Wednesday's Tip Sheet
April 5, 2017
Game of the Night – Cavaliers at Celtics – 8:05 PM EST – ESPN
The race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference will likely come down to the final game of the season as defending champion Cleveland fights it out with upstart Boston. The Cavaliers (50-27 SU, 34-40-3 ATS) pulled even with the Celtics following Tuesday’s 122-102 victory over Orlando with five games remaining in the regular season. Do the Cavs need home-court advantage? Not necessarily since LeBron James-led teams have finished as the second seed four times in the last six seasons even though his squads have won six consecutive Eastern Conference titles.
Boston (50-27 SU, 38-37-2 ATS) has a tough finish to the regular season by facing Atlanta (Thursday) and Charlotte (Saturday) on the road and Milwaukee next Wednesday at home. The Celtics have won nine of their last 11 games, including seven of those victories at TD Garden. Boston is coming off a 110-94 blowout of short-handed New York on Sunday to cash for the first time in the last five games. When the Celtics post high-scoring numbers, they have been successful as Brad Stevens’ club has topped the 109-point mark in seven of the past eight victories.
This series has been owned by the Cavaliers the last few seasons as Cleveland owns an 8-2 record against Boston since the 2015 playoffs. The Cavs captured the first two matchups at home by six points apiece earlier this season, but the Celtics pulled out a 103-99 home triumph on March 1. Isaiah Thomas scored a game-high 31 points for Boston, as the diminutive guard posted 30-point efforts in all three matchups against Cleveland this season.
Odd Men Out
The Heat and Hornets are currently on the outside looking in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Miami began March with an impressive 8-3 record, but stumbled to a 2-4 mark in the final six games of the month, including home losses to New York and Denver. Erik Spoelstra’s squad begins Wednesday’s action one half-game behind Chicago and Indiana for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Miami heads to Charlotte looking to even the season series at 2-2 after winning the previous matchup at home, 108-104 in early March. The Hornets saw their three-game winning streak end in Tuesday’s 118-111 setback at Washington. Charlotte extended its OVER streak to eight consecutive contests, while scoring at least 110 points for the fourth straight game. Since the All-Star break, the Hornets own a perfect 5-0 record off a road loss, while winning four of their last six games at Spectrum Arena.
Rocky Mountain High
The Nuggets finish off their five-game road swing in Houston as Denver is hanging around the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. Denver picked up a huge victory on Tuesday at New Orleans, 134-131 to improve to 37-40 and sit one half-game behind Portland for the final playoff position in the West. The task won’t be easy on Wednesday as the Nuggets have lost three times to the Rockets this season, although Denver covered as eight-point underdogs in a one-point loss last month in Houston.
The Rockets return home after snapping a three-game skid on their final game of their road swing at Phoenix on Sunday, 123-116. James Harden missed his first game of the season with the flu on Sunday, but the Rockets’ MVP candidate is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday. Since the All-Star break, Houston has compiled a 4-7 ATS record at the Toyota Center, while failing to cover in its last four games overall.
Sixth Sense
Oklahoma City owns a 2 ½-game edge over Memphis for the sixth seed in the Western Conference after the Thunder destroyed the Bucks, 110-79 as six-point home favorites. Memphis couldn’t hold onto a late lead in regulation at San Antonio as the Spurs held off the Grizzlies, 95-89 in overtime. The Grizzlies have lost six straight games on the road, but return home to FedEx Forum where they have won four consecutive games.
The home team has won all three matchups this season between the Thunder and Grizzlies as OKC has captured victories in the past two meetings in January and February. Memphis has won and covered in five of the previous six home matchups with Oklahoma City since January 2014. Both teams are playing with no rest and own dramatically different records on the second of a back-to-back as OKC has compiled a 4-9 SU and 5-8 ATS mark, while Memphis is a solid 11-5 SU and 10-6 ATS in this situation.
Tripped-Up Toronto
The Raptors entered Tuesday’s action winning eight of nine games and built a 19-point advantage at Indiana. However, the Pacers outscored the Raptors, 82-47 over the final 30 minutes to hand Toronto a 108-90 defeat. The Raptors try to get back on track with no rest at Detroit as Toronto owns a 7-9 record on the second of back-to-backs this season.
The Pistons are running out of time to grab a playoff berth in the East after losing nine of their past 11 games to fall 2 ½ games behind eighth-place Indiana. Detroit has been off since Friday’s overtime setback at Milwaukee, the seventh straight loss away from the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons have won two of their last three home games, but those victories came against two of the worst teams in the NBA, the Nets and Suns. In the last matchup between the Raptors and Pistons on March 17, Toronto outscored Detroit, 27-9 in the final quarter to pull out an 87-75 victory.
Head-to-Head Trends
-- The Spurs have won eight consecutive matchups with the Lakers since January 2015, including capturing the first three meetings this season. Los Angeles heads to San Antonio seeking consecutive victories for the first time since early January, while the Spurs are 11-2 SU and 8-5 ATS with no rest off Tuesday’s overtime triumph over the Grizzlies.
-- The Warriors shoot for the season sweep of the Suns in Phoenix as the two division rivals are meeting for the first time since December. Golden State has won 10 straight against Phoenix since January 2015, including four consecutive victories at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Phoenix has covered seven of its past eight games in the home underdog role dating back to mid-February.
-- The Mavericks remain in California following last night’s loss at Sacramento as Dallas heads to Los Angeles to face the Clippers. After L.A. grabbed the first matchup in Dallas by 20 points in November, the Mavericks have rebounded with a pair of low-scoring wins in the last two meetings by two points each.
April 5, 2017
Game of the Night – Cavaliers at Celtics – 8:05 PM EST – ESPN
The race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference will likely come down to the final game of the season as defending champion Cleveland fights it out with upstart Boston. The Cavaliers (50-27 SU, 34-40-3 ATS) pulled even with the Celtics following Tuesday’s 122-102 victory over Orlando with five games remaining in the regular season. Do the Cavs need home-court advantage? Not necessarily since LeBron James-led teams have finished as the second seed four times in the last six seasons even though his squads have won six consecutive Eastern Conference titles.
Boston (50-27 SU, 38-37-2 ATS) has a tough finish to the regular season by facing Atlanta (Thursday) and Charlotte (Saturday) on the road and Milwaukee next Wednesday at home. The Celtics have won nine of their last 11 games, including seven of those victories at TD Garden. Boston is coming off a 110-94 blowout of short-handed New York on Sunday to cash for the first time in the last five games. When the Celtics post high-scoring numbers, they have been successful as Brad Stevens’ club has topped the 109-point mark in seven of the past eight victories.
This series has been owned by the Cavaliers the last few seasons as Cleveland owns an 8-2 record against Boston since the 2015 playoffs. The Cavs captured the first two matchups at home by six points apiece earlier this season, but the Celtics pulled out a 103-99 home triumph on March 1. Isaiah Thomas scored a game-high 31 points for Boston, as the diminutive guard posted 30-point efforts in all three matchups against Cleveland this season.
Odd Men Out
The Heat and Hornets are currently on the outside looking in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Miami began March with an impressive 8-3 record, but stumbled to a 2-4 mark in the final six games of the month, including home losses to New York and Denver. Erik Spoelstra’s squad begins Wednesday’s action one half-game behind Chicago and Indiana for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Miami heads to Charlotte looking to even the season series at 2-2 after winning the previous matchup at home, 108-104 in early March. The Hornets saw their three-game winning streak end in Tuesday’s 118-111 setback at Washington. Charlotte extended its OVER streak to eight consecutive contests, while scoring at least 110 points for the fourth straight game. Since the All-Star break, the Hornets own a perfect 5-0 record off a road loss, while winning four of their last six games at Spectrum Arena.
Rocky Mountain High
The Nuggets finish off their five-game road swing in Houston as Denver is hanging around the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. Denver picked up a huge victory on Tuesday at New Orleans, 134-131 to improve to 37-40 and sit one half-game behind Portland for the final playoff position in the West. The task won’t be easy on Wednesday as the Nuggets have lost three times to the Rockets this season, although Denver covered as eight-point underdogs in a one-point loss last month in Houston.
The Rockets return home after snapping a three-game skid on their final game of their road swing at Phoenix on Sunday, 123-116. James Harden missed his first game of the season with the flu on Sunday, but the Rockets’ MVP candidate is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday. Since the All-Star break, Houston has compiled a 4-7 ATS record at the Toyota Center, while failing to cover in its last four games overall.
Sixth Sense
Oklahoma City owns a 2 ½-game edge over Memphis for the sixth seed in the Western Conference after the Thunder destroyed the Bucks, 110-79 as six-point home favorites. Memphis couldn’t hold onto a late lead in regulation at San Antonio as the Spurs held off the Grizzlies, 95-89 in overtime. The Grizzlies have lost six straight games on the road, but return home to FedEx Forum where they have won four consecutive games.
The home team has won all three matchups this season between the Thunder and Grizzlies as OKC has captured victories in the past two meetings in January and February. Memphis has won and covered in five of the previous six home matchups with Oklahoma City since January 2014. Both teams are playing with no rest and own dramatically different records on the second of a back-to-back as OKC has compiled a 4-9 SU and 5-8 ATS mark, while Memphis is a solid 11-5 SU and 10-6 ATS in this situation.
Tripped-Up Toronto
The Raptors entered Tuesday’s action winning eight of nine games and built a 19-point advantage at Indiana. However, the Pacers outscored the Raptors, 82-47 over the final 30 minutes to hand Toronto a 108-90 defeat. The Raptors try to get back on track with no rest at Detroit as Toronto owns a 7-9 record on the second of back-to-backs this season.
The Pistons are running out of time to grab a playoff berth in the East after losing nine of their past 11 games to fall 2 ½ games behind eighth-place Indiana. Detroit has been off since Friday’s overtime setback at Milwaukee, the seventh straight loss away from the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons have won two of their last three home games, but those victories came against two of the worst teams in the NBA, the Nets and Suns. In the last matchup between the Raptors and Pistons on March 17, Toronto outscored Detroit, 27-9 in the final quarter to pull out an 87-75 victory.
Head-to-Head Trends
-- The Spurs have won eight consecutive matchups with the Lakers since January 2015, including capturing the first three meetings this season. Los Angeles heads to San Antonio seeking consecutive victories for the first time since early January, while the Spurs are 11-2 SU and 8-5 ATS with no rest off Tuesday’s overtime triumph over the Grizzlies.
-- The Warriors shoot for the season sweep of the Suns in Phoenix as the two division rivals are meeting for the first time since December. Golden State has won 10 straight against Phoenix since January 2015, including four consecutive victories at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Phoenix has covered seven of its past eight games in the home underdog role dating back to mid-February.
-- The Mavericks remain in California following last night’s loss at Sacramento as Dallas heads to Los Angeles to face the Clippers. After L.A. grabbed the first matchup in Dallas by 20 points in November, the Mavericks have rebounded with a pair of low-scoring wins in the last two meetings by two points each.
