NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Thursday, February 16th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Pacers won five of their last eight games with Washington; nine of last ten series games went over total. Teams split last four series games played here. Wizards won 10 of their last 11 games, are 5-1 vs spread in last six road games. Six of their last seven games went over the total. Indiana lost its last five games (2-3 vs spread); they’re 2-6-1 vs spread in last nine home games. Last four Pacer games went over total.
Home side won last five Boston-Chicago games; Celtics lost four of last five visits to the Windy City. Three of last four series games stayed under. Boston won four in row, 11 of last 12 games; they’re 12-4-1 vs spread in last 17 road games. Over is 3-0-1 in their last four games. Chicago lost three of last four games; they’re 1-4 vs spread in their last five home games. Five of their last seven games went over the total.
Armadillosports.com
Inside the Paint - Thursday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
The first-half of the NBA regular season comes to a close on Thursday as the league will take six days off for the All-Star break.
Tonight’s card only has two games on tap, and coincidentally we would be looking at a pair of playoff matchups if the postseason began today.
All four teams in action have shown some fight this season and appear to be a viable challenger to current champion Cleveland, but they’ve also gone through periods of inconsistency as well.
Oddsmakers at Sportsbook.ag still have the Cavaliers as the odds-on favorites (2/5) to win the conference but the odds are dropping for the teams chasing Cleveland, including the four in action tonight.
Odds to win 2017 Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers 2/5
Boston Celtics 6/1
Toronto Raptors 10/1
Washington Wizards 10/1
Atlanta Hawks 20/1
Indiana Pacers 40/1
Chicago Bulls 75/1
Detroit Pistons 100/1
Charlotte Hornets 125/1
Miami Heat 150/1
Milwaukee Bucks 250/1
New York Knicks 1000/1
Orlando Magic 1000/1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000/1
Before we handicap tonight’s games, make a note that favorites went 11-3 straight up and 8-6 against the spread on Wednesday while the ‘under’ went 9-5.
It will be interesting to see if the break curbs the momentum for some of these clubs, especially teams like Philadelphia and Miami. They’re currently ranked 1-2 in the latest ATS Rankings and they closed the first-half of the season on incredible runs.
Washington (33-21 SU, 31-23 ATS) at Indiana (29-27 SU, 25-31 ATS)
This will be the fourth and final regular season meeting between the pair and if this matchup turns out anything like the first three, then bettors should expect a close game and possibly an Indiana win.
The home team won the first three encounters, which includes a 112-107 win by Washington last Friday as a 5½-point favorite. Washington captured a 111-105 home win in late December but not before Indiana won a 107-105 decision earlier that month. The ‘over’ went 3-0 in those games and is on a 9-1 run in the last 10 meetings between the pair.
Washington opened as a 1½-point road favorite and the line has jumped up to two as of Thursday morning. The Wizards have gone 17-3 in their last 20 games and that includes a 6-3 record as visitors. They enter this game with three straight wins and the offense hasn’t been held under 100 points in their last 20 games.
Indiana has been a very streaky team this season and it comes into Thursday’s game with a five-game losing skid. The Pacers will be playing on no rest tonight after falling at Cleveland 113-104 last night and they haven’t been a solid wager when facing back-to-back situations. Indiana has gone 3-8 SU and 2-9 ATS, which includes a 3-3 record at home in those situations. The ‘over’ has gone 7-4.
The Pacers have dropped three straight games at home and they’ve allowed 132, 116 and 110 points during this span. Indiana has gone 3-6 SU this season when installed as a home ‘dog.
The Wizards (33-20) and Pacers (30-25) have both leaned to the ‘over’ this season and Washington has watched the high side go 15-8 away from home.
Boston (37-19 SU, 29-25 ATS) at Chicago (27-29 SU, 27-29 ATS)
The home team has won and covered the last five meetings between the pair and that includes a pair of matchups this season, which both occurred in the first week of the season. Chicago dropped Boston 105-99 in its home opener on Oct. 27 and Boston avenged that loss with a 107-100 decision on Nov. 2. The ‘under’ connected in both games.
Depending where you shop, you can get a point with either the Celtics or Bulls on Thursday and a couple betting outfits have the game listed as a pick ‘em.
Boston extended its winning streak to four games last night with a 116-108 win over Philadelphia but failed to cover as a 10-point home favorite. It was a tough spot for the Celtics, who just returned from a four-game road trip. Including the win over the 76ers, Boston has gone 11-1 in its last 12 games (6-6 ATS).
Playing on no rest hasn’t been an issue for Boston this season and it could give you a reason to back them in this spot. The Celtics have gone 9-3 SU and 8-4 ATS on zero days and they enter this game with six straight wins (5-1 ATS) when facing back-to-back situations. Total bettors should note that the ‘over’ has gone 8-3-1 in these spots for Boston.
Chicago has been dealing with injuries lately and shooting guard Dwyane Wade (wrist) is listed as ‘questionable’ for this matchup. The Bulls snapped a three-game losing skid on Tuesday with a 105-94 win over Toronto as four-point home underdogs.
The Bulls have been better at home (16-11 SU, 13-14 ATS) this season but they’ll be facing a Celtics team that owns one of the top road marks (17-11 SU, 18-8-2 ATS) in the league.
While Boston has shown a slight lean to the ‘over’ (29-26) this season, Chicago enters this matchup as the best ‘under’ bet (35-21) in the NBA and that includes a 16-11 mark at the United Center.
Tonight’s total is listed at 212 and the Bulls have only seen two totals posted at home this season listed anywhere near this number.