NBA Knowledge
Hot Teams
-- Rockets won four of last five home games (2-3 as HF).
-- Lakers won five of last six home games (4-3 as HF).
Cold Teams
-- 76ers lost two of last three games (3-4 as HF).
-- Dallas lost four of last five road games (2-3 as AU).
-- Phoenix covered once in five games as a road underdog.
-- Cavaliers lost nine of last ten games, covered last four.
-- Toronto lost last four games, last three by 1-1-5(2ot) (4-4 as AU).
-- Minnesota lost last five (0-5 vs spread) games (3-3 as AU).
-- Kings lost six of last eight games, but won last two at home (0-2-1 as F).
-- Pacers lost six of last seven road games (1-4 as AU).
Totals
-- Six of last nine Maverick games stayed under total.
-- Three of Philly's last four games went over.
-- Over is 9-2-1 in last twelve Phoenix games.
-- Five of last seven Houston games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Sacramento games went over the total.
-- Last three Indiana games went over the total.
Armadillosports.com
Inside the Paint - Tuesday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
The NBA slows it down on Tuesday with just five games on the hardwood and four will be non-conference matchups. Let’s take a quick look at each battle.
Dallas at Philadelphia: Tough game to handicap here because both Dallas (7-7 straight up, 5-9 against the spread) and Philadelphia (8-6 SU, 7-7 ATS) have been inconsistent this season. The 76ers opened as 3½-point favorites at home, where they’ve gone 5-4 SU and 4-5 ATS. Doug Collins team actually started 1-3 at home but they’ve won four of five and the lone loss came in overtime to Oklahoma City (109-116) last Saturday. Even though they came up short, the 76ers do come to play and they’re winning without its big offseason acquisition, center Andrew Bynum (knee). Dallas is also playing without its star, Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks have some solid wins (Knicks, Lakers) on their resume this season, but also some bad losses (Bobcats, Warriors). Defensively, Dallas is giving up 101.6 points per game, which is ranked 27th and certainly not a characteristic of a Rick Carlisle team. The Mavericks have gone 2-4 both SU and ATS on the road, while the ‘under’ has produced a 4-2 mark. In last year’s lone meeting, Dallas earned an 82-75 win on the road. Eight of the last 10 meetings in this series have gone ‘under’ the number.
Phoenix at Cleveland: These two teams met a couple weeks ago in the desert and the Suns rallied for a 107-105 victory. The Cavs led this game 37-16 after the first period and were fortunate to hang on for the point-spread cover (+3). Including this outcome, the road team has now covered six straight in this series (4-2 SU). It might be hard to back Phoenix as a short favorite (-2) here considering it's 1-5 SU and 2-4 ATS on the road, the lone win coming against Charlotte. Cleveland is probably in the same grouping as the Bobcats and you could argue a little worse. To be fair, the Cavs have only played four of their 14 games at home and they’ve gone 2-2 both SU and ATS. Fatigue is definitely going to be a factor tonight, especially for the home squad. The Cavaliers will be facing a back-to-back spot after losing at Memphis (78-84) last night. Plus, this will be the third game in four nights for Cleveland. This season, the Cavs are 0-3 SU and 2-1 ATS when playing with no rest. Total players are starting at opening number of 204, which is the highest number for Tuesday. When you look at the Cavs (102.2 PPG) and Suns (103.3 PPG) defensively, you can see why the number is on the high side.
Toronto at Houston: The oddsmakers opened the Rockets as five-point favorites but the number was quickly knocked down to 4½. Anytime you see a squad that’s 3-11 getting steamed early, it makes you open your eyes especially on the road. We understand that Houston (6-7 SU, 6-6 ATS) isn’t a powerhouse but it has won two straight and that includes a 131-103 blowout victory over New York last Friday. More importantly, Houston has gone 5-1 SU and 6-0 ATS againste the Eastern Conference with the lone loss coming in a collapse to the Miami Heat. Meanwhile, Toronto is 1-4 (3-2 ATS) against the West and that includes a 111-106 overtime setback at home to San Antonio on Sunday. When you consider the line move and knowing the Raptors have Memphis in a back-to-back spot tomorrow, perhaps this is the game Toronto gets up for. Still, it’s hard to make a case for Toronto and its 1-7 SU and 4-4 ATS road mark.
Minnesota at Sacramento: Sacramento is 2-1 (3-0 ATS) in its last three and the lone loss came by two points. This decent stretch comes after a five-game losing streak and all of those losses were by nine or more. The Kings are definitely playing better but now they go from hunter to hunted, with the books opening them as home favorites (-1) over Minnesota. Sacramento is 1-1 SU and 0-1-1 ATS as a favorite this year. The Timberwolves enter this game with a five-game losing streak and it’s obvious that the team lacks chemistry and offense (91.7 PPG), which ranks third worst in the league. Minnesota stopped Sacramento 92-80 in its home opener on Nov. 2 and that was the fifth straight win for the home team in this series. With the Wolves wrapping up their four-game road trip tomorrow against a very tough Clippers squad who just lost last night at home, you would expect that game to be the tougher of the two.
Indiana at L.A. Lakers: Last season, this would’ve been a real nice matchup but injuries and roster shakeups make this game look like a mismatch or is it? Oddsmakers opened Los Angeles as a 7½-point favorite over Indiana, who sit at 6-8 on the season and it’s apparent that the team is still trying to deal with the big loss of Danny Granger (knee). The Pacers still have some decent parts in David West and Roy Hibbert but they can’t find their rhythm on the road. This season, they’ve gone 2-6 SU and 3-5 ATS and the two wins came against the Raptors (90-88) and Wizards (96-89), who are a combined 3-22. The Lakers own a 7-7 record and that includes a 6-3 mark at home (5-4 ATS). The three losses were against quality clubs in the Mavs, Clippers and Spurs. Some handicappers like to fade home favorites in their first game back from a road trip of three games or more and that’s the case with the Lakers tonight. If you want some evidence to this system, check out last night's results with the Hornets and Clippers. Since Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni made his presence on the sidelines, the team has gone 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS. The totals have all been listed over 200 points and it’s been split down the middle (2-2) right now. Tonight, the ‘over/under’ opened at 195 ½, which is due to Indiana’s pace. The Pacers did beat the Lakers 98-96 at Staples Center last season but that outcome and all others should be tossed due to the ever-changing rosters for both squads.
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Toronto Raptors AT Houston Rockets
The Toronto Raptors off to a dismal 3-11 (7-7 ATS) start will look to snap a four game skid (3-1 ATS) when they visit Houston on Tuesday night. Winning on the road is never easy, especially for Toronto entering 1-7 (4-4 ATS) away this season, 11-30 (24-17 ATS) the past two years traveling. It should be noted that free-falling Raptors play in Memphis Wednesday night and that Raps are on a 1-7 (2-6 ATS) skid playing the first of back-2-back games on the road. Look for Rockets to defend it's home territory and take care of business knowing they're on a 5-0 (3-1-1 ATS) streak at the Toyota Center running the hardwood vs. Raptors, have won 10-of-12 (7-4-1 ATS) meetings in Houston and on a smart 10-3 SU/ATS stretch hosting non-conference opponents.