Jeff Benton
Your Friday freebie is the Boston Celtics as the small home underdog as they play host to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Break up the Blazers! Portland comes to Beantown having won 4 straight, but Boston has actually played a little better than expected under new coach Brad Stevens, as the C's can level their season mark at .500 with the outright win tonight.
Boston had their 4 game winning streak snapped the other night against Charlotte, but the Celtics are a money-turning 5-1 against the spread their last 6 games, and they have been able to cover 6 of the last 8 series meetings on the parquet floor versus Portland.
The Blazers will be playing 7 of their next 9 games on the road, starting with tonight's contest, and while they would like to get this road swing off on the right foot, 9 straight losses in Boston is a tough hill to climb.
Take the Celts plus the points.
2♦ BOSTON
Craig Davis
Friday's comp play comes in the NBA on the San Antonio Spurs.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I remember when Utah was one of the toughest places in the NBA for the opposition to play.
Jerry Sloan roaming the sidelines, Karl Malone dominating inside. Stockton and Hornacek making things difficult on the perimeter. Yep, those days are long gone.
Now I barely recognize the 2013 version of the Utah Jazz. No more Al Jefferson. No more Paul Millsap. Now we hear names like Hayward, Favors, Jefferson, etc.
It took them eight games to garner their first win of the season... a 111-105 decision over the young New Orleans Pelicans. That made their home record 1-4 on the season... and I can't remember the last time the Jazz were that far under .500 at home, ever!!
As for the Spurs, they're on the other end of the spectrum... 8-1 overall, 4-1 on the road, and picking up where they left off last year.
Tony Parker is still Tony Parker. Tim Duncan has been up and down but still a pest in the paint. Kawhi Leonard is getting better and better. The Spurs are just a veteran group trying to make sure they get back to the Finals because they feel like they have some unfinished business to take care of.
They will light up the Utah sky tonight. Take San Antonio over the Jazz by a dozen.
2♦ SAN ANTONIO
Scott Delaney
My free winner tonight is on the San Francisco Dons laying the points to the UNR Wolfpack in college basketball.
San Francisco has opened the season 2-0, and should have no trouble opening up 3-0 for the first time since the 1992-93 season. The Dons had their hands full with Cleveland State on Wednesday, but used a 17-1 run against to negate a 66-57 deficit with 8:40 left, and open up a 74-67 lead with 5:30 left in the game.
The Dons have a well-to-do roster that is averaging 93.0 points per game just two games into the season, is shooting 52 percent from the floor - including 42 percent from three-point range - and has outrebounded its first two opponents 35.0-29.0.
Even better, is the depth I'm seeing early on from this team, which is getting an average of 39.5 points per game after the reserves contributed with 44 against Notre Dame de Namur and 35 versus Cleveland State.
I'm not sold one bit on a rebuilding UNR team that will struggle in the preseason, and likely during Mountain West play. Take the Dons tonight.
2♦ SAN FRANCISCO
Brad Wilton
Going to go with the Miami Heat as the home favorite over the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas comes into South Beach with a 1-3 straight up road mark this season, but are 0-3 against the spread when installed as the road underdog.
As for Miami, LeBron gave the team a wake-up call after getting nipped by the Celtics on their home court six days ago, and they responded with a clocking of the Milwaukee Bucks three days ago.
Look for a similar clocking tonight, as Miami has won all four series meetings since losing to Dallas in the Finals back in 2011, and they have covered in three of those four wins.
Miami is off to a 4-1 start against the spread at home, and I think it is safe to say that record moves to 5-1 after this game versus the visiting Mavs.
2♦ MIAMI
Brett Atkins
My free winner tonight is in College Hoops, with Nebraska-Omaha catching double digits from UNLV in Vegas tonight.
Tuesday night the Runnin' Rebels were handed a devastating home loss from Cal Santa Barbara, and looked confused along the way. It is not what coach Dave Rice envisioned for his team, and the Rebs certainly did not look like a team in sync. Their zone offense was horrendous, and quite frankly, I'm not sure the whole live-by-the-3-die-by-the-3 works with this team anymore. Not once in the game did the Rebels catch fire.
Nebraska-Omaha, on the other hand, caught fire - and then some - Wednesday night in a 30-point win over Missouri-Kansas City, 101-71. Okay, so the Kangaroos aren't the Runnin' Rebels, but UNLV didn't look like the Runnin' Rebels the other night, either.
And after lackluster exhibition games against Dixie State and Adams State, then the debacle against UCSB, the only thing to go on with the Rebs is their blowout win against Portland State. And trust me, the Vikings are no Nebraska-Omaha.
Get the point?
Take the double digits in this one.
5♦ NEBRASKA-OMAHA
LT Profits
San Jose State vs Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Pick: San Jose State +7
The San Jose State Spartans have lost 15 straight, as the team basically quit on its former coach dropping the last 14 games last year after senior leading scorer James Kinney was suspended. The Spartans then lost the season opener this year to Santa Clara, but it received good outings from the two starting freshmen that have joined three returning starters, especially Rashad Muhammad, who scored 15 points in his college debut. San Jose now takes a dip in class vs. the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers, who are 1-1 but were gift-wrapped an upset win at Davidson by outscoring the Wildcats 32-11 from the foul line. The Panthers were weak on both sides of the ball last year going 8-24 and early indications are they have not improved, ranking 221st in offensive efficiency and 213th in defensive efficiency after two games. Wisconsin-Milwaukee is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games following an ATS win.
Washington vs UCLA
Pick : Over 60
Two great offenses that match up well with the opposing defenses face off Friday with the Washington Huskies visiting the UCLA Bruins. UCLA has only been stopped by the two best defenses in the Pac-12 so far in Stanford and Oregon, as the Bruins are averaging 43.6 points and 517.6 total yards in their other seven games, all of them victories. UCLA also expects to get running back Jordan James back, which is good news vs. the 77th ranked Washington run defense. The Huskies have actually been better offensively overall, averaging 37.2 points and a whopping 515.9 yards over the whole season. Washington has yet to be held below 24 points, even scoring 24 points vs. Oregon and 28 vs. Stanford. Washington averages 229.0 rushing yards and is facing an 81st ranked UCLA rushing defense. The ‘over’ is 4-0 in the last four UCLA games after it allowed more than 200 rushing yards in its previous game.
Harry Bondi
Washington / UCLA Under 61
A pair of high flying offenses face off at the Rose Bowl tonight but we think the linesmaker has over inflated the number and will go under the total of 61. Both of these teams feature solid rushing attacks and while both offenses and QB's are outstanding, both defenses are much improved. These two schools also have a history of low scoring games as evidenced by the fact that five of the last six games have gone under the posted total. We look for that to continue tonight. Take UNDER the total of 61 in tonight's Pac-12 showdown.
OC Dooley
Georgia Tech -1.5
Even though this is a traditional rivalry the fact that we have a “road” favorite is a testament to the current status of the Yellow Jackets. In recent seasons it has been an annual late November event where the Georgia Bulldogs easily defeat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets who simply have not had sufficient talent to keep up with a Southeast Conference foe. But the situation on the hardwood is different as it is the Yellow Jackets of Tech with the more accomplished roster that has FOURTEEN different players from “in state” which is a testament to excellent recruiting. In fact Georgia Tech has the most in-state players of any roster in Division I basketball this season. The Georgia Bulldogs are a home underdog tonight as they are in the process of re-establishing themselves without do-everything star Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who ended up as an NBA lottery pick. In the career of the current Georgia Bulldogs head coach following a game where they were beaten badly on the boards by 15+ rebounds, his teams have gone a disastrous 2-13 ATS/HOME
The Duke's Sports
Phoenix +1
Underachieving Nets haven't adapted to HC Kidd's coaching as Garnett is struggling on both ends of the floor grasping system. And the road woes should continue for the Nets tonight. Phoenix has been an overachiever with Hornacek who has the Suns playing great defense (allowing 95.2 ppg) while getting them to run an efficient offense with non marquee names; as a result, the Suns are defending their home court well and should deliver here after coming off a road loss (cover) against a vengeful Portland team on Wednesday. I like the way Bledsoe runs the offense and Lopez is developing into a top notch big man. And the Morris twins add quality depth off the bench. Phoenix should stay undefeated ATS on their home floor.
Andre Gomes
Bucks / Pacers Over 183
Milwaukee is currently dealing with a lot of injuries, so much that it's possible that they will have to start the following lineup: Zaza Pachulia, Ekpe Udoh, Kris Middleton, O.J. Mayo and Nate Wolters. So many injury problems in Milwaukee will in my opinion lead to a very good game from Indiana's offense. The Pacers have been great on offense over their last two with 110 and 113 offensive ratings, while having 24/13 and 25/13 A/TO ratios! Their perimeter has been excellent, with Paul George, Lance Stephenson and George Hill dominating the Grizzlies! The only area where Indiana's offense wasn't great was down low with 38 points in the paint on each of their last two games, while having subpar shooting numbers. However, they faced Brooklyn and Memphis, two good interior defenses, while they will face a depleted Bucks frontcourt tonight. Therefore, I believe Indiana will have a huge offensive game tonight, as Milwaukee's guards won't be able to handle Indiana's guards, something that will give a lot of space to the Pacers' frontcourt players who won't have problems in scoring a bunch of easy points down low tonight.
On the other hand, Milwaukee will have to base their offense on long range shooting, especially via their two main perimeter shooters: O.J. Mayo and Gary Neal. Indiana is coming from some tough games and considering the fact that they will have a huge offensive game tonight, they won't have to make a big effort on defense, something that will allow Milwaukee to score a respectable amount of points as well. Therefore, I believe this game will be a relatively high scoring contest, especially due to Indiana's big offensive game and so, I'll be taking the Over in here.
Timberwolves / Nuggets Under 210
Denver is coming from a home win against the Lakers, but they weren't convincing at all in that win. Their perimeter shooting was poor as usual, with only Randy Foye and Wilson Chandler being a bit more consistent on long range shooting. What saved the Nuggets were their 23 offensive rebounds, as even their decision to pound the Lakers down low didn't work greatly, as they shot just 19-37 (51.4%) FG at the rim and 9-19 FG from 4-9 feet. Considering that they struggled to be effective in the paint against a Lakers undersized team that was on a back to back spot, these aren't good news when they will be facing a much tougher Minnesota team tonight.
First of all, Minnesota is #1 in the league on transition defense, so Denver won't be able to score their usual fast break points and that's going to be a massive problem for them tonight, as their outside shooting is poor, their offense on half court is also very unimaginative, so they generally need to be effective down low and on transition to have good offensive games. As that won't likely happen tonight, I believe Denver will struggle on offense in here. On the other side, I expect Minnesota's offense to suffer a letdown tonight, after a massive offensive game at home against Cleveland last Wednesday. Minnesota was completely "in the zone" in that game, with Corey Brewer shooting 5-5 3pts and Robbie Hummel on his first start ever shooting 2-4 3pts! Even Ricky Rubio shot 1-1 3pts! No way they will have two back to back performances like this! Denver's transition defense was ridiculous at Phoenix where they allowed 37 fast break points to the Suns. Their head coach Brian Shaw was so furious at his team that Denver bounced back to allow just 8 and 5 fast break points on their last two games. I also believe that Denver's athletic frontcourt will cause problems to the Wolves' offense, as when they aren't able to put the ball with quality down low, they struggle to generate any kind of offensive flow. Therefore, I believe we have the right spot and matchup to take the Under in here.