Rocketman
3* Miami Ohio -2.5
Jeff Benton
50 Dime - Houston Rockets
Don’t be fooled by Houston’s 1-5 record. This is a playoff-caliber basketball team and that will be proven over the course of the season. It’s just the Rockets have A) faced an incredibly daunting schedule so far, and B) have been the recipients of some bad luck.
Houston opened the season at the defending-champion Lakers, and after sitting through the Lakers’ ring ceremony and banner-raising, the Rockets went out and gave the two-time defending champs all they could handle before coming up just short in a 112-110 loss. The very next night, they went to Golden State, which took advantage of Houston’s back-to-back situation and pressed the action all night, and again the Rockets fell just short, losing 132-128.
A 13-point home loss to the Nuggets came next, followed by last Wednesday’s 107-99 home loss to the Hornets and then Saturday’s 124-121 overtime road loss to the Spurs. So in summary, the Rockets dropped their first five games, three of them on the road by a total of 10 points, and those five teams woke up today with a combined record of 29-7! And if you take out Denver’s 4-4 record, Houston’s other four losses were against teams (Lakers, Warriors, Hornets, Spurs) that are a combined 25-3, and those four defeats were by margins of 2, 4, 8 and 3 points.
Well, one night after Saturday’s overtime loss in San Antonio, the Rockets finally caught a break in the schedule: They returned home to face the lowly Timberwolves, and Houston took full advantage in running away with a 120-94 victory as an 8½-point favorite. And that brings us to tonight, with the Rockets catching another weak opponent in Washington.
If the Wizards aren’t as bad as Minnesota, they’re close. Just look at the starting five Washington is trotting out: rookie John Wall and over-the-hill veteran Kirk Hinrich in the backcourt; Andray Blatche and Al Thornton at forward; and something named JeVale McGee at center. Coming off the bench for the Wizards are “household” names Nick Young, Hilton Armstrong, Yi Jianlian and Carter Martin, with the occasional appearance by the oft-injured, always-mentally-erratic Gilbert Arenas.
And now you know why Washington has just one win (a one-point overtime home victory over the lowly 76ers) and four losses (to the Magic, Hawks, Knicks and Cavs by an average of 14.8 ppg).
True, Wall may end up being the best player on the court tonight, and I actually expect him to have a big game since he won’t have speedy Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks to chase him around (Brooks is out several weeks with an ankle injury). But beyond point guard, Houston has the advantage at every position. And unlike Washington, the Rockets have an extremely deep bench.
Two final reasons to love Houston tonight: 1) The Wizards’ 1-4 SU record is matched by a 1-4 ATS mark, and that’s in addition to pointspread slumps of 4-11 at home, 4-11-1 against teams from the Southwest Division and 3-8 as an underdog; and 2) Houston has won and covered five straight games in Washington D.C., with an average victory margin of 8.6 points. And that’s part of the Rockets’ 12-2 SU and 10-4 ATS run in this rivalry!
Bottom line: Houston proved on Sunday that it can dominate a crappy team, and with no game tomorrow to worry about, the Rockets will prove it again with their sixth straight win on the Wizards’ home court, this one a double-digit rout!
Teddy Covers
Rockets
Raptors
Bobby Maxwell
400-Unit NBA Money Maker #2 in a Row - Atlanta Hawks
Big home win for the Bucks on Tuesday night as they completely dominated the Knicks, building a 22 point lead after the first quarter and cruising in for the easy win and cover. But all that is going to disappear tonight when they travel to Atlanta and face a Hawks’ squad that eliminated them from the playoffs last season after trailing 3-2.
One of the more exciting, and shocking, series in the playoffs last year, Atlanta rallied to knock out the Bucks after falling behind 3-2. But Milwaukee’s downfall in that series will be its downfall tonight, just not enough offense to really challenge the Hawks. In the last two games of the series, the Bucks managed to average just 71.5 points, losing 83-69 in Game 6 and falling 95-74 in Game 7.
Even though they lit up the Knicks on Tuesday, Milwaukee had managed to hit triple digits just once in the first seven games of the season. The Bucks just aren’t built to get into shootouts with teams and Atlanta comes in with a lot of bullets in the chamber and a scoring average of 104 points per game and 49.8 percent shooting.
After winning six straight to start the season, the Hawks have lost two in a row after losing in Orlando on Monday night, 93-89, but they cashed as nine-point pups.
Milwaukee is just 1-4 ATS in its last five games against teams with winning records while the Hawks have cashed in 19 of their last 27 Wednesday games. In this series, the Hawks have gone 7-3 ATS in the last 10 in Atlanta, plus the home team is on a 5-2 ATS surge and the chalk has cashed in six of the last eight.
The Bucks are on the second night of a back-to-back and they already struggle to score points. It just gets tougher tonight. Lay the points and play Atlanta.
Rocketman
3* Miami Ohio -2.5
3* Pittsburgh Penguins -125
Jimmy Boyd
4* NY Knicks -4.5
Don Wallace Sports
Oklahoma City -9
Memphis -1
GURU
10* ORLANDO -11
BIG DADDY
10* MIAMI (OHIO) -2.5
COGLYE WEST
10* TOR/FLO UNDER 5.5
BOND
12* GS/NY UNDER 216
BIG AL
NJ Nets
Maryland
BEN BURNS
10* Cleveland / New Jersey Over 194
Game: New Jersey Nets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game Time: 11/10/2010 7:35:00 PM Prediction: over Reason: I'm playing on Cleveland and New Jersey to finish OVER the total. These teams just faced each other last night. Playing at New Jersey, the Cavaliers managed a 93-91 victory. That game, which had an O/U line of 195.5, stayed below the total. Tonight's O/U line, which has come down from its opener, is a little lower. I feel that provides us with excellent value, as I'm expecting a higher-scoring contest. The fact that the most recent meeting between these teams, here at Cleveland, produced greater than 200 points (104-97 Cavs on 02/09) isn't necessarily all that relevant, as things are obviously much different in Cleveland this season. However, I do feel that we gain gain some insight by looking at what this year's teams have done when playing the second of back to back games, thus far. This will be the second time this season that the Nets have played in a back-to-back spot. Their 11/6 game at Miami, which was the second of back to back games, finished above the total. That brought the OVER to 24-19-1 the past 2+ seasons, when they've been in that situation. Including that result, it should also be noted that the Nets have seen the OVER go 12-4-1 their last 17 road games, dating back to last season. This season, while its admittedly still a small "sample size," they're allowing 103 points per game on the road with opposing teams shooting 48.3% from the field. The Cavs will be playing the second of back to back games for the third time this season. The last time that they were in this situation was on 11/6, at Washington. That game finished well above the total with 209 points. Prior to that, here at home on 10/30, the Cavs saw their game vs. the Kings finish comfortably above the total with 211 combined points. Note that both those games were decided in regulation, so the high scores (210 average were "genuine." Including those results, the OVER is now 23-16 the last 2+ seasons when the Cavs were in a back to back spot - although, as noted, due to the changes in Cleveland, I am more interested in this year's two games in that situation. Look for this one to also prove higher-scoring than most will be expecting with the OVER improving to 14-4-1 the last 19 times that the Nets played a road game with an O/U line in the 190 to 194.5 range.
Annihilator - Pittsburgh Penguins
James Patrick Sports
5* Milwaukee Bucks
ATS Lock Club
3 Units Bowling Green +2.5
Eric Maguire
Timberwolves at Kings
Pick: Kings -9
Sacramento Kings are at home tonight taking on the Minnesota T-Wolves, a team they beat in the season opener on the road. The T-Wolves fresh off an all-out-effort attack against the Lakers last night, which they ended up losing. It should have taken some of the air out of them. The Kings are amid a rough homestand, losing the past two games, and the problem the Kings have had recently is their defense, or lack thereof. They score at will, but they just seem to not be able to hold on the ball late in games, turning it over too much. That all stops tonight. They are coming of a nice four-day rest and taking on a weaker and far less-rested T-Wolves team -- which, by the way, they beat to start the season without Tyreke Evans. Lay the points take the Kings!
Rich Green
3* Miami Ohio Under 51.5
3* Atlanta - 6.5
Brandon Lang
Bowling Green +2.5