NBA Knowledge
Hot teams
-- Thunder won 10 of its last 12 games (4-9 last 13HF).
-- Houston is 9-5 in its last 14 games (4-0 last four HF).
-- Hawks won six of their last seven games (4-4AU).
-- Cavaliers won seven of their last nine games (3-8AF).
Cold teams
-- Pistons lost last two games, by 7-6 points (2-4AF).
-- New York lost its last four games (2-5HU).
-- Memphis is 4-6 in its last ten games (5-7HF).
-- Miami lost four of its last six games (2-3AU).
-- Bucks lost five of their last seven games (4-8 last 12 AU).
-- Denver lost five of its last six games (4-6HU).
Series records
-- Knicks lost four of last five games with Detroit.
-- Grizzlies won three of last four games with Miami.
-- Thunder won five of last seven games with Milwaukee.
-- Hawks won their last three games with Houston.
-- Cavaliers won three of last four games with denver.
Totals
-- Last five New York home games went over total.
-- Eight of ten Miami road games stayed under total.
-- Under is 7-2 in last nine Oklahoma City home games.
-- Six of last seven Atlanta games went over the total.
-- Seven of last eight Cleveland games stayed under.
Back/backs
-- Miami is 2-1 vs spread if it played night before.
-- Bucks are 6-1 vs sread if they played night before.
-- Atlanta is 0-3 vs spread on road if it played night before.
-- Cavaliers are 1-4 vs spread if they layed night before.
Armadillosports.com
Tuesday's Tip Sheet
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Pistons at Knicks
For the seventh time this season, Detroit (17-14 SU, 17-13-1 ATS) is listed as a road favorite. The Pistons have lost in four of their first six opportunities in this role, but cashed in their last chance at Philadelphia as nine-point favorites in mid-December, 107-95. Stan Van Gundy’s squad looks to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping a 99-93 home decision to the Celtics on Saturday. Detroit has won four straight games when coming off consecutive losses, while winning three of their past four games away from the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Since winning four in a row earlier this month, the Knicks (14-18 SU, 18-14 ATS) have gone backwards of late with four consecutive defeats. New York dropped all three games on its recent road trip, capped off by a 100-91 setback at Boston on Sunday as 8½-point underdogs. Derek Fisher’s club has won four of their last six games at Madison Square Garden, but is 0-3 SU/ATS in their last three tries as a home underdog. The Knicks lost three of four meetings with the Pistons last season, including both matchups at the Garden.
Heat at Grizzlies
Miami (18-12 SU, 14-15-1 ATS) melted down in the second half of Monday’s 111-105 home loss to Brooklyn, blowing a 14-point halftime lead. The Heat shocked the Grizzlies with an 11-0 run in the final 90 seconds the last time these teams met at the American Airlines Arena earlier this month as Miami won, 100-97. Miami has won in each of its past two opportunities as a road underdog with no rest, beating Orlando and Atlanta in December. Erik Spoelstra’s team is facing a Western Conference squad on the highway for only the second time this season, knocking off the Wolves in early November, 96-84.
It’s been a very up and down month for Memphis (17-16 SU, 14-18-1 ATS), who are 7-8 in December with one game remaining. The Grizzlies cruised past the Lakers on Sunday night, 112-96 as each of the past four wins by Memphis have come by double-digits. Dave Joerger’s squad has won each of the previous four home meetings with the Heat since 2010, including a 103-87 triumph at FedEx Forum last December.
Bucks at Thunder
The road has been a tough place to find success for Milwaukee (12-19 SU, 15-16 ATS) this season, owning a 3-14 record away from BMO Harris Center. The most recent loss came last night at Dallas, as the Bucks fell to 3-3 ATS in the last six road contests. Milwaukee has lost six of seven away games against Western Conference competition with the only victory coming at Phoenix on December 20 as 7½-point underdogs, 101-95. The Bucks have dropped each of their past two visits to Chesapeake Energy Arena, losing each time by double-digits.
Oklahoma City (21-10 SU, 13-18 ATS) has compiled a 10-2 SU and 6-6 ATS record since losing consecutive games at Atlanta and Miami. Four of those ATS losses came as a favorite of nine points or more, as OKC owns a 5-4 ATS mark this season when laying double-digits. Billy Donovan’s team is coming off its second worst home defensive effort of the season in a 122-112 victory over Denver on Sunday, but the Thunder shot nearly 58% from the floor in the win.
Hawks at Rockets
Atlanta (20-13 SU, 16-16-1 ATS) had its six-game winning streak snapped in a 93-87 setback at Indiana on Monday. The Hawks were limited to below 100 points for the first time since a 100-88 home loss to Miami on December 14, as Mike Budenholtzer’s club was outscored 31-13 in the second quarter by the Pacers last night. Atlanta also cashed the ‘under’ for the first time in seven contests, as the Hawks have struggled with no rest on the road this season by posting an 0-3 SU/ATS record.
Consistency has been a hard thing to accomplish for Houston (16-16 SU, 13-19 ATS) this season, who has yet to get to two games above the .500 mark. The Rockets were tripped up at New Orleans on Saturday, 110-108, one night after stunning the Spurs as home underdogs on Christmas. Houston is rolling at home, winning seven straight games at the Toyota Center, while limiting its last four opponents to less than 100 points at home. The Rockets lost both meetings with the Hawks last season, including a 104-97 home defeat as five-point favorites.
Cavaliers at Nuggets
It wasn’t easy, but Cleveland (20-9 SU, 12-17 ATS) became the first team to 20 wins in the Eastern Conference by holding off Phoenix last night, 101-97 to end a two-game losing streak. The Cavaliers failed to cover as 9½-point road favorites, but Cleveland knocked down 17 three-pointers to win for the seventh time in nine games. Kyrie Irving will sit tonight after scoring 22 points against the Suns, but the Cavaliers’ point guard vows this will be the final game he will rest this season. David Blatt’s team has compiled a 1-3 SU/ATS record on the road with no rest this season, which includes a 105-76 loss at Portland earlier on this trip.
The Nuggets (12-19 SU, 14-16-1 ATS) have gone backwards since a three-game winning streak earlier this month by dropping five of their last six contests. Denver suffered a pair of double-digit road losses to San Antonio and Oklahoma City, but managed a cover as 16½-point underdogs in Sunday’s 10-point defeat to the Thunder. Mike Malone’s club has struggled as a home ‘dog recently, posting a 1-5 SU/ATS record in the last six tries when getting points at the Pepsi Center.
Bucks visit Thunder
By Sportsbook.ag
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (12-20) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (21-10)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Thunder -13.5
The Thunder will be looking to stay in the win column when they host the Bucks on Tuesday.
Milwaukee will be coming into this contest with a bit of fatigue after facing the Mavericks in Dallas on Monday night. Prior to facing the Mavericks, the Bucks had won two of their past three games and they had also covered in three of their past four. Now they have lost two straight heading into Tuesday. The Thunder, meanwhile, defeated the Nuggets 122-112 as 17-point favorites on Sunday.
Oklahoma City has been on fire recently, winning four of its past five and 10 of its past 12 as well. The Thunder have gotten the best of the Bucks recently, winning-and-covered in three of the past four meetings with them. Oklahoma City has covered in two straight victories against Milwaukee at home as well. One trend that is interesting when looking at this matchup is that the Bucks are 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS when facing opponents from the Northwest division this season. PG Greivis Vasquez (Ankle) is out for the next few weeks for the Bucks and SG Dion Waiters (Arm) is probable for the Thunder.
The Bucks have played well against some of the league’s best this season, as evidenced by their play against the Golden State Warriors. Milwaukee defeated the Warriors 108-95, giving the team its first loss of the season. The Bucks then went into Golden State and lost 121-112, but were in that game for a majority of the contest.
One thing that bodes well for the Bucks heading into this one is that PG Michael Carter-Williams (11.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG) played well against Steph Curry in those contests. He averaged 20.5 PPG and 3.0 SPG in those games and will need to play some similarly solid basketball against Russell Westbrook on Tuesday.
SG Khris Middleton (15.2 PPG, 3.5 APG, 3.4 RPG. 1.2 SPG) will also need to play well in this one. He has caught fire recently, scoring 20 or more points in three straight games heading into the meeting with Dallas. He had 15 against Dallas, but was 0-for-3 from the outside. If he can add a scoring punch on the perimeter then the Bucks should be able to hang with the Thunder in this one.
The Thunder won a high-scoring affair with the Nuggets on Sunday and PG Russell Westbrook was excellent in that game. Westbrook played 38 minutes and had 30 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds and a steal in the game. It followed up a meeting with the Bulls where he had 26 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals. Michael Carter-Williams has length, but Westbrook’s strength and athleticism should give him enough to have plenty of success on Tuesday.
SF Kevin Durant (26.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.3 BPG) has been no slouch for the Thunder lately either. He is averaging 27.5 PPG, 8.5 APG and 7.0 RPG over the past two contests and is 12-for-42 from the field in those games. He will need to continue to shoot the ball well moving forward for his team and that should not be a problem as long as he stays healthy.