Betting news, trends, odds and predictions for Thursday, February 8, 2018 from various handicappers and websites
Thursday’s NBA
Orlando is 5-3 in its last eight games with Atlanta; home side won last four series games. Hawks are 3-2 vs spread in last five visits to Orlando- under is 3-1 in last four series games played here. Atlanta is 3-2 in its last five games; they’re 14-12 vs spread on road. Under is 6-4 in their last 10 games. Orlando won three of its last four games; they’re 1-7 vs spread as home favorites. Four of their last six games went over.
New York lost its last four games; this is their first game without injured star Porzingis. NY is 7-5 in last 12 games as road underdogs. Knicks’ last six games stayed under. Toronto won five of its last six games; they’re 4-1 vs spread in last five home games. Under is 5-3 in Raptors’ last eight games. Knicks lost eight of last nine games with Toronto; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Canada. Four of last five series games stayed under.
Home side won nine of last ten Celtic-Wizard games; Boston is 1-3 vs spread in last four visits to Washington. Six of last eight series games went over total. Celtics won four of their last five games; they’re 9-2 as road underdogs. Three of their last four games stayed under. Wizards won five of their last six games; they’re 7-12 vs spread as home favorites. Seven of their last ten games went over the total.
Portland won seven of its last ten games with Charlotte; last five series games stayed under total. Hornets are 1-4 vs spread in their last five visits to Oregon. Charlotte won three of its last four games; they’re 1-5-1 in last seven games as road underdogs. Last four Charlotte games went over the total. Portland lost its last three games; they’re 6-2 in last eight games as home favorites. Four of their last six games stayed under.
Thunder won eight of last ten games with the Lakers; they’re 2-2 vs spread in last four series tilts in Staples Center. Seven of last ten series games stayed under. Oklahoma City lost four of its last five games, but won by 20 in Oakland Tuesday; they’re 4-11 in last 15 games as home favorites. Four of their last five games stayed under. Lakers won seven of their last nine games; they’re 4-0 vs spread in last four tries as home dogs. Last three LA games stayed under.
Golden State won its last nine games with Dallas, six of which went over the total. Mavericks are 2-3 vs spread in their last five visits to Oakland. Dallas lost eight of its last ten games; they’re 9-1 vs spread in last 10 games as road underdogs. Under is 8-2 in their last ten games. Warriors lost three of their last four games; they’re 1-4-2 vs spread in last seven home games. Seven of their last ten games stayed under.
Bottom of the Barrel
The two worst teams in the Eastern Conference will meet from the Amway Center on Thursday as Orlando (17-36 SU, 25-28 ATS) and Atlanta (17-37 SU, 28-24-2 ATS) square off. The Magic have been the more disappointing of the two this season due to higher expectations but both have achieved solid results at the betting counter recently than on the hardwood.
For this matchup, Orlando will be looking to win its third straight game for just the second time this season. The Magic just knocked off the Heat and Cavaliers as underdogs and will now be favorites (-1 ½) over the Hawks, a role that club has struggled in this season. When laying points at home, Orlando has gone 3-5 SU and 1-7 ATS. Despite that fact, it’s hard to dismiss that Orlando is 11-3 ATS in its last 14 games despite dealing with key injuries. Aaron Gordon (hip) has missed the last six game for the Magic and is ‘questionable’ for Thursday.
Atlanta enters this game off back-to-back victories as well but unlike Orlando, it has never won three in a row this season. When given that opportunity before, the Hawks have gone 0-2 and both losses were double digits.
These teams have split their first two meetings this season with the home team winning each contest.
Eastern Test
Boston (39-16 SU, 33-20-2 ATS) and Washington (31-23 SU, 25-29 ATS) will tip-off Thursday’s TNT action from Capital One Arena in what's expected to be a a tight contest. The Celtics opened as short road favorites (-1) at BookMaker.eu but the early money put the Wizards into the ‘chalk’ role (-1 ½).
Washington had its five-game winning streak snapped Tuesday as the club dropped a 115-102 decision at Philadelphia. The Wizards have been playing without All-Star John Wall and the team has actually looked better. Prior to Wall going down with a knee injury, Washington was mired in a 1-4 skid.
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The Wizards got the best of Boston on Christmas, earning a 111-103 win as four-point road favorites. The decision was surprising because when the pair met in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals, the home team went 7-0 in that series with Boston advancing 4-3 over Washington.
The Celtics are also off a loss, a 111-91 setback at Toronto on Tuesday. Point guard Kyrie Irving returned to the court after missing the previous three games, which were all victories for Boston.
Washington hasn’t been as dominant at home (17-9 SU, 10-16 ATS) this season but it has won four of its last five. What’s impressive about the Wizards is that they haven’t lost more three or more games in a row this season but they have dropped back-to-back decisions eight times. Boston does own one of the top road marks (18-8 SU, 17-9 ATS) in the league and it hasn’t surrendered two straight setbacks on the road this season.
Win or lose for the Wizards, this video alone tells me why I can’t trust this team again in the postseason. Seems like a real strange dynamic going on in D.C. and maybe Mavs backup point guard J.J. Barea was right about Wall. Make a note that Wall had 21 points and 14 assists in the holiday matchup against Boston.
Chutes and Ladders
The Knicks upset the Raptors 108-100 as 4 ½-point home underdogs on Nov. 22 but it’s hard to see New York pulling off another shocker after what transpired in Tuesday’s 103-89 home loss to Milwaukee.
In the setback, New York lost All-Star Kristaps Porzingis to a season-ending ACL injury. Including the defeat to Milwaukee, the Knicks have lost four in a row and seven of their last nine games.
While New York is going backwards, Toronto continues to rise. The Raptors won and covered their third straight game on Tuesday as it throttled Boston by 20 points (111-91) as a five-point home favorite. The club is only one game behind the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, which has had the bookmakers adjust the future odds on Toronto from 7/1 to 7/2 to win the East.
Prior to the aforementioned loss to the Knicks, Toronto has won nine straight in this series and they covered six of those games. No overnight line was posted but the Raptors opened -15 and they’ve gone an eye-opening 8-0 SU and 6-2 ATS in that role this season.
Total bettors should note that New York is on a 6-0 'under' run and losing Porzingiz (22.7 PPG) could keep that low-side streak rolling along. The total is listed at 210.
Over or Under
There is only one non-conference game on tap Thursday as Charlotte (23-30 SU, 22-27-4 ATS) visits Portland (29-25 SU, 25-26-3 ATS). The Trail Blazers opened as four-point home favorites and the number was pushed down to -3 at most shops. It’s hard to make a case for Portland, who is returning home from a three-game road trip that watched them go 0-3 both SU and ATS. Plus, they head right back on the road tomorrow to visit Sacramento which is never a tough spot. The Blazers haven’t been great at home (15-10 SU, 10-14-1 ATS) compared to previous seasons but Charlotte (8-16 SU, 8-12-4 ATS) hasn’t shown much spirit as a visitor.
Rather than focus on the side, the total jumps out to me and the opener of 214 seemed high. It dropped to 213 ½ quickly before bouncing back up to 214 ½ on Thursday morning. The opening number makes me believe the ‘over’ is worth a look even though the ‘under’ has cashed in five straight in this series and Portland has been one of the best ‘under’ teams (32-22) this season.
Why go high? Along with the respecting the opinion of the oddsmakers, Charlotte has been seriously chucking from distance (3-pointers) in its last four games (32.7) and the confidence from the outside has led to 118.8 points per game and four easy ‘over’ tickets. Along with the good comes the bad and that’s the Charlotte defense, which is allowing 116.8 PPG during this span. Portland hasn’t been in good rhythm offensively lately but a poor defense and home crowd should help cure that on Thursday.
Seeking Revenge
Oklahoma City (31-24 SU, 22-32-1 ATS) snapped a four-game losing skid on Tuesday with an emphatic 125-105 road win over Golden State as a 10-point road underdog. The Thunder face the possibility of a letdown spot Thursday but it will be seeking to avenge a recent 108-104 home loss to the L.A. Lakers (22-31 SU, 28-25 ATS) on Super Bowl Sunday.
Despite that loss, this series has been one-sided as it gets with Oklahoma City taking 16 of the last 20 against Los Angeles and it’s posted a respectable 13-7 ATS mark in those games. Also, the Thunder's record includes a 5-1 run in the last six trips to the Staples Center.
Unfortunately for Lavar Ball and his fearless predictions, this Lakers team won’t be making the playoffs but they have shown some flashes lately. Los Angeles has gone 7-2 both SU and ATS in its last nine games and it enters this game with seven straight wins on its homecourt.
The youth for the Lakers has often shown this season and they definitely fold when facing adversity, which is proven in their ATS numbers at home. The club has been an underdog 19 times in L.A. and they’ve gone 8-11 SU and 10-9 ATS, which tells you the point-spread has only mattered in two games.
If you’re looking to back Los Angeles, a money-line (+125) play could be a better option. Lastly, teams that have defeated Golden State this season have gone 8-4 in their following game so the letdown angle could be thrown out but one of those losses came from OKC.
Three Straight?
The late-night tip from the Bay Area between the Mavericks (17-37 SU, 27-26-1 ATS) and Warriors (41-13 SU, 32-30-1 ATS) looks like a ‘pass’ game on paper. No overnight number was sent out with Harrison Barnes (ankle) and Kevin Durant (hand) both listed as ‘questionable’ for Dallas and Golden State respectively. Even if Durant sits, the Warriors will be laying double digits and they’ll also be looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak this season. Golden State opened -13 on Thursday morning and the Warriors dropped to 12 ½. The money-line has Golden State listed -1000 (Bet $100 to win $10) with the take-back on Dallas listed at plus-650 (Bet $100 to win $650).
Including Tuesday’s embarrassing home loss (125-105) to OKC, the Warriors are 1-3 in their last four games. Golden State is now 11-1 SU and 6-6 ATS off a loss but suffering three losses in a row is very rare. It’s only happened twice in the last three seasons and one of those skids occurred while blowing a 3-1 lead to the Cavaliers in the 2015-16 NBA Finals.
GSW is 19-6 SU and 10-14-1 ATS this season as a double-digit favorite while Dallas is 1-6 both SU and ATS when catching 10-plus points. The Warriors have won nine straight against the Mavericks in this series which includes all three meetings this season. They’ve gone 6-3 ATS during this span.
NBA
Long Sheet
Thursday, February 8
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ATLANTA (17 - 37) at ORLANDO (17 - 36) - 2/8/2018, 7:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 6-4 against the spread versus ORLANDO over the last 3 seasons
ORLANDO is 5-5 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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NEW YORK (23 - 32) at TORONTO (37 - 16) - 2/8/2018, 7:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 5-5 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 8-2 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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BOSTON (39 - 16) at WASHINGTON (31 - 23) - 2/8/2018, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 19-8 ATS (+10.2 Units) in home games after a loss by 10 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 32-20 ATS (+10.0 Units) in all games this season.
BOSTON is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) as an underdog this season.
BOSTON is 45-27 ATS (+15.3 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 141-106 ATS (+24.4 Units) in road games revenging a home loss vs opponent since 1996.
BOSTON is 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent this season.
BOSTON is 15-7 ATS (+7.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
BOSTON is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
WASHINGTON is 11-23 ATS (-14.3 Units) as a favorite this season.
WASHINGTON is 401-468 ATS (-113.8 Units) in home games since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 11-5 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 10-6 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
10 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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CHARLOTTE (23 - 30) at PORTLAND (29 - 25) - 2/8/2018, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHARLOTTE is 56-72 ATS (-23.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
CHARLOTTE is 6-15 ATS (-10.5 Units) as an underdog this season.
CHARLOTTE is 23-43 ATS (-24.3 Units) in road games against Northwest division opponents since 1996.
CHARLOTTE is 174-217 ATS (-64.7 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
CHARLOTTE is 27-43 ATS (-20.3 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
PORTLAND is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) in February games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
PORTLAND is 3-2 against the spread versus CHARLOTTE over the last 3 seasons
PORTLAND is 3-2 straight up against CHARLOTTE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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OKLAHOMA CITY (31 - 24) at LA LAKERS (22 - 31) - 2/8/2018, 10:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 7-3 against the spread versus LA LAKERS over the last 3 seasons
OKLAHOMA CITY is 8-2 straight up against LA LAKERS over the last 3 seasons
8 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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DALLAS (17 - 37) at GOLDEN STATE (41 - 13) - 2/8/2018, 10:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
GOLDEN STATE is 6-4 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 9-1 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NBA
Thursday, February 8
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Trend Report
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ATLANTA @ ORLANDO
Atlanta is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Orlando
Atlanta is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing Orlando
Orlando is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando's last 5 games at home
NEW YORK @ TORONTO
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Toronto is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing New York
BOSTON @ WASHINGTON
Boston is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
CHARLOTTE @ PORTLAND
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 5 games when playing Portland
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Charlotte's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland's last 5 games when playing Charlotte
Portland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte
OKLAHOMA CITY @ LA LAKERS
Oklahoma City is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games when playing LA Lakers
Oklahoma City is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
LA Lakers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
LA Lakers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
DALLAS @ GOLDEN STATE
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Dallas's last 8 games
Dallas is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas