Sunday's Best NBA Bets
Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors (+1, 203.5)
The new-look Toronto Raptors were able to sneak out a push against the Boston Celtics, losing 110-101 to the Celtics as 9-point road underdogs Friday.
Recent additions Peja Stojakovic and Jerryd Bayless combined for 20 points, five assists and six rebounds, however, the Raptors lost starting forward Reggie Evans to a broken foot that could keep him out of action for a while.
“I feel bad for Reggie because he’s been playing very well,” head coach Jay Triano told the Toronto Sun. “As a team, we’ve got guys who are ready.
“We’ve talked about our depth and now it’s time for the guys to step up.”
Evans, an athletic scrapper under the rim, leads Toronto in rebounds and steals per game while playing hard-nosed defense in the paint. He would have been essential to stopping Hawks forward Josh Smith, who scored 17 points and grab 10 rebounds the last time he faced Toronto.
The Raptors have gone 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games but have only covered in three of their last 10 contests with the Hawks.
Pick: Atlanta
Indiana Pacers at Los Angeles Lakers (-8.5, 199)
The Pacers are running the gauntlet of NBA superstars in recent games.
Indiana took down Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic last weekend, beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat Monday, fell in overtime to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday and now head to Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant and the World Champion Lakers.
Indiana has managed to bring a 4-1 ATS mark out of its last five games, with wins and covers over the hapless Cavaliers and Clippers in that stretch. Defense is getting the job done for the Pacers. They’ve held their last five opponents to an average of just over 89 points and would have played under in all five of those outings if not for Friday’s overtime.
“We’re actually focusing on it now,” forward Danny Granger told reporters of the team’s defense. “We’re not scoring like we have in the past as far as points a game, but we’re putting a lot of work in on the defensive end. We’re stepping up, we’re rebounding well and doing things we haven’t done in the past.”
Indiana is just 2-2 ATS in its last four meeting with Los Angeles, but its new dedication to defensive should keep the covers coming from Pacers backers.
Pick: Indiana
NBA Odds: Suns look to burn Nuggets
By: Adam Markowitz
A three-game winning streak for the Denver Nuggets will be on the line on Sunday night in the second of a five-game homestand, as the Phoenix Suns pay a visit to Pepsi Arena for an NBA betting battle.
Phoenix has been poisonous for bettors of late, with the Suns just 1-5 against the NBA spread in their last six overall. Offense clearly isn't the problem, as the Suns are averaging 107.9 PPG and are shooting 47.2 percent from the field as a team.
Hakim Warrick is coming off of the biggest game in his young career, as he came off the bench to net 25 points and pull down six boards. It was the second straight game in which he played at least 36 minutes and scored at least 20 points.
As always though, you're going to have to stop Steve Nash and Jason Richardson to put away the Suns. Richardson, who had 29 points in their most recent game against the Los Angeles Clippers, is averaging 19.9 PPG and 4.4 RPG. Nash is already gunning for another appearance in the All-Star Game with 19.0 PPG and 9.5 APG.
The real problem for Phoenix has been staying consistent on the glass. Robin Lopez is out of the lineup for at least a couple more weeks with an MCL and PCL sprain. Lopez was really supposed to step in and help out in the rebounding department after losing Amare Stoudemire to the New York Knicks in free agency. No one on the squad is averaging more than 5.4 RPG, and as a team, Phoenix is only at 39.0 RPG. That's the second-lowest total in the NBA and is terrible news for a team that runs up and down the court.
Not only are the Suns giving up the most rebounds in the NBA at 45.9 per game, but they are allowing teams to shoot 49.0 percent from the field and are allowing 110.2 PPG, the second worst mark in the league.
Carmelo Anthony just continues to be a beast for the Nuggets in spite of the fact that he is still insistent that he wants out of Denver. Anthony is averaging 25.2 PPG this year, and he is coming off of a game against the Chicago Bulls in which he scored 22 points and nailed the game winning shot in the dying seconds.
Anthony's counterpart, Chauncey Billups has been out of the lineup for the past two games with a wrist injury. He is questionable for this one, but at least to this point, it hasn't hurt the team with him being out of the fold.
The "Birdman" is back as well, as Chris Andersen has been back for two games. So far, he has 13 points, seven boards, and a pair of blocks in his first action of the year, but he could be in for a significantly bigger game against an undersized group of Suns.
The Suns have covered five straight in this series and have won four in a row outright. The home team is 16-5 ATS in the last 21 meetings, while the favorite is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
Coming into the weekend, the Nuggets were two games out in the Northwest Division standings, while the Suns would be the first team left out of the playoffs in the Western Conference if the playoffs started today.