Tony Weston
Apparently Georgia Tech forgot it had a game last night. And of course it showed as the Yellow Jackets got their asses kicked and cost us a Comp Play winner.
Luckily the Jackets are nowhere to be found tonight, pretty much like last night, and I’ll be able to come back and cash in.
Tonight, I’m taking the Indiana Pacers at home against the visiting Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons come into tonight in a world of hurt, having won just 1 of its last 6 games SU and ATS. Now Detroit battles an Indiana Pacers team that’s absolutely had the Pistons’ number in recent seasons.
In their last 5 meetings the Pacers are a perfect 5-0 ATS. When playing on Indiana’s home court, Detroit has covered in just 2 of their last 8 meetings.
When these two hooked up a little less than two weeks ago, on Jan. 22, the Pacers cruised to a 105-93 victory as a 3 1/2 point underdog. Tonight, Indiana will do it again and cruise to another victory over Detroit.
3♦ PACERS
Craig Davis
Tonight’s free play is a total in the NBA… Detroit/Indiana OVER. No longer are the Pistons considered the “Bad Boys” of the NBA. No longer are they built on defense. Those young legs aren’t as young as they used to be and defense appears to be an afterthought. Detroit is scoring more PPG than we are used to seeing, but I’m not sure Vegas has caught on just yet. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying the Pistons are an offensive juggernaut, by any stretch, but they are more offensive-minded than we’re used to seeing and they’ve literally given up on stopping anyone. These new-look Pistons are more about trying to outscore their opponent rather than stopping them. And when they visit Indiana tonight, they’re going to have to be on their best behavior because the Pacers can score with just about anyone… especially at home against a team like Detroit. This total is sitting at 200 at the time of this writing, and when Indiana faces teams that allow 95 PPG or more, they score over 100 points every time. The Pistons allow 97 PPG overall and 100 PPG on the road. The Pacers will score 100 or more, without question… but can Detroit score in double figures? I think they can. The Pacers allow 104 PPG and 102 PPG at home. I think both teams get over 100 tonight and the final score soars over the total.
3♦ OVER
Drew Gordon
Chicago at ATLANTA -8
52-34-3 roll L89 Free Plays (20-11 L31)! For today's complimentary play, we're looking at the Bulls/Hawks match up.
Tough spot for the Bulls, who will be playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, visiting the same place they got slaughtered December 9th, 118-83! The Bulls did get their revenge 10 days later in Chicago, but if there's one place you don't want to play the Hawks, its at Philips Arena, where they're 20-5 SU & 17-8 ATS this season!
Also, several things have changed since the last time these two met, including the absence of Joakim Noah. This may seem inconsequential, because he's not a big scorer, but in 2 games against the Hawks this season, he's averaging 35 minutes, 11 rebounds/game, 1.5 blocks, and countless defensive & hustle plays. With Noah out, the Bulls frontline rotation is far less effective, because Gibson can't stay on the court without fouling, and Tyrus Thomas has proven to be very inconsistent.
Finally, from a match up standpoint, I love the Hawks depth with Crawford playing great basketball right now. Couple that with Joe Johnson and a now healthy Josh Smith, and its "all systems go" tonight. One last note, Horford has dominated the veteran Brad Miller this season, and with Noah out, there's no one to stop him from doing it again. Hawks roll!
Take Atlanta over Chicago in this NBA match up.
2♦ ATLANTA
Chris Jordan
Princeton at HARVARD -8
Led by point guard Jeremy Lin, the Crimson has garnered considerable national recognition for its performance early in the season.
And with a chance to swat traditional Ivy power Princeton, I have to believe Harvard is going to bring its A-Game tonight.
Harvard has been paced by a high-flying offense this season behind Lin, the Ivy League’s third leading scorer with 17.1 points per game. The Crimson has averaged 74.7 points per game thanks to its .486 shooting percentage, and has taken a league-high 452 free throws, or 25.1 per contest.
And it's not just run and gun with Harvard, as it has a pair of impressive starting forwards: 6-foot-7 Kyle Casey and 6-8 Keith Wright, who have been productive with their rebounding with 5.1 rebounds per game each.
The Crimson will be pissed from an 86-50 loss to Cornell last Saturday, and the Tigers are going to pay the price
1♦ HARVARD