Here are tonights selections:
7 Units Houston Rockets -7.5 -102
The road show of the Warriors continues, and it hasn't been pretty: This will be their fourth straight road game and they are 0-3 SU/1-2 ATS on the trip. In fact, they've lost 5 in a row and the problem has been offense, scoring 79, 70 and 79 points during the slump. 5 of the last 6 Golden State games have gone UNDER the total, and they won't score many here against a terrific Houston defense. The streaky Rockets have won 2 straight and three straight have gone UNDER the total. Center Yao Ming has been getting help defensively from Kelvin Cato, and Cato had 11 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in the last game, an ugly 84-63 Houston win over Utah. The Rockets are 11-4 SU/7-8 ATS at home where they are 10-5 UNDER the total. It's always good to look at Houston's home games as being low scoring (66% UNDER the total thus far).
5 Units Denver Nuggets +3 -110
Both these teams are off embarrassing home losses, so it will be interesting to see who bounces back best. The Spurs are just average on the road (8-7 SU, 8-6-1 ATS) though they still play great defense (9-4 UNDER the total away from home). We'll see how the Spurs respond here, as they are off a home loss to the 76ers that ended their 13-game win streak. Bad free throw shooting killed them -- Tim Duncan attempted San Antonio's first eight free throws and missed them all. Duncan, who scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, had no field goals in the second half. He finished 3-of-13 at the foul line. "They were more physical and more aggressive in every way on the court," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They took the win and they deserved the win." Asked if a six-day layoff might have left the Spurs flat, Popovich said: "That's baloney. The last thing I want any of these guys to do is use that as an excuse." Manu Ginobili left the game in the first quarter with a lower back strain and did not return. Denver is 13-5 SU/12-6 ATS at home, yet they just lost at home to one of the worst teams in the league, 84-76 to Atlanta as a 9-point favorite. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 26 points, but the Nuggets managed only eight points in the fourth quarter. These teams have met once and Denver won 80-72 on this court in a game that went way UNDER the total.
5 Units Seattle Supersonics -3 -109
So, now that the New Year is here, are the Blazers any better on the road??? Not really. They did get a road victory at New Jersey, but followed that with a 78-71 stinkeroo in Detroit. Which means the Blazers are 1-11 SU and 3-9 against the spread away from the Rose Garden. Think about this: Portland gives up 94.9 ppg on the road, while scoring just 83.7 ppg. Why can't this talented offensive team score on the road??? This team should be better, with a strong frontcourt of Zach Randolph (19 points and 14 rebounds for his 18th double-double the last game) and Rasheed Wallace (30 points against Denver, a 106-96 home loss). The Blazers hit just 16 of 28 free throws against Denver (they are 73% for the season). Seattle is playing its third tough opponent in four days. The Sonics reached a high on Friday when they beat the Lakers 111-109 then a low Sunday when they lost to Sacramento 130-99. Now they're home for another Division rival for this Monday night clash. Seattle is 8-8 SU/7-9 ATS at home and perhaps Portland can keep this close to double their road victory total. On the other hand, these teams met Nov. 7 on this court and Seattle won 100-82!!!
Good Luck Tonight My Friends,
ALLSTAR
7 Units Houston Rockets -7.5 -102
The road show of the Warriors continues, and it hasn't been pretty: This will be their fourth straight road game and they are 0-3 SU/1-2 ATS on the trip. In fact, they've lost 5 in a row and the problem has been offense, scoring 79, 70 and 79 points during the slump. 5 of the last 6 Golden State games have gone UNDER the total, and they won't score many here against a terrific Houston defense. The streaky Rockets have won 2 straight and three straight have gone UNDER the total. Center Yao Ming has been getting help defensively from Kelvin Cato, and Cato had 11 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in the last game, an ugly 84-63 Houston win over Utah. The Rockets are 11-4 SU/7-8 ATS at home where they are 10-5 UNDER the total. It's always good to look at Houston's home games as being low scoring (66% UNDER the total thus far).
5 Units Denver Nuggets +3 -110
Both these teams are off embarrassing home losses, so it will be interesting to see who bounces back best. The Spurs are just average on the road (8-7 SU, 8-6-1 ATS) though they still play great defense (9-4 UNDER the total away from home). We'll see how the Spurs respond here, as they are off a home loss to the 76ers that ended their 13-game win streak. Bad free throw shooting killed them -- Tim Duncan attempted San Antonio's first eight free throws and missed them all. Duncan, who scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, had no field goals in the second half. He finished 3-of-13 at the foul line. "They were more physical and more aggressive in every way on the court," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They took the win and they deserved the win." Asked if a six-day layoff might have left the Spurs flat, Popovich said: "That's baloney. The last thing I want any of these guys to do is use that as an excuse." Manu Ginobili left the game in the first quarter with a lower back strain and did not return. Denver is 13-5 SU/12-6 ATS at home, yet they just lost at home to one of the worst teams in the league, 84-76 to Atlanta as a 9-point favorite. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 26 points, but the Nuggets managed only eight points in the fourth quarter. These teams have met once and Denver won 80-72 on this court in a game that went way UNDER the total.
5 Units Seattle Supersonics -3 -109
So, now that the New Year is here, are the Blazers any better on the road??? Not really. They did get a road victory at New Jersey, but followed that with a 78-71 stinkeroo in Detroit. Which means the Blazers are 1-11 SU and 3-9 against the spread away from the Rose Garden. Think about this: Portland gives up 94.9 ppg on the road, while scoring just 83.7 ppg. Why can't this talented offensive team score on the road??? This team should be better, with a strong frontcourt of Zach Randolph (19 points and 14 rebounds for his 18th double-double the last game) and Rasheed Wallace (30 points against Denver, a 106-96 home loss). The Blazers hit just 16 of 28 free throws against Denver (they are 73% for the season). Seattle is playing its third tough opponent in four days. The Sonics reached a high on Friday when they beat the Lakers 111-109 then a low Sunday when they lost to Sacramento 130-99. Now they're home for another Division rival for this Monday night clash. Seattle is 8-8 SU/7-9 ATS at home and perhaps Portland can keep this close to double their road victory total. On the other hand, these teams met Nov. 7 on this court and Seattle won 100-82!!!
Good Luck Tonight My Friends,
ALLSTAR
