NBA Knowledge
Tuesday's hot teams
-- Spurs won 18 of last 20 games (14-7AF).
-- Miami won six of its last eight games (2-0HU).
-- Celtics won eight of last nine games (6-2 last 8AF).
-- Utah won its last six games (1-7 last 8AU).
-- Warriors won their last nine games (3-5 last 8HF).
Cold teams
-- Knicks lost nine of last ten games, fired their coach yesterday (9-3 last 12HF).
-- Washington lost six of its last eight games (6-2 last 8AU).
-- Bucks lost seven of their last eight games (9-6HU).
-- Mavericks lost three of last four games (7-2 last 9HF).
-- Rockets lost four of their last six games (4-9AU).
Series records
-- Spurs won seven of last eight games with Miami.
-- Knicks lost seven of last eight games with Washington.
-- Celtics won four of last six games with Milwaukee.
-- Jazz lost nine of last ten games with Dallas.
-- Warriors won nine of last ten games with Houston.
Totals
-- Over is 7-1-1 in last nine San Antonio games.
-- Eight of last ten New York games stayed under.
-- Over is 11-5 in last sixteen Boston-Milwaukee games.
-- Six of last seven Utah games stayed under total.
-- Over is 14-3 in Houston's last seventeen games.
Back/backs
-- None
Armadillosports.com
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Houston at Golden State
The real estate agents' mantra location, location, location fits Golden State to a T. Warriors tough nuts to crack on home court are undefeated this season at 23-0 outscoring visitors by 15.8 points/game with a 13-10 record against the betting line. Looking furthur back the Warriors have won an amazing 40 consecutive regular season games by a margin of 14.6 per/contest in front of the friendly crowd at Oracle Area posting a 22-18 record at the betting window.
Rockets not a peg to hang your hat on when running the hardwood in enemy territory are 11-13 (10-14 ATS) away from Houston dropping 105.4 per/game while surrendering a whopping 107.7 points/game to their host.
A betting nugget to ponder for this Western-Conference clash up in Oakland. Warriors 2-0 SU/ATS this campaign vs Rockets are now 11-1 (9-3 ATS) last twelve encounters including 4-1 (2-3 ATS) in the Conference Finals last year.
Inside the Paint - Tuesday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
After watching 14 of the 20 teams in action yesterday put up triple digits, I believe we can put aside the Super Bowl hangover theories. Those offensive efforts helped the ‘over’ go 6-3 and some bettors may’ve earned a push on the Bulls-Hornets matchup.
Favorites began the week with a 6-4 straight up record but underdogs ruled the betting counter with a 6-4 mark against the spread. It hasn’t happened often lately, but three of those ‘dogs actually managed to hold on for covers in overtime. The Magic’s 117-110 win over the Hawks as 8½-point road ‘dogs was the biggest upset of the night and that victory helped Scott Skiles’ team complete a home-and-home sweep over Atlanta.
While the ‘dogs came out on top, we did see a pair of contenders in the Cavaliers and Thunder rip off double-digit wins and covers. Cleveland was never in doubt against Sacramento but Oklahoma City needed a late surge to topple Phoenix on the road.
Only five games on Tuesday, which includes a double-header on TNT.
San Antonio (43-8 SU, 32-18-1 ATS) at Miami (26-25-1 ATS)
The Spurs and Heat renew their rivalry in the TNT opener and San Antonio has been installed as a 6½-point road favorite. The Spurs have won six of the last seven meetings against the Heat, which includes four wins in the 2014 NBA Finals and a sweep in last year's regular season.
Despite dealing with injuries to Tim Duncan (knee) and Manu Ginobili (groin), San Antonio continues to run through the NBA. They’ve only lost twice in 2016 and those setbacks weren’t exactly surprising to the Warriors and Cavaliers.
All eight of San Antonio’s losses have come on the road but a 15-8 SU and 14-9 mark as a visitor is very solid. Miami has been up and down at home (16-10 SU, 12-13-1 ATS) and enters this game off a 100-93 loss to the L.A. Clippers this past Sunday.
The setback to the Clippers was the first time this season that the Heat lost at home as underdogs. In the first two situations, they captured victories over the Hawks and Thunder. Since this is the last game for the Heat before the All-Star break, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the club play with a sense of urgency.
Meanwhile, San Antonio heads to Orlando on Wednesday and you just never know what kind of roster head coach Gregg Popovich will roll out Tuesday.
Total bettors are starting at a number of 193 ½ and could be scratching their heads. San Antonio has been a great ‘over’ team lately, 11-5-1 in 2016. However, the Heat have the best ‘under’ (35-17) mark in the NBA which includes a 17-9 mark at American Airlines Arena.
Washington (22-27 SU, 25-24 ATS) at New York (23-31 SU, 29-25 ATS)
The Kurt Rambis led Knicks will look to get the team on the right track Tuesday as 1½-point favorite over the Wizards. I was a little surprised New York got rid of Derek Fisher but he raised the bar early in the season and when you lose nine of 10 games, sometimes management jumps the gun.
Fisher wasn’t the problem, rather his backcourt. They can’t guard anybody and I’d expect John Wall and company to run past them on Tuesday. The only issue you have with backing the Wizards is that they play no defense (105.4 points per game) at all and that’s been evident lately.
You can make an argument that Washington should can head coach Randy Wittman with his club underachieving this season. They’ve gone 3-8 in their last 11 and those wins came against a short-handed Heat squad, a Rockets team that plays no defense and the 76ers.
This total (207) is a tad low for a Washington game but New York can’t score lately. It’s been held under 100 points in eight of its last 10 games and four times under 90. Those anemic numbers have helped the ‘under’ go 8-2 in the last 10.
The Knicks defeated the Wizards 117-100 on Oct. 31 as seven-point road underdogs, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to Washington. The Wizards have won all of their last three trips to Madison Square Garden.
Boston (31-22 SU, 30-22 ATS) at Milwaukee (20-32 SU, 26-26 ATS)
The Celtics are starting to be labeled as one of the few teams in the East that has a shot to beat Cleveland and they should be since they just knocked off the Cavaliers 104-103 on the road last Friday. Including that win, Brad Stevens has watched his Boston squad go 9-1 in its last 10 and bettors have seen them cover eight of those games. Outside of the Cavs, the other eight victories weren’t against quality opponents but wins are wins.
The oddsmakers expect Boston to keep rolling along Tuesday at Milwaukee, listing the Bucks as four-point home underdogs. Jason Kidd’s team is in a downward spiral right now, losers in five straight and seven of the last eight. I usually stay away from teams playing in their first home game after a roadie of three or more games but Milwaukee hasn’t played since Saturday and you’d like to believe a good effort and game plan should be intact.
These teams played in mid-November at Milwaukee and Boston captured a 99-83 win as a two-point road favorite. The Bucks are a respectable 7-6 SU and ATS as home ‘dogs this season while the ‘over’ has gone 10-3 in these games. With that being said, the total (208) could be a good luck to the high side in this spot.
Utah (25-25 SU, 26-23-1 ATS) at Dallas (29-25 SU, 30-24 ATS)
This is a very tough game to handicap and based on the opening number (Dallas -1), the oddsmakers are telling you it’s a toss-up. Utah has been much better of late and enters this game with a six-game winning streak (4-2 ATS), five of those wins coming at home.
The Jazz dealt with some injury issues earlier this season and are very respected in the Vegas power ratings, largely because they play defense (95.9 PPG) on a nightly basis and they have the second slowest pace (80.5 FG attempts per game). It’s easier said than done, but if you do those two things and don’t turn the ball over, you’ll be competitive in the NBA every night. Make a note that the Jazz are the best 'under' (30-20) team in the NBA after Miami.
Dallas snapped a three-game skid on Saturday with a 114-110 overtime win over Memphis as a five-point underdog. Despite going 4-6 in their last 10 games, the Mavericks are still sitting in the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference. For what it’s worth, the top 4 spots in the West are locked up and you have five teams playing for the final four which includes this pair.
The home team has won nine of the last 10 meetings in this series and that includes a 102-93 win by Dallas over Utah as a 1½-point home favorite on Nov. 20.
Houston (27-26 SU, 22-31 ATS) at Golden State (46-4 SU, 29-18-3 ATS)
The TNT late-night game features a rematch of last year’s Western Conference finals between the Rockets and Warriors. No overnight number was posted due to injury status of James Harden (hand) for Houston but I’d expect him to go since he rarely misses games, and that's probably the most underrated part of his game.
Even if he goes, it’s hard to imagine the Rockets winning this game since their road mark (11-13 SU, 10-14 ATS) has been less than stellar. Amongst teams currently in the playoffs, Houston has the worst point differential (-1.4) and its defense (107.5 PPG) has been horrible on the road. The Rockets haven’t played since they were embarrassed 96-79 at home last Saturday to Portland. The 79 points scored was the second-lowest mark posted by Houston this season.
Golden State has gone 23-0 SU and 11-10-1 ATS at home, and the club is a respectable 8-8 ATS when installed as a double-digit home favorite. The issue for the Warriors has been their ability to go through motions and put teams away for all four quarters. It happened this past Saturday at home as Oklahoma City rallied from a 20-point deficit before Golden State held on for a 116-108 win. You could argue for a possible letdown from the Warriors and the aformentioned Super Bowl hangover might be in play since the game was in their backyard (Santa Clara).
Both Houston (30-23) and Golden State (29-21) have been sound ‘over’ bets this season. However, five of the last eight meetings between the pair have gone ‘under’ and this number will likely be inflated tonight by the betting public due to the national television coverage.
Knicks, Wizards meet at MSG
By Sportsbook.ag
WASHINGTON WIZARDS (22-27) at NEW YORK KNICKS (23-31)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Knicks -1.5, Total 207
The Knicks will be looking to prevent a six-game losing streak when they host the Wizards on Tuesday.
Washington is coming off of a 108-104 loss as a five-point road underdog against Charlotte on Saturday. The Wizards have not been playing very well recently, losing three of their past four games and eight of their past 10. They do, however, get to face a Knicks team that has been even worse over the past few weeks. New York has lost five straight games and the team has shot less than 40% from the field in three of those contests.
The Knicks are not getting it done offensively and it caused Phil Jackson to fire Derek Fisher on Monday. Kurt Rambis will now step in as the head coach for New York and he’ll hope to get this team back into the running for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks and Wizards have met just once this season and New York won that game 117-110 in Washington. The Wizards are, however, 7-3 SU in hits head-to-head series dating back to Mar. 1, 2013.
One trend favoring the Wizards in this one is that the team is 13-9 ATS when playing on the road this season.
Washington is also 16-10 ATS when coming off of a SU loss this season.
The Knicks, meanwhile, are 19-15 ATS versus Eastern Conference opponents this season.
PFs Kris Humphries (Knee) and Nene (Calf) are questionable for the Wizards in this game and PF Lance Thomas (Concussion) is questionable for the Knicks.
The Wizards are coming off of a tough loss against the Hornets, but they now face a Knicks team that is in shambles.
PG John Wall (20.0 PPG, 9.8 APG, 4.5 RPG, 2.1 SPG) is going to have to be extremely aggressive in this one. The Knicks do not have guards with the speed to cover him and he will need to go to the basket as often as he possibly can on Tuesday. He scored 25 points when these teams met in October and has been on fire lately, averaging 23.6 PPG and 10.2 RPG over the past five contests. Wall is shooting 42.9% from the outside in that span and that just might open up even more room for him to drive moving forward.
Another guy that will need to have a big game against the Knicks is SG Bradley Beal (18.4 PPG). Beal has been playing very well recently, averaging 22.0 PPG over the past two contests. He is 18-for-29 in those games and if he can continue to shoot the ball this well then it’s only a matter of time before Washington turns things around. Beal should be feeling confident coming into this game, as he had 26 points against the Knicks in October.
C Marcin Gortat (13.5 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.3 BPG) will also have to play well for Washington. He had just nine points and five boards the last time he faced New York and needs to find a way to effect the game around the basket on Tuesday.
The Knicks should come out with a ton of energy on Tuesday, as Phil Jackson has shown that he will not tolerate the way things have been going for New York.
One guy that must come out and play a good game is SF Carmelo Anthony (21.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 4.2 APG). Anthony is shooting just 32.4% from the floor and 13.3% from the outside over the past four games and he needs to start shooting better. Anthony is the leader of this team and the Knicks will not go anywhere if he is going to continue to shoot this poorly.
PF Kristaps Porzingis (13.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.9 BPG) could be in for a big game against the Wizards on Tuesday. Porzingis is averaging 19.0 PPG, 11.5 RPG and 4.0 BPG over the past two contests and the Wizards are not going to have much of a match for him at the power forward position in this game. They usually go small and if that’s the case then Porzingis will be able to shoot over whoever guards him in this one.
PG Jose Calderon (7.6 PPG, 4.0 APG, 1.0 SPG) is going to need to play some solid defense in this game and that is not something he is known for. Calderon will spend a lot of time guarding John Wall and if he does not do a decent job of guarding him then it’s very likely that the Wizards will win this game in New York.