in this one, as Serge Ibaka will likely be covering him. Davis will have an advantage in height and will need to find ways to get shots up over Ibaka. His rim protection will also be crucial for a Pelicans team that can struggle defensively.
Another player that will need to come to play for New Orleans is PG Jrue Holiday (14.9 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.2 SPG). Holiday is going to be matched up with Russell Westbrook for a majority of this game and he’ll need to find a way to contain him defensively. If Holiday cannot prevent Westbrook from attacking the rim at will then it’ll be difficult for the Pelicans to win this one. Offensively, New Orleans will just need more of the same from Holiday. He’s averaging 24.0 PPG and 9.0 APG over the past two games and has shown some serious command of the offense. His ability to shoot the ball and find Davis around the basket makes him the perfect guy to be running this team.
The Thunder responded to a loss to the Warriors with a 122-106 victory over the Suns on Monday. The team will now be looking to go into the All-Star break on a winning note and one guy that should be able to help them do that is PG Russell Westbrook (24.1 PPG, 10.0 APG, 7.6 RPG, 2.4 SPG).
Westbrook is as explosive as any player in the league and should be extremely aggressive on Thursday night. The last time he faced the Pelicans, Westbrook finished the game with 43 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes of action. New Orleans had no match for him and he’ll need to attack the rim relentlessly in this one.
SF Kevin Durant (27.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.2 BPG, 1.0 SPG) will also need to have a big performance in this game and he should have no problem doing that. Over the past five games, Durant is averaging 34.0 PPG on 51.4% shooting from the field and 43.9% shooting from the outside. He is scorching hot and the Pelicans do not have any players with the length and speed to keep up with a guy that talented at his size.
The x-factor for Oklahoma City will be PF Serge Ibaka (12.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.2 BPG). Ibaka will be guarding Anthony Davis in this one and he can’t afford to let Davis go off. Ibaka is one of the best rim protectors in the league and he’ll need to do his job on Thursday.