NBA Betting Info. 3/5

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 3/5

Preview: Boston At Cleveland
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
The last time the Boston Celtics visited Cleveland they left with a dramatic win that helped cement their stance as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. The surging Celtics seek another solid effort against the first-place Cavaliers when they meet again in Cleveland on Saturday night.
Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted Boston to a 104-103 win over the Cavaliers on Feb. 5, part of the team’s current 16-4 run, which featured more late-game drama in a win over New York on Friday. It was Bradley again with the decisive hoop, scoring with 17.7 seconds to go to lift the Celtics past the Knicks 105-104, Boston’s 13th straight home win. The Cavaliers didn’t need to sweat it out down the stretch in their 108-83 victory over Washington on Friday, maintaining a two-game lead on Toronto and a 6 1/2-game advantage on the Celtics in the East standings. Cleveland is 46-6 at home since Jan. 19, 2015, but two of the six losses have come against Boston.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (38-25): Bradley had the big basket and Jae Crowder capped a 20-point effort with a fast-break layup in the closing moments but All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas carried Boston on Friday night. Thomas had 32 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with eight assists and zero turnovers, his second straight game without a giveaway. Thomas was 12-of-13 from the line versus the Knicks and he has hit all 17 of his foul shots against Cleveland this season.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (43-17): Power forward Kevin Love sat out Friday’s game to rest, and his teammates put forth a very balanced effort. Six players scored between 10 and 21 points, led by guard Kyrie Irving, who has topped the 20-point mark in 13 of his last 17 games. LeBron James flirted with a triple-double (19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists) before sitting out the entire fourth quarter, a positive development heading into a matchup with a Celtics team that is 10-4 in the second half of back-to-backs.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James needs to score 10 points to become the third player in NBA history – after Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – to reach that mark in 700 straight games.
2. Celtics C Jared Sullinger has recorded exactly 11 rebounds six times in his last 10 games.
3. Boston is 13 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2011 season.
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 103, Celtics 101

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 3/5

Preview: Detroit At New York
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
The Detroit Pistons start an important stretch of five games in eight days – four on the road – when they visit the struggling New York Knicks on Saturday night. The Pistons had won four straight before dropping a 97-81 decision against the high-powered San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday and hold down the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Detroit was held to a season-low 81 points by San Antonio as leading scorer Reggie Jackson (19.3) made just 4-for-13 from the field and Andre Drummond finished without a double-double for the first time in 14 games. The Pistons would like another shooting performance like Feb. 4 when they beat the Knicks 111-105 while making 50.6 percent from the field, including 9-of-17 from behind the 3-point arc. New York coughed up an eight-point lead in the final four minutes to drop a 105-104 decision at Boston on Friday – its 16th defeat in the last 19 contests. Carmelo Anthony registered 30 points for the Knicks in the loss and is averaging 26 in his last three outings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (31-30): Drummond was just one point shy of his 14th consecutive double-double Wednesday and is third on the team at 16.7 per game while leading the NBA in rebounds (15.0). Tobias Harris continues to contribute, averaging 16.9 points in seven games since being acquired from Orlando before the trade deadline. Marcus Morris has been especially productive of late by averaging 15.4 points over the last five games and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hopes to recover after a 1-for-10 shooting effort.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (25-38): Anthony drained 13-of-27 from the field Friday and is averaging 8.8 rebounds along with 4.5 assists the last four contests – both above his average. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis poured in 15 points against Boston for his best offensive output since scoring 18 in the last win for the Knicks on Feb. 26 against Orlando at home. Veteran guard Arron Afflalo is 13-for-20 from the field the last two games for New York, which is 15-18 at home but has dropped eight of its last nine games at Madison Square Garden.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pistons have lost 10 of their last 12 road games against the Knicks.
2. New York C Robin Lopez recorded double-doubles in two of his last three games after going for 12 points and 12 boards on Friday.
3. Detroit F Stanley Johnson (shoulder) is expected to miss his fifth consecutive game.
PREDICTION: Pistons 105, Knicks 97

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 3/5

Preview: Brooklyn At Minnesota
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Brooklyn Nets are experiencing more success than expected during their nine-game road trip and look to post another victory when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Brooklyn is 3-3 on the trip after notching a 121-120 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday and still has visits to Toronto and Philadelphia remaining on the excursion.
The Nets had only four road wins all season prior to the trip and they nabbed a dramatic victory Friday when center Brook Lopez tipped in the winning points with 0.4 seconds to play. “We never gave up,” Lopez told reporters. “We went a little cold there towards the end of the fourth and in overtime, but we kept fighting. There was no quit in us.” Minnesota fell to Milwaukee 116-101 on Friday for its sixth loss in eight games and has allowed 100 or more points in 13 consecutive games. Shooting guard Andrew Wiggins is averaging 14 points over the last three games – all losses – after averaging 23 points over the previous 10 contests.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE NETS (18-44): Lopez’s tip-in got him his third straight 20-point outing and 12th in 18 games as he continues to be the lone Brooklyn player performing at a high level. One player who has stepped up recently is shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovic, who is averaging 17.2 points over the last five games. Bogdanovic moved into the starting lineup when the Nets bought out the contract of veteran Joe Johnson and will get a long look down the stretch with Brooklyn long out of playoff contention.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (19-43): The shaky defense – Minnesota is allowing an average of 112.3 points during the 13-game stretch – as well as turnover issues are plaguing a team that has already clinched its 11th consecutive losing campaign. The Timberwolves committed 26 miscues against Milwaukee, leading to 41 points, and even a rookie like center Karl-Anthony Towns knows that’s not the way you win basketball games. “That’s something that obviously we’ve got to fix,” Towns told reporters. “You can’t beat teams like this, especially a team that was a playoff team last year, and looking to be a playoff team this year, with those kinds of mistakes happening over and over and over again.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Timberwolves have won nine of the past 13 meetings, including a 100-85 road victory Dec. 20.
2. Brooklyn made 13 3-pointers against the Nuggets – its second highest total of the season.
3. Minnesota G Zach LaVine had scored 20 or more points in three of the past four games.
PREDICTION: Timberwolves 105, Nets 102

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 3/5

Preview: Houston At Chicago
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
The Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets were both dark horse picks to make the NBA finals before the season started, and both are now struggling just to stay in the postseason race in their respective conferences. The Bulls will try to snap a four-game slide that has dropped them out of the top eight in the East when they host the Rockets on Saturday.
Chicago was embarrassed on the defensive end in a 129-111 loss at Miami on Tuesday in which the Heat shot a franchise-record 67.5 percent from the floor and could not pull itself up off the mat after falling behind by 10 points by the end of the first quarter in a 102-89 loss at Orlando the next night. “It’s defense, it’s communication. It’s nothing but defense,” Bulls guard Derrick Rose told reporters. “It’s something that we’re trying to figure out.” That same sentiment could be expressed about Houston, which was allowing an average of 113.3 points over a seven-game stretch before tightening up enough on that end to earn a 100-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. The Rockets are still one game under .500 but are holding on to the No. 8 spot in the West thanks to Utah’s recent slump.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (30-31): Houston was nearly as bad on the defensive end Monday in Milwaukee as Chicago was the next night in Miami, allowing the Bucks to shoot 59.3 percent in a 128-121 loss. The Rockets did a better job of defending the wings at home against New Orleans on Wednesday and picked up the win despite going 3-of-34 from 3-point range. “There were open shots, too,” Houston interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. “We had a ton of open looks. Those are shots we work on every day, and to be able to win a game when you shoot eight percent from the 3-point line and turn it over 21 times. There is something we must have done right.”
ABOUT THE BULLS (30-30): Chicago added power forward Taj Gibson (hamstring) to its lengthy injury list on Wednesday and is now in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007-08. Rose, who guided the Bulls to the playoffs while earning Rookie of the Year honors in the 2008-09 campaign and has never missed the postseason as a professional, seemed lost after the latest setback. “All this is new to me,” Rose told reporters. “Just trying to figure things out. Thoughts, plays, everything is going everywhere. Just overload mentally, but we’ve got to figure it out.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets reportedly signed PF Michael Beasley and G Andrew Goudelock for the remainder of the season.
2. Bulls SF Doug McDermott has scored in double figures in seven straight games.
3. The Rockets have taken five of the last seven in the series.
PREDICTION: Bulls 113, Rockets 111

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 3/5

Preview: Sacramento At San Antonio
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
The San Antonio Spurs will try to run their home record to an even 30-0 when they host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. The historic success of the Golden State Warriors has allowed the Spurs to stay under the radar a bit, but their latest winning streak is at seven straight and they sit only 3 1/2 games behind the Warriors in the Western Conference standings.
San Antonio has played at home only once since Feb. 6 and rolled past the Detroit Pistons 97-81 on Wednesday in that return to their building. The Spurs nearly fell at New Orleans the next night but ended the game on a 12-0 run to pull out the 94-86 triumph behind 30 points and 11 rebounds from star forward Kawhi Leonard. The Kings have lost in their last six trips to San Antonio but snapped a four-game slide by ending a lengthy drought in Dallas with a 104-101 win on Thursday. The victory is the latest indication that Sacramento intends to remain on the fringes of the postseason, and the Kings head into the weekend 4 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Houston Rockets in the West.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE KINGS (25-35): Sacramento shot 52.5 percent from floor against the Mavericks but was quick to credit its defensive improvement for the victory. “It’s been a problem for us all season,” All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins told reporters of the team’s defensive inconsistency. “I’d probably say this is our best defensive game all season. It’s all about remaining consistent with what’s winning games for us, and that’s defense.” The Kings weren’t as strong on the defensive end on Feb. 24 at home against San Antonio, when they let the Spurs shoot 51.8 percent from the field in a 108-92 loss.
ABOUT THE SPURS (52-9): Leonard posted his first career 30-point, 10-rebound performance on Thursday and is riding a hot streak of late by averaging 28.3 points in the last four contests. San Antonio still has Tony Parker and Tim Duncan around to provide stability, but it was Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge on Thursday taking over down the stretch. Aldridge and Leonard combined for 56 points in the win and each played 35 or more minutes, while Duncan and Parker totaled nine points and each played fewer than 25 minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Kings F Rudy Gay (shoulder) returned from a two-game absence on Thursday and scored nine points in 36 minutes.
2. Spurs G Manu Ginobili (groin) has been out since Feb. 3 but could return on Saturday.
3. San Antonio has taken five straight in the series and won the first two this season by an average of 17 points.
PREDICTION: Spurs 105, Kings 90

[Satch]

Re: NBA Betting Info. 3/5

Preview: Atlanta At L.A. Clippers
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
All-Star point guard Chris Paul has been on a terrific eight-game run and he attempts to record another stellar outing when the Los Angeles Clippers host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. Paul has recorded five consecutive double-doubles and seven in the last eight contests while averaging 25.5 points and 11.6 assists during the stretch.
Paul had 21 points and 13 assists in Wednesday’s 103-98 victory over the Oklahoma City, a contest in which Los Angeles finished with a 26-5 run after trailing by as many as 22 points. The Clippers are one game behind the Thunder for third place in the Western Conference and the game against Atlanta will be followed with seven of nine on the road. The Hawks are 1-1 on a five-game excursion after rolling to an easy 106-77 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Atlanta resides in fifth place in the Eastern Conference but only three games clear of ninth-place Chicago in the bunched-up playoff race.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (34-28): Atlanta limited the Lakers to 34.1 percent shooting from the field and has held four straight foes below 40 percent for the first time since December 1996. “We been playing pretty good defense since about the new year,” shooting guard Kyle Korver told reporters. “We have bigs who are able to really get out and kind of pressure pick-and-rolls, and they’re very versatile, very active. We’re aggressive, try to get a lot of steals and put a lot of teams in bad spots. That’s what’s been working.” Korver knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts against the Lakers and is 7-of-10 over the last two outings.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (40-20): Power forward Blake Griffin has missed the past 30 games because of quadriceps and hand injuries and is moving closer to a return. Griffin must serve a four-game suspension for punching a team employee – the incident is how he broke his right hand – once he is medically cleared so the manner in which coach Doc Rivers changed his tune from unsure when Griffin will return to “very close” will draw scrutiny. “My guess is that he’s healthy, but the hand doctor probably has not cleared him for contact as far as getting hit,” Rivers told reporters. “That’s the only thing. Honestly, watching him, I was thinking that has to be the only reason is they’re worried it’s not healed properly yet. That’s the only thing I can come up with.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Backup SG Jamal Crawford scored 21 points as the Clippers recorded an 85-83 road win on Jan. 27.
2. Atlanta PF Kris Humphries had 14 points and eight rebounds against his Lakers in his first game since joining the Hawks.
3. Los Angeles PF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (eye) will miss his second straight game.
PREDICTION: Clippers 108, Hawks 103