NBA Betting Info. 2/2

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 2/2

Preview: Toronto At Phoenix
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
The Phoenix Suns fired coach Jeff Hornacek after 19 losses in 21 games and interim coach Earl Watson gets to figure out how to deal with the visiting Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The Raptors had an 11-game winning streak halted Monday and they look to start a new streak against the Suns, who have been perhaps the NBA’s most disappointing team this season.
Hornacek was fired in the late-night hours after Sunday’s 91-78 loss to the Dallas Mavericks as the team continued to plummet toward the bottom of the Western Conference. The Suns won 48 games in his first season and dropped to 39 last season and felt they were playoff contenders this season but find themselves a porous 21 games below .500. Toronto’s franchise-record winning streak ended harshly in the opener of a six-game road trip as the Denver Nuggets rolled to a 112-93 victory Monday. “You can describe it any way you want to — it was a stinker,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. “That was one of our worst performances of the year. We played like we were playing in mud.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN1 (Toronto), FSN Arizona Plus
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (32-16): Toronto was smacked around physically by the Nuggets — Denver had a 60-26 edge in points in the paint — and All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry had a poor outing with 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 from the free-throw line. “We just didn’t have it and they kicked our (butts),” Lowry told reporters. All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points against the Nuggets and is averaging 26.3 points during the past three games.
ABOUT THE SUNS (14-35): Phoenix made a run at franchise icon Steve Nash but even he didn’t want a part of dealing with the current mess. Watson was hired as an assistant coach in the offseason, and the 36-year-old spent 13 seasons as a player in a career that concluded in 2014. He will be given 33 games to prove himself before the team decides whether or not to remove the interim label or conduct a search for an experienced coach.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Suns have won 18 of the past 22 meetings and posted a 107-102 road win over the Raptors on Nov. 29.
2. Toronto F James Johnson (ankle) departed after 10 minutes Monday and is uncertain to play against the Suns.
3. Phoenix has scored fewer than 100 points in nine of its last 11 games.
PREDICTION: Raptors 115, Suns 108

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 2/2

Preview: Milwaukee At Portland
When: 10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, Portland, Oregon
The suddenly torrid Portland Trail Blazers look to stretch their season-long winning streak to five games when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Portland has won eight of its last 10 games after recording a 96-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
The Trail Blazers were nine games below .500 on Jan. 8 before a stunning victory over Oklahoma City began the upward surge. “Over the last couple of games, we’ve defended better,” standout point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. “We’ve shared the ball better and we’ve played more complete games, so that’s led to us being able to win four in a row.” Milwaukee lost 111-104 to the Sacramento Kings on Monday in the opener of a three-game road trip to drop to 7-22 away from home. The Bucks defeated the Trail Blazers 90-88 on Dec. 7 when they rallied with six unanswered points in the final 22 seconds of regulation.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (20-30): Center Greg Monroe had 24 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to Sacramento for his sixth straight game of 20 or more points. Monroe, who has 26 double-doubles, is averaging 22.2 points and shooting 58 percent from the field during his personal hot stretch but Milwaukee has lost five of the six games. Point guard Michael Carter-Williams had his best all-around game of the season with 18 points and a season-best 13 assists.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (23-26): Shooting guard C.J. McCollum ranks eighth in the NBA with 113 3-pointers and his streak of making at least one ended at 34 games in the win over Minnesota. McCollum wasn’t concerned about the conclusion of his long-range streak as he still scored 21 points by making nine two-point shots on a variety of mid-range jumpers and drives. “I’ve worked on a lot of different things,” McCollum told reporters. “Ball-handling and tightening things up and just continuing to have those moments where you utilize some things you worked on over the course of your life — the floaters, being able to manipulate a guy, make him go left and then move right and he’s still left. Just continue to make plays.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Trail Blazers have won seven of their last nine home meetings with the Bucks.
2. Milwaukee SG Khris Middleton is just 14-of-49 shooting during the past three games.
3. Lillard has topped 30 points in four of the past 11 contests.
PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 107, Bucks 99

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 2/2

Preview: Minnesota At L.A. Lakers
When: 10:30 PM ET, Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
The Los Angeles Lakers set several franchise records for futility last season and are at it again in 2015-16. The Lakers will try to avoid a franchise-record 11-game losing streak when they host another struggling Western Conference team in the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Los Angeles’ record-tying 10th consecutive setback matched their lowest-scoring effort of that stretch with a 101-82 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The Lakers have only been within single digits at the end of one of the last 10 games – a 92-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks – and may be looking at their best chance to keep that slide from getting further out of control with seven of the next eight games on the road after the Timberwolves leave town. Minnesota has lost four in a row but was in the game down the stretch in most of those contests. The Timberwolves went into the fourth quarter with the lead on Sunday before falling behind by 12 points and having a late comeback fall short in a 93-90 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN North (Minnesota), TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (14-35): Reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins is locked in a shooting slump and is 5-of-29 from the field in the last two games. “I couldn’t make my mid-range shots and everything like that, even layups around the rim that are easy to make,” Wiggins told reporters after going 3-of-18 from the floor on Sunday. “So I just tried to rebound and make the team better.” Wiggins grabbed nine rebounds in the loss after failing to grab a board in 36 minutes at Utah on Friday.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (9-41): Los Angeles was booed by the home fans during Sunday’s loss to the Hornets and can break a tie with 1993-94 squad for the longest slide in franchise history with a loss on Tuesday. “I think we’ve got a lot of guys in there right now with a lack of confidence,” Lakers coach Byron Scott told reporters. “Somehow we’ve got to try to rally together and get that back.” Kobe Bryant (shoulder) was one of the few bright spots with 23 points in as many minutes on Sunday after sitting out the previous game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lakers F Larry Nance Jr. (knee) sat out Sunday and is day-to-day.
2. Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns has recorded four straight double-doubles.
3. Minnesota took each of the first two meetings this season by a total of two points.
PREDICTION: Timberwolves 96, Lakers 93