NBA Season starts tonight - enjoy the complimentary plays!
TOP PLAYS:
Philadelphia @ Orlando 7:35 PM EST
Philadelphia +4.5 over Orlando (2.5 Units)
Philadelphia/Orlando Under 192 (4 Units)
It's an opening night matchup between two snakebitten Eastern Conference contenders, as the 76ers and Magic square off in the season opener... Injuries seem to have kept both of these teams down the last couple of years, and the injury bug seems to be continuing with both these teams... the 76ers are without Derrick Coleman, Monty Williams, Greg Buckner, Sam Clancy, and Samuel Dalembert... meanwhile, the Magic have three key questionables in Darrell Armstrong, Grant Hill, and Horace Grant...
With such injuries decimating these teams, we doubt we'll be seeing too much run-and-gun in this game, as the last thing these teams want is to tire out their shortened benches... additionally, with neither team having much to offer in the middle, we expect to see a lot of outside jumpers (or should we say clankers)....
If the situation weren't enough to convince us of playing the Under in this game, there are several other factors which lead us to believe this game in going Under.... not only in the Under 5-0 in the last five games between these two in Orlando, but Philadelphia has lived by the Under during the start of the season... the 76ers saw the Under go 3-0 in their first three road games of the season during EACH of the last three seasons, and have rewarded Under bettors with their starts in 2001-2002 (5-1 Under in 1st six road games), 2000-01 (6-1 Under), and 1999-2000 (5-0 Under).... the Sixers also ended last season with a 5-1 Under run on the road, and haven't displayed enough offense this preseason to convince us that they'll break that streak tonight...
In addition to the Under, we like the 76ers in this game, as Eric Snow, Allen Iverson and Aaron McKie should enjoy going up against a depleted backcourt that features Jacque Vaughn as the starting point in Darrell Armstrong's likely absence... Orlando finished off last season a horrendous 1-7 ATS as a home favorite, while the underdog in this series is a perfect 8-0 ATS, including 4-0 ATS in Orlando...
All in all, we expect a tight-fought game with all the rust you might expect in a season-opener between two depleted teams... with that in mind, take the points and hammer the Under, as the 76ers take this game down to the final minute...
FINAL PREDICTION: 76ERS 91, MAGIC 88
San Antonio @ LA Lakers 10:35 PM EST
San Antonio -1.5 over LA Lakers (3 Units)
Since winning the NBA Championship in 1998-99, San Antonio has been eliminated from the playoffs once by the Phoenix Suns (when Tim Duncan was injured) and twice by the 3-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers... Now, with the season opener upon us, the Spurs look to extract some level of revenge against an undermanned Lakers squad, who have placed Shaquille O'Neal on the injured list to begin the season...
In addition to Shaq's absence, Rick Fox has been suspended for the first six games of the season, and Brian Shaw looks to be questionable for the opener as well... all these absences should make life immensely easier in the middle for Tim Duncan and David Robinson, as they dominate the inside and jump out to an early lead over the Lake Show...
Despite the Lakers seeming dominance over the Spurs, San Antonio has actually covered 7 of the last 8 games between these squads, including five straight covering efforts in LA... the problem for the Spurs has been finishing games off against the Lakers, but with Shaq on the sidelines, we don't expect a game that will come down to the wire... and even if this game comes down to the final minutes, San Antonio will have the advantage of pounding the ball inside against the likes of Samaki Walker, Soumaila Samake, and Mark Madsen... in other words, this game could get real ugly REAL fast...
The Lakers have looked listless this preseason, going 1-3 in their last four games, while the Spurs have gotten their game together nicely in the final three games of the preseason, holding their last three opponents to a miserable .355 shooting percentage and just 76.3 points per game... with an element of revenge on their side, we like the Spurs to take it to the Lakers and win this game relatively easily...
FINAL PREDICTION: SPURS 91, LAKERS 82
OTHER PLAYS (no analysis):
Cleveland @ Sacramento 10:00 PM EST
Sacramento/Cleveland Over 200 (1 Unit)
Thanks for reading, and good luck tonight!
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