2002 Buzz Word Sports records
SEASON NFL: 123-88, +72.75 UNITS!!
SEASON NBA: 109-85, +40.4 UNITS!!
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 120-96, +23.35 UNITS!!
SEASON MLB: 672-582, +151.85 UNITS!!
Below are our FREE plays... top plays available at our website!
11/29 FREE NBA:
Minnesota @ Utah 9:05 PM EST
Minnesota +5 over Utah (2.5 Units)
We've said it many times before... matchups are so essential when it comes to handicapping sports, as head-to-head history often is more important than each team's current record or level of play coming into a specific contest... and when it comes to Minnesota's success against Utah, the Wolves and Kevin Garnett have just had Utah's number over the past several years... The Jazz may have had the most recent victory in the series between these two teams, but Minnesota has won and covered five straight games prior to that breakthrough, and are an exceptional 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS in their last five visits to Salt Lake City....
While the Jazz have been on fire as of late, winning five straight games, a deeper look at their opponents for those contests reveals that maybe Utah's success has had more to do with their opponents than their actual level of play... only one of the teams Utah has defeated during this 5-0 run has a winning percentage of over .375, and that team (the Phoenix Suns) are just 1-5 on the road on the season, so it's not as if the Jazz have done something few others have done in beating the Suns at home...
We're more impressed with Minnesota's recent play, as they have won four of their last five straight up, including victories over the Kings and on the road against the Hawks (who have lost just twice at home)... Minnesota's last three losses have come against the Nets, Pacers, and Hornets, who have combined for a 33-12 record... Minnesota's defensive intensity has improved the last three games (allowing 96, 88, and 74 points), while the Jazz have started getting lax on defense (going from 76 to 79 to 90 to 94 points allowed)... with Minnesota having beaten the spread by an average of nearly 15 points per game in their last three visits to Utah, and the underdog in this series 7-1 in the last eight matchups between these teams, we see Utah's drop in defensive intensity catching up with them, as Minnesota wins yet again in Utah...
FINAL PREDICTION: MINNESOTA 100, UTAH 95
Milwaukee @ Detroit 8:05 PM EST
Milwaukee +7.5 over Detroit (2 Units)
Since when did Detroit get so much respect in the eyes of oddsmakers across the country? We can understand the Pistons being favored by this amount against Miami, Denver, Memphis, and New York, as they have been throughout this season, but even without Ray Allen in the lineup, the Bucks have more than enough firepower to keep withing 7.5 points against Detroit, who are averaging just 85.4 ppg this season... Detroit has scored more than 93 points just once in their last ten games overall, and have scored 86 points or less in each of their last four home games...
Now obviously, how much or how little Detroit scores should have little impact on whether they can cover a 7.5-point spread, for as long as their defense does the trick, they should be able to cover any spread... however, Detroit's defense has been showing cracks as of late, allowing each of their last two opponents to score 91 points or more... meanwhile, the Bucks have been held to less than 90 points just once this season, and even covered that contest as a road dog against the Suns due to a defensive intensity that has suddenly materialized this season with the subtraction of Glenn Robinson from the team... surprisingly, outside of allowing Shaq and company to run rampant a few games ago, the Bucks have held their last five opponents to an average of just 87.8 points per game... additionally, the Bucks have increased their defensively intensity without Ray Allen, holding their last two opponents to a combined 166 points...
One pretty interesting trend that we have uncovered shows that the Bucks are a perfect 9-0 ATS this season when holding their opposition to 95 points or less, and that trend continues back to last season at a 17-3 ATS rate... as mentioned before, the Pistons are not exactly an offensive powerhouse, and we have our doubts about Detroit getting close to 95 points in this contest, especially considering that they are coming off a sloppy loss to the Mavs, where they lost by a 102-82 margin... for after a loss of 20 points or more, the Pistons are a horrendous 1-5 both SU and ATS at home...
Milwaukee may be just 2-5 on the season on the road, but four of their five losses have been by five points or less, meaning that they have been competitive in just about every contest.. and even with Tim Thomas and Anthony Mason questionable and Ray Allen on the injured list, the Bucks have more than enough solid players (Sam Cassell, Michael Redd, Toni Kukoc, and Jason Caffey, to name a few) to avoid any type of dropoff... in fact, the Bucks are a better team in our opinion when Michael Redd gets the opportunity for big minutes... in three starts this season, Redd has improved his output with each game, averaging 21.7 ppg and draining 8 of 21 3-point shots, including a 5-8 performance from beyond the stripe in his last game...
With Redd tearing it up from outside, and an advantage at point, where Sam Cassell gets the luxury of facing Chucky Atkins instead of the injured Chauncey Billups, we like the Bucks to keep this game close... while we certainly won't say that Milwaukee will win SU on the road (after all, the Bucks are now just 2-17 SU on the road), we like their chances of staying within 7.5 points against the defensive-minded Pistons... the road team in this series has actually won five of the last seven games between these teams SU, while the underdog in this series is 7-3 ATS in the last ten matchups between these squads... therefore, take the Bucks and the points...
FINAL PREDICTION: DETROIT 91, MILWAUKEE 89
OTHER PLAYS (no analysis):
Houston @ Seattle 10:35 PM EST
Houston +5.5 over Seattle (2 Units)
LA Clippers @ Sacramento 10:05 PM EST
LA Clippers +10 over Sacramento (1 Unit)
Thanks for reading and good luck tonight!!