Craig Davis
Your free play winner for Thursday night is the Clippers as the road favorite over the Brooklyn Nets.
Last night, an emotional Doc Rivers led his Clips to a tough 96-88 road win in Boston to make it three wins in five tries on the road. It wraps up with tonight's game in Brooklyn and then Friday night in Washington.
They've been on a bit of a roller coaster ride during this trip, but overall they still have a winning record and should continue that tonight with a win against the Nets.
Yes, I realize Deron Williams is back in the lineup after missing some time with an injury, but I still don't believe he's 100% and I know Chris Paul looks forward to this matchup.
But I think where the Clippers are going to win this game is "in the trenches", so to speak. I'm not sure how healthy the Brooklyn "bigs" are, and without having your full arsenal of size and strength in the paint, it could make for a long night.
I expect Griffin and Jordan to have their way, for the most part, down there tonight and the Clippers walk out of Brooklyn with a 97-90 win.
1♦ L.A. CLIPPERS
Scott Delaney
My complimentary winner will be on the Boston College Eagles getting points at home against the Maryland Terrapins, as a pair of old rivals get together in Beantown. Problem is, as I see it, the wrong team might be favored.
The Eagles lost their first two games in December on the road at Purdue and USC, so I expect them to reboudn in this ACC opener against the Terrapins. Maryland also comes in after losing its last two outings, on the road at Ohio State and George Washington.
BC, which is 3-2 against the Terrapins in Chestnut Hill, come into conference play after establishing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. The Eagles' November opponents are a combined 42-10 so far this year, while two of them are nationally ranked: Connecticut and Massachusetts - both of which are still undefeated.
Battle-tested, I think we're going to see one of Boston College's best efforts of the season, as it would love nothing more than to open ACC-play with a win.
4♦ BOSTON COLLEGE
Brad Wilton
Early ACC meeting in Chestnut Hill tonight when Maryland visits Boston College.
These rivals split their pair of meetings last season, with the host winning each of the two meetings, but Boston College in the underdog role covering in both.
I will back the Eagles once again as the underdog, as the home team has won each of the last 4 meetings, and against the spread we see B.C. on a solid 6-2 ATS run versus the Terrapins.
All 5 starters are back for Steve Donahue's team, and with just a 3-6 mark through their first 9 games, it is time for the Eagles to start to win some basketball games.
Both teams come into this game riding 2 game losing streaks, but the Eagles are finally back at home after their last pair on the road, while Mark Turgeon's Terps are playing their third in a row on the road.
Have to take the points and look for the home court trend to come through for a 5th straight meeting.
1♦ BOSTON COLLEGE
Brett Atkins
My free play for tonight is on the Portland Trail Blazers, laying -3 points to the Houston Rockets.
Listen, I know we have two of the NBA's top offenses getting together in the Moda Center, but the Trail Blazers are looking for revenge tonight. The Rockets already stifled Portland once this season. I don't see it happening tonight in Portland.
The Rockets attempt more three-pointers than any team in the league and convert more than every club except the Lakers, and tonight that strategy won't work on the road, in a hostile environment that will be fired up for its home team. Besides, Houston's three-point efficiency has been pretty bad lately, plus, they've been shooting poorly mid-range as well.
I'd rather side with the Blazers' outside-in attack, which will work at home against Houston, which generally allows a lot of shots from the perimeter. The Blazers will be aggressive in the paint tonight, you're going to see plenty of second chances and they're going to be much more successful than the first time they played Houston.
Lay the cheap number at home tonight, as Portland prevails.
1♦ PORTLAND
Andre Gomes
Rockets / Blazers Under 215.5
The public just love the Over in this contest and the total line jumped @215.5 points. My fair line is 208/210 points so now we have the proper edge to make a big play w/ the UNDER.
These two teams are great offensive teams but I think that defense will be a key factor for tonight due to the way the matchups will work.
After being humiliated @Utah by losing & allowing 109 points to the lowly Jazz, the Rockets have now 3 solid consecutive great defensive games w/ Def. Rtg of 101.7, 84.0 and 94.2. In this stretch, note that the great Warriors offense was held to just 83 points! Houston defensive rebounding ranking in the league is a subpar #19 w/ 74.1% Defensive Rebounding% but lately they have been great in not allowing offensive boards to their opponents, L5 games = 81%! This is important because the Blazers are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (ranked #4 w/ 28.9%) and with the Rockets doing a solid job on the defensive glass, the Blazers won't be able to score on second chances. POR in their L4 games grabbed 16, 17, 17 and 11 offensive boards but tonight they will have a tough task to get that many off. Reb.
It might sound strange to say, but James Harden has looked better defensively lately. GSW offensive strategy was to explore Harden's bad defense but he answered pretty well in that game, it was one of the biggest reasons why GSW struggled so badly offensively in that game. The perception is that the Rockets are a bad defensive team but I have them ranked #8 in defensive efficiency!
On the other end, the Blazers defense will have some problems to contain Dwight Howard but their primary defensive principle - defend the 3pts line (they are ranked #6 allowing just 33.8%) is built to face a team like the Rockets who are #1 in Three Pointers Attempted per Game w/ 27.6 mark. Note that after their great shooting display @SAS, the Rockets are shooting only 28% behind the line (34-120) so we have a nice defensive edge in this key area.
In the first h2h, the Rockets won on the road in a game that ended w/ 217 points. Here some factors that explains such high scoring outcome that won't happen tonight: 1) The Rockets were playing w/ Asik & Howard together on the front and with Jeremy Lin & Harden on the backcourt. The current starting lineup w/ Beverly and Jones filling Asik & Lin makes the Rockets a better defensive team when compared vs. early on the season; 2) Robin Lopez battled foul trouble (played only 18 minutes) and his primary backup was Meyers Leonard! Obviously it was a field day for Howard (10-13 FG, 9-12 FT) as it was too easy to score near the basket. I have HOU w/ 27-41 FG near the basket in that game! Lopez is playing some solid basketball and Leonard was so bad defensively that he is out of the rotation right now!
Joe Gavazzi
Maryland -1.5
Each of these teams enters this ACC opener off a pair of losses. Far more was expected from BC with 5 RS from a 16 win team. But, they have started 3-6 SU, 2-6 ATS failing against the number by a net of 60 points. Failure of a 3rd offensive player to complement Hanlin and Anderson is a major issue for HC Donahue, but not nearly as big an issue as the Eagle's 80 PPG defense. The Terps remain rudderless with PG Seth Allen still out of action. But Wells, Layman, and Smotryck provide a trio of scorers for HC Turgeon and the Maryland defense is far superior to that of BC. Most notable as well is the lifetime mark of Turgeon in which his teams have gone 80-52 ATS following a defeat.
NFL Betting Picks
Chargers / Broncos Over 55.5
We come back on the OVER in Denver tonight for Thursday Night football. We've got the Broncos leading the NFL in a ton of offense categories including yards per game (465), yards per play (6.3) and points per game (39.6). The Chargers aren't far behind offensively ranking 4th in the NFL overall and averaging 6.1 yards per play and 24.3 ppg. While both teams have well above average offenses the same cannot be said for their defenses. The Broncos defense has picked up it's play a bit lately, but still rank 25th in the NFl and giving up 26.5 papg. The Chargers defense ranks 28th overall and give up 22.4 points per game, but they are giving up a league worst 6.3 yards against per play - which isn't going to be pretty tonight vs Manning at home. The Broncos are averaging 42.3 points per game at home, while the Chargers average 24.6 points per game on the road. Although these teams combined for just 48 points in their meeting in San Diego I expect a lot more from Denver offensively tonight at home. The OVER is 6-2 in the Chargers last 8 vs the AFC West, 5-1-1 in their last 7 road games vs a team with a winning home record, and 41-19-4 in their last 64 road games overall. The OVER is 23-7-1 in the Broncos last 31 home games, 49-19-1 in their last 69 games overall and 5-0-1 in their last 6 home games vs a team with a losing road record. Head to head the OVER is also 6-1 in their last 7 meetings in Denver. Take the OVER tonight.
Harry Bondi
San Diego / Denver Over 56.5
San Diego and Denver are both dead over teams but particularly on the road for the Chargers and at home for the Broncos. San Diego is 45-19 to the over in it's last 64 road games while Denver is 24-7 to the over their last 31 at home! Look for those trends to continue tonight and add in the fact that 6 of the 7 meetings between these two teams have gone over the total! It's a shootout in the Mile high city tonight. Take over the total.
OC Dooley
Blazers -2.5
One of the keys to this pick has to do with the HEAD COACH of visiting Houston as Kevin McHale will NOT be attendance due to an unfortunate personal matter (mother passing away). Even with McHale in attendance tonight’s game was going to be a difficult one for the Rockets as they are facing one of the NBA’s surprise teams out of the gate. It was way back on opening week when Houston traveled to Portland and pounded the Blazers by a 116-101 final count. Following the contest Portland has gone on an amazing “16-2” tear which is made all the more impressive when considering they operate out of the Western Conference where the bulk of NBA talent resides this campaign. In Houston’s victory out west back in early November one of their big men Omar Asik dominated the paint, but due to injury he will NOT be in the Rockets lineup for the rematch. Both Asik and teammate Chandler Parsons missed yesterday’s practice along with veteran Jeremy Lin. While Lin will return from a six-game absence the bottom line is that Houston comes into this encounter NOT 100% healthy for which I am taking full advantage. One of the few problems Portland (18-4 overall) has had in the early stages of this season has been effective interior play, but in their most recent appearance a few nights ago then registered 44 points in the paint which shows they do not have to rely completely on the perimeter game where a host of shartshooters (Aldridge, Lillard, Batum) excel
NHL Predictions
Boston Bruins -½ +105
I'm taking the Bruins to win in regulation here tonight, but I also find some value taking them on the moneyline at -150 if your sportsbook doesn't allow regulation time bets. Boston is 21-8-2 on the season and are winners of 3 straight games and 5 of their last 6 overall. They have been pretty solid on the road going 8-5 away from home. The Oilers are 11-18-3 on the season and just 5-9-1 at home. The Oilers have been alternating wins and losses over their last 9 games, going 5-3-1 over that span. Tonight's goaltending match up will most likely be a mismatch, with Tuuka Rask expected to start for Boston and holding a 16-7-2 record, 1.87 GAA and .935 SV% compared to Edmonton's Devan Dubnyk who is 9-12-2 with a 3.27 GAA and .892 SV%. Boston is 6-1 in their last 7 games vs a team with a losing record, 14-5 in their last 19 Thursday night games, and 25-10 in their last 35 games after allowing 2 or fewer goals in their previous game. The Oilers are just 17-37 in their last 54 home games dating back to last season, 14-30 in their last 44 overall, 15-38 in their last 53 vs a team with a winning % above .600 and 1-5 in their last 6 home games vs a team with a road winning % of .600 or higher. Although these East/West opponents don't meet often, the Bruins have dominated the match up winning 10 of their last 11 meetings and 4 straight in Edmonton. Look for Boston to be too much for the Oilers to handle tonight. I'll take them at plus money to win in regulation time.
Tony George
Portland - 3
Hot home court for the upstart Trail Blazers on TNT tonight, and they have been money whenever they get a TNT game at home, going 5-0 SU and ATS the last 5 times! They host the Houston Rockets in this one, and this will be the marquee game of the day in Pro Hoops.
This should be a shootout tonight as the Blazers in their last 5 games are averaging 111 ppg and the Rockets pumping in 101 ppg in the same time frame.An interesting dynamic that goes against Portland here, is they have had a tough time with Houston in the Rose Garden, as Houston is 5-0-1 ATS the last 6 meetings in here and the over has cashed out the last 4 in a row between these two.
Houston's weakness is defense, however their last two opponents were held to 85 ppg, but Portland at home is a different animal and at days end I think the Trail Blazers, who are 16-6 ATS their last 22 games, rise to the occasion in a building where they have won 10 out of 12 games straight up, and get the job done tonight. Bear in mind one of those home losses was back on November 5th when Houston came in here and beat Portland 116 - 101 so revenge is a motivating factor on Portland side as well.