Daily Sports Roundup
Thursday March 4
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Heat get a visit from the Lakers, Penn State takes on Michigan State, and the Penguins hit the road to battle New York.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA offers up three games on Thursday, with Memphis at Chicago, Utah at Phoenix, and the Lakers at Miami. Los Angeles (46-15 SU, 26-33-2 ATS) is coming off a 122-99 pounding of Indiana on Tuesday night, with Kobe Bryant scoring 24 points to go along with six assists. Jordan Farmar was good for 19 points off the bench in that win for the Lakers, who have won three straight games. The Heat (30-31 SU, 30-30-1 ATS) got back into the win column by beating Golden State 110-106 on Tuesday; Dwyane Wade poured in 35 points.
As well, the college basketball schedule has two games involving ranked teams on Thursday, with Providence at No. 17 Pittsburgh, and Penn State at No. 11 Michigan State. The Spartans (22-7 SU, 11-17 ATS) got past Purdue in a low-scoring 53-44 decision in their last game on Sunday. Raymar Morgan had 16 points for Michigan State in that contest. The Nittany Lions (11-17 SU, 12-13-1 ATS) are coming off a 79-60 win over Northwestern, with Talor Battle scoring 16 points. Penn State fell 65-54 to Michigan State when the teams met February 13.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, there are nine games on the NHL's schedule for Thursday, with Toronto at Boston, Ottawa at Carolina, Tampa Bay at Washington, the Islanders at Atlanta, Los Angeles at Nashville, St. Louis at Dallas, Colorado at Phoenix, Montreal at San Jose, and Pittsburgh at the Rangers. The 37-22-4 Penguins slipped past Buffalo 3-2 in their first post-Olympic game on Tuesday night, with Ruslan Fedotenko picking up a goal and an assist. The 29-27-2 Rangers rolled past Ottawa 4-2 on the road Tuesday, with Ryan Callahan scoring twice that day.
Thursday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
Memphis Grizzlies at Chicago Bulls – Derrick Rose, Brad Miller and Luol Deng are probable for Thursday’s game with knee injuries. Joakim Noah will be out with a foot injury (see below).
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers – Marian Gaborik (cut) missed Tuesday’s game and is questionable.
Colorado Avalanche at Phoenix Coyotes – Milan Hejduk (back) missed Monday’s game and is doubtful.
Who’s hot
The Pitt Panthers have won 6-of-7 games and are 5-1 ATS during that stretch.
Carolina has won six straight games, earning 7.75 units on the moneyline.
Who’s not
The Lightning have not covered the puckline in two straight, lost four straight and have given up at least five goals in four consecutive games.
Michigan State is 4-10 ATS at home this season
Key stat
35-13 – Over/under record for NBA teams in the last 48 games played. Going into Wednesday night’s action, the over had gone 10-2 in the last 12 league games.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Bulls center-forward Joakim Noah will miss three weeks of action as he rests because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Coach Vinny Del Negro said the team will give him at least that allotted amount of time but it could take longer for the former Florida Gator to heal. Noah is Chicago’s leading rebounder at 11.4 per night and also contributes 10.7 ppg. Brad Miller has been starting in place of Noah and Taj Gibson is also seeing extended playing time.
Games of the day
Los Angeles Lakers at Miami Heat (+4, 187.5)
Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns (-1, 213)
Notable quotable
"I'll talk about the NHL, and no more Olympics, please. I've said, we're all disappointed, but let's move forward. Let's talk about the future, not what happened in the tournament."
-- Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin said before his game on Wednesday versus the Sabres. The Russians were eliminated by Canada, 7-3, in the quarterfinal round of the Olympics.
Tips and notes
- The Lakers brought in Ron Artest to play defense, but it appears he still hasn’t learned the offense. Artest said on Sunday, "As I learn this triangle, it's a pretty difficult offense." You would think 60 games would be enough for a pro basketball player to understand an offense. Artest is averaging the fewest points in his last 10 seasons and Phil Jackson said he has “hurt” the team offensively at times.
- The Hurricanes haven’t given up on the season yet. Prior to the break, Carolina won 8-of-10 with seven of those victories coming as underdogs. In their first game back on Tuesday, the Canes took down Toronto as +117 dogs. Team GM Jim Rutherford said, "If we keep going on a run here, it's still possible. So we don't want to quit." Carolina is laying -110 at home Thursday.
- Since Robin Lopez entered the Suns starting lineup on Jan. 18, the team has gone 15-6 SU and 14-7 ATS. The 7-footer has also improved Phoenix’s rebounding prowess. The team has posted a +5.34 rebound differential in those 21 games, up 7.64 rebounds from where they were without Lopez in a starting role.