Jimmy The Moose
Colorado Avalanche at Detroit Red Wings
Prediction: Over
Colorado has played over the total in their last 3 games and in 5 of their last 7 overall. The over is 7-3 in their last 10 vs. Central Division opponents. The Red Wings have played over the total in 4 of their last 5 games. The over is 5-0 in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a losing record. The over is 4-1 in their last 5 games vs. a Western Conference opponent. The over is 17-8-2 in Colorado's last 27 trips to Detroit. The last 4 meetings overall have played the over. Play the over.
Alex Smart
New York Knicks @ Phoenix Suns
PICK: Phoenix Suns -8
Former coach of the Phoenix Suns Mike D'Antoni makes his return to the the desert to play the high flying Suns as the HC of the NY Knicks. Big Mike has implemented his take no prisoners offensive style on a young and very average looking group of Knicks, with mixed results. The Suns know their old mentors style of play very well and are more equipped to play this up-tempo game than their visiting opponents, making for a bad matchup situation for the Knicks.
New York despite of an offense that averages 105.0 points per game , are a dismal defensive side that ranks second-worst in the league allowing a whopping 106.8 points per game. Look for the Knicks to get a reality check here this evening.
Projected score: Phoenix 118 NY Knicks 103
Big Al McMordie
Cleveland State vs. Syracuse
Play:Cleveland State +13
At 7pm, our complimentary selection is on the Cleveland State Vikings plus the points over the Syracuse Orange. The Vikings come into tonight's game off a 66-47 win over the Marist Red Foxes, and Cleveland State is 7-0 ATS its last seven off a road win. Also, Syracuse has been dismal as a double-digit home favorite since 1990, going 54-74 ATS, including 23-55 vs. foes NOT off a SU/ATS loss. Take the Vikings plus the points.
Cajun Sports
Charlotte Bobcats vs. Atlanta Hawks
Play: Charlotte Bobcats +7.5
Phillips Arena will be the site of tonight’s clash between the host Atlanta Hawks and the visiting Charlotte Bobcats. Atlanta will go for its third consecutive victory and seventh straight at Philips Arena as it hosts a Bobcats team that has dropped eight of nine on the road this season. Charlotte is looking for its first road victory since defeating Indiana 115-108 in overtime on Nov. 28.
The Bobcats are also looking to avenge a loss to these Hawks back on November 21st at Phillips Arena 88 to 83 covering the 8 point spread. Charlotte has had decent success against the spread when facing the Hawks posting a record of 12-5 ATS since 1996.
Charlotte is 1-3 SU when facing division opponents but they are a perfect 4-0 ATS in those contests. They face an Atlanta team that is 8-1 SU at home this season but have found the ATS role a little more difficult posting a record of 4-5 ATS in those home games.
We also see that the Bobcats are 70-46 ATS after playing a game as a home underdog since 1996. The Bobcats also bounce back on the road after failing to cover the number in their previous game going 55-32 ATS. Atlanta on the other hand is in a negative situation that says they are 11-25 ATS after covering 3 of their last 4 against the spread over the last 3 seasons. The Hawks have also been installed as an underdog in their most recent games and this to triggers a negative situation for the Hawks as they are 15-28 ATS after playing 4 consecutive games as an underdog the last three years.
Finally we note the Hawks are active in an NBA System that tells us to Play AGAINST NBA home teams with a team playing their 5th game in 7 days, with a winning percentage of 60% to 75% facing a team with a winning percentage of 25% to 40%. This system has a record of 28-7 ATS since 1996 and a perfect 7-0 ATS the last three seasons. The average score when this system is active is team 90.6 and their opponent 93.8.
We will take the points here as the Bobcats keep this one close and possibly capture a much needed road victory.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: (2*) Charlotte Bobcats 95 Atlanta Hawks 97
Tom Freese
New York Knicks at Phoenix Suns
Prediction: Over
New York is 20-8 OVER vs. a team that allowed 100 or more points in their last game and they are 23-10 OVER off a straight up win. The Knicks are 18-8 OVER as road dogs of 5 to 10.5 points and they are 42-20 OVER off a double digit win. Phoenix is 9-0 OVER their last nine games and they are 8-0 OVER after allowing 100 or more points in their last game. The Suns are 7-0 OVER on Monday and they are 5-0 OVER after scoring 100 or more points in their last game. PLAY ON 'OVER'
Brian Hansen
San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings
Prediction: San Jose Sharks
The Sharks are the best team in the league and are coming off a 5-4 home victory over the Blues; I expect them to once again take care of business on the road against the Kings! LA is coming off a victory, but I expect them to be sluggish tonight against the leagues best team. Expect the SHARKS to improve to 3-1 their last 4 after scoring 5 or more goals in a home game their previous time out!
Karl Garrett
New Jersey +4 at TORONTO
Sunday winner from the G-Man, as Minnesota-Arizona goes OVER the total. Now 11-6-1 my last 18 comp plays.
These teams just met on Friday night in New Jersey, as Toronto tore the Nets a new rear end in a 101-79 laugher.
Look for the Nets to get some quick turnaround revenge, as New Jersey did have Sunday idle, while the Raptors were busy battling the Hornets in a Sunday matinee north of the border.
Toronto is just 3-8 against the spread in their 11 home games this season, while New Jersey has been better away from home this season than at home, as the Nets are a solid 7-4 straight up on the road, and 8-3 against the spread on the road.
The Raptors are the better team, but they certainly haven't shown much consistency this season, and with that money-burning 3-8 spread mark on their home floor, the G-Man will roll with the visitor in this one.
2♦ NEW JERSEY
Bobby Maxwell
New York +9 at PHOENIX
This game is all about New York coach Mike D'Antoni returning to Phoenix to coach against the team he led to an average of 58 wins the last four seasons with a up-tempo, all-offense style of play. Now he's bringing a young Knicks' team in with the same philosophy and they are starting to take to it.
So we'll grab the points with the Knicks tonight as they will light up the scoreboard. They may not win but they'll be in it until the end. New York is third in the NBA at 105 points per game and they give up 106.8 per contest. They got a 121-109 win at New Jersey on Wednesday and then they headed out West and got 43 points in the first quarter and beat the Kings 114-90 in Sacramento on Saturday.
Meanwhile the Suns are off to their worst start since 2003 and they've got some injuries to Shaq O'Neal and something doesn't look right with Steve Nash who is averaging more than two points and three assists less this season than last. They barely survived at home against the Magic on Friday, winning 113-112.
Both teams will reach the 100-point mark and look for this to end end up coming down to a few key free throws for the Suns. New York might not win it but they are going to fight for their coach right down to the wire. Play the Knicks.
4♦ NEW YORK
VEGAS EXPERTS
Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles
Cleveland is down to its third string QB and has not scored a single offensive touchdown since their last appearance on Monday Night Football four games ago. All they've gotten since then is seven Phil Dawson field goals. Philadelphia is 21-10 Under L31 when favored, including 14-5 here at home. They are also 5-1 Under when coming off a SU win as an underdog. If there ever was to be a MNF game to go Under, it's this one.
Play on: Under
Matt Rivers
For Monday take the Celtics at home.
It's a lot of points to lay as the Jazz are a talented team but with Carlos Boozer more than likely going to miss once again and being across the country I see no way that Utah can compete with the hottest and best team in the entire world right now in Boston.
Allen, Garnett and Pierce just continue to destroy opponent after opponent. It's insane how motivated this team is day in and day out after winning the championship a few short months ago. Doc Rivers has his team flying high and firing away on all cylinders and in Beantown tonight should win this thing going away, like they seem to always do these days.
I really do like Williams, Okur, Kirilenko and the Jazz as they are a 50 plus win team that is great in Sal Lake City. But it's asking a bit much for Jerry Sloan's squad to be able to compete today against the big bad Celtics.
We may have a close game for a little bit but after 48 minutes I see a double digit burial in which the visitors are held to around 80 points.
Sean Higgs
Cleveland State vs. Syracuse
Play:Cleveland State +13
We have backed the Vikings several times already this year. This is a top level mid-major. SU is a terrible 7-19 ATS as a favorite of 13 points or more. Vikes struggle a bit at the charity stripe, but with this number that won't hurt. Take CLEVELAND STATE
Indiancowboy
Take New Jersey Nets +4.5 over Toronto Raptors
If you take a look at these two teams history, they trade wins back and forth. Their history goes as far back as Vince Carter playing for this team, to these two teams hooking up in the playoffs the other year and these two simply hate each others guts. Keep in mind that each have great incentive to defeat each other. Vince went on the road this year even without Devin Harris and they got it done over the Raptors earlier this year. What did the Raptors then do after their new coaching change? They came back and beat this team 101-79 on the road and now the Nets look to return the favor back on the road. The Nets have had some tough losses of late including the Raptors at home and the Bulls on the road - a game they were actually leading for some time. Prior to that the Nets were rocking and rolling with Devin Harris leading the way. I can see an outright win here for the Nets on the road as they get revenge and bounce-back here despite the fact that the Raptors are coming off a loss themselves. Who knows, this is likely an Outright win for the Nets but I'll take the points. You can even dab on the ML if you would like as it sits at +169 as I have NJ likely winning this game in a coin flip.
Tony Karpinski
New York Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns
Play: Over 224.5
This is New York HC Mike D’Antoni’s return to Phoenix after several successful seasons with Suns. Unfortunately for D’Antoni, his new Knick edition remains a work in progress, with unfortunate by product being Stephon Marbury’s ongoing soap opera. The Knicks can score points, because the defense is a work in progress. The Suns, however, not inspiring a lot of confidence lately themselves, playing no defense and not displaying the intensity new HC Terry Porter likes to see. Look for a shootout here with a 120-111 type of score.
Ben Burns
Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat
Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks
Yesterday's 102-86 setback dropped the Heat to 0-4 ATS their last four games and a money-burning 2-8 ATS their last 10. Conversely, the Bucks are 8-5 ATS their last 13 games and a profitable 14-6-1 ATS their past 21. While the Heat played yesterday, the Bucks are well-rested. Their last game was on Saturday, a 121-103 blowout victory over the Pacers. Prior to that, their most recent game last Wednesday. With the Heat at 2-18 SU the last 20 times they played the second of back to back games (0-4 this season) taking the points with the rested visitors is well worth a second look. Consider Milwaukee
John Ryan
Colorado Avalanche at Detroit Red Wings
Prediction: Colorado Avalanche
Ai Simulator 3* graded play on Colorado in the NHL ? Supporting this graded play is a system that has gone 58-62 making 37.8 units since 2002. Play against home teams against the money line off a road win by 1 goal and with a winning record on the season playing a losing team. Here is a second system that has gone 211-215 making 75.1 units since 2002. Play on road teams against the money line well rested team playing only their 2nd game in 5 days, with a winning percentage of between 40-49% on the season. Here is a third system that has gone 21-17 making 12.5 units since 2002. Play against home teams against the money line with a poor starting goalie sporting a save percentage of <= 89.5% of shots against him and a hot offensive team with 5 straight games with 30 or more shots on goal. Colorado is also in a strong role for this game noting that they are 23-12 against the money line (+14.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons. Colorado is also a strong 49-27 against the money line (+20.9 Units) in road games after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game since 1996. Take Colorado.