NBA Knowledge
Wednesday's hot teams
-- Toronto won its last five games (3-8 last 11HF).
-- Celtics won three of their last four games (1-4 last five AU).
-- Cleveland won eight of last ten games but lost to
-- Golden State by 34 in last game (4-12-1AF).
-- Knicks won six of their last nine games (7-2 last nine HF).
-- Houston won six of its last eight games (6-3 last nine HF).
-- Warriors split last four games, are 8-2 in last 10 (3-4 last 7AF).
-- Thunder won their last five games (4-0 last four HF).
-- Kings won three of last four road games (0-1AF).
-- Hawks won four of their last six games (2-6 last 8AF).
-- Portland won four of its last five games (1-3 last four HU).
Cold teams
-- Orlando lost seven of last eight games (5-2 last sevenHF).
-- 76ers lost five of last six games, but covered the last four.
-- Miami lost five of its last six games (4-6AU).
-- Wizards lost their last five home games (4-7HF).
-- Nets lost eight of last nine games (2-9 last 11HU).
-- Utah lost three of its last four games (1-5 last 6AU).
-- Pistons lost three of last four games (3-6 last nine AU).
-- Chicago lost four of its last six games (1-0HU).
-- Hornets lost eight of their last ten games (7-6AU).
-- Minnesota lost nine of its last ten games (2-6 last 8AU).
-- Dallas lost four of last seven games (8-5HF).
-- Lakers lost seven of last eight games (4-3HU).
Series records
-- 76ers lost five of last six games against Orlando.
-- Wizards won four of last five games with Miami.
-- Raptors won five of last seven games with Boston.
-- Nets lost five of last six games with Cleveland.
-- Knicks lost their last three games with Utah.
-- Rockets won eight of last ten games with Detroit.
-- Warriors-Bulls split their last ten games.
-- Thunder won last 10 games (9-1 vs spread) with Charlotte.
-- Dallas won its last four games with Minnesota.
-- Lakers lost their last five games with Sacramento.
-- Hawks won their last three games with Portland.
Totals
-- Six of last eight Philly games went over the total.
-- Six of last seven Miami-Washington games went over.
-- Five of last six Boston games went over the total.
-- Three of last four Brooklyn games went over total.
-- Five of last six New York games went over the total.
-- Six of last seven Houston games went over the total.
-- Seven of last nine Chicago games went over total.
-- Four of last five Thunder games stayed under total.
-- Six of last eight Dallas games stayed under total.
-- Four of last five Sacramento-Laker games went over.
-- Under is 3-1 in last four games for both Hawks, Blazers.
Back/backs
-- Miami is 3-3 vs spread if it played the night before.
-- Oklahoma City is 3-4 vs spread if it played night before.
-- Minnesota is 3-3 vs spread if it played the night before.
Armadillosports.com
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets
King James and his Cavaliers taken behind the woodshed spanked 132-98 by the Warriors the oddsmakers are expecting Cleveland to make a statement when they take on Nets pegging Caves -12.5 point road favorites. Cleveland may have a chip on their shoulder but you bet Caves at some risk. Cleveland has not responded after a 20 or more point loss since the return of LeBron (1-3 ATS) and they're ridding a horendous 1-10-1 ATS skid on the road vs a team with a losing home record.
Game of the Day: Golden State Warriors at Chicago Bulls
Covers.com
Golden State Warriors at Chicago Bulls (-6, 215)
Golden State was disappointed with its performance in a loss at Detroit to begin the trip on Saturday, during which it shot a season-low 36 percent from the field. The Warriors picked things up on the offensive end and made a statement with a 132-98 thrashing of the Cleveland Cavaliers in an NBA Finals rematch on Monday. The Bulls are adjusting to life without Joakim Noah, and Pau Gasol tried to pick up the slack in the middle all by himself with 31 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in a 111-101 win at Detroit on Monday. Chicago shot 52.4 percent from the floor against that same Pistons defense that proved to be so much trouble for Golden State on Saturday.
LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as 5-point road favorites with the total at 215 points. Early action has bet them up to -6. with the total at 215.5.
POWER RANKINGS: Warriors (-17) - Bulls (-4.4) - Home Court (-3.0) = Warriors -9.6
WHAT SHARPS SAY: "Golden State comes in off their dominating 34-point win in Cleveland on Monday night. The Warriors will be hard-pressed to match that performance, and more importantly, the intensity they brought into that game. This is a natural letdown spot for Golden State. Chicago gave the Warriors all they wanted back in November, so the Bulls can certainly play with Golden State, especially on their home court."
WHAT BOOKS SAY: "With Golden State steamrolling the Cavs Monday night, and the Bulls losing four of their last six games, it's likely that no opening line will be too big for the public on Golden State tomorrow night."
INJURY REPORT:
Warriors - James Michael McAdoo F (Questionable: Toe)
Bulls - Kirk Hinrich G (Questionable: Quadricep), Joakim Noah F (Out: Shoulder)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (38-4, 25-16 ATS): Golden State carried a 70-44 lead into the half at Cleveland and kept pulling away in the third quarter as Stephen Curry led the way with 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting. That’s who we know we can be,” Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton told reporters. “As a coaching staff, we are always trying to get our players to play at that level, and they were absolutely phenomenal. … We can’t really ask to play much better than that.” The Warriors will have to keep up that level of play as they close out the three-game trip against Chicago and head home to host Indiana, San Antonio and Dallas.
ABOUT THE BULLS (24-16, 16-24 ATS): Noah had been demoted to a reserve role and fought through various injuries before having his season likely come to an end over the weekend, but the players are still missing him as a leader. “We need him for sure, but we’re professionals,” guard Derrick Rose told reporters. “We know that once someone goes out, someone else has to step in and do their job. And we believe in everybody on this team, and we’re going to see how far this can go.” Rose is one of those players that needs to step up, and his 20 points on Monday marked the second time this month that he reached that plateau.
TRENDS:
- Home team 19-7-1 ATS in last 27 meetings.
- Under 8-3 in last 11 meetings in Chicago.
- Over 5-2 in the last seven meetings.
- Warriors 1-4-1 ATS in last six meetings in Chicago.
CONSENSUS: 82 percent of users are on Golden State. 51 percent is on the Over.
Wednesday's Tip Sheet
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Heat at Wizards
The road team has dominated each of the first two meetings between these two Southeast division rivals. Miami (23-19 SU, 20-21-1 ATS) begins a five-game road trip after losing at home to Milwaukee last night following a six-game West Coast swing. The Heat are still playing without point guards Goran Dragic and Beno Udrih, as Miami snapped a four-game losing streak at the Verizon Center earlier this month with a 97-75 victory. Miami and Washington have cashed the ‘over’ in six of the last seven matchups with the lone ‘under’ coming in the past meeting.
The Wizards (19-21 SU, 21-19 ATS) continue a five-game homestand as Randy Wittman’s club has dropped the first two contests to the Celtics and Blazers. Washington erased a 17-point deficit against Portland on Monday, but the Blazers pulled away in the second half of a 108-98 victory as point guard John Wall was limited to nine points of 4-of-17 shooting. The Wizards dropped to 2-6 ATS in the last eight home games, but owns a 3-1 SU/ATS record against division foes at the Verizon Center.
Celtics at Raptors
Things are heating up north of the border for the Atlantic-leading Raptors (26-15 SU, 23-18 ATS), who have won five straight games. Toronto pulled away from Brooklyn in Monday’s 112-100 home victory to cash as 11½-point favorites to pick up their fourth cover during this current hot streak. Dwane Casey’s team has eclipsed the 106-point mark in each of the past three wins, while going ‘over’ the total in four of the last five games at the Air Canada Center. The Raptors cruised past the Celtics in their first meeting this season, beating Boston at TD Garden, 113-103 as two-point underdogs.
Boston (22-20 SU, 22-19-1 ATS) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end in Monday’s 118-113 overtime setback at Dallas. The Celtics continue to put up points by topping the 103-point mark in five straight contests, while cashing the ‘over’ four times in this span. Brad Stevens’ club owns a solid 6-3 ATS record in the role of a road underdog, as the Celtics are listed as an away ‘dog for the first time since a January 7 loss at Chicago.
Pistons at Rockets
The Pistons (22-19 SU, 22-18-1 ATS) play seven of their next nine games away from the Palace of Auburn Hills, while starting a four-game road swing at the Toyota Center. Following Saturday’s impressive effort in an 18-point victory over Golden State, Stan Van Gundy’s team fell apart in the second half of Monday’s 111-101 home setback to Chicago to drop their third game in four tries. The defense has been lit up in the last three losses, allowing at least 103 points each time, while Chicago shot 52% from the floor on Monday. The Pistons have struggled on the road of late by dropping four of their last five away from the Palace, while posting a 3-6 SU/ATS record on the highway against Western Conference foes.
Following a five-game winning streak, the Rockets (22-21 SU, 17-26 ATS) have lost two of their past three contests. Houston split a pair of games at Staples Center on Sunday and Monday, beating the Lakers followed by a 140-132 overtime setback to the Clippers as 5½-point underdogs. Dwight Howard put together one of the best games of his career for the Rockets by scoring 36 points and pulling down 26 rebounds, but Houston missed 19 free throws, while allowing the Clippers to knock down 22 three-pointers. The Rockets are playing with revenge after losing at Detroit in late November, 116-105, as the Pistons built a 23-point halftime lead and never looked back.
Warriors at Bulls
Golden State (38-4 SU, 25-16-1 ATS) didn’t mess around in its first trip back to Cleveland since capturing the NBA title last summer as the Warriors routed the Cavaliers on Monday, 132-98. The Warriors rebounded from their fourth loss of the season by dropping 70 first half points on Cleveland, while Stephen Curry drained seven three-pointers and scored 35 points. Golden State concludes a three-game road trip through the Midwest going for the season sweep of Chicago after beating the Bulls at Oracle Arena on November 20 by a 106-94 count as Derrick Rose sat for the Bulls due to injury.
Nine of the next 12 games for Chicago (24-16 SU, 16-24 ATS) come on the road, as the Bulls hope to take care of business at the United Center tonight. The Bulls have won 16 of 23 home contests, but have lost each of their last two games in the Windy City to the Wizards and Mavericks, while snapping a five-game ATS skid in Monday’s victory at Detroit. After starting the season on a strong ‘under’ run, Fred Hoiberg’s squad have cashed the ‘over’ in 10 of the past 13 games, including a 6-3 ‘over’ record in the last nine home contests.
Hawks at Blazers
The Hawks (25-17 SU, 21-20-1 ATS) venture west of the Central Time Zone for the first time this season as the Southeast division leaders start a four-game road trip in Portland. Atlanta is riding a modest two-game winning streak after beating Brooklyn and Orlando at home with ease, but Mike Budenholtzer’s team has dropped three of their last four games away from Philips Arena. The Hawks have won the last three meetings with the Blazers, including a 106-97 victory over a short-handed Portland squad in late December as the Blazers’ starting backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum sat out.
Portland (19-25 SU, 23-21 ATS) returns home after a 2-1 East Coast swing, capped off by a 108-98 triumph at Washington on Monday afternoon to cash as four-point underdogs. The Blazers have quietly won four of their last five games, with the only loss coming in this stretch at Philadelphia by 25 points. Terry Stotts’ club begins a seven-game homestand looking to creep back to .500 with five opponents coming to the Moda Center owning losing records in this stretch. The Blazers own a 5-5 ATS record as a home underdog this season, but they have knocked off the Cavaliers, Clippers, Thunder, and Pacers in this role.
Wednesday's Top Action
By Sportsbook.ag
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (38-4) at CHICAGO BULLS (24-16)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Golden State -5.5, Total 215
The Warriors will be looking to ride the momentum of a win over the Cavaliers when they face the Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday.
The Warriors faced the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Monday and absolutely embarrassed their opponent, winning 132-98 as 3.5-point point road underdogs. The victory by Golden State might have been the statement win of the season and the team will now look to defeat a struggling Bulls team.
Chicago is coming off of a 111-101 victory in Detroit on Monday, but the team has still lost four of its past six SU and five of its past six ATS. The Bulls must start playing better defense, as the team has allowed 100 or more points in five of the past six games. These two teams have met once this season, and the Warriors won that game 106-94 as 9.5-point home favorites on Nov. 20.
Over the past three seasons, Golden State is 3-2 SU and ATS in this head-to-head series. Chicago is, however, 13-4 SU and 10-6 ATS when facing Golden State at United Center since 1996. One thing favoring the Warriors in this game is that the Bulls are just 8-25 ATS off a road win over the past two seasons. Chicago is, however, an impressive 18-8 ATS after failing to cover in five or six of its previous seven games in that span.
PF James Michael McAdoo (Toe) is expected to miss this game for the Warriors and PG Kirk Hinrich (Quad) is questionable for the Bulls, who are without C Joakim Noah (Shoulder) and SF Mike Dunleavy (Back) indefinitely.
The Warriors are coming off a huge victory and PF Draymond Green (14.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.3 SPG) and PG Stephen Curry (30.0 PPG, 6.4 APG, 5.3 RPG, 2.1 SPG) led the way for Golden State. Green finished the game with 16 points, 10 assists, seven boards and two blocks in the contest, and he also played some excellent defense against LeBron James. Curry, meanwhile, poured in 35 points and is now averaging 33.6 PPG over the past five contests.
Green must continue to affect the game in all areas and Curry will just need to continue to knock down shots moving forward. Curry has a major mismatch at the point guard position against Derrick Rose, so he should be able to find a ton of success in this one.
Another guy who will be crucial in this game is C Andrew Bogut (5.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 BPG). Bogut will be guarding Pau Gasol in this contest and Gasol has been on fire for the Bulls recently. If the Warriors big man is not playing his usual brand of tough defense then it will be tough for Golden State to win this one on the road.
The Bulls have won two of their past three games, but they are still not playing the way they are capable of.
One thing that does look good for the team is the play of PG Derrick Rose (15.0 PPG, 4.8 APG). Over the past four games, Rose is averaging 17.5 PPG on 49.1% shooting from the field. This is the best he has shot all season and he seems to have a bounce in his step. He’ll need to play at a high level on Wednesday, as his matchup with Stephen Curry will come a long way in determining the outcome of this one.
SG Jimmy Butler (22.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.8 SPG) will also need to come to play in this one. Since scoring 53 points against the Sixers, Butler has combined to score just 20 points in his past two games. He’ll need to be a lot better on Wednesday and he should be able to do so, as he poured in 28 points with nine boards and seven assists the last time the Bulls faced this Warriors team.
C Pau Gasol (16.7 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.3 BPG) had 31 points, 12 boards, three assists and three blocks in the win over the Pistons on Monday. Gasol has been a monster for Chicago recently and will need to have a big game in this one. He had 14 points and 10 boards the last time he faced Golden State and should be able to play even better in this one.
ATLANTA HAWKS (25-17) at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (19-25)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Atlanta -1.5, Total: 209.5
The Hawks will be going for their third straight victory when they face the Blazers at Moda Center on Wednesday.
Atlanta has been playing well this past week, winning-and-covering in two straight games after defeating Orlando 98-81 as an eight-point home favorite. The Hawks outrebounded their opponents in each of their past two victories and it’ll be important that they do so against the Blazers on Wednesday.
Portland has been playing well also, winning 108-98 as a four-point underdog in Washington on Monday. The Blazers have now won-and-covered in four of their past five games and they’ve shot over 50% from the field in two of the past three.
When these teams met earlier in the season, the Hawks won 106-97 as 10.5-point favorites at home. Atlanta is 3-2 SU in this series over the past three seasons, but Portland is 3-2 ATS in those games.
Over the past two seasons, the Hawks are 18-7 ATS in January games. The Blazers, meanwhile, are 17-5 ATS off an upset win as a road underdog over the past three seasons. Both teams will be entering this game at near full strength, so injuries likely won’t be a major factor in determining the outcome of this one.
The Hawks have won two straight games and PF Paul Millsap (18.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.3 BPG) continues to play at an All-Star level for Atlanta. Over the past five games, Millsap is averaging 19.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 4.0 APG on 56.5% shooting from the floor. He has been extremely efficient offensively and has also pitched in 2.8 BPG and 1.2 SPG during that stretch. Millsap will need to be on his game on both ends of the floor in this one, but he did struggle the last time he faced Portland. He had just 12 points and six boards in that game and if he is not better in this one then it will be tough for the Hawks to win on the road against a solid home team.
C Al Horford (15.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.5 BPG) also struggled in that game against the Blazers, finishing with just six points in 24 minutes of action. The strength of this Hawks team is the frontcourt, so Horford will need to be a lot more active against the Blazers this time around.
PG Jeff Teague (14.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.3 SPG) will really need to play well in this game for the Hawks as well. Teague will be matched up with Damian Lillard on Wednesday night and if he does not hold his own then Atlanta could get blown out in this game.
The Blazers have won four of their past five games and will now host a Hawks team that is playing some solid basketball. PG Damian Lillard (24.4 PPG, 7.0 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG) is going to need to have a big game for Portland if the team is going to win this one. Lillard has struggled over the past two games, averaging 15.0 PPG on 11-for-34 shooting from the field. The Blazers need their star to be more efficient on Wednesday and he must also do a better job of finding his teammates, as he has just eight total assists in the past two contests.
SG C.J. McCollum (20.5 PPG, 4.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG) will have to pick up the slack for the Blazers if Lillard isn’t playing well. That’s exactly what he did against the Wizards on Monday, finishing with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field and 6-for-10 shooting from the outside. McCollum is a fantastic shooter from the outside and will also get himself to the rim often.
An x-factor for Portland in this game could just be C Meyers Leonard (9.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG). Leonard had 18 points in 24 minutes against the Wizards and had 14 points and seven boards in 27 minutes against the Sixers the game before. He is a very good outside shooter for a big man (35% 3PT) and his ability to stretch the floor could make a big difference in this game.