NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Wednesday, October 25th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Not a lot to go on for the first 7-10 days, until these teams get some games under their belts. I’ll give you what relevant information I have:
Pistons won/covered their last four games with Minnesota; Wolves lost by 8-25 points in their last two visits to the Motor City. Over is 4-1 in last five series games. Pacers shot 77% in second half vs Minnesota last nite; Wolves are 2-2 to start season (over 3-0-1); they split two road tilts. Detroit also split its first four games (over 2-2); they split their two home games.
Rockets won their last seven games with Philly, but Sixers were 4-3 vs spread in those games; Houston is 1-4 vs spread in last five visits here. Over is 7-3 in last ten series games. Rockets won three of first four games (under 3-1), winning road games in Oakland/Sacramento. 76ers lost three of first four games (over 2-2), losing by 10 to Boston in their only home game.
Hornets won six of last eight games with Denver (under 7-1); Nuggets are 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Charlotte. Denver lost two of first three games (under 3-0), losing by 10 at Utah in their only road game. Charlotte lost two of first three games (under 3-0); they beat Atlanta by 18 in their only home game this season.
Cavaliers won six of last seven games with Brooklyn; under is 6-2 in last eight series games. Cleveland is 0-3-1 vs spread in their last four visits to Barclays Center. Cavaliers beat the Bulls by 7 at home Tuesday; they’re 3-1 to start season (over 2-2), beating Milwaukee by 19 in their only road game. Brooklyn split its first four games (over 3-0-1), beating Hawks/Magic in their two home games.
Spurs won their last nine games with Miami (8-1 vs spread); over is 3-1 in last four series games. San Antonio covered its last five visits to South Beach- they’re 3-0 to start the season (under 2-1), winning by 10 in Chicago in their only road game. Miami won two of its first three games (over 2-1), beating Pacers/Hawks by 4-11 in their two home games (0-1-1 as HF).
Pacers won four of last five games with Oklahoma City; over is 5-3 in last eight series games. Indiana won their last two games in this building- they’re 2-2 to start season (over 3-1) after winning last nite in Minnesota- they shot 77% in 2nd half, are 2-0 as road underdogs. Thunder lost two of first three games (under 2-1); splitting their first two home games.
Mavericks won five of last seven games with Memphis; over is 6-3 in last nine series games. Grizzlies are 1-3 vs spread in last four visits to Dallas- they’re 3-0 to start season (under 3-0), with wins over Golden State/Houston- they beat Rockets in only road game. Mavericks are 0-4 to start season (0-4 vs spread, over 2-2), losing home games by 6-5-30 points.
Jazz won their last seven games with Phoenix (0-2-1 vs spread in last three); they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits here. Under is 6-3 in last nine series games. Utah split its first four games (3-1 vs spread, under 3-0-1); they lost by 18 in LA last nite. Jazz is 0-2 on road, losing by 3-18 points. Suns lost three of first four games (over 2-2), losing two of three home games.
Lakers lost eight of last nine games with Washington; over is 3-1 in last four series games. Wizards are 4-1 vs spread in last five series games played here. Washington won its first three games (over 2-1): road team covered all three. Wizards won by 5 in Denver in their only road game. Lakers open the season 1-2, losing both home games, by 16-7 points (over 2-1).
Warriors won nine of last ten games with Toronto (6-3-1 vs spread); Raptors are 1-4 vs spread in last five visits to Oakland. Over is 8-2 in last ten series games. Toronto won two of its first three games (over 2-1), losing by 4 at San Antonio in its only road game. Golden State split its first four games (over 3-1), losing to Houston 122-121 in their only home game.
Armadillosports.com
NBA Pick 'n' Roll: Wednesday's Picks and Analysis
Covers.com
Player injuries continue to impact NBA lines early in the season. The Raptors-Warriors line is off the board because of the questionable status of one NBA All-Star.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Detroit Pistons (+1.5, 208 )
Remember when the T-Wolves hired Tom Thibodeau as head coach and president of basketball operations? It was thought to be a smart hire and it was assumed the man who’d made his bones in the league as a defensive guru would fix Minnesota’s leaky D.
It didn’t happen in the first season but the excuse was Thibodeau didn’t have a chance to get the right guys in to implement his system. He traded for Jimmy Butler and signed Taj Gibson – both players he coached in Chicago – but the Timberwolves' defense still looks declawed.
The Indiana Pacers shot 65 percent from the field on Minnesota’s home court Tuesday night and it wasn’t just a case of a team catching fire. The T-Wolves looked disinterested for most of the second half – particularly at the end of the third quarter when Indiana went on a 24-5 run and sealed the game.
Butler missed Tuesday’s game and is questionable to play against the Pistons because of a respiratory infection. Detroit is 4-0 straight up and against the spread in its last four games against the Wolves.
Pick: Pistons
Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks (+4, 195.5)
Dirk Nowitzki might be wondering if he made the right decision coming back for his 20th NBA season. The future Hall of Famer is shooting only 30 percent from the field and if he’s not making his shot, he ceases to be a useful player on the court.
The Mavs want to play Harrison Barnes at the four but it’s hard to do that and find minutes for Dirk and big man Nerlens Noel. Dallas’ best lineup would have Barnes, Noel, Dennis Smith Jr., Wes Matthews and one other guy – probably Seth Curry when he gets back from injury.
Dallas is 0-4 straight up and against the spread and has dropped games at home to the Hawks and Kings. Whatever your NBA power rankings look like – the Mavs should be close to the bottom.
Pick: Grizzlies
Yesterday’s picks: 1-1
Season record: 7-9
Total Streaks
*The Under is 8-0 in the Nuggets’ last eight games.
* The Under is 5-0 in the Hornets’ last five games.
*The Over is 16-5 in the Spurs’ last 21 games overall.
*The Over is 11-0 in the Pacers’ last 11 road games.
Injury To Note
Raptors leading scorer DeMar DeRozan is dealing with a thigh contusion and is questionable to play against the Golden State Warriors. Toronto is 5-5 straight up and 7-3 against the spread without DeRozan in its lineup since the beginning of the 2015-2016 campaign. The Under went 7-3 in those 10 games without DeRozan.
Referee Assignment To Watch
Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs are 0-6 SU and ATS in their last six games worked by NBA ref Haywoode Workman.
Trends
*The Hornets are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games.
*The Wizards are 1-5 ATS in their last six games.
*The Jazz are 8-1 ATS in their last nine road games.
*The Nets are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games.
Consensus
About 75 percent of consensus players like the Rockets to cover as 3-point road chalk against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight.
Wizards face Lakers
By: StatFox.com
Will John Wall try to give Lonzo Ball the Patrick Beverley treatment when the Wizards face the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday?Lakers fans who entered the season excited for their team to be significantly more watchable than last year should be happy through three games. Those who had the unreasonable expectations of cheering for a good basketball team have been a little more disappointed. Los Angeles is 1-2 SU and 1-2 ATS, with their lone win coming against a Suns team that has been historically miserable in the early going this year. But the youth movement is fully underway in Staples Center, and rookie PG Lonzo Ball has given the Lakers faithful good cause for optimism with his performances. Ball will welcome one of the best point guards in the NBA to town on Wednesday night, as John Wall and the Wizards enter their second game of a four-game Western Conference road trip. The Wiz stayed undefeated in the first game of the trip, beating Denver 109-104 on Monday (WAS +5) to move to 3-0 (1-2 ATS).
It seems like with each passing season, Wall receives more and more of the recognition he deserves as one of the NBA's superstars. Through three games this year, he has very much lived up to that reputation, although he is yet to have a perfect game. His high for points was 28 in the opener against Philadelphia, but he got it on 10-of-28 shooting. He had 26 points on only 12 shots against Detroit, but turned the ball over eight times. And most recently against Denver, he scored 19 points on 3-of-13 shooting. He's had at least eight assists in each game, though, and has shot at least nine free throws in each game, as well. He's averaging 11.7 FTA (and shooting 85.7% from the line), up significantly from his career average of 5.5. SG Bradley Beal, the Robin to Wall's Batman, had a breakthrough season in 2016-17 and had stayed at that high level early on this year. He's averaging 23.3 PPG, and despite not starting hot from three (25%) is shooting 44.2% from the floor. SF Otto Porter was fourth among NBA small forwards last year with a 51.6% field goal percentage, and he's ninth this year at 51.2%. While other players' percentages will fade, Porter has proven he can sustain that level of accuracy over long stretches. He's also been a rebounding machine at 9.0 RPG.
Surely you've heard by now about how Ball was shut down in the opener by opposing point guard Patrick Beverley, as he was limited to three points in his career debut. Plenty of guards will be coming at Lonzo this year, but few will be as fierce as Beverley. In his next game, Ball exploded for a near triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists against Phoenix. Most recently, he put up a 8-8-13 line against New Orleans. He'll have big scoring games, but expect most of his lines this year to be the Rondo-like numbers he put up against the Pelicans. After missing the first two games of the year due to suspension, newly acquired SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tied for the team lead in scoring with 20 points against New Orleans. PF Kyle Kuzma matched him with 20 off the bench. The rookie out of Utah has thus far lived up to the high expectations he quickly built for himself in Summer League and the preseason. C Brook Lopez is largely the same player he was in Brooklyn, although it seems Luke Walton has convinced him to shoot a few fewer threes (4.3 3PA, down from 5.2 last year) and grab a few more rebounds (7.7 RPG, up from 5.4). It's a small sample size, though—there's plenty of time left for Brook to fully retreat to the perimeter.