Wednesday's Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Weather to watch
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies – 16 mph winds are expected to blow out to center field.
Who’s hot
NBA: San Antonio is 21-5-1 ATS in their last 27 home games.
NBA: The Denver Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
NHL: The New York Rangers are 9-3 in their last 12 games as a road underdog.
NHL: Phoenix has won 11 of its last 13.
MLB: Texas is 9-1 in Matt Harrison’s last 10 road starts.
Who’s not
NBA: The Philadelphia 76ers are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings in Chicago.
NBA: The Lakers are 4-11 against the spread in their last 15 games following a straight up win.
NHL: Washington has won four of its last five home games against the New York Rangers.
NHL: The over is 0-3-2 in Nashville's last five home games.
MLB: The Chicago Cubs are 2-8 in their last 10 games in Cincinnati.
Key stat
64 – The Orlando Magic scored just 64 combined points in the second half in the opening two games of their series with Indiana. The Pacers routed Orlando 93-78 as 9.5-point favorites in Game 2 and are pegged as 3-point road favorites in Wednesday’s Game 3.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays - A few hours after denying a report that third baseman Evan Longoria will be sidelined 6-8 weeks with a hamstring injury, the Tampa Bay Rays acknowledged Longoria will be out 4-8 weeks with a partially torn hamstring. He’s hitting .329 with four home runs, 19 RBIs and 15 walks.
Game of the day
Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies (-6.5, 185)
Notable quotable
"This has been a big distraction to our hockey team to make this announcement today so our players will be prepared for Game 3 tomorrow night. It's very disappointing. Any time something like happens it's disappointing. In the playoffs to hold out arguably two of your better players . . . it's a pretty easy decision. I always try to do the right thing in my personal life, in my business life. I put the team ahead of individual players.'' – Nashville Predators GM David Poile after suspending forwards Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn for Game 3 after the pair reportedly missed curfew. The Preds trail the Coyotes 2-0 in the series and are set as -180 favorites Wednesday.
Notes and tips
The rainout Monday night at Detroit for what was to be the opener of a three-game series was not as desirable, but it allowed Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost to maneuver his rotation again. The revised rotation does not include Luis Mendoza, who will likely be moving to the bullpen as the long man. The rotation lines up this way: Luke Hochevar and Jonathan Sanchez will start Tuesday and Wednesday at Detroit. Danny Duffy and Bruce Chen will start Thursday and Friday against the Yankees at the start of a seven-game homestand (four against New York, three against Boston).
New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire had surgery on his lacerated left hand on Tuesday, and the team said it is "doubtful" he will be available for the remaining games in the playoff series against the Miami Heat. Stoudemire punched a glass fire extinguisher case with his left hand after the team's 104-94 loss in Game 2, which put his team in an 0-2 hole in the series. He suffered lacerations, and had to be treated by paramedics at American Airlines Arena. After visiting a hand specialist, Stoudemire has surgery Tuesday to repair a small muscle in his hand. Stoudemire averaged 17.5 points during the regular season and 13.5 points in the first two playoff games.