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Monday's Tip Sheet
February 5, 2017
Game of the Night – Spurs at Grizzlies – 9:35 PM EST – TNT
Amazingly, San Antonio and Memphis have yet to face off this season as the two Southwest division rivals will meet four times in the next two months. The Spurs embark on their annual “Rodeo Trip” as San Antonio hits the road for the next eight games, starting at FedEx Forum on Monday night.
The last time these teams met up came in the opening round of the 2016 playoffs with the Spurs sweeping the undermanned Grizzlies in four games. Three of the four victories were decided by double-digits, as Gregg Popovich’s squad compiled a perfect 8-0 mark against Memphis last season, while covering six times. In seven of the eight matchups, the Grizzlies were limited to 95 points or fewer, while Memphis’ last victory over San Antonio came in December 2014.
The Spurs (39-11 SU, 29-20-1 ATS) have won 20 of 25 games away from AT&T Center, owning the second best road record in the NBA behind Golden State (21-5). San Antonio finished off a four-game homestand with three consecutive victories after getting upset by Dallas last Sunday. The Spurs routed the Nuggets on Saturday, 121-97 as 13-point favorites, while four San Antonio players scored at least 18 points, led by Kawhi Leonard’s 19 points.
Memphis (31-22 SU, 27-26 ATS) returns home from a 4-2 road swing, capped off by Saturday’s 107-99 victory at Minnesota as 4 ½-point underdogs. All six games finished OVER the total, while the Grizzlies held four of their opponents to 99 points or less. In spite of this recent OVER run, each of the past three contests played at FedEx Forum have gone UNDER the total, as Memphis has limited eight of the last nine foes to under 100 points in its last nine home victories.
The Grizzlies have posted a 7-5 ATS record in the role of a home underdog, but Memphis has dropped nine of its past 10 home meetings with San Antonio since May 2013.
Elite Eighteen?
The Wizards have put together an unbelievable 17-game winning streak at the Verizon Center dating back to early December. Washington looks to keep that hot home streak going against Cleveland, as the Cavaliers shoot for their third consecutive victory. Scott Brooks’ squad has compiled a fantastic 15-2 ATS mark during this stretch with both ATS losses coming as a double-digit favorite.
Cleveland captured the first matchup this season in D.C. by a 105-94 count in mid-November as 7 ½-point favorites. The Cavaliers have slumped to a 2-5 SU/ATS mark in the last seven games away from Quicken Loans Arena, while owning a 5-12 ATS record in 2017.
Music Men
The Jazz start a three-game road swing in Atlanta as Utah is fresh off a 3-1 homestand. Quin Snyder’s team has struggled against the number of late by posting a 2-8 ATS ledger in the last 10 games, while failing to cash in their previous seven contests away from Salt Lake City. Utah has not been a team to back in the road underdog role this season at 1-10 SU/ATS, including eight consecutive losses in this role.
The Hawks look to avenge a 95-68 rout at Utah in late November, as Atlanta was held to 31% shooting from the floor. Atlanta’s four-game home winning streak against Utah came to a halt last season as the Jazz edged the Hawks, 97-96 as three-point underdogs. Since Christmas, the Hawks have put together a solid 8-3 SU and 6-5 ATS record at Philips Arena, but own a 2-5 ATS mark this season as a home favorite against Western Conference opponents.
Super Bowl Hangover?
The Clippers and Raptors are two of three teams that played on Super Bowl Sunday that are back in action on Monday (Thunder the other). Los Angeles picked up a late cover as six-point underdogs in Sunday’s 107-102 setback at Boston in the first of a five-game road trip. The Clippers head north of the border trying to pull off the season sweep of the Raptors after beating Toronto at Staples Center, 123-115 in late November.
The Raptors held off the Nets on Sunday, 103-95, led by Kyle Lowry’s ninth triple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) to cash as 6 ½-point road favorites. Leading scorer DeMar DeRozan sat out with an ankle injury as Toronto improved to 3-8 SU and 4-7 ATS the last 11 games. The Raptors have struggled with no rest this season by putting together a 3-7 SU record, with two of those victories coming at Air Canada Center.
Unlucky 13?
The Lakers have dropped 12 consecutive games on the road with the last highway victory coming on December 16 at Philadelphia. However, Los Angeles has cashed in five straight contests, including in recent away setbacks at Washington and Boston. The Lakers head to the Big Apple to face a Knicks’ squad that has lost three of its past four games, including Saturday’s 111-104 home defeat to the Cavaliers.
New York topped Los Angeles at Staples Center in its previous meeting in December, 118-112 as 2 ½-point favorites for its fifth straight win in the series. The Knicks have put together an 11-7 ATS mark in the favorite role this season, but has dropped eight of their last 10 games at Madison Square Garden since Christmas.
Pace Setters
Indiana is finally turning the corner after winning its sixth straight game in Saturday’s 105-84 blowout of Detroit. During this six-game hot streak, the Pacers have covered five times, while finishing UNDER the total five times. Indiana hosts Oklahoma City, seeking the sweep of the Thunder after knocking off OKC in overtime, 115-111 in November.
The Thunder rallied past the Trail Blazers on Sunday, 105-99 to barely cover as five-point home favorites. OKC has struggled with no rest by compiling a 3-7 SU and 4-6 ATS record, while losing nine of their past 13 games away from Chesapeake Energy Arena. However, the Thunder has captured wins in six of 10 opportunities on the road against Eastern Conference opponents.
Perfect 10
Entering mid-January, the Heat won only 11 games through the first three months of the season. Miami is rolling of late by putting together a 10-game winning streak, capped off by Saturday’s 125-102 blowout of Philadelphia as 9 ½-point favorites. The Heat embark on a four-game road trip against teams that all own records of below .500, starting in Minnesota. The Wolves will be without standout guard Zach Lavine for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in Friday’s loss at Detroit. Minnesota has dropped three straight games, while going 1-7 ATS in the past eight contests.
Head-to-Head Trends
-- The Pistons swept the 76ers last season, but Philadelphia shocked Detroit in the first meeting this season, 97-79 as 12-point underdogs in December. In spite of that loss, Detroit owns a 7-2 SU/ATS mark at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the last nine matchups with Philadelphia.
-- Phoenix and New Orleans have played a pair of exciting overtime contests this season with the road team winning each time by one point apiece. The last-place squads hook up in the Big Easy as the Suns have won three of the past four matchups with the Pelicans.
-- Denver and Dallas have split a pair of matchups this season as the Nuggets outlasted the Mavericks, 117-107 at Pepsi Center in December. Four of the last five meetings have sailed OVER the total, including five of the past six in Denver.
-- Chicago has won four consecutive matchups with Sacramento, including a 102-99 victory at the United Center last month. The Kings have struggled off a home win this season, going 2-6 as they try to capitalize off Saturday’s upset of Golden State.
February 5, 2017
Game of the Night – Spurs at Grizzlies – 9:35 PM EST – TNT
Amazingly, San Antonio and Memphis have yet to face off this season as the two Southwest division rivals will meet four times in the next two months. The Spurs embark on their annual “Rodeo Trip” as San Antonio hits the road for the next eight games, starting at FedEx Forum on Monday night.
The last time these teams met up came in the opening round of the 2016 playoffs with the Spurs sweeping the undermanned Grizzlies in four games. Three of the four victories were decided by double-digits, as Gregg Popovich’s squad compiled a perfect 8-0 mark against Memphis last season, while covering six times. In seven of the eight matchups, the Grizzlies were limited to 95 points or fewer, while Memphis’ last victory over San Antonio came in December 2014.
The Spurs (39-11 SU, 29-20-1 ATS) have won 20 of 25 games away from AT&T Center, owning the second best road record in the NBA behind Golden State (21-5). San Antonio finished off a four-game homestand with three consecutive victories after getting upset by Dallas last Sunday. The Spurs routed the Nuggets on Saturday, 121-97 as 13-point favorites, while four San Antonio players scored at least 18 points, led by Kawhi Leonard’s 19 points.
Memphis (31-22 SU, 27-26 ATS) returns home from a 4-2 road swing, capped off by Saturday’s 107-99 victory at Minnesota as 4 ½-point underdogs. All six games finished OVER the total, while the Grizzlies held four of their opponents to 99 points or less. In spite of this recent OVER run, each of the past three contests played at FedEx Forum have gone UNDER the total, as Memphis has limited eight of the last nine foes to under 100 points in its last nine home victories.
The Grizzlies have posted a 7-5 ATS record in the role of a home underdog, but Memphis has dropped nine of its past 10 home meetings with San Antonio since May 2013.
Elite Eighteen?
The Wizards have put together an unbelievable 17-game winning streak at the Verizon Center dating back to early December. Washington looks to keep that hot home streak going against Cleveland, as the Cavaliers shoot for their third consecutive victory. Scott Brooks’ squad has compiled a fantastic 15-2 ATS mark during this stretch with both ATS losses coming as a double-digit favorite.
Cleveland captured the first matchup this season in D.C. by a 105-94 count in mid-November as 7 ½-point favorites. The Cavaliers have slumped to a 2-5 SU/ATS mark in the last seven games away from Quicken Loans Arena, while owning a 5-12 ATS record in 2017.
Music Men
The Jazz start a three-game road swing in Atlanta as Utah is fresh off a 3-1 homestand. Quin Snyder’s team has struggled against the number of late by posting a 2-8 ATS ledger in the last 10 games, while failing to cash in their previous seven contests away from Salt Lake City. Utah has not been a team to back in the road underdog role this season at 1-10 SU/ATS, including eight consecutive losses in this role.
The Hawks look to avenge a 95-68 rout at Utah in late November, as Atlanta was held to 31% shooting from the floor. Atlanta’s four-game home winning streak against Utah came to a halt last season as the Jazz edged the Hawks, 97-96 as three-point underdogs. Since Christmas, the Hawks have put together a solid 8-3 SU and 6-5 ATS record at Philips Arena, but own a 2-5 ATS mark this season as a home favorite against Western Conference opponents.
Super Bowl Hangover?
The Clippers and Raptors are two of three teams that played on Super Bowl Sunday that are back in action on Monday (Thunder the other). Los Angeles picked up a late cover as six-point underdogs in Sunday’s 107-102 setback at Boston in the first of a five-game road trip. The Clippers head north of the border trying to pull off the season sweep of the Raptors after beating Toronto at Staples Center, 123-115 in late November.
The Raptors held off the Nets on Sunday, 103-95, led by Kyle Lowry’s ninth triple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) to cash as 6 ½-point road favorites. Leading scorer DeMar DeRozan sat out with an ankle injury as Toronto improved to 3-8 SU and 4-7 ATS the last 11 games. The Raptors have struggled with no rest this season by putting together a 3-7 SU record, with two of those victories coming at Air Canada Center.
Unlucky 13?
The Lakers have dropped 12 consecutive games on the road with the last highway victory coming on December 16 at Philadelphia. However, Los Angeles has cashed in five straight contests, including in recent away setbacks at Washington and Boston. The Lakers head to the Big Apple to face a Knicks’ squad that has lost three of its past four games, including Saturday’s 111-104 home defeat to the Cavaliers.
New York topped Los Angeles at Staples Center in its previous meeting in December, 118-112 as 2 ½-point favorites for its fifth straight win in the series. The Knicks have put together an 11-7 ATS mark in the favorite role this season, but has dropped eight of their last 10 games at Madison Square Garden since Christmas.
Pace Setters
Indiana is finally turning the corner after winning its sixth straight game in Saturday’s 105-84 blowout of Detroit. During this six-game hot streak, the Pacers have covered five times, while finishing UNDER the total five times. Indiana hosts Oklahoma City, seeking the sweep of the Thunder after knocking off OKC in overtime, 115-111 in November.
The Thunder rallied past the Trail Blazers on Sunday, 105-99 to barely cover as five-point home favorites. OKC has struggled with no rest by compiling a 3-7 SU and 4-6 ATS record, while losing nine of their past 13 games away from Chesapeake Energy Arena. However, the Thunder has captured wins in six of 10 opportunities on the road against Eastern Conference opponents.
Perfect 10
Entering mid-January, the Heat won only 11 games through the first three months of the season. Miami is rolling of late by putting together a 10-game winning streak, capped off by Saturday’s 125-102 blowout of Philadelphia as 9 ½-point favorites. The Heat embark on a four-game road trip against teams that all own records of below .500, starting in Minnesota. The Wolves will be without standout guard Zach Lavine for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in Friday’s loss at Detroit. Minnesota has dropped three straight games, while going 1-7 ATS in the past eight contests.
Head-to-Head Trends
-- The Pistons swept the 76ers last season, but Philadelphia shocked Detroit in the first meeting this season, 97-79 as 12-point underdogs in December. In spite of that loss, Detroit owns a 7-2 SU/ATS mark at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the last nine matchups with Philadelphia.
-- Phoenix and New Orleans have played a pair of exciting overtime contests this season with the road team winning each time by one point apiece. The last-place squads hook up in the Big Easy as the Suns have won three of the past four matchups with the Pelicans.
-- Denver and Dallas have split a pair of matchups this season as the Nuggets outlasted the Mavericks, 117-107 at Pepsi Center in December. Four of the last five meetings have sailed OVER the total, including five of the past six in Denver.
-- Chicago has won four consecutive matchups with Sacramento, including a 102-99 victory at the United Center last month. The Kings have struggled off a home win this season, going 2-6 as they try to capitalize off Saturday’s upset of Golden State.
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