Tuesday's Best NBA Bets
By Covers.com
Atlanta Hawks at New Jersey Nets (4.5, 182)
Hawks star Joe Johnson enters the season trying to prove last season’s performance was a fluke. He shot 29.7 percent from 3-point range after shooting at least 35.6 percentn in his five previous seasons with Atlanta.
If Johnson reverts to form, and young point guard Jeff Teague builds on his impressive playoff series vs. Chicago, these Hawks could again make noise in the East.
The Nets opened their season in dramatic fashion Monday night, storming back from 21 points behind to win 90-84 at Washington. Deron Williams had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Kris Humphries added 21 points and 16 rebounds.
But this team is still getting acquainted. Several players in the rotation have barely practiced with one another.
The Hawks are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings.
Pick: Hawks
Minnesota Timberwolves at Milwaukee Bucks (-6, 190.5)
The Bucks opened the season by shooting 40.5 percent in a one-point loss in Charlotte on Monday. Brandon Jennings scored 22 points and Andrew Bogut had 17 points and nine rebounds, but Milwaukee got killed on the glass, 52-39.
Milwaukee blew an 11-point halftime lead. Stephen Jackson fouled out with nearly four minutes left.
Now the Bucks come home to host Minnesota, which acquitted itself well in a 104-100 home loss to Oklahoma City on Monday. It wasn’t Kevin Love’s fault; he had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Michael Beasley poured in 27 points.
Despite the loss, there is a buzz around the T-Wolves, thanks to the arrival of Ricky Rubio and new coach Rick Adelman
The T-Wolves are 5-2-1 ATS in the last eight meetings.
Pick: Timberwolves
Tuesday NBA Tips
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The Tuesday NBA card gives bettors five games to wager on, including a mammoth matchup between two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics and Heat meet up for the first time since the second round of the playoffs, while the Jazz start their season in Los Angeles against the worn-down Lakers. We'll begin in South Florida with the first game of the TNT doubleheader.
Celtics at Heat
Both these teams started the regular season on the road with dramatically different results. Boston rallied from a 17-point deficit to take a late fourth quarter lead at New York, but the Celtics fell short in a 106-104 loss as five-point underdogs. The C's head to Miami to take on a Heat squad that picked up a modicum of revenge by blowing out the Mavericks in an NBA Finals revenge, 105-94 as 4½-point favorites. The final score doesn't indicate Miami's domination of Dallas, as the Heat led by 35 at one point, while LeBron James pumped in a game-high 37 points.
The Celtics are playing with a chip on their shoulders after getting eliminated by the Heat in five games of last season's playoffs. Miami won all three home games in the series, including a 107-97 victory in the Game 5 clincher, while picking up the fortuitous cover as 7½-point favorites with some late baskets. Four of the five games finished 'over' the total, a stark contrast from the 3-1 'under' mark in the four regular season meetings.
Boston found a way to hang around on Sunday afternoon without Paul Pierce, who missed the game with a heel injury. Pierce is listed as questionable for Tuesday night, as the All-Star forward averaged 19 points per game in the second round series against Miami, while shooting just 43% from the floor in the three road games.
The Heat finished the regular season at 15-25 ATS as home favorites in 2010-11, as Miami split two meetings with Boston prior to their postseason series. The Celtics own an 8-4 ATS record as road underdogs since the start of last season, including the cover at New York on Sunday.
Jazz at Lakers
Every team in the NBA will be playing at least one set of back-to-back-to-back games in this shortened season. The Lakers will get this exhausting sequence out of the way after Tuesday night as Los Angeles returns to Staples Center to host Utah. The Jazz will be the last team to take the court as Utah attempts to take advantage of a tired, beat-up Lakers squad.
The Lakers cashed in their season opener as 4½-point home underdogs in an 88-87 defeat to the Bulls, as Derrick Rose's floater in the lane clinched the victory for Chicago. Los Angeles will be back in the home favorite role on Tuesday, as the Lakers played at Staples Center with no rest only once last season (101-94 victory as 4½-point 'chalk' vs. Oklahoma City).
The Jazz went through plenty of transition last season with Jerry Sloan's sudden retirement and the trade of point guard Deron Williams to New Jersey. Utah never recovered after a surprising start, going 8-17 SU and 9-15-1 ATS following the Williams deal in late February. The offseason overhaul continued with the departure of Mehmet Okur to New Jersey, while Andrei Kirilenko declared for free agency after his contract expired.
These two clubs split the four meetings last season, with each team claiming a win on the other's home court in the series. The Jazz pulled out an 86-85 victory at Staples Center last April, while winning outright as 13½-point underdogs. Lakers' center Andrew Bynum will sit out his third straight game, continuing his four-game suspension after a flagrant foul committed in the final loss of the second round series to the Mavericks.
What else to watch for:
The Hawks play their season opener at New Jersey, as Atlanta is laying 4½ points against the unrested Nets. Brook Lopez continues to sit out after the Nets' center suffered a foot injury in the final preseason game at New York. Atlanta put together a 9-7 ATS record as a road favorite last season, but two of those losses came at New Jersey.
The Bucks and Timberwolves play the second of a back-to-back at the Bradley Center, while these two border-state buddies are meeting for the third time in 10 days. Minnesota grabbed a pair of preseason contests against Milwaukee, as the home team won each matchup last season. The Wolves compiled a dreadful 9-15 ATS record against unrested opponents last season, while the Bucks went 14-9 ATS on the second of a back-to-back set.
The Kings make the trip to the Pacific Northwest as Sacramento takes on Portland at the Rose Garden. The Blazers put together an 8-5 ATS ledger at home against unrested opponents, while the road team won and covered all three meetings last season. Sacramento has struggled in this series by losing nine of the previous 10 matchups, but the lone victory came at Portland as seven-point 'dogs last January, 96-81.
ATLANTA (0 - 0) at NEW JERSEY (1 - 0)
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 37-59 ATS (-27.9 Units) in road games in December games since 1996.
NEW JERSEY is 71-93 ATS (-31.3 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 5-2 against the spread versus NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 5-2 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON (0 - 1) at MIAMI (1 - 0)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 10-7 against the spread versus MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 11-6 straight up against MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
10 of 17 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA (0 - 1) at MILWAUKEE (0 - 1)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 37-62 ATS (-31.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is between 185 and 189.5 points since 1996.
MILWAUKEE is 95-73 ATS (+14.7 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 31-13 ATS (+16.7 Units) when playing on back-to-back days over the last 3 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) against Northwest division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) in home games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
MILWAUKEE is 2-2 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
MILWAUKEE is 3-1 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
SACRAMENTO (1 - 0) at PORTLAND (1 - 0)
Top Trends for this game.
SACRAMENTO is 9-20 ATS (-13.0 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PORTLAND is 27-13 ATS (+12.7 Units) when playing on back-to-back days over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
PORTLAND is 5-2 against the spread versus SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
PORTLAND is 6-1 straight up against SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
UTAH (0 - 0) at LA LAKERS (0 - 2)
Top Trends for this game.
UTAH is 41-68 ATS (-33.8 Units) in a road game where where the total is between 185 and 189.5 points since 1996.
LA LAKERS are 17-30 ATS (-16.0 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 156-197 ATS (-60.7 Units) after a division game since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA LAKERS is 8-4 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
LA LAKERS is 9-3 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA vs. NEW JERSEY
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Atlanta's last 15 games
Atlanta is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games
New Jersey is 2-11 SU in its last 13 games
BOSTON vs. MIAMI
Boston is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Boston is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing Miami
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Miami's last 8 games when playing at home against Boston
Miami is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games
MINNESOTA vs. MILWAUKEE
Minnesota is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games
Milwaukee is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Milwaukee is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home
SACRAMENTO vs. PORTLAND
Sacramento is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Sacramento's last 20 games on the road
Portland is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Sacramento
Portland is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Sacramento
UTAH vs. LA LAKERS
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Utah's last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Utah's last 21 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
LA Lakers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of the LA Lakers last 15 games when playing Utah
Hoop Trends - Tuesday
By Vince Akins
VegasInsider.com
SU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Celtics are 10-0 ATS (12.4 ppg) since February 21, 2007 off a loss of four points or fewer on the road in which they trailed by at least nine points.
OU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Celtics are 0-11 OU (-13.8 ppg) since January 08, 2011 on the road with at most one day of rest after a game in which they shot at least 50% from the field.
PLAYER BASED TREND OF THE DAY:
The Trailblazers are 0-7 OU (-12.4 ppg) since November 10, 2007 with no rest after a win at home in which Lamarcus Aldridge was the Trailblazers’ high scorer.
CHOICE TREND:
The Heat are 0-12 ATS (-8.0 ppg) since March 02, 2010 at home when their opponent has averaged at least 22.5 fouls per game on the road season-to-date.
TODAY’S TRENDS:
The Heat are 0-8 OU (-13.8 ppg) since December 01, 1999 after a double digit win in which they committed at least twenty turnovers.The Kings are 0-6 ATS (-11.8 ppg) since December 11, 2010 after a win in which Demarcus Cousins took fewer than 10 shots.
ATLANTA at NEW JERSEY
ATLANTA: 56-38 UNDER in all games
NEW JERSEY: 24-8 UNDER in home games after ATS win
BOSTON at MIAMI
BOSTON: 6-0 ATS off a division loss
MIAMI: 20-10 ATS in December games
MINNESOTA at MILWAUKEE
MINNESOTA: 45-82 ATS off a ATS win where they lost SU as a dog
MILWAUKEE: 19-8 ATS in home games off a road loss
SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND
SACRAMENTO: 9-20 ATS first half of the season
PORTLAND: 27-13 ATS when playing on back-to-back days
UTAH at LA LAKERS
UTAH: 9-11 ATS as road dog of 3.5 to 6 pts
LA LAKERS: 27-13 UNDER if road favorite last game