NBA Knowledge
Wednesday's hot teams
-- Hawks won nine of their last ten games (5-1 last 6AU).
-- Clippers won their last three games (8-3 last 11AF).
-- Minnesota won three of its last four games (1-3 last 4HU).
-- Spurs won eight of their last ten games (12-6-1 last 19HF).
-- Warriors won their last five games (3-5 last 8AF).
-- Utah won eight of its last ten games (6-3HU).
-- Miami won four of its last five games (4-5 last 9HF).
Cold teams
-- Toronto lost three of its last four games (4-7 last 11HF).
-- Denver lost six of its last nine games (2-6 last 8AU).
-- Memphis lost seven of its last nine games (4-3 last 7HF).
-- Suns lost four of their last five games (5-3 last 8AU).
-- Milwaukee lost its last five games (6-2 last 8HF).
-- Pelicans lost seven of their last ten games (3-1 last 4AU).
-- Knicks lost five of their last seven games (2-4 last 6AU).
-- Dallas also lost five of its last seven games (2-5 last 7HF).
-- Kings lost five of their last eight games.
-- Washington lost four of its last five games.
-- Lakers lost eight of their last ten games (1-5 last 6HU).
Series records
-- Raptors won five of last six games with Atlanta.
-- Memphis won seven of its last eight games with Denver.
-- Clippers won nine of last ten games with Minnesota.
-- Suns won four of their last five games to Milwaukee.
-- Pelicans are 4-3 (6-1 vs spread) in last seven games vs San Antonio.
-- Knicks lost five of their last six games with Dallas.
-- Warriors won nine of last ten games with Utah.
-- Kings won five of their last eight games with Washington.
-- Lakers lost their last seven games with Miami.
Totals
-- Last four Atlanta-Toronto games stayed under total.
-- Seven of last eight Denver-Memphis games stayed under.
-- Last four Clipper games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last eight Phoenix games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last eight New Orleans games went over the total.
-- Eight of last nine New York games stayed under the total.
-- Five of last six Warrior games stayed under the total.
-- Five of last six Sacramento games stayed under total.
-- Four of last five Laker games went over the total.
Back/backs
-- Golden State is 1-5 vs spread last six time they played nite before.
-- Washington is 2-8 vs spread last 10 times they played night before.
Armadillosports.com
Game of the Day: Hawks at Raptors
By Covers.com
Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors (-2, 200)
The Atlanta Hawks are trying to separate themselves from the pack in the race for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference and have done their best with wins in four straight games. The Hawks will try to make it five in a row when they visit the team directly in front of them in the standings, the Toronto Raptors, on Wednesday.
Toronto does not have to worry much about Atlanta with a five-game cushion on the No. 3 spot but would like to be playing better as it preps for the playoffs. The Raptors were trounced 119-100 at home by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday and have dropped three of their last four with All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry ailing. The Hawks are one game ahead of the fourth-place Miami Heat and 1 1/2 up on the fifth-place Boston Celtics after knocking off the Chicago Bulls 102-100 on Monday to pick up their 14th win in the last 17 games. Atlanta will have to earn the No. 3 spot with a tough closing schedule that includes two games against the Raptors, two against the East-leading Cavaliers and one against the Celtics.
LINE HISTORY: The Toronto Raptors opened as 1.5-point favorites over the visiting Atlanta Hawks. The public hit the Raptors early on and the books were forced to raise the line slightly to -2. The total debuted at an even 200 and hasn't moved.
INJURY REPORT:
Hawks - SF T. Sefolosha (Probable Wednesday, ankle).
Raptors - SF T. Ross (Questionable Wednesday, thumb), PG K. Lowry (Probable Wednesday, elbow).
POWER RANKINGS: Hawks (-7.2) - Raptors (-7.7) + home court (-3) = Raptors -3.5
ABOUT THE HAWKS (45-30, 40-34-1 ATS, 35-40 O/U): Atlanta has gone over the century mark in each of its last nine games and credited the pace with helping them edge the Bulls on Monday. “We played with a lot of pace tonight,” point guard Jeff Teague told reporters after the win. “It played into our hands, playing a little faster. Those guys have so many big guys and we were able to get in the paint and make plays.” Teague and backup Dennis Schroder combined for 40 points in the win, with all of those points coming from inside the 3-point arc.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (49-24, 39-34 ATS, 38-34-1 O/U): Lowry had his inflamed right elbow drained after Monday’s loss and is shooting 26.2 percent from the field in his last four games. “We just drained it,” Lowry told reporters. “We thought it would calm down over the next few days … hopefully we get a good reaction to it. I’m not going to make no excuses, but it’s definitely something I don’t want to play with. I don’t like playing with (it). But it is what it is. This time of year, you just play through it.” Lowry is even struggling at the free-throw line, connecting on 60.4 percent of his tries in his last five games.
TRENDS:
* Hawks are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games.
* Raptors are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Under is 4-0 in Hawks last 4 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
* Raptors are 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
CONSENSUS: The public is crushing the Raptors -2 at a lofty 75 percent clip and the over 200 is getting almost as much love, getting hit by 72 percent of picks.
Wednesday's Tip Sheet
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Hawks at Raptors
Following Cleveland’s loss to Houston last night, Toronto (49-24 SU, 38-34 ATS) pulled within 2½ games of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors go for their third victory over the Hawks this season after beating Atlanta three weeks ago at the Air Canada Center, 104-96 to improve to 6-1 SU/ATS in the last seven meetings. Dwane Casey’s club suffered its ninth home loss of the season in Monday’s 119-100 drubbing to Oklahoma City to fall to 1-4 ATS in the last five games.
Atlanta (45-30 SU, 40-34-1 ATS) remains atop the Southeast division with seven games remaining after winning four straight contests. The latest victory for the Hawks came in Monday’s 102-100 triumph over the Bulls to pull off the four-game series sweep of Chicago, but Atlanta failed to cover as 3½-point favorites. Mike Budenholzer’s team has played excellent on the highway recently by posting an 8-2 SU/ATS record in its last 10 games away from Philips Arena, while cashing the ‘under’ six times in this stretch.
Clippers at Wolves
Los Angeles (46-27 SU, 34-36-3 ATS) will likely have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, as the Clippers are basically locked into the fourth position with nine games left to play. The Clippers swept a three-game homestand against the Blazers, Nuggets, and Celtics, while cruising to double-digit victories in the back-to-back set against Denver and Boston. L.A. has struggled away from Staples Center of late by losing four of its past five road contests, including defeats at Memphis and New Orleans as heavy favorites on its last away trip.
The Wolves (25-49 SU, 35-38-1 ATS) have already nine more games than last season’s 16-win total, but Minnesota will miss the playoffs for the 12th straight season. Minnesota has won three of its last four games, including a 121-116 victory over Phoenix on Monday, but the Wolves barely missed the cover as six-point favorites. Sam Mitchell’s club captured the last meeting with the Clippers at Staples Center on February 3 as 10½-point underdogs in a 108-102 upset. The Wolves and Clippers have finished ‘over’ the total in all three matchups, while Minnesota has posted a 2-0-1 ATS record in these three meetings.
Warriors at Jazz
The beat goes on for Golden State (67-7 SU, 40-32-2 ATS), who improved to 36-0 at home with a 102-94 victory over Washington on Tuesday. The Warriors failed to cover for the fifth time in six games, as four of those ATS losses came as a double-digit favorite (-12½ against the Wizards). Steve Kerr’s squad owns a 16-2 SU and 11-7 ATS record with no rest this season, but the Warriors are 1-3 ATS in their last four road games in this situation. Golden State has captured 10 of the last 11 meetings with Utah since 2013, while going for the four-game season sweep.
Utah (37-37 SU, 37-37 ATS) and Houston were battling it out for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but with Dallas’ latest struggles, both the Jazz and Rockets may make the postseason when all is said and done. The Jazz have helped themselves of late by winning eight of their last 10 games, including six victories in this span over teams that are not currently in playoff contention. Quin Snyder’s team dominated the hapless Lakers on Monday, 123-75 to hold their ninth opponent in the past 10 games to below 100 points. Utah has cashed tickets in four of its last five opportunities as a home underdog, including outright wins over Cleveland, Miami, and Memphis.
Wizards at Kings
Time is running out on Washington (36-38 SU, 38-36 ATS), who sits three games behind Indiana for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards have dropped three of their last four games, including crushing home losses to the Hawks and Wolves. Washington continues a five-game West Coast swing after losing at Golden State last night, as Randy Wittman’s team owns a dreadful 5-12 SU/ATS record with no rest this season. The Wizards have been involved in plenty of high-scoring games on the road with no rest by posting a 7-2 mark to the ‘over’ in the last nine games in this situation.
It’s another lost season in Sacramento (29-45 SU, 33-40-1 ATS) as the Kings will fail to qualify for the postseason for the 10th straight time. The Kings will have the full complement of players in the lineup after DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, and Rudy Gay all sat out Monday’s 105-93 setback at Portland, but Sacramento found a way to cash as 13-point underdogs. Following a six-game losing streak at Sleep Train Arena, the Kings are riding a modest two-game home winning streak after victories against the Suns and Mavericks, while quietly compiling a 5-1 ATS record in the last six games overall.
Heat at Lakers
Miami (43-30 SU, 39-33-1 ATS) travels out west for a rare late-season road trip across three time zones as the Heat heads to Staples Center. The Heat cruised past the Magic and Nets in the last two games as home favorites to improve to 4-1 ATS in the past five contests, while holding three of their last four opponents to 99 points or less. Erik Spoelstra’s club has finished ‘over’ the total in six consecutive games away from South Florida, while posting an impressive 7-1 SU/ATS record in its last eight contests in the role of a road favorite since January.
The Lakers (15-59 SU, 32-42 ATS) hit a new low in Monday’s 48-point drubbing at Utah, shooting just 30% from the floor, while Kobe Bryant was held to five points on 1-of-11 shooting. Los Angeles looks to snap a four-game losing streak, while dropping seven straight matchups with Miami since 2013. The Lakers fell to the Heat in Miami without Bryant in early November, 101-88 as 11-point underdogs, as each of the past four meetings between these teams at Staples Center have finished ‘under’ the total.