Daily Sports Roundup
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Thunder play host to the Nuggets, while the White Sox do battle with the Indians, and the Braves get a visit from the Cubs.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has 13 games on its busy slate for Wednesday, including Denver at Oklahoma City in a matchup of playoff-bound Western Conference clubs. The Nuggets (50-27 SU, 32-39-6 ATS) won their second straight game on Saturday, getting past the Clippers in Denver in a 98-90 victory. Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Nuggets with 24 points in that game, while Nene Hilario picked up 18 points. Denver is 2-1 vs. Oklahoma City so far this season; the Nuggets blasted the Thunder 119-90 in Denver as a 7-point favorite when they played on March 3.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Wednesday: Boston at Toronto, Washington at Orlando, New York at Indiana, Philadelphia at Miami, Atlanta at Detroit, Utah at Houston, Golden State at Minnesota, Charlotte at New Orleans, Memphis at Dallas, Portland at the Clippers, San Antonio at Phoenix, and New Jersey at Milwaukee. The Nets (11-66 SU, 31-44-2 ATS) found themselves back in the loss column in their last game on Sunday, falling 109-99 to the Wizards in Washington. Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut (arm) will miss the rest of the year.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
The Yankees continue their series in Boston in American League action on Wednesday. Also on the Junior Circuit slate for the day: Baltimore at Tampa Bay, Toronto at Texas, Detroit at Kansas City, Seattle at Oakland, Minnesota at the Angels, and Cleveland at the White Sox. Chicago will send Jake Peavy to the mound for Wednesday's matchup; righthander Peavy made three starts for the White Sox last season, going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in those contests. The Indians will counter with Fausto Carmona; the righthander struggled badly for Cleveland in 2009, going just 5-12 with an ugly 6.32 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 125.1 innings.
Over in the National League on Wednesday it'll be Colorado at Milwaukee, San Francisco at Houston, the Dodgers at Pittsburgh, Philadelphia at Washington, Florida at the Mets, St. Louis at Cincinnati, San Diego at Arizona, and the Cubs at Atlanta. Chicago will go with Ryan Dempster against the Braves; righthander Dempster went 11-9 last season with a 3.65 ERA and 172 strikeouts over 200 innings. Jair Jurrjens, who posted a 14-10 record in 2009 to go along with a 2.60 ERA, goes for the Braves; Jurrjens fanned 152 over 215 innings pitched last year.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the National Hockey League has five games on the schedule for Wednesday, with Toronto at the Rangers, Columbus at Detroit, St. Louis at Chicago, Colorado at Edmonton, and Nashville at Phoenix. The 46-28-6 Predators won their second game in a row last time out, getting past the Red Wings by a final score of 4-3 in Detroit on Saturday. Ryan Suter had the OT winner in that contest. The 48-25-6 Coyotes slipped past the Oilers 3-2 at home in a shootout in their last game on Saturday, with Matthew Lombardi and Daniel Winnik scoring in regulation time. Phoenix is 2-1 against Nashville on the season.
Wednesday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat – Jermaine O’Neal (knee) has missed the last four games and is questionable. Samuel Dalembert (hip) and Andre Iguodala (foot) were both probable heading into Tuesday’s game but played.
Atlanta Hawks at Detroit Pistons – Joe Johnson (thumb) will not play in Wednesday’s game. Richard Hamilton (ankle) has missed the team’s last four games and is questionable.
Charlotte Bobcats at New Orleans Hornets – Stephen Jackson (hamstring) and Nazr Mohammed (back) were both probable heading into Tuesday’s game but only Jackson played.
Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves – Monta Ellis (flu) did not make the road trip with the team and is not expected to play on Wednesday.
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Clippers – Brandon Roy (arm) and LaMarcus Aldridge (infection) both missed practice this week and are probable for the game.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings – Rick Nash (upper body) missed Monday’s game and is questionable. Kris Russell (arm) missed Monday’s game and is questionable.
Colorado Avalanche at Edmonton Oilers - Peter Mueller (head) is out indefinitely after sustaining a head injury two games ago. Sam Gagner (hip) has missed the last two weeks but is questionable for Wednesday.
Lines to keep an eye on
The total in the Knicks-Pacers game opened at 219 and has been bet up to 220.5 at most shops. New York has played to three straight overs while Indiana has cashed two consecutive overs.
An opening total of 211 in the Nuggets-Thunder game has dropped to 210 on some boards. Eight of the last 10 games in this series have gone over.
The Astros opened as +115 underdogs against San Francisco for Wednesday’s game but that number can be found as high as +136 now. The total in that game has also moved from an opener of 8 to 7.5.
Most sportsbooks are offering the total for the Dodgers-Pirates game at 8.5 after opening at 8. The last four games in this series have gone over.
The total in the Yankees-Red Sox game surfaced at 9.5 but every board is now working with 10 and some even have 10.5.
The Rays opened as -185 favorites versus Baltimore but that number can be found as high as -215 in some markets. The total in that game has also moved from an opener of 8.5 to as high as 9.5.
The Rangers opened as -160 favorites against the Blue Jays but that number has escalated to as high as -180.
Weather report
There is a 70 percent chance of rain during the Indians-White Sox game in Chicago on Wednesday with the wind projected to be blowing in from right field at 13 mph.
Scattered storms are expected to bring a 30 percent chance of precipitation during the Tigers-Royals and the 20 mph wind blowing out to left-center could create some runs.
There is a 60 percent chance of precipitation for the Rockies-Brewers game and the wind is expected to be blowing out to right field at 14 mph.
Who’s hot
Portland is 8-2 SU and 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 outings.
The New York Rangers are 5-1 SU in their last six, earning 4.68 units on the moneyline.
The Bucks are 5-0 ATS in their last five games.
Who’s not
The Celtics are 3-4 SU and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games.
Edmonton is 1-5 SU in its last six outings.
Key stat
8-0 – Suns record when Jason Richardson scores at least 26 points. Phoenix is 7-1 ATS in the same scenario.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Shawn Marion will be absent from the Mavericks starting lineup on Wednesday as he deals with a strained oblique muscle. Dallas could end up resting Marion until the playoffs with its deep rotation. Jason Terry is the likely candidate to start in place of Marion and rookie Rodrigue Beaubois could see extended playing time. The Mavs are 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS without The Matrix this season.
Game of the Day
San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns (-6.5, 210.5)
Notable quotable
“I've been wanting to play point guard for about 12 years now. I might finally get my chance.”
Spurs center Tim Duncan said after the team lost point guard George Hill on Sunday.
Tips and notes
Pirates manager John Russell is experimenting with batting his pitcher in the 8-hole this season. So far so good, as Pittsburgh begins the season 1-0 after a win over L.A. on Monday. The unorthodox lineup allows Russell to use Andrew McCutchen second in the order instead of leadoff. Russell says “it creates a good balance in our lineup" and “will help set us up to get to the middle of our order." The Pirates went 13-20 in 2008 and 2-4 last year with the pitcher hitting eighth.
The Mavericks are in a four-way tie for second place in the Western Conference and according to Dirk Nowitzki and Rick Carlisle there is no letting up or resting players down the stretch. Coach Carlisle said despite having a playoff berth he doesn’t want his team “to feel comfortable” and wants it “to keep an edge.” Nowitzki said he was going to play the last handful of games “like the playoffs are already here.” Dallas could be a play-on team with Memphis, Sacramento and the Clippers on the docket.
After Monday’s practice at Auburn Hills that was labeled a “bickering-fest” between players and coaches and saw Pistons coach Jon Kuester punt the ball into the stands, Charlie Villanueva sounded off via Twitter. Villanueva said on his account it “has been a very frustrating year, it just only got worse 2day.” Detroit was on an 11-game slide (1-10 ATS) heading into Tuesday’s game and this is clearly a team in turmoil that you don’t want to back.