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  • Thursday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 2/22

    Trends and Indexes

    Thursday, February 22

    Good Luck on day #53 of 2018!

    NOTE: As information becomes available, we will attempt to post the trends and indexes as soon as possible.Information is posted from what we believe are reliable sources.Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the posting member or BettorsChat.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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    Sports Matchups

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  • #2
    Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

    Six top prospects for the Arizona Diamondbacks:

    1) Jon Duplantier, P— Rice alum has a 1.38 ERA in 24 Class A starts.

    3) Pavin Smith, 1B— Virginia alum hit .318 in his first 51 minor league games.

    5) Daulton Varsho, C— His dad played in big leagues; is named after Darren Daulton.

    8) Taylor Clarke, P— Charleston alum already has thrown 315 minor league innings.

    14) Jimmie Sherfy, P— Didn’t allow an earned run in 11 big league innings LY.

    22) Kevin Cron, 1B— Older brother CJ just got traded to Tampa Bay.


    **********

    Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud…….

    13) Seton Hall @ Providence— Pirates led 56-47 with 13:03 left when condensation on the court forced officials to suspend this game until Thursday afternoon. It was very warm Wednesday in New England, and the hockey ice under the basketball floor caused the problems.

    12) San Antonio Spurs are paying Kawhi Leonard $18,868,625 this season, which puts him over the $60M mark in career earnings, all from the Spurs, but Leonard has played in only nine games this season, because of a right quad tendinopathy injury.

    Spurs’ doctors have cleared him to return to play, but Leonard has decided he isn’t ready to play yet. Leonard will be a free agent after next season; wonder how much he’ll play next season?

    11) North Carolina 78, Syracuse 74— UNC wins its sixth game in row, shooting 8-22 in Carrier Dome, a tough place to shoot. Tar Heels are shooting 37.2% behind the arc this season, their best mark in five years. Three Syracuse players went the whole 40:00.

    10) Duke 82, Louisville 56— What will Louisville do this spring? Will they keep interim coach David Padgett, or will they try and attract a big-name coach to carry on the school’s tradition, which could be difficult, seeing as probation is likely in the program’s future.

    9) Stephen F Austin 97, Central Arkansas 62— Lumberjacks are 23-5, 12-3 in Southland, but how good are they? They lost by 5 at Mississippi State, lost by 1 at Missouri, won by 1 at LSU, so they’re good enough to hang middle-rung SEC teams, so they’re probably good enough to compete with a big-name school next month. SFA forces turnovers on 26.9% of its opponents’ possessions, tops in America, so you better have experienced guards against them.

    8) Auburn 90, Alabama 71— Tigers avenged an earlier loss in Tuscaloosa; Auburn is down to seven rotation guys, thanks to injury/eligibility issues- none of those seven guys are seniors. Both teams took the exact same number of 3-point shots as 2-point shots.

    7) There was a 3-way trade in baseball Tuesday; it went this way:
    Tampa Bay got P Anthony Banda and three other minor leaguers
    Arizona got OF Steven Souza Jr
    Bronx Bombers got 3B/2B Brandon Drury

    6) Upsets of the Night:
    George Mason (+8) 79, St Joe’s 76
    Bradley (+6) 82, Missouri State 78
    Cal-Riverside (+4) 69, Cal-Fullerton 65
    Oklahoma State (+3) 79, Texas Tech 71
    Michigan (+3) 72, Penn State 63

    5) Grand Canyon University in Phoenix is the only Division I basketball program that is attached to a for-profit university. This is the first year the Antelopes are eligible for the NCAA’s; they’re 17-10 right now, 6-5 in the WAC, in 4th place in the 8-team league.

    From espn.com: “More than 19,000 students attend the GCU campus, and another 70,000 students pursue degrees online, which creates a fruitful revenue stream — the school generated $218 million in the second quarter of 2017 alone, $4 million more than professional wrestling giant WWE’s earnings in the same period — for a school that earns 79 percent of its revenue from federal student financial aid, per azcentral.com”

    4) NBA fined Mark Cuban $600,000 for talking about his Mavericks tanking games, which he probably did to distract attention from the Sports Illustrated story that talked about a couple of bad guys who worked for the Mavericks on the business side of things.

    3) Eagles’ WR Alshon Jeffery played the whole NFL season with a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder. Jeffery caught 57 passes for 789 yards and nine TD’s this past season, and helped the Eagles win their first Super Bowl title.

    2) Oklahoma State 79, Texas Tech 71— Kansas is back in first place in Big X; they visit Lubbock Saturday, for a first-place showdown with the Red Raiders.

    1) Fairfield 70, Siena 69— Three of Saints’ last four games were decided by one point or in OT; they’re 8-22, 4-13 in MAAC, turning ball over 22.1% of time with the 8th-least experienced team in the country.

    Comment


    • #3
      Best obscure NBA betting trends through the first half of the season
      Ashton Grewal

      We looked past team ATS and Over/Under stats. We dug deeper to try to find some situational spot bets to follow or fade over the final two and a half months of the season.

      Road Underdogs

      Backing teams getting points on the road has been a profitable play since October. NBA road underdogs are 297-253-21 for the season and 224-179-15 over the last three months. That’s a 54 percent win rate on the season and 55.6 percent over the last 90 days. Only eight of the 30 teams own losing ATS records when catching points away from home.

      The Charlotte Hornets were the biggest exception to this league trend. They went 5-11-4 ATS as road dogs. The Cleveland Cavaliers (8-2), Boston Celtics (7-2) and Brooklyn Nets (17-8-1) were the three best bets in this situation.

      Cavaliers Under Spot Bet

      The Cavs were the oldest team in the NBA before remodeling their roster at the trade deadline. They held up OK as far as wins and losses (5-5) when playing on the second night of a back-to-back set, but their games had a habit of playing Under the closing total. The Under is 9-1 in Cleveland’s 10 games playing with zero days of rest.

      The trend might not carry forward with the younger legs on the roster, but it’s something worth monitoring. Cleveland opens the second half of its season with a game on Thursday at home against the Washington Wizards and then plays the following night on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies.

      Worst First Half Bet

      The Golden State Warriors routinely sleepwalk through the first halves of their games this season. Golden State is 19-38-2 against the spread on first-half lines. That’s just a 33.3 percent win rate for those unfortunate souls who regularly backed the defending champs in the first halves of games.

      The Dubs' average point differential in the first 24 minutes of game time is just +2.3. The Houston Rockets lead the league with a +6.6 point differential in the first two quarters. The Warriors seem to come to life after half time; they lead the lead in point differential in second halves at +5.7.

      Best First Half Bet

      The Toronto Raptors are 36-20-1 ATS on the first half lines so far this campaign. The Dinos get off to fast starts but the chief reason for their first half ATS success boils down to their bench. Toronto owns the best bench net rating (points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions) at 8.1 and that number jumps to 14.1 in the second quarter alone.

      The Raptors play their first game back on Friday at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.

      Worst ATS Divisional Record

      Division races don’t mean much on the standings page and no fan base is excited about lifting a banner to the rafters to celebrate a first-place finish in a division. That said, clubs do play against their divisional foes more than any other teams over the course of a season so odd trends do emerge from time-to-time.

      The Oklahoma City Thunder are having no luck against their divisional rivals this season. OKC is 5-8 straight up and 2-11 against the spread versus the Northwest Division. The Minnesota Timberwolves won three of their four meetings and covered the spread each time. The Thunder have two games left against the Portland Trail Blazers and one game apiece against the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz.

      Best Road Team

      The Miami Heat are the best road bet in the league at 21-11 ATS and the worst home wager at 7-16-3. Miami averages 22.8 assists per game on the road and 20.6 in its home games. The Heat shoot 44.7 percent from the field in home games and 45.7 percent on the road, and they average one more free throw attempt per game away from home than they do in Miami.

      The Heat play at New Orleans on Friday this week.
      Last edited by StarDust Bum; 02-22-2018, 01:40 PM.

      Comment


      • #4
        NBA
        Armadillo's Write-Up

        Thursday, February 22


        Nets lost seven of their last eight games with the Hornets, but they covered their last five visits to Charlotte. Under is 5-2 in last seven series games. Brooklyn lost its last seven games; they’re 15-5 in last 20 games as road underdogs. Four of their last six rod games stayed under the total. Hornets lost four of their last five games; they’re 6-4 in last 10 games as home favorites. Three of their last four games stayed under.

        Orlando/New York split their last 10 games; Knicks are 3-2 vs spread in last five visits to Magic Kingdom. Under is 7-3 in last ten series games. New York lost its last eight games; they’re 1-5 in last six tries as road underdogs. Eight of their last ten games stayed under. Orlando lost its last three games; they’re 1-7 as home favorites this season. Four of their last five games stayed under the total.

        Cavaliers won five of last six games with Washington; road team won last five series games. Wizards covered three of last four visits to Cleveland. Three of last four series games went over. Wizards won seven of their last nine games; they’re 10-3 as road underdogs. Seven of their last ten games went over. Cleveland won/covered its last four games; they’re 7-17 as home favorites. Cavs’ last four games went over.

        76ers lost eight of last ten games with Chicago; they’re 1-4 vs spread in last five visits to the Windy City. Seven of last ten series games went over. Sixers won their last five games; they’re 4-4 vs spread as road favorites. Five of their last seven games stayed under. Bulls lost eight of their last ten games; they’re 10-9 as home underdogs. Seven of their last ten games went under the total.

        Thunder won three of last four games with the Kings; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Sacramento. Last three series games stayed under. Oklahoma City lost six of its last nine games; they’re 7-14 as road favorites. Last three Thunder games went over total. Sacramento lost five of its last seven games; they’re 2-10 in last dozen games as home underdogs. Three of their last four games went over.

        Warriors won nine of last ten games with the Clippers but lost to LA in last meeting Jan 10; Clippers are 2-2 vs spread in last four visits to Oakland. Last six series games went over total. Clippers won seven of their last nine games; they’re 9-3 in last 12 games as road underdogs. Eight of their last nine games stayed under. Golden State split its last six games but won three in row at home. Warriors are 13-14-2 as home favorites. Over is 3-1 in their last four games.

        Comment


        • #5
          NBA

          Thursday, February 22


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          Trend Report
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          NEW YORK @ ORLANDO
          The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games when playing on the road against Orlando
          The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games on the road
          Orlando is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
          The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando's last 6 games when playing at home against New York

          BROOKLYN @ CHARLOTTE
          Brooklyn is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Charlotte
          Brooklyn is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Charlotte
          Charlotte is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Brooklyn
          The total has gone OVER in 6 of Charlotte's last 7 games at home

          PHILADELPHIA @ CHICAGO
          The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
          Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
          The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
          Chicago is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Philadelphia

          WASHINGTON @ CLEVELAND
          Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
          Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
          Cleveland is 18-3 SU in its last 21 games at home
          Cleveland is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington

          OKLAHOMA CITY @ SACRAMENTO
          The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
          Oklahoma City is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games when playing Sacramento
          The total has gone OVER in 4 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City
          Sacramento is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games

          LA CLIPPERS @ GOLDEN STATE
          The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 5 games when playing Golden State
          The total has gone UNDER in 8 of LA Clippers's last 9 games
          The total has gone OVER in 5 of Golden State's last 5 games when playing LA Clippers
          Golden State is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing LA Clippers


          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Last edited by StarDust Bum; 02-22-2018, 01:41 PM.

          Comment


          • #6
            NBA
            Long Sheet

            Thursday, February 22


            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            BROOKLYN (19 - 40) at CHARLOTTE (24 - 33) - 2/22/2018, 7:05 PM
            Top Trends for this game.
            BROOKLYN is 28-44 ATS (-20.4 Units) after 3 or more consecutive losses over the last 3 seasons.
            BROOKLYN is 28-19 ATS (+7.1 Units) as an underdog this season.
            BROOKLYN is 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) in road games when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
            BROOKLYN is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) against Southeast division opponents this season.
            CHARLOTTE is 21-32 ATS (-14.2 Units) in all games this season.
            CHARLOTTE is 5-19 ATS (-15.9 Units) against Atlantic division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
            CHARLOTTE is 8-18 ATS (-11.8 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.

            Head-to-Head Series History
            BROOKLYN is 6-1 against the spread versus CHARLOTTE over the last 3 seasons
            CHARLOTTE is 7-1 straight up against BROOKLYN over the last 3 seasons
            5 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            NEW YORK (23 - 36) at ORLANDO (18 - 39) - 2/22/2018, 7:05 PM
            Top Trends for this game.
            NEW YORK is 4-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) in February games over the last 2 seasons.
            NEW YORK is 221-173 ATS (+30.7 Units) revenging a home loss vs opponent since 1996.
            ORLANDO is 60-77 ATS (-24.7 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
            ORLANDO is 8-19 ATS (-12.9 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
            ORLANDO is 25-42 ATS (-21.2 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
            ORLANDO is 8-20 ATS (-14.0 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
            ORLANDO is 25-39 ATS (-17.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
            ORLANDO is 21-35 ATS (-17.5 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

            Head-to-Head Series History
            ORLANDO is 5-4 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
            ORLANDO is 5-4 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
            6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            WASHINGTON (33 - 24) at CLEVELAND (34 - 22) - 2/22/2018, 8:05 PM
            Top Trends for this game.
            WASHINGTON is 20-39 ATS (-22.9 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game since 1996.
            WASHINGTON is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) in road games against Central division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
            CLEVELAND is 18-37 ATS (-22.7 Units) in all games this season.
            CLEVELAND is 7-16 ATS (-10.6 Units) when the total is greater than or equal to 220 this season.
            CLEVELAND is 9-32 ATS (-26.2 Units) as a favorite this season.
            CLEVELAND is 6-20 ATS (-16.0 Units) in home games this season.
            CLEVELAND is 20-32 ATS (-15.2 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
            CLEVELAND is 7-15 ATS (-9.5 Units) after scoring 115 points or more this season.
            CLEVELAND is 7-15 ATS (-9.5 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.

            Head-to-Head Series History
            CLEVELAND is 5-4 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
            CLEVELAND is 6-3 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
            5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            PHILADELPHIA (30 - 25) at CHICAGO (20 - 37) - 2/22/2018, 8:05 PM
            Top Trends for this game.
            PHILADELPHIA is 80-56 ATS (+18.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.

            Head-to-Head Series History
            CHICAGO is 7-3 against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
            CHICAGO is 8-2 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
            7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            OKLAHOMA CITY (33 - 26) at SACRAMENTO (18 - 39) - 2/22/2018, 10:05 PM
            Top Trends for this game.
            OKLAHOMA CITY is 24-34 ATS (-13.4 Units) in all games this season.
            OKLAHOMA CITY is 18-32 ATS (-17.2 Units) as a favorite this season.
            OKLAHOMA CITY is 31-52 ATS (-26.2 Units) in road games after scoring 115 points or more since 1996.

            Head-to-Head Series History
            SACRAMENTO is 6-3 against the spread versus OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
            OKLAHOMA CITY is 5-4 straight up against SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
            5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            LA CLIPPERS (30 - 26) at GOLDEN STATE (44 - 14) - 2/22/2018, 10:35 PM
            Top Trends for this game.
            LA CLIPPERS are 213-268 ATS (-81.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
            GOLDEN STATE is 98-71 ATS (+19.9 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game since 1996.
            GOLDEN STATE is 58-32 ATS (+22.8 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
            LA CLIPPERS are 16-6 ATS (+9.4 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.

            Head-to-Head Series History
            GOLDEN STATE is 7-4 against the spread versus LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
            GOLDEN STATE is 10-1 straight up against LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
            8 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Last edited by StarDust Bum; 02-22-2018, 01:41 PM.

            Comment


            • #7
              NBA
              Dunkel

              Thursday, February 22



              Brooklyn @ Charlotte

              Game 551-552
              February 22, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

              Dunkel Rating:
              Brooklyn
              111.025
              Charlotte
              117.198
              Dunkel Team:
              Dunkel Line:
              Dunkel Total:
              Charlotte
              by 6
              219
              Vegas Team:
              Vegas Line:
              Vegas Total:
              Charlotte
              by 8
              213 1/2
              Dunkel Pick:
              Brooklyn
              (+8); Over

              New York @ Orlando


              Game 553-554
              February 22, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

              Dunkel Rating:
              New York
              112.415
              Orlando
              114.328
              Dunkel Team:
              Dunkel Line:
              Dunkel Total:
              Orlando
              by 2
              217
              Vegas Team:
              Vegas Line:
              Vegas Total:
              Orlando
              by 4
              211
              Dunkel Pick:
              New York
              (+4); Over

              Washington @ Cleveland


              Game 555-556
              February 22, 2018 @ 8:05 pm

              Dunkel Rating:
              Washington
              117.623
              Cleveland
              126.714
              Dunkel Team:
              Dunkel Line:
              Dunkel Total:
              Cleveland
              by 9
              218
              Vegas Team:
              Vegas Line:
              Vegas Total:
              Cleveland
              by 5
              222
              Dunkel Pick:
              Cleveland
              (-5); Under

              Philadelphia @ Chicago


              Game 557-558
              February 22, 2018 @ 8:05 pm

              Dunkel Rating:
              Philadelphia
              123.102
              Chicago
              113.109
              Dunkel Team:
              Dunkel Line:
              Dunkel Total:
              Philadelphia
              by 10
              207
              Vegas Team:
              Vegas Line:
              Vegas Total:
              Philadelphia
              by 5
              214 1/2
              Dunkel Pick:
              Philadelphia
              (-5); Under

              Oklahoma City @ Sacramento


              Game 559-560
              February 22, 2018 @ 10:05 pm

              Dunkel Rating:
              Oklahoma City
              117.366
              Sacramento
              113.409
              Dunkel Team:
              Dunkel Line:
              Dunkel Total:
              Oklahoma City
              by 4
              218
              Vegas Team:
              Vegas Line:
              Vegas Total:
              Oklahoma City
              by 7 1/2
              212 1/2
              Dunkel Pick:
              Sacramento
              (+7 1/2); Over

              LA Clippers @ Golden State


              Game 561-562
              February 22, 2018 @ 10:35 pm

              Dunkel Rating:
              LA Clippers
              118.266
              Golden State
              125.785
              Dunkel Team:
              Dunkel Line:
              Dunkel Total:
              Golden State
              by 7 1/2
              237
              Vegas Team:
              Vegas Line:
              Vegas Total:
              Golden State
              by 11
              232 1/2
              Dunkel Pick:
              LA Clippers
              (+11); Over
              Last edited by StarDust Bum; 02-22-2018, 01:42 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                NBA

                Thursday, February 22


                ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                NBA Game of the Day: Wizards at Cavaliers betting preview and odds
                ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers (-5.5, 220.5)

                The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't showing many troublesome spots with their revamped roster as they search for their fifth consecutive win when they host the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Cleveland scored 120 or more points in each contest, the first victory occurring before the trading deadline and others coming after the reconfiguration.

                The Cavaliers rid themselves of disappointing guard Isaiah Thomas as part of the purge that saw forward Larry Nance Jr. and guard Jordan Clarkson arrive from the Los Angeles Lakers, swingman Rodney Hood come from the Utah Jazz and point guard George Hill relocate from the Sacramento Kings. Cleveland is averaging 126 points during its winning streak, which includes a 121-99 dismantling of the Boston Celtics, the second-place team in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers reside in third in the East, just 1 1/2 games ahead of the surging Wizards, who have won seven of their past nine games. Washington is playing surprisingly well without All-Star point guard John Wall (knee), who will miss about three more weeks before returning.

                TV:
                8 p.m. ET, TNT, FS Ohio (Cleveland)

                LINE HISTORY:
                The Cavs opened as 7-point home favorites but that number was bet down to -5.5. The total hit betting boards at 220.5 and was bumped up to 222 before returning to the opening number of 220.5 on Thursday afternoon.

                INJURY REPORT:


                Wizards - PG T. Frazier (Probable, Nose), PF J. Smith (Questionable, Illness), PG J. Wall (Late March, Knee).

                Cavaliers - PF K. Love (Late March, Finger).

                POWER RANKINGS:
                Wizards (-4.8) - Cavaliers (-3.3) + home court (-3) = Cavaliers -1.5

                MATCHUP CHART:




                ABOUT THE WIZARDS (33-24 SU, 27-30 ATS, 26-30-1 O/U):
                Washington faces a tough six-game stretch coming out of the break that includes games against two conference powers - the Toronto Raptors (East) and Golden State Warriors (second in West) - in addition to the Cavaliers. Washington has a bit of a cushion as play resumes with the ninth-place Detroit Pistons sitting five games back, but All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal is mildly concerned. "We're all there neck and neck," Beal told reporters. "Everybody's going to continue to get better. After All-Star (break) is where it really begins. Everybody has 24, 25 games left, so they're going to fly by."

                ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (34-22 SU, 18-37-1 ATS, 28-26-2 O/U):
                Injured power forward Kevin Love (broken left hand) was one of the happy players when the roster underwent sweeping changes. He was the victim of a verbal tirade from now-departed Dwyane Wade in a team meeting and he said it was apparent that the chemistry needed to be changed. "It might not have been a bad thing to get some fresh faces in there and guys from situations where they really wanted to win," Love told reporters. "I think first and foremost, seeing those (new) guys in Atlanta, they didn't play, but they got there right after the trade and they just said they want to win. You can tell when somebody says it, you can tell when somebody means it. They really meant it and it felt good to have that there."

                TRENDS:


                * Wizards are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games.
                * Cavaliers are 17-35-2 ATS in their last 54 home games.
                * Over is 8-2 in Wizards last 10 vs. Eastern Conference.
                * Over is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 overall.
                * Road team is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

                CONSENSUS:
                Contest users are backing the Cleveland Cavaliers in this matchup, with 78 percent of pointspread picks on the home favorite. When it comes to the total, 62 percent of wagers are on the Over.


                ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Comment


                • #9
                  A look at the easiest and toughest remaining NBA post-All-Star break schedules
                  Ashton Grewal

                  Follow the NBA close enough and you will become familiarized with a whole new vernacular. Some of these terms like “Ball Don’t Lie” may have to be clarified for those unfamilar with the words of Rasheed Wallace. Others like “Schedule Loss” require no additional explanation.

                  Team coaches and executives can eyeball the upcoming list of games on their schedule and quickly identify which games will be near automatic losses because of the travel or short rest period. There are some clubs that face tougher uphill battles with their remaining schedules than their opponents.

                  NBA bettors can use these schedule advantages to help gain an edge in the never-ending battle with the bookies. Here’s a quick look at the NBA teams facing the most difficult schedules and the easiest over the final few months of the regular season.

                  Hardest

                  Washington Wizards

                  The Wizards pulled off a magic trick of winning and covering in seven of their last nine games before the break despite John Wall’s absence. They’ll be tested even more when the season starts back up again beginning on Thursday against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

                  Washington plays five games in seven days out of the break and only one of its next 15 opponents own a sub .500 record. The average opposing win percentage of the Wizards’ remaining 25 games is .547. Only the San Antonio Spurs face a more difficult remaining strength of schedule.

                  Philadelphia 76ers

                  The Sixers’ remaining strength of schedule is actually the least difficult in the league but no team played fewer games before the break. Philly plays 27 games in 49 days, which includes six sets of back-to-back games. All-Star center Joel Embiid has a long injury history and he regularly sits out games for rest purposes when the Sixers’ schedule gets congested.

                  The 76ers will want to have their franchise player healthy and rested for the postseason. He could sit a number of games over the final two months of the regular season. Philadelphia is 3-4 straight up and against the spread in games without Embiid this season.

                  Easiest

                  Golden State Warriors

                  The Dubs don’t play the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics or Cleveland Cavaliers over their final 24 games. They do, however, play the Phoenix Suns three times and the Atlanta Hawks twice. Their longest remaining road trip is a three-gamer beginning next week against the New York Knicks with following stops in Washington and Atlanta.

                  Minnesota Timberwolves

                  No NBA team has fewer games left on its schedule than the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves have just 21 games left and the league office almost handed them a bye week in the first week of March. Minny plays at Utah on March 2nd and then doesn’t play again until six days later when it hosts the Boston Celtics.

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                  • #10
                    Hornets are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games overall & 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 3 or more days of rest. Nets are 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Charlotte.
                    Underdog is 13-3 ATS in the last 16 meetings.
                    Spread: Hornets -8
                    Total: 215.5


                    Knicks are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games overall. Magic are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games overall & 11-1 ATS in their last 12 games following a straight up loss.
                    Spread: Magic -3.5
                    Total: 215.5

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