Hot and Cold Bets - Week 18
By Matt Fargo
The NBA is just past the two-third mark and the games are becoming that much more important. Matt Fargo has been looking into Hot and Cold NBA bets throughout the season and he takes a look at four games that you will want to pay attention to coming up over the next few days.
NBA Hot Bets
Tuesday – Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Bobcats 7:00 PM ET
Charlotte is back home following a west coast roadtrip that started slow but finished hot. The Bobcats lost at Houston and Phoenix but rebounded to win against the Kings, Warriors and Clippers to close out trek. Those last three teams are garbage but wins are wins and it provides a lot of momentum heading into March. Charlotte is 16-15 at home this season (18-13 ATS) and this includes an 8-4 record as a home favorite (7-5 ATS). The Bobcats won the lone meeting this season against the Bulls in overtime at home and that was one of the 22 road losses for Chicago this season. The Bulls have dropped three straight on the road (0-3 ATS) and the home team is now 6-0 in the last six Chicago games (6-0 ATS). The Bulls are a surprising 14-12 against the Western Conference (16-9-1 ATS) but just 13-21 against the Eastern Conference (13-21 ATS) on the year.
Wednesday – Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz 9:00 PM ET
While the Rockets are on the right side of the “Cold” section against Toronto, they are on the wrong side in this spot as they are playing an insanely hot Utah team. The Jazz have won seven straight games (6-1 ATS) and finished February with a 10-1 record (9-2 ATS) to vault back up into the Western Conference playoff race. Despite this, they are still sitting in sixth place but at the same time, they are just two games out of third place and a game out of fourth place. The fourth place spot is held by Houston who Utah has lost to twice this season, both coming on the road. While the Rockets have been hot, most of that has come at home as they are 2-5 in their last seven road games (2-5 ATS) and are currently two games under .500 for the year. Houston is just 14-22 ATS following a win this season.
NBA Cold Bets
Tuesday – Toronto Raptors at Houston Rockets 8:30 PM ET
Toronto is struggling mightily right now despite going a respectable 4-4 in its last eight games (4-4 ATS). Two of those wins came against a severely slumping Minnesota team so that mark is definitely skewed. The Raptors started this roadtrip 0-2 with blowout losses at Phoenix and Dallas and they are now 1-6 in their last seven road games (1-6 ATS). Toronto is 9-29 as an underdog (13-23-2 ATS) and it will be catching a Houston team out for some revenge. The Rockets lost in Toronto back in January by 21 points, their second worst loss this season behind a loss to the Lakers by 29 points. Houston let one slip away against Chicago on Saturday but got it back on Sunday with an easy win at Minnesota. It is now 7-1 in its last eight games (5-3 ATS) and is 9-0 in its last nine home games (6-2-1 ATS).
Wednesday – Indiana Pacers at Portland Trailblazers 10:00 PM ET
Indiana has been playing pretty well and remains in the hunt in the Eastern Conference playoff race as it trails eighth place Milwaukee by three games. The problem is that the upcoming schedule is a tough one as five of the next six games are on the road. The first is at Sacramento Tuesday while the third is at the Clippers on Saturday so both of those games are very winnable. The issue is that Indiana is 7-25 on the road this season (16-15-1 ATS) and while that ATS mark is at least respectable, it is 8-17 coming off a win (9-16 ATS), and it should be in that spot after Tuesday. Portland is playing very well, going 12-5 in its last 17 games (11-6 ATS) and that includes a 9-0 record at home (7-2 ATS). The Blazers are 21-4 as a home favorite (15-9-1 ATS) and a solid 18-5 against the East (13-10 ATS).