NBA Picks & Predictions for Wednesday, March 16, 2011
By Anthony Rome
(The Spread) – For our free pick on the hardwood tonight, we take a look at a matchup between two teams on the playoff bubble.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog.com have made the Rockets 6.5-point favorites over the Bobcats on Wednesday night. The over/under total for this game is currently sitting at 202 points.
The Bobcats enter tonight’s game with a 28-38 overall record but they’re just one-half game out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re 33-31-2 against the spread this season and 18-15 ATS on the road despite owning an 11-22 straight up road mark.
The Rockets are playing .500 ball at 34-34 but they’re currently 2.5 games out of the postseason in a tough Western Conference. They’re 35-31-2 against the number this season and 18-14 ATS in games at the Toyota Center according to latest NBA trends.
NBA Free Pick: I like the Rockets to dominate tonight. On paper, Houston holds an advantage in every main statistical category outside of defense and they’re just flat out the better team. The Bobcats have taken two of the last three games in this series but the Rockets need a win bad seeing as how they’re looking up at four teams in the Western’s top eight. Kevin Martin is averaging 25.5 points over the last two games for a Rockets team that is 7-3 ATS in their lat 10 games versus the Eastern Conference. The favorite is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings between these two teams, while the home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five overall meetings. Lay the points.
WEDNESDAY NBA BASKETBALL FREE PICK: HOUSTON ROCKETS –6.5