Daily Sports Roundup
Wednesday March 24
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Penguins take on the Capitals on the ice, while the Lakers meet the Spurs, and the Cavs seek a win over the Hornets.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has 11 games on its schedule for Wednesday, including Cleveland at New Orleans. LeBron James and the Cavaliers enter Thursday's road matchup riding a seven-game winning streak that has put them at 56-15 SU and 34-35-2 ATS on the season. Cleveland beat Detroit 104-79 in their last game on Sunday, with James scoring 15 points to go along with seven assists. The Cavs got past the Hornets 105-95 as an 11.5-point home favorite in their first meeting of the season back on February 23. James picked up 20 points in that victory, while New Orleans played without Chris Paul - who returned from injury Monday night.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Wednesday: Orlando at Atlanta, Utah at Toronto, Minnesota at Charlotte, Washington at Indiana, Denver at Boston, Sacramento at New Jersey, Houston at Oklahoma City, Philadelphia at Milwaukee, Memphis at Golden State, and the Lakers at San Antonio. Los Angeles has won six games in a row heading into Wednesday night, which puts them at 52-18 SU and 29-39-2 ATS on the season. The Lakers got past Washington 99-92 in their last game on Sunday, and they're 1-1 against San Antonio so far this season. Los Angeles claimed the last meeting between the teams 101-89 at home back on February 8.
As well, the National Invitational Tournament finishes off its quarterfinal round on Wednesday night with Rhode Island vs. Virginia Tech and Dayton vs. Illinois. There are also semifinal games in both the CBI and CIT events on Wednesday night; the CBI offers up Boston University vs. VCU and Princeton vs. Saint Louis, and in the CIT it'll be Pacific vs. Appalachian State and Creighton vs. Missouri State. The NCAA Tournament continues with its Sweet 16 round Thursday night.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL offers up six games on Wednesday, with the Islanders at the Rangers, Montreal at Buffalo, St. Louis at Detroit, Los Angeles at Colorado, Anaheim at Vancouver, and Pittsburgh at Washington. The 48-14-10 Capitals are riding high atop the Eastern Conference standings with 106 points heading into their Thursday matchup, and they're 7-1-2 in their last 10 contests. Washington is also 2-0 against Pittsburgh so far this season, winning the most recent meeting 5-4 in overtime at home on February 7. Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick in that win.
Wednesday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks – Andre Iguodala (foot) has been dealing with plantar fasciitis but hasn’t missed a game and is probable. Louis Williams (back) did not play on Monday and is out.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals – Evgeni Malkin (foot) did not play in the last game and is questionable. Brook Laich (eye) took a puck to the face on Saturday and is questionable.
Anaheim Ducks at Vancouver Canucks - Bobby Ryan (flu) missed the team’s last two games and is questionable. Saku Koivu took a puck to the face on Sunday and is questionable.
Line to keep an eye on
The Celtics quickly moved from opening as 3.5-point favorites over the Nuggets to 4.5-point chalk. Boston has been red-hot lately, going 4-1 ATS while Denver has dropped four straight ATS.
Who’s hot
The Spurs are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games.
Princeton has won six games in a row and is 8-2 ATS in its last 10.
Detroit has won two straight and is 7-3 SU in its last 10 outings.
Who’s not
Chauncey Billups is shooting at a 23.6 clip (9-for-38) from the field over his last three games.
The Rangers have dropped three straight, losing 3.75 units on the moneyline.
Missouri State is 1-5 ATS in its last six games.
Key stat
21-9 – Suns record since Robin Lopez entered the starting lineup.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
According to a report by Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday, Nuggets coach George Karl could be absent from the team until the postseason. Denver is 5-2 under assistant Adrian Dantley, but if Karl does miss the remainder of the regular season that could create chemistry problems for the players from a coaching standpoint.
Game of the Day
Denver Nuggets at Boston Celtics (-4.5, 206)
Notable quotable
"If you're really going to hurt a player, knee to knee, make a head hit, and you're out for the season, then let them suspend that player for the rest of the season. I'll tell you, you wouldn't see those knee-to-knee and head hits anymore. If any one of our great players put Ovechkin out for the season, he should be out for the season, too."
-- Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz suggesting that Alexander Ovechkin should be suspended for the remainder of the season for his violent hit on Brian Campbell.
Tips and notes
- Rangers coach John Tortorella is desperate to get his team out of a losing rut where it’s dropped seven of eight. Tortorella switched line combinations a total of 15 times in the third period of Saturday’s game, a 2-1 loss to Boston. The constant line switching hasn’t helped yet and the tactic may leave New York out of the playoff picture.
- With a stronghold on the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference standings, it appears Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is going to do some experimenting – never a thing Orlando bettors want to hear. Van Gundy plans to put Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass or Ryan Anderson on the floor with Dwight Howard at times. He is toying with this strategy because Orlando could face some big frontcourts in the playoffs.
- Chris Paul returned to action Monday night and was surprisingly placed in the starting lineup. The Hornets announcers talked about how the team was out of sync early in the game with two new starters, Paul and Marcus Thornton, on the floor. Paul was limited to 20 minutes of action and apparently asked to play more but the coach said no. Jeff Bower has hinted that he wants to see how his point guards, Paul and Darren Collison, mesh on the floor together.