NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Tuesday, December 13th, 2016 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Memphis won its last six games, even without injured PG Conley; Grizzlies covered four of last five games as a road underdog. Last three Memphis games stayed under. Cleveland won/covered its last four games; they covered five of last six games as a home favorite. Over is 8-2 in their last ten games. Cavaliers won three of last four games with Memphis; they covered seven of last ten series games. Teams split last four games played here. Over is 6-4 in last ten series games.
Magic lost their last three games, but covered six of last seven games as a road underdog. Three of last four Orlando games went over. Hawks won last two games but lost three of last four at home; they’re 0-3-1 vs spread in last four home games. Under is 12-3 in their last 15 games. Orlando won its last two games with Atlanta after losing six of previous seven series games; Magic lost three of last four visits here (3-1 vs spread). Four of last six series games stayed under the total.
Minnesota lost four in row, seven of last eight games; they’re 3-5 as road underdogs. Over is 7-2 in last nine Timberwolves games. Chicago won last two games by 4-5 points; they’re 3-4 as home favorites. Over is 3-1 in their last four home games. Minnesota won last two games with Chicago by 7-9 points; teams split last four games played here (Minnesota 3-1 vs spread). Under is 4-2 in last six series games.
Warriors won five of last six games but are 0-3 vs spread in last three; they’re 7-7 as road favorites (0-3 in last three). Under is 3-1 in last four Golden State games. Pelicans lost five of last six games; they’re 3-1 as home underdogs. Three of last four New Orleans games went over. Golden State won its last nine games with New Orleans (4-2 vs spread in last six); Warriors won last four visits to Bourbon Street (2-2 vs spread) winning by 8-14-11-4 points. Last four series games went over total.
New York won six of its last seven games; they’re 5-6 SU on road, 1-0 vs spread as road favorites. Three of last four Knick games went over. Phoenix lost six of last eight games; they’re 4-3 as home underdogs. Six of last seven Suns games went over total. Knicks won last two games with Phoenix by 18-31 points; teams split last four games played here (Suns 2-1-1 vs spread). Six of last seven series games stayed under.
Portland lost tough game in Staples Center last night, Trailblazers’ 4ht straight loss; Blazers won/covered five of last seven home games. Over is 8-2 in Portland’s last ten games. Oklahoma City won seven of last eight games, winning last three road tilts. Last four Thunder games stayed under the total. Home side won last six Oklahoma City-Portland games; Thunder lost last four visits here, by 5-5-3-17 points. Over is 5-2 in last seven series games.
Armadillosports.com
Timberwolves, Bulls clash Tuesday night
By: Zach Cohen
StatFox,com
The Timberwolves will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak when they face the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday.
Tom Thibodeau will be making his return to the United Center on Tuesday, and he would love nothing more than to defeat the team that fired him two years ago. The Timberwolves will, however, need to play a lot better than they have been in order to do that. Minnesota comes into this one on a four-game losing streak and the team has not played the type of defense that people were expecting when the Wolves hired Thibodeau. Over the past four games, each of the Timberwolves’ four opponents has shot over 45.0% from the floor. They can’t allow Chicago to reach that mark on Tuesday. The Bulls, meanwhile, have won two straight coming into this one. Unlike Minnesota, Chicago has been excellent defensively over the past two. The Bulls have allowed just 95.5 PPG over the past two contests and they’d love to hold the Wolves to a number like that. Working in the Bulls’ favor in this game is the fact that the Wolves are a pathetic 0-10 ATS after one or more consecutive Unders with Thibodeau in charge. Minnesota is, however, facing a Chicago team that is just 16-29 ATS as a home favorite of 6.5 to 12 points over the past three seasons.
The Timberwolves are struggling recently, but this team is very talented and can turn it around at any moment. They just need to buy in defensively and start playing together offensively. The guys that lead the charge for this group are SF Andrew Wiggins (22.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG) and C Karl-Anthony Towns (21.6 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 1.4 BPG). Wiggins is a very good scorer for a player his age, and he should find some success on Tuesday. He will, however, need to lock in on defense, as he’ll be guarding Jimmy Butler for a large majority of this one. If he does not hold his own in that matchup then Chicago is going to blow Minnesota out. Towns also needs to improve defensively. He has all the tools to be a dominant player on that end, but he has lacked focus at times this year. Towns has been fine as a rim protector, but the Wolves envisioned him being more of a defensive anchor than he has shown thus far. He is, however, one of the best offensive players in the league, and he should be in for a gigantic performance in this one. PG Zach LaVine (20.4 PPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 RPG) is yet another offensive stud that has disappointed on the defensive end. LaVine’s athleticism has only shown up when scoring this season, and Thibodeau is doing his best to change that. It’d be nice if he could find a way to slow down Dwyane Wade in this game.
The Bulls have played well to start the year and there are many reasons to believe that this team could get better soon. Chicago had three new starters to start the year, so chemistry will only improve as the season goes along. SG Dwyane Wade (20.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG) has continued to play well, which is surprising given his age. Wade isn’t as explosive as he used to be, but he’s knocking down 34.3% of his threes this year. That is a huge improvement for him, and he’ll prolong his career a ton by continuing to shoot it well. SF Jimmy Butler (25.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.7 SPG), meanwhile, is an absolute superstar for the Bulls. Butler is one of the best scorers in the league, but he does it unselfishly and is also a menace on the other side of the ball. Tom Thibodeau surely misses him and Butler would love to play well against his former coach in this one. PF Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG) is, however, the x-factor for the Bulls. Gibson is one of the best two-way forwards in the league and he’ll need to be ready to defend Towns on Tuesday. If he can shut him down then the Bulls just might blow them out.
Inside the Paint - Tuesday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
Tuesday’s pro basketball action has six games on tap and after watching the home teams go 7-0 on Monday, bettors could be looking to press the momentum or find the value in the visitor tonight.
Favorites went 4-3 straight up and 2-5 against the spread as Indiana, Miami and Dallas all notched victories as short home underdogs. The Rockets (-13½) and Clippers (-10) both improved to 18-7 but neither covered heavy digits in their tight wins against the Nets and Trail Blazers respectively.
The ‘over’ went 5-2 last night and is now 14-7 (67%) in the last three days.
ESPN offers up a nationally televised double-header on Tuesday and they begin with an intriguing battle between Minnesota (6-18 SU, 7-17 ATS) and Chicago (13-10 SU, 13-10 ATS) from the United Center.
Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who went 255-139 in five seasons with Chicago, will face his former team for the first time as an NBA coach since the Bulls fired him in May 2015.
Oddsmakers respect Tibs a lot and they believed he could turn around a Minnesota team quickly, even posting the club’s win total at an eye opening 41 victories. The Wolves are 12 games below .500 and they just don’t have the horses or experience to close out games in the fourth quarter.
Case in point on Sunday when Golden State outscored Minnesota 38-20 in the final 12 minutes to grab a 116-108 victory at the Target Center. Including that setback, the team has dropped four straight and eight of 10.
The Wolves managed to earn the cover (+10½) against the Warriors and that was the first time this season that the point-spread mattered in any of their games. Put simply, they usually get run as underdogs or win outright.
Oddsmakers have installed the Bulls as seven-point home favorites and they’ve posted a solid 7-3 SU and 6-4 ATS mark at the United Center this season. Chicago has looked very impressive at home in wins over Boston, Cleveland and San Antonio.
Minnesota did get the best of Chicago last season, capturing both meetings and that includes a 102-93 win at the United Center as a 9 ½-point underdog.
For what it’s worth, the Bulls have gone 4-5 versus the Western Conference this season and that includes a 1-2 mark at home, with the lone home win coming last Thursday versus San Antonio.
Minnesota has gone 3-7 both SU and ATS versus the Eastern Conference but two of those wins did occur on the road. The Wolves have seen the ‘over’ go 7-3 in these matchups. The total on this game is hovering between 208 and 209 at most shops.
Let’s take a quick look at the other five games on tap.
Memphis at Cleveland: The Grizzlies (+15½) are playing three straight games against the two teams from last year’s NBA Finals and they started that run off with a dominating 110-89 win over Golden State on Saturday. Including that win, Memphis has won six straight and it’s doing so without two of their best players in Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons. The Grizzlies stunned the Cavaliers 106-103 last season as 15-point road underdogs. Prior to that victory, Memphis had lost its three previous encounters to Cleveland by an average of 22 PPG. The Cavs have gone 3-1 (2-2 ATS) versus the West this season while the ‘over’ has gone 3-1. Memphis is 6-4 versus the East. Cleveland has gone 7-0 SU as a double-digit home favorite this season but only managed to produce a 3-4 ATS mark. The Grizzlies appear to be waving the white flag after announcing center Marc Gasol will be rested.
Orlando at Atlanta: No early line was posted on this game due to the status of Orlando’s big men Nikola Vucevic (back) and Bismack Biyombo (shoulder). Atlanta opened as a 6½-point favorite and has jumped up to seven. The Hawks have won two straight since dropping seven in a row and come into this game rested, not having played since Friday. Orlando enters this matchup on a three-game losing skid but it’s been better on the road (6-7 SU, 7-6 ATS) than at home. These teams split four games last season with each club securing a win on the road. The total went 2-2.
Golden State at New Orleans: This will be the third meeting of the season between the pair, second time in New Orleans. Golden State won the first two matches but failed to cover the number as a double-digit favorite in each contest. The ‘over’ cashed in both games and is on a 4-0 run in this series, with Golden State averaging 124.3 PPG during this span. The Warriors have gone 6-2 SU and 2-6 ATS as double-digit road favorites this season and they’ll likely be in that role (-11) again tonight. Total bettors should note that Golden State has seen the ‘under’ go 7-1 in these spots with Tuesday’s number sitting at 225.
New York at Phoenix: The Knicks are starting to identify themselves as a playoff team and they’re doing so by beating marginal clubs. New York has won two straight and six of its last seven and that includes four consecutive wins on the road. The Knicks are favored (-3) in this spot and they’ve gone 8-3 both SU and ATS versus the Western Conference this season but tread lightly with that record since they haven’t faced the big guns and the three losses came to quality opponents (Rockets, Thunder, Jazz). Phoenix isn’t a great defensive team (113.3 PPG) and that production has helped the ‘over’ go 17-7. The Knicks swept both games against the Suns last season, which included a 128-107 victory in the desert as short road underdogs. That game went ‘over’ but the previous five between the pair saw the ‘under’ connect. You could play the look-ahead spot here with New York traveling to Golden State on Thursday but I believe this Knicks team knows what they are and these games against weaker foes are much more important.
Oklahoma City at Portland: The home team has won six straight in this series and covered five of those games. The ‘over’ has gone 4-2 during this span and Portland has shot very well (116.7 PPG) in its last three home tilts versus Oklahoma City. However, this could be the worst scheduling spot for any team in the league this season. Portland just played five straight road (1-4 SU, 2-3 ATS), which includes a tough decision (121-120) at the Clippers last night. The Blazers now have to get up for the run ‘n gun Thunder and then they head back out on the road Thursday for another three games. To Portland’s credit, all of the four recent away losses were decided by single digits but recent form tells you to fade them tonight. Last season, the Trail Blazers went 6-13 when facing back-to-back spots and they’ve carried that struggle over to this year’s campaign. Portland has gone 0-5 both SU and ATS when playing on no rest this season, but to be fair, all of those setbacks occurred on the road. No overnight line was posted due to the status of OKC shooting guard Victor Oladipo (wrist) but the line has settled at a pick 'em.
Tuesday’s NBA Game of the Day: Thunder at Blazers
By Covers.com
Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trail Blazers (+1, 218 )
Russell Westbrook's epic streak of triple-doubles is over and the Oklahoma City star is focused on helping the Thunder win for the eighth time in the past nine games when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. Westbrook posted seven straight triple-doubles before falling four assists shy of another during Sunday's 99-96 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Only legendary Wilt Chamberlain (nine in 1968) recorded more consecutive triple-doubles than Westbrook and the Oklahoma City point guard wasn't the least bit disappointed after having 37 points, 12 rebounds and six assists against Boston. "Honestly, I'm just happy we won — that's the most important thing," Westbrook told reporters. "Me as a player, I always try to look forward. Maybe at the end of the season, I can talk about it but as of right now, my job is to move forward and get ready for Portland and try to win that game." The Trail Blazers suffered a 121-120 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday for their fourth consecutive defeat to end a five-game road trip. The slate isn't being kind to Portland as it heads right back on the road for three more games after hosting the Thunder.
LINE HISTORY: The Blazers opened as one-point home underdogs and that number has yet to move. The total hit the board at 219.5 and took a sharp dip down to the current number of 218. Check out the complete line history here.
INJURY REPORT:
Thunder - SG V. Oladipo (Questionable, wrist), PG C. Payne (Out Indefinitely, foot).
Blazers - C F. Ezeli (Out Indefinitely, knee).
POWER RANKINGS: Thunder (-4.4) - Blazers (-1.3) + home court (-3) = Thunder -0.1
ABOUT THE THUNDER (15-9 SU, 12-11-1 ATS, 10-14 O/U): Westbrook's triple-double streak was the talk of the NBA and coach Billy Donovan gets a bit touchy when outsiders present the disappointed jibe because he fell short. "To me, sometimes we get wrapped up if he had 37 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists. Is it disappointing?" Donovan told reporters. "I get all the stuff of people wanting to talk about it but at the same point, part of the reason he didn't get a triple-double (Sunday) was we didn't shoot the ball particularly well." Oklahoma City shooting guard Victor Oladipo (wrist) is questionable after suffering the injury during a hard fall against the Celtics.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (12-14 SU, 10-16 ATS, 18-8 O/U): Portland is underachieving after being a 44-win squad last season and point guard Damian Lillard addressed the topic after Monday's loss to the Clippers. "(Being two games under .500) isn't what we want, but it's not the worst thing in the world," Lillard told reporters. "There are teams below us. Things could be worse, but we also know we've got to be better. We came into this season expecting much more of ourselves so that's disappointing." Lillard scored 24 points against the Clippers and is averaging 27.2 points over the past five games, scoring 30 or more three times.
TRENDS:
* Thunder are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 vs. NBA Northwest.
* Trail Blazers are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 0 days rest.
* Under is 4-0 in Thunder's last 4 overall.
* Over is 10-2 in Trail Blazers' last 12 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.
* Thunder are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.