NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Chicago lost its last three games, all on road; they’re 5-8 vs spread in last 13 games overall. Five of their last seven games went over total. Toronto lost 10 of last 14 games; they’re 2-5 vs spread in last seven home games. Five of their last seven games stayed under. Bulls won/covered their last ten games with Toronto, winning last five played here (5-0 vs spread). Nine of the ten games went over the total.
Cavaliers won five of their last six games; they’re 4-6 in last 10 road games, 3-1 in last four. Last six series games went over total. Timberwolves lost five of last seven games; they’re 3-6 vs spread in last nine home games. Last 11 Minnesota games went over total. Cleveland won its last five games with Minnesota (4-1 vs spread); five of last six series games went over total. Cavaliers won by 16-26 points in last two visits to Twin Cities.
Sacramento won eight of its last nine games with the Lakers, winning/covering last three series games here; last four series games stayed under the total. Kings won four of last five games; this is their first road game this month. Five of their last seven games stayed under. Los Angeles split its last six games; they’re 5-3 in last eight home games. LA covered seven of its last eight games. Five of their last six games went over.
Armadillosports.com
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors
Two teams playing terrible basketball at both ends of the court get it on at the United Center in Chicago when Bulls host the Raptors.
Bulls on a three game skid have lost seven of twelve netting 104.9 per 100 possessions while surendering 108.0 in defensive efficiency metrics. The Raptors losing two straight have a 4-10 slide going scoring 105.0 in offensive efficiency metrics, allowing opponents 107.7 per 100 possessions.
Niether team is a peg to hang your hopes on but there is an eye-opening betting number worth considering. Chicago has had Toronto's number. In the past ten meetings Bulls have a perfect 10-0 straight-up and against the spread record vs Raptors including 5-0 SU/ATS on United Center hardwood.
Taking that into account, there are still two more facts that leans towards Chicago. The Bulls have a habit of making a statement at home next time they hit the court following a 15 or more point loss. They're 7-1 against the betting line. Additionally, Bulls are 6-3 ATS in front of the home audience off a loss facing a team suffering the same fate its previous game.
Tuesday's Tip Sheet
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Game of the Night – Cavaliers (-4, 218½) at Timberwolves
Cleveland (37-16 SU, 24-27-2 ATS) has bounced back nicely since suffered a three-game skid towards the end of January. The Cavaliers have won seven of their last nine contests, while covering six times in this stretch to create slight separation from the Celtics, who are breathing down Cleveland’s neck atop the Eastern Conference.
Tyronn Lue’s squad rebounded from last Thursday’s setback at Oklahoma City by outlasting Denver, 125-109 as 11½-point home favorites on Saturday. The Cavaliers knocked down 15-of-30 attempts from three-point range, while Kyrie Irving and LeBron James each posted 27 points to grab their fourth straight home victory. However, Kevin Love will not face his former team on Tuesday as the Cavaliers’ forward went through surgery on his left knee and is out for the next six weeks.
Minnesota (21-34 SU, 24-31 ATS) concludes a six-game homestand looking for consecutive victories after blowing out Chicago on Sunday, 117-89. The undermanned Bulls fell behind by 17 points after one quarter and never recovered as Minnesota pulled off the season sweep of Chicago thanks to 27 points from Andrew Wiggins. The Wolves scorched the Bulls for 54% shooting from the floor as the defense stepped up after allowing 122 points in Friday’s setback to the Pelicans.
Tom Thibodeau’s club is riding a nine-game OVER streak, including seven straight OVERS at Target Center. The Wolves have slumped to a 3-9 ATS mark in the last 12 games overall, but have covered seven consecutive contests in the role of a home underdog (4-3 SU).
Cleveland has captured each of the past five meetings with Minnesota dating back to December 2014, including a 125-97 blowout at Quicken Loans Arena on February 1. The Cavaliers easily cashed as short 6½-point favorites, while limiting the Wolves to 37 second half points. James led Cleveland with 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns posted a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Raptors (-7, 205½) at Bulls
Chicago (26-29 SU, 26-29 ATS) faces the top two teams in the Atlantic division (Toronto and Boston) prior to a much-needed break. The Bulls played without its stars in Sunday’s humiliating 28-point blowout at Minnesota as Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade each sat out due to injury. Chicago’s six-game road swing started with promise by going 2-1 with victories at Oklahoma City and Sacramento in the underdog role, but fell flat in the final three losses as the offense failed to post more than 97 points.
Toronto (32-23 SU, 31-23-1 ATS) looks to put a halt to a two-game skid, coming off close losses to Minnesota and Detroit. The Raptors melted down in Sunday’s 102-101 home setback to the Pistons as 6½-point favorites, blowing a 16-point fourth quarter lead to drop its third home game in the last month by two points or less. Dwane Casey’s team has struggled on the road since late December by posting a 3-10 SU and 5-8 ATS record with two of those victories coming at Brooklyn, who owns a 9-46 record.
The Bulls erased a 19-point deficit the last time these teams hooked up at the United Center on January 8 as Chicago shocked Toronto in overtime, 123-118. Butler posted a game-high 42 points, nearly one year to the day he torched Toronto for 42 points at the Air Canada Center. Each team knocked down 36 free throws as Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined to shoot 27-of-31 from the charity stripe for the Raptors.
Chicago has won and covered 10 consecutive meetings with Toronto since February 2014, while the OVER cashed nine times in this span. However, the Bulls will likely be without Butler for the fifth time in the last six games with a heel injury.
Kings at Lakers (-1½, 217)
Two teams that are sitting outside the playoff race in the Western Conference meet up at Staples Center for their second-to-last game prior to the All-Star break. Sacramento (23-32 SU, 28-25-2 ATS) closed out a six-game homestand in impressive fashion by winning three consecutive games, capped off by Sunday’s 105-99 triumph as four-point favorites over New Orleans. DeMarcus Cousins paced the Kings with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Darren Collison chipped in 20 points to help Sacramento snap a four-game ATS skid in the favorite role.
The Lakers (19-37 SU, 27-28-1 ATS) return home from their Grammy road trip off a convincing 122-114 victory at Milwaukee as Los Angeles built a 21-point halftime lead. L.A. dropped 47 points in the opening quarter to improve to 8-2 ATS the last 10 games, but the Lakers are trying to win consecutive games for the second time since mid-November.
These teams split a pair of meetings at Golden 1 Center in the first two months of the season as the Kings won the last matchup, 116-92 as 8½-point favorites on December 12. Sacramento has dominated this series recently by capturing eight of the past nine matchups, including three straight victories at Staples Center. The Lakers own a 3-5 ATS mark as a favorite this season, but have won their last two in this role last month against Orlando and Miami.
Kings, Lakers meet in Los Angeles
By: Sam Chase
StatFox.com
The streaking Kings continue their push for the eight seed in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
The Sacramento Kings are on a three-game winning streak and have won four of their last five games, with their most recent victory coming as a 105-99 triumph over the Pelicans at home on Sunday night (SAC -4). The Kings are 23-32 after their recent surge (27-26-2 ATS), only two games back of playoff positioning in the Western Conference. With recent wins against teams like Golden State and Boston, expect the ambitious management in Sacramento to pull out all the stops for a playoff push. They’ll take the court again on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, where they’ll be taking on an old rival in the Lakers. Los Angeles has won two of its last three, including its most recent game, a 122-114 win in Milwaukee (LAL +5.5). Road wins such as that are surprising for a Lakers team that has the second-worst record in the West and the NBA at 19-37 (27-28-1 ATS), and only 7-24 on the road. Over the last five seasons, teams that have allowed at least 105 points in three straight games are 79-42 ATS (LAL) against opponents coming off a win of six points or fewer. In the same timeframe, though, teams with a point differential in the range of +/- 3 PPG (SAC) are 69-39 ATS against teams with a differential between -3 and -7 when the game is played 42+ games into the season and the line is between +3 and -3. Lakers PG D’Angelo Russell is expected to play Tuesday night. SF Omri Casspi and SG Garrett Temple are out for the Kings, while PG Ty Lawson is questionable with a hamstring ailment.
The Kings rank in the middle of the league in offensive efficiency rating, as they are 15th in averaging 108.2 points per 100 possessions. They’re 23rd with a DEFF of 110.7 points allowed per 100 possessions. They average 94.5 possessions per 48 minutes, representing the fifth-slowest pace in the NBA. An otherwise-barren Sacramento roster has one of the NBA’s best players in C DeMarcus Cousins (27.8 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.3 BPG). He’s sixth in the league in scoring and ninth in player efficiency rating (26.21). He’s second among NBA centers in assists and second in the same group in steals. He also leads the league by a mile with 19 technical fouls. The Kings took a significant hit recently when they lost SF Rudy Gay (18.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG). With him out, veteran SF Matt Barnes (7.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG) has taken on increased minutes—he’s averaging 11.2 PPG in February. Lawson (9.0 PPG, 4.5 APG, 1.1 SPG) is the team’s second point guard behind Darren Collison (13.7 PPG, 4.1 APG, 1.1 SPG). Collison has played over 40 minutes in each of the two games that Lawson has missed and taken 16 shots in each, a significant increase on his average workload for the season. He has scored 20 points in three straight games and is averaging 19.8 in February. SG Ben McLemore (6.4 PPG) has recently shown flashes of the talent that made him a lottery pick, as he is averaging 16.6 PPG in his last three games.
The Lakers play the fifth-fastest pace in the NBA at 98.2 possessions per 48 minutes. Unfortunately, they have neither the offensive (106.6 OEFF, 21st in NBA) nor the defensive (112.6 points DEFF, 29th in NBA) abilities to take advantage of their youth and athleticism. Second-year PG D’Angelo Russell (14.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG) is considered the centerpiece of the rebuilding effort in Los Angeles, but he still has a long way to go. He is not “qualified” to rank among field goal percentage leaders, but he would be last (among those qualified) if he did at 39.5% shooting from the field. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.86 is 39th among qualified point guards, which is, well, not so good. The brightest spot for the team this year has been the play of SG Lou Williams (18.4 PPG, 3.1 APG, 1.1 SPG), who is scoring at a career-high level and having his best shooting season (44%) in seven years. SG Nick Young (14.0 PPG) and PG Jordan Clarkson (13.7 PPG, 1.2 SPG) round out the team’s quadfecta of leading scorers, all of who operate from the perimeter. Aside from Russell, none may fit into the team’s future plans. More interesting is the development of players like SF Brandon Ingram (8.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG), PF Julius Randle (13.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.6 APG) and PF Larry Nance Jr. (7.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG). Nance has impressed lately with Randle out of the lineup, but will likely see fewer minutes now that he has returned. Ingram is an even bigger project than Russell at this point, and doesn’t project to be an impact player until next season, at the very earliest. SF Luol Deng (7.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG) provides a stabilizing veteran presence.
Tuesday’s NBA Game of the Day: Raptors at Bulls
By Covers,com
Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls (+4.5, 207)
The Chicago Bulls are limping along without the services of their two highest scorers and hope to get some of their injured players back when they try to snap a three-game slide against the visiting Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The Raptors could use an easy mark after blowing a 16-point fourth-quarter lead in Sunday's 102-101 home loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Bulls All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler (heel) sat out four of the last five games while future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade (wrist, illness) missed two of the last three and role players Nikola Mirotic (back spasms) and Paul Zipser (ankle) are day-to-day as well. The talent drain led Chicago to drop its last three games by an average of 25.7 points, capped by Sunday's 117-89 loss at Minnesota that finished out a 2-4 road trip. The Raptors are struggling into the All-Star break as well with losses in 10 of the last 14 games to fall from second in the Eastern Conference to fourth. "Yeah, I am starting to get worried, yeah," All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters. "It’s not going the way it’s supposed to be going, things aren’t changing, so I’m starting to get worried."
LINE HISTORY: The struggling Raptors opened as 6.5-point road favorites over the depleted Bulls and that number was quickly bet up to 7 immediately after release. The total hit the board at 205.5 and has been steady thus far. Afternoon news that Jimmy Butler would likely be in the lineup for Chicago moved the spread down to +4.5 and the total jumped to 207. Check out the complete line history here.
INJURY REPORT:
Raptors - PF P. Patterson (Questionable, knee).
Bulls - SF P. Zipser (Doubtful, ankle), SG D. Wade (Out, wrist), SF J. Butler (Probable, heel), PF N. Mirotic (Doubtful, back).
POWER RANKINGS: Clippers (-8.6) - Jazz (-3.2) + home court (-3) = Raptors -2.4
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (32-23 SU, 31-23-1 ATS, 32-23 O/U): It was less than a month ago that Toronto was putting pressure on the Cleveland Cavaliers atop the East, but the recent slump and Sunday's blown lead are pushing the team back and dragging the spirits down. "We can (get back to our previous form) but it has to be quick," All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters. "Like I said, 27 more games and that's going to fly by. We haven't got much time. When it comes to practice time, we have to be able to take things on the go and run with it." DeRozan is averaging 29 points in three games since returning from an ankle injury but missed the potential game-winning jumper in the final seconds on Sunday.
ABOUT THE BULLS (26-29 SU, 26-29 ATS, 21-33-1 O/U): Wade fell hard on both wrists in Friday's 115-97 loss at Phoenix and had X-rays come back negative before sitting out Sunday but is still feeling pain. "It ain't right," Wade told reporters of his swollen right wrist prior to Sunday's loss. "I can't bend it either way. If I feel like I need an MRI when I get back to (Chicago), then I'll do that, more so the hand than the wrist, I think." Butler returned from a three-game absence on Friday and scored 20 points in 30 minutes but was out again on Sunday after feeling pain in the heel again and considers himself day-to-day.
TRENDS:
* Raptors are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
* Bulls are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Under is 6-1 in Raptors last 7 road games.
* Over is 8-0 in Bulls last 8 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
* Over is 8-0 in the last 8 meetings.
* Raptors are 1-10 ATS in the last 11 meetings.
CONSENSUS: 63 percent of users are siding with the home underdog Chicago Bulls and Over is picking up 68 percent of the totals wagers.