NBA 3 - Pack
Sportspic.com
New York Knicks @ Brooklyn Nets
No college football betting experts should doubt the legitimacy of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and very few NBA experts should be doubting the New York Knicks at this point in time. Beating the Miami Heat by 20 points in Miami is the kind of feat that forces skeptics to sit up and take notice, but what was even more eye-catching about the 112-92 drubbing of the defending champions is that the Knicks did the deed without Carmelo Anthony, without Amare' Stoudemire, and without defensive stopper Iman Shumpert. New York is overflowing with confidence right now. It's not as though Brooklyn doesn't have a lot of belief in its own right; the Nets, after all, beat the Knicks a few weeks ago in Brooklyn. Nevertheless, New York is meshing on the floor in ways that few basketball pundits expected before the season began. Head coach Mike Woodson is getting everything out of his players, and a key point to realize is that the Knicks aren't doing terrifically complicated things at the offensive end of the floor. Point guard Raymond Felton is simply playing at a very elevated level. His quickness and natural ability are prying open holes in defenses. Defenders collapse in the paint to stop him, but that only leaves three-point shooters wide open for great looks that they're knocking down. This is very, very hard for anyone to stop, and this is the challenge of playing the Knicks at the moment. Brooklyn will have a very tough time stopping New York's offense. One should feel confident about taking the Knicks in this game, even though it's Brooklyn's home game. Pick: New York
Los Angeles Lakers @ Cleveland Cavaliers
When people make a bet on sports, they know that an underdog is going to give a favored team a run for the money, but they have to realize that a favorite is a favorite for a reason. Sure, Cleveland will push the Lakers in this contest. Online football betting gurus know that Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters are going to make it hard for Los Angeles to defend the perimeter. However, Cleveland does not have a lot of muscle or - for that matter - defensive depth near the rim. Los Angeles has two post players, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, who are going to overwhelm the Cavaliers within five or six feet of the basket. This is the big reason to take the Lake Show on Tuesday night in Ohio. Pick: Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Clippers @ Chicago Bulls
When you get ready to lay down some cash at any of the best betting sites around, keep in mind that the Clippers are getting more and more production from forward Lamar Odom, a player who disappeared in Dallas last season but is regaining the form of the man who played an indispensable role on recent world championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers. Odom is just one of many reasons why the Clippers have more ammunition than the Derrick Rose-less Bulls. Take L.A. on the road. Pick: Los Angeles Clippers
Knicks at Nets: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets (+1.5, 191)
The New York Knicks have a score to settle with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, and it couldn't come at a more opportune time with their city neighbors mired in a four-game slide. New York will make its second trip to the brand-new Barclays Center and is seeking to avenge a 96-89 overtime loss to Brooklyn before a boisterous crowd on Nov. 26. That game left the Knicks and Nets tied atop the Atlantic Division with 9-4 records, but the teams have gone in opposite directions since the end of November.
New York has won six of its last seven and is 4-1 this month while Brooklyn has followed up a five-game winning streak by going 0-4 in December to fall 3 1/2 games off the pace in the division. The skid includes three straight home losses for the Nets, who had won seven of their first eight at the Barclays Center. Even the two-game absence of Carmelo Anthony failed to slow the Knicks, who went into Miami and pounded the defending NBA champions by 20 points without their superstar forward.
ABOUT NEW YORK (15-5, 13-7 ATS): Anthony returned to the lineup to score 34 points against his former teammates as the Knicks outlasted Denver on Sunday to improve to 8-0 at Madison Square Garden. New York is the only team that has yet to lose at home and has its next six games at MSG following the matchup with Brooklyn. Knicks C Tyson Chandler, who leads the league in field goal percentage (70.9), has five double-doubles in his last six games and torched the Nets for 28 points (on 12-of-13 shooting) and 10 rebounds in their last matchup.
ABOUT BROOKLYN (11-8, 10-7-2 ATS): Leading scorer Brook Lopez (18.5 ppg) has sat out the past five games with a sprained right foot - during which Brooklyn went 1-4 - but the biggest issue of late has come at the defensive end. After not allowing an opponent to reach 90 points during a five-game winning streak, the Nets have surrendered an average of 106.2 points during the four-game skid. The 7-0 center practiced on Monday and has been listed as a game-time decision. Lopez had 22 points and 11 boards in the first meeting.
TRENDS:
* Under is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
* Knicks are 7-2-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings at the Nets.
* Under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings at the Nets.
* Road team is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Nets (4-0) are the only Atlantic team with a perfect division record.
2. The Knicks, who average a league-best 11.9 3-pointers made, were only 6-for-21 in the first matchup.
3. New York has won six of the last eight meetings, including two of three last season.
Inside the Paint - Tuesday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
The first quarter of the NBA regular season is just about in the books and last year’s finalists, Miami and Oklahoma City, are both on pace to meet again next June. The Heat (8/5) and Thunder (4/1) are listed first and second respectively in the latest NBA Championship futures at Sportsbook.ag, which isn’t surprising. However, the offshore outfit does have a couple future prices that make you scratch your head.
It appears that the L.A. Lakers (7/1) and Boston (20/1) are still commanding respect. We’re well aware that most books don’t want to put themselves at risk with these experienced teams but neither is deserving of their current numbers based on form, especially the Lakers.
Los Angeles has a lot of big names but if the playoffs started today, the team wouldn’t even make the field of eight in the Western Conference. Even with the coaching change and injuries, the Lakers have been the biggest disappointment this season. While the “Purple and Gold” has struggled, the other club that plays in the Staples Center has quietly gone under the radar.
The Los Angeles Clippers lead the Pacific Division with a 14-6 record and outside of Oklahoma City they are the hottest team in the league. Los Angeles has won six straight albeit against teams with no winning records, which makes you believe it’s a bully. Prior to this run, they dropped four in a row and three of those opponents had records above .500.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles heads to Chicago (11-8 SU, 7-12 ATS) for the start of a four-game road trip. The Clippers opened as favorites over the Bulls and they’ll most likely be laying points in every other contest on this short journey too.
Chicago enters this matchup with some steam as well, winning three straight and five of six. Similar to the Clips, the Bulls have been “bullies” too but we can’t blame them for playing in the Central Division, which is really down this season.
Even without the duties of point guard Derrick Rose, the Bulls have only been underdogs six times (2-4 SU, 2-4 ATS) this season and just twice at home. In those games they’re 1-1 both SU and ATS, losing to Oklahoma City (91-97) in early November and beating New York 93-85 this past Saturday.
The total for this matchup is hovering around 187. The Clippers like to run ‘n gun, which has resulted in a 12-7 record to the ‘over.’ However, Chicago doesn’t chuck at all and that’s translated into a 13-6 ‘under’ mark, which includes a 9-2 record at the United Center.
Tip-off for this game starts at 9:35 p.m. ET, with ESPN providing national coverage.
New York at Brooklyn: The Knicks (15-5 SU, 13-7 ATS) sit on top of the Eastern Conference and they’ve proven that they’re not a fluke. After hammering Miami (112-92) on the road in a statement game last Thursday, they Knicks had an expected letdown at Chicago (85-93) on Saturday. However, they rallied past Denver (112-106) at home in a tough back-to-back spot. New York’s only weakness right now is its road record (7-5 SU, 6-6 ATS) and we’re nitpicking. Brooklyn (11-8 SU, 10-8 ATS) has dropped four straight and that comes after the team put together a five-game winning streak. During this slump, the Nets haven’t had center Brook Lopez (foot) in the lineup and he’s ‘questionable’ for this affair. It would’ve been tough seeing Brooklyn beat Miami or Oklahoma City in its recent losses, but setbacks at home against Golden State and Milwaukee are inexcusable. The Nets just beat the Knicks 96-89 on Nov. 26 in overtime and tonight’s rematch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET with ESPN nationally televising the matchup.
L.A. Lakers at Cleveland: We know a lot of gamblers probably chased and lost with the Lakers (9-12 SU, 9-12 ATS) on Sunday as they fell to the Jazz (110-117) as 6 ½-point home favorites. The short price told you everything and after watching Orlando do the same thing to Los Angeles a week prior, it wasn’t surprising to see Utah get the outright win. So do the Lakers bounce back against Cleveland (4-17 SU, 9-12 ATS) on the road? They should but how do you back a team that’s just 2-5 on the road? Plus you can argue look-ahead spot here for Los Angeles with a game against the Knicks at MSG set for Thursday. Putting money on Cleveland lately hasn’t been a sound investment either. The Cavaliers are 0-5 both SU and ATS in their last five. Fortunately, the team is expected to get point guard Kyrie Irving (finger) back in the lineup. The Lakers will be without Pau Gasol (knee) for the fifth straight game.
Denver at Detroit: The Nuggets opened as four-point road favorites and fortunately for them, they’ll be catching Detroit in a back-to-back spot. The Pistons have gone 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS on zero days rest this season. Along with the Lakers, Denver has been a bit of disappointment too but we’ll forgive them due to a brutal schedule. George Karl’s team has already played 15 road games (5-10 SU, 7-8 ATS) and just six at home. After tonight, Denver heads to Minnesota for a game on zero days rest. The ‘over’ has gone 10-5 on the road for the Nuggets and that includes a 6-1 run. Tonight’s number is 201 and these teams already eclipsed that mark when Denver beat Detroit 109-97 on Nov. 6 as a 10 ½-point home favorite.
Washington at New Orleans: Hard to make an argument for either of these teams! After starting 0-13, Washington (2-15 SU, 8-8 ATS) has gone 2-3 in its last five games, which included an impressive 105-101 win over Miami last Tuesday. The Wizards have dropped two straight since the upset over the Heat. Washington is still searching for its first road win (0-8 SU, 4-3 ATS) and it could happen in “The Big Easy.” New Orleans (5-14 SU, 10-9) is in the same class of the Wizards when it comes to talent, and that’s not a good thing. The Hornets have lost three straight and five of their last six, four of those losses coming by double digits. If you bet on New Orleans, you need the team to shoot well or you have no shot. In their last three wins, they scored 100-plus points. Fortunately, the Wizards’ defense (98.5 PPG) isn’t great but New Orleans’ offense (92.6 PPG) doesn’t have any firepower outside of Ryan Anderson (18.1 PPG) and he’s hit or miss. The Hornets have only been favored once this season and they actually earned a win and cover against Charlotte (107-99) on Nov. 9. Most books opened New Orleans as a four-point home favorite.
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Washington at New Orleans
Things have not gone well for the New Orleans Hornets (5-14, 10-9 ATS) having lost twelve of the past fourteen on the hardwood. But Hornets have a winnable game on the schedule Tuesday when the NBA-worst Washington Wizards (2-15, 8-8-1 ATS) come to town. Washington with it's mounting list of injuries (Wall, Booker, Ariza, Price) may be hard pressed snapping it's winless road skid which now stands at 0-8 on the year (4-3-1 ATS). Bugs trying to end an 0-5 ATS home slide against Wizards, 3-5 ATS stretch vs Southeast opponents have been pegged 4 point favorites with the total set at 187.
NBA Point Spreads and Trends
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
There are five games on Tuesday night’s NBA schedule. The Knicks visit Brooklyn for the second time this season; the Nets won the first game, 96-89 in overtime, as a 1-point underdog. Meanwhile, the Lakers, who have dropped to No. 20 in Sporting News’ NBA power rankings, look for a win in Cleveland after losing four of their past five games. Also, the Bulls visit the Pacific Division-leading Clippers.
The lines below are from the LVH SuperBook, as of about 8:30 a.m. PT.
NBA trends:
* The Nets have lost and failed to cover their past four games. The Knicks have covered the number in nine of their past 12 games against Eastern Conference teams. The Knicks and Nets have gone UNDER the total in four of their past five meetings. The Knicks are -3, with a total of 193.5, for tonight’s game at Barclays Center.
* The Lakers are 3-9 ATS in their past 12 games against teams with a winning percentage below .400. They also haven’t covered the spread in their last 11 Tuesday games. The underdog has covered seven of the last 10 meetings between the Cavs and Lakers. The Lakers are -6 in Cleveland tonight, and the total is 202.
* The Nuggets and Pistons have gone OVER the total in their last seven meetings, as well as the last six in Detroit. The Nuggets are -5.5, with a total of 202.5.
* The Wizards have covered six of their last eight games against teams with a losing home record. The Hornets have lost seven games in a row, covering the spread only twice during that span. The Wizards have gone OVER the total in their past four games, but the UNDER has occurred in their last seven games in New Orleans. The Hornets are laying -4.5, and the total is 186.5.
* The Clippers have covered eight of their last nine games following a game they won by 10 points or more. The Bulls have covered only two of their last seven games against teams with a winning record. The Clippers have gone OVER the total in seven of their last eight games, but the Bulls have gone UNDER the number in their past five home games. The Clippers are -3 in Chicago tonight, with a total of 187.5.
NBA injuries:
* Nets center Brook Lopez (foot) is doubtful tonight.
* Lakers forward Pau Gasol (knee) is doubtful tonight.
* Cavs guard Kyrie Irving (finger) is probable tonight.
* Cavs guard Dion Waiters (ankle) is doubtful tonight.
* Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin (flu) is questionable tonight.
* Hornets center Anthony Davis (ankle) is questionable tonight.