Saturday's Best Basketball Bets
Detroit Pistons at Denver Nuggets
No one could have predicted the Nuggets would be this successful following the Carmelo Anthony trade.
The squad is 6-2 SU and 7-1 ATS since dealing Anthony last month and is playing some of its best defense of the year. Known for their up-tempo style, the Nuggets have held five opponents to 100 or fewer points over that span, an impressive feat for a team known to be indifferent when defending its own goal.
“We pressured them and we played really good,” Denver guard Ty Lawson said after a 116-97 win in Phoenix this week. “We play 'D,' We play really good 'D.' We’ve got a lot of different styles we can play.”
Maybe most impressive during the team’s winning streak is that it has excelled as a favorite – since the Melo trade, Denver is 3-0 SU and ATS in games where it lays points.
On the other bench, the Pistons have struggled to play any kind of defense. Detroit has coughed up 100 or more points in eight of its past nine games. Not surprisingly, the Pistons are a mere 3-6 SU over the span.
"We're looking to mix and match all the time," Detroit coach John Kuester said. "We're always searching to see who's going to give us the most in certain spots and situations.”
Pick: Denver
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks may finally have shed their label as being soft. After coach Rick Carlisle called his team out following a disappointing loss to the Hornets, the Mavericks responded with a 127-109 thrashing of the visiting Knicks.
"I keep saying it, but there's nothing soft about this team," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. "You look at our record, and you've got to be a tough team to accomplish what we have to this point and to go where we're going. And I'll leave it at that."
The “hard” Mavericks are 8-2 SU in their past 10 while just 5-5 ATS over that span.
But the team always seem to play its best in tight contests. Dallas is 3-1-1 ATS as a three-point or fewer favorite this season.
And the Lakers have not enjoyed facing the Mavericks this year. Los Angeles is 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS over its past 10, but has struggled against Dallas. The Mavericks won the only meeting this season, 109-100 in Texas, and have claimed the past two meetings overall.
"We were making mistakes all night on defense, because offensively things were going well for us," Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. "It was one of those games that was fool's gold. We were playing well offensively and got a lead, but we were making mistakes defensively."
Expect the Lakers to again look like fools after this one.
Pick: Dallas
Heat continue homestand with Grizzlies
By: Brad Young
Miami (44-21 straight up, 30-34-1 against the spread) continues its six-game homestand Saturday against Memphis (36-30 SU, 41-24-1 ATS). The Heat remain the third seed in the Eastern Conference despite some recent troubles, and they are 23-9 SU and 12-20 ATS on their home court.
The Grizzlies would nab the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference if the regular season ended today. Memphis is a modest 14-20 SU on the road, but maintains a solid 22-12 ATS ledger. The Grizzlies have seen the ‘under’ go 8-3 their past 11 road endeavors.
Memphis had strung together back-to-back SU and ATS victories before Wednesday’s setback to New York as a 4 ½-point home ‘chalk,’ 110-108. The combined 218 points eclipsed the 210 ½-point closing total, helping the ‘over’ cash the fifth consecutive contest.
The Grizzlies rallied by outscoring the Knicks in the fourth quarter, 26-14, and the game appeared to be going into overtime until New York’s Carmelo Anthony hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer. Memphis lost despite shooting a stellar 54 percent (36-of-67) from the field and 60 percent (3-of-5) from behind the arc. The Grizzlies also hit 33-of-35 free throws, while the Knicks shot and made all four of their attempts.
Memphis shooting guard Tony Allen led a balanced attack with 22 points, while power forward Zach Randolph provided 20 and 11 rebounds. Point guard Mike Conley had 20 and six assists in the setback, while forward Darrell Arthur accounted for 21 and seven boards.
Miami was mired in high-profile five-game SU losing streak before beating the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday as a one-point home underdog, 94-88. The combined 182 points failed to eclipse the 189½-point closing total, helping the ‘under’ improve to 4-2 the previous six games. The Heat had failed to cover seven consecutive contests before upending the two-time defending champions.
Miami prevailed by outscoring the Lakers in the fourth quarter, 26-18. The Heat won the rebounding battle, 46-37, and points in the paint, 46-30. Miami shot a solid 46 percent (37-of-81) from the field, and 42 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point land.
Power forward Chris Bosh stepped up with 24 points and nine rebounds, while forward LeBron James provided 19 and nine assists. Guard Dwyane Wade had 20 and five in the victory, while Mario Chalmers added nine.
Memphis beat Miami in the lone encounter this season Nov. 20 as a 5½-point home underdog, 97-95. The combined 192 points slithered below the 193-point closing total, helping the ‘under’ improve to 6-1 the previous seven meetings. The home team is 13-4 ATS the last 17 games in this series.
Memphis forward Rudy Gay is ‘out’ indefinitely due to a shoulder injury, while guard Jason Williams (back) is ‘questionable’ versus the Heat. The Grizzlies follow this contest with a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Miami center Dexter Pittman remains ‘out’ of action due to a knee injury. The Heat conclude their homestand with games against San Antonio and Oklahoma City. Miami has seen the ‘over’ go 9-2 its last 11 home games against Western Conference opponents.
Saturday’s matchup is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. PT from Miami’s American Airlines Arena.
Lakers and Mavericks in Saturday clash
By: Adam Markowitz
A pair of teams that are looking for some motivation meet up in NBA betting action in "Big D" on Saturday, as the Los Angeles Lakers duke it out with the Dallas Mavericks.
These two teams are both vying for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs this year, and Dallas currently has the slender lead by just 1.5 games coming into Friday, making this tussle all the more important. Tip-off from American Airlines Center is set for 6:00 p.m. (PT).
Kobe Bryant spent an extra hour on the court in South Beach on Thursday night after his Lakers were dropped by the Miami Heat to try to get his shooting touch back. You can bet that the Black Samba is certainly going to be ready and raring to get back on the court in Dallas, and the Mavericks had better be awfully careful about it.
Bryant already has 19 games this season with at least 30 points scored, and we would tend to guess that his season high of 41 against the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics is a mark that is challengeable.
The difference this year for the Lakers though, is their team defense. They're holding teams to just 95.2 PPG this season, ranking No. 7 in the Association. We know that LA isn't going to go scoreless down the stretch with Bryant and Pau Gasol, so if the team can continue playing solid ball, especially late in games on the defensive end of the court, there is going to be no stopping this team.
The Mavs were beaten by the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night, and head coach Rick Carlisle essentially called his team out. As a response, they came out and absolutely beat the snot out of the New York Knicks on Thursday, 127-109.
Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry all scored at least 21 points on the day for Dallas, and all three are really playing well at this point. Marion scored over 10 points for the first time this month, while Terry had his 11th-straight game reaching double digits in scoring.
Dallas is shooting 47.6 percent from the field this season, ranking No. 2 in the land, while a three-point shooting percentage of 37.3 percent is No. 7 in the NBA. The defense is slacking just a bit though, and that really can't make Carlisle happy.
Against a schedule that really hasn't been that tough, the Mavericks have given up 103.8 PPG in their last five, and they have gone just 1-4 ATS in those outings. For the season, they're at 96.3 PPG allowed, No. 10 in the league. That's a far cry from where this team was earlier in the season when it was challenging the best defensive marks in the game.
The Lakers might not have been able to stay cool and beat the Heat on Thursday, but they still have seven straight covers against Western Conference teams on the NBA odds. They're also 9-2 ATS over the course of their last 11 road games against teams with winning home records. However, LA has only gone 5-11 ATS in its last 16 games against the Southwest Division.
Dallas is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games following an ATS victory, and 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games against teams with a winning percentage of at least .600.
This is the second meeting of the season between these foes. The Mavs snared a 109-100 victory here at the American Airlines Center back in January.