Does Memphis have what it takes to make it to the NBA Finals? Not many gave the Grizzlies a chance in the first round against the Clippers after losing the first two games of the series only to go on and win the final four games. They then lost the first game in the second round against the Thunder only to go on and win the final four games there as well. I am expecting a different start in this series however as Memphis may not be able get away with early losses again but even so, a close game either way cashes a ticket for us. The home team won all four regular season meetings this year but three of the games were decided by four points or fewer including two in overtime which shows how the games, and the series, could go either way in this matchup as home court may not play as big of a factor as many believe. Fifth seeded Memphis would be the lowest-seeded team to reach the NBA Finals since the eighth-seeded Knicks in 1999, but this isn't a classic underdog pick. Since Tayshaun Prince the Grizzlies back on February 1st, the Grizzlies have the third best record in the Western Conference's, ahead of the Spurs. The Grizzlies are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games against teams with a winning record while going back further, they are 20-4 ATS in their last 24 games in the second half of the season against teams with a winning percentage of .700 or better. Meanwhile the Spurs are just 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games against teams with a winning record and they fall into a negative situation where we play against home teams that are revenging a loss of three points or less, off a road win by 10 points or more. This situation is 27-8 ATS (77.1 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (501) Memphis Grizzlies

The home team has won and covered the last four games in this series and all in very easy fashion as all four victories have been by double-digits. While many expected this to be a very good series, it has been anything but with the lopsided games but I think that changes tonight as the Knicks stave off elimination once again. New York, trailing 3-1 in this series, won Game Five at home to keep its playoff hopes alive and now it will have to win on the road in order to extend this series to the limit. The Knicks offense has been stymied in the two games at Indiana but its 25-21 road record this season shows they can win on the highway. This included a 2-1 record at Boston with the lone loss coming in overtime. With the season once again on the line, I expect the Knicks to finally solve some of the issues that plagued them in the first two games in Indiana. George Hill's status is still unknown for Game Six, so it's very possible the Knicks could continue to exploit the lack of depth Indiana has at the point as D.J. Augustin clearly was not the answer after finishing with no assists and the team turning it over 19 times. How important is Hill? With him on the court, the Pacers have outscored opponents by 61 points in the playoffs. When he's on the bench, Indy's been outscored by 37. Indiana is 1-9 ATS in its last 10 games after allowing 90 points or less three straight games while the Knicks are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games against teams with a winning record. We finally get treated to a non-home blowout in this series. 10* (747) New York Knicks

You have to give the Warriors a lot of credit for what they have done in the playoffs so far. After losing the opening game in their series with Denver, they Warriors won four of the next five games to oust the third-seeded Nuggets. They then split two games in San Antonio and then evened up the series at two games apiece with a come-from-behind win in overtime in Game Four before losing Game Five. Now with their backs against the wall, the Warriors need to win tonight to extend the series but I do not see it happening. San Antonio's experience will prove to be too much and its coaching has made the correct adjustments over the last three games to shut down the potent Golden St. offense. The Spurs have a game to work with and Game Seven is at home should it go that far but they do not want to head home as anything can happen in a Game Seven. San Antonio has shut down Klay Thompson since he scored 34 points in Game Two and while the defense has been given credit for slowing down Stephen Curry, his ankle injury is clearly affecting him even though he is not using it as an excuse. History is clearly on the Spurs side as well as teams that have won Game Five of a best-of-seven series that was tied have gone on to win the series 88 out of 99 times and San Antonio alone is 11-1 in its last 12 series when leading 3-2. Granted not all of these have been won in Game Six but the confidence level is there. The Spurs have a great situation on their side as we play on road teams with a winning percentage between .600 and .750 coming off a home win by 10 points or more, playing a team with a winning percentage between .501 and .600. This situation is 51-23 ATS (68.9 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (741) San Antonio Spurs

Oklahoma City is on the brink of elimination so this is obviously a must win situation for the Thunder. Coming back from a 3-1 series deficit is not going to be easy for the Western Conference favorites and it makes it even more difficult with the absence of Russell Westbrook. The Thunder had a great shot to even up this series in Game Four but they lost in overtime and now back home, I expect them to respond in a big way. Memphis clearly has the momentum in its favor and it has covered all four games in this series thus far. While we may be losing value with the increased number, I feel it could be even higher in this situation. Realistically, the Thunder could have the 3-1 series edge right now but being unable to close in the second half has been the big liability which has put them in this hole. In each of the first three games of the series, the go-ahead bucket was scored in the final two minutes and then there was the overtime in Game Four. Memphis has outscored the Thunder 23-12 in the final 90 seconds and overtime in this series. Surprisingly, it has been Kevin Durant that has come up small over the last two games as he went a mere 3-17 in the fourth quarter and overtime in the two games played in Memphis. Superstars step up and lead their team and that is what I am expecting from Durant tonight. Despite the Game Two loss, Oklahoma City is still 37-9 at home and it is 11-3 ATS in 14 home games revenging a loss where opponent scored 100 or more points this season. 10* (738) Oklahoma City Thunder

San Antonio had an opportunity to take a commanding lead in this series on Sunday but instead blew a late lead and eventually lost in overtime. Instead of a 3-1 edge, the Spurs are tied with Golden St. with pivotal Game Five ready to go a long way in deciding this series. A split in Oakland got the home floor back on the side of the Spurs and now they have to take advantage because the first two games of this series at home went the way of the visitors. The Warriors have clearly been the better team in San Antonio and this is something the Spurs need to reverse. The Warriors held leads of 18 and 20 points in the first two games respectively while holding the lead for 95 of the 106 minutes played at the AT&T Center. That is pretty bad for a team that that overall is 38-7 at home on the season and this is where the experience of the team will take over, just like it did in Game Three after being down two games to one. The offense needs to take over this game and I think that will be the case after a horrendous game as the Spurs shot 35.5 percent from the floor, were 7-27 from the three-point line and grabbed just 51 rebounds to Golden St.'s 65. After shooting just 39 percent in Game Two, San Antonio responded with a 51 percent effort in Game Three and I expect a similar rebound here. Only twice this year have the Spurs lost consecutive games when they played their normal starting lineup in both games. San Antonio is 19-8 ATS in its last 27 games coming off a loss as a favorite. 10* (734) San Antonio Spurs

It is becoming crunch time for the top seed in the Western Conference as the Thunder trail the Grizzlies 2-1 following a loss in Game Three on Saturday. With two more home games on tap if the series is stretched to seven games, this game isn't a must win contest but it is as close as you can get for Oklahoma City. Falling down 3-1 is certainly not ideal and a victory here puts the home court back in possession of the Thunder. Oklahoma City could not have had a worst game on offense in Game Three as it was 32-88 (36.4 percent) from the floor. They wasted a great game on the boards as the Thunder outrebounded Memphis 51-44 including 14-5 on the offensive end and they achieved their goal of winning the inside game as they outscored the Grizzlies 44-30 in the paint. The Thunder spent Sunday trying to regain confidence shooting the ball after their worst performance this postseason both shooting and scoring. I expect a huge bounceback and this is the type of situations where superstars take over and that is what we should see from Kevin Durant. The Thunder are now 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games against teams with a winning home record while going 17-8 ATS in their 25 games this season coming off a loss. Even though Memphis got the cover in Game Three, the road team is 8-2 ATS over the last 10 meetings in this series. 10* (729) Oklahoma City Thunder

Miami has taken control of this series after losing the opener at home so now it is up to Chicago to do it best to try an even this series as going down 3-1 and heading back to Miami is fatal. The Bulls were right in it in Game Three as they entered the final period tied with the Heat and were down by just two points with four minutes left but Miami ended the game on a 19-11 run which sealed the win and cover. Amazingly, the Heat are 21-1 in their last 22 road games, with the lone loss coming in Chicago, which snapped the team's 27-game wining streak in March. Therefore Chicago knows it can win here and that was proven on Friday as well despite the loss. I think the Miami offense takes a step back here and namely Norris Cole. He is the Heat's second-leading scorer in the series, at 14.8 ppg, shooting 50 percent from the field including going 8-8 on three-pointers. That will not last. The Bulls are 13-4 ATS coming off a home loss this season and they are 4-0 ATS in their last four games coming off a double-digit home loss. They fall into a great situation also as we play against road favorites with a winning percentage of .750 or better after having covered four of their last five against the spread, playing a team with a winning record. This situation is 59-22 ATS (72.8 percent) since 1996. 10* (728) Chicago Bulls

We won with the Spurs in Game Three as they finally looked like the better team in this series. After being underdogs then and opening as underdogs in this game, San Antonio is now the favorite and while I do not expect the line to even come in play, it is a good buffer should the game be closer than I anticipate. On Friday, San Antonio outshot Golden State 50.6 percent to 39.3 percent as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were held in check, though the Spurs didn't feel like they defended any differently. That means it was just an off-shooting night with the opportunity to get it back this afternoon. Golden St. had won both home meetings against San Antonio prior to Game Three so it knows it can easily bounce back and even up this series before heading back to San Antonio. The Warriors know a loss here could be devastating. The big story here is the health of Stephen Curry who hurt his left ankle in Game Three and is considered a gametime decision today. The quick turnaround time between games does not help as Sunday's game starts about 38 hours from the end of Friday night's game but with the series on the line, there is hardly no chance he does not go today and he will be fine. Golden St. is 25-13 ATS following a loss this season while going a perfect 6-0 ATS in its last six games following a double-digit home loss. Additionally, the Warriors are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning record while the Spurs are just 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games following a win. 10* (726) Golden St. Warriors

We won with the Spurs last night and this game sets up very similar. Memphis blew a big lead in Game One but came back to win the second game which is exactly what Golden St. did against San Antonio. Now it is up to Oklahoma City to hit the road and dig deep to try and get its home court advantage back. The loss of Russell Westbrook is certainly evident for the Thunder but that is not where the problem was for Oklahoma City in Game Two as 50 of the Grizzlies 99 points came in the paint, a dominating effort by the interior of Memphis. They made just 12 of their other 43 shots, but managed a 50-30 advantage in the paint. Part of the problem for the Thunder was settling for jump shots as they took only 17 shots inside the paint and they need to increase that. Additionally, the key to this game could be Kevin Martin who played a huge role in Game One with 25 points but came back with just six points in Game Two on 2-11 shooting. In two games against Memphis, the Thunder's starting lineup has scored only 64.7 points per 100 possessions which is horrid. The Thunder find themselves in a difficult situation in trying to win in Memphis where the Grizzlies have won 17 of their last 18 games but the thing is for us, we do not even need the outright win as we are catching a very favorable line. Oklahoma City is 11-1 ATS in its last 12 road games against teams allowing 91 or fewer ppg while going 15-5 ATS in its 20 games this season coming off a loss as a favorite. 10* (721) Oklahoma City Thunder

This series has clearly been dominated by Golden St. thus far as if not for a meltdown in the final four minutes of Game One, the Warriors would have a commanding 2-0 lead. They have held leads of 18 and 20 points in the first two games respectively while holding the lead for 95 of the 106 minutes played, and now that the series shifts west to Oakland, it would seem that Golden St. has a big edge. This is a huge game for the Spurs as not only do they need a win to recapture home court advantage, they need to start playing better and I feel the veteran aspect of this team gets it done. San Antonio knows it cannot continue to play the way it has and expect to win this series and this is where its experience needs to take over. The Spurs have been here before while this is just the second postseason for Golden St. in the last 19 years and that is significant in a pivotal Game Three in my opinion. The Warriors took care of Denver in all three games played on their home floor but two of those could have gone either way and for this game when talking value, it is on the Spurs side. We are seeing a 9.5-point line shift from Game Two which is too much of an overadjustment. San Antonio is 11-1 ATS in its last 12 games coming off a home loss while going 14-4 ATS in its last 18 games revenging a home loss. Additionally, the Spurs fall into a great situation where we play on road teams where the line is +3 to -3 that are coming off a loss as a home favorite, playing three or less games in 10 days. This situation is 24-6 ATS (80 percent) since 1996. 10* (719) San Antonio Spurs

Golden St. let a huge win slip away in the opener of this series as it blew a 16-points lead with less than four minutes remaining and eventually lost in double overtime. The Warriors proved they can play with the elite after taking out Denver and taking the Spurs to the wire in this series opener and now it comes down to how they will respond. They can be a deflated bunch and not even show up or they can learn from that game and come out knowing they can win and take control of the home court with a victory tonight. I expect it will be the latter. Golden St. won three straight in the opening round after dropping the series opener to Denver and in this case, they know they were the better team for the majority of Game One in this series. Stephen Curry was masterful once again as he scored 44 points including going 6-14 from long range. The Spurs were able to defend him better late in the game after Klay Thompson fouled out and that really hurt Golden St. down the stretch. We are getting less value in Game Two but it is for good reason. The Warriors are 8-0 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while San Antonio is 1-10 ATS in its last 11 games against teams with a winning record. Additionally, the Warriors are 19-9 ATS in their last 28 games as a road underdog of 6.5 to 9 points while the Spurs are 9-21 ATS in their 30 games this season against teams that are making 36 percent or more of their three-point attempts. 10* (715) Golden St. Warriors

The Knicks are coming off a poor performance in Game One as they shot just 43.2 percent from the floor and despite scoring 27 points, Carmelo Anthony was just 10-28 from the floor. New York desperately needs to even up this series before going to Indiana as it has already lost home court advantage and cannot afford to go down 2-0 in this series. After getting blown out twice in Atlanta in its first two road playoff games, the Pacers have now won two in a row on the highway but making in three straight will be a challenge as they are still two games under .500 on the road for the season. Their defense has been great the last two games and the offense came to life as well as they shot 48.7 percent from the floor in Game One and had a big edge down low. The home team had won all four regular season meetings, including three by double-digits, and the Knicks won both meetings at home by 12 and 10 points. New York is 12-4 ATS this season revenging a loss where its opponent scored 100 or more points and despite the Sunday loss, it is 10-2 ATS in its last 12 games against teams with a winning record. Indiana is 7-15 ATS in 22 road games this season against teams with a winning record and the Knicks fall into a great situation where we play against road underdogs between 3.5 and 9.5 points after covering three of their last four games in a game involving two teams with winning percentages between .600 and .750. This situation is 49-26 ATS (65.3 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (710) New York Knicks

The home team has absolutely dominated this series with all five hosts winning by double-digits. Going back to the regular season, the home team has won all nine meetings but with that being said, I feel it comes to an end here. The Pacers are the better team in this matchup but they have been far from strong in Atlanta where they have now lost 13 straight meetings. That would make a win here seem bleak and even though the series is on the line for the Hawks, I think Indiana comes in with more energy. This may be the last time the Pacers have a home-court edge in the playoffs so for nothing else, they have to learn to win on the road or they will not be advancing past the next round. Indiana is coming off its best defensive game of the series as it allowed just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor including just 21.4 percent from long range and that has been the strength of this team all season. The Pacers need to keep that rolling and while they have not kept things close in the two games in Atlanta, they have allowed just 43.6 percent shooting in those games. It is the offense that has let them down as it has shot just 32.7 percent in the tow losses. One big factor in favor of the Pacers is free throw shooting as they are hitting 80.1 percent in the series compared to just 65 percent for the Hawks while outscoring them by an average of close to seven ppg from the charity stripe. Indiana falls into a great situation where we play against home teams where the line is +3 to -3 that are revenging a loss of 20 points or more, off a road loss by 10 points or more. This situation is 30-9 ATS (76.9 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (547) Indiana Pacers

It is crunch time for both teams tonight. Brooklyn is coming off a win in Game Five to extend the series but still needs to win the last two to take it. The Bulls meanwhile are up 3-2 but are in need of a win here to avoid going back to Brooklyn for Game Seven. With so much on the line, we should expect a game being played where each possession is critical and that will lead to a low scoring affair. The last two games of this series have gone over and we are now seeing a total that is seven points higher than it was in Game Four and 3.5 to 4 points higher than it was in Game Five which is providing excellent value. Injuries remain a big issue on both sides as the injury list is long both ways and that hurts the chemistry of the offenses more than anything. The big one for Chicago is the absence of Kirk Hinrich who is listed as doubtful with a calf injury. He has averaged 14.3 ppg over the last three games he has played in this series before sitting out Game Five. The Bulls defense has responded very well following a poor effort as they are 17-4 to the under in their last 21 games revenging a road loss of 10 or more points. Brooklyn meanwhile is 25-12 to the under in its last 37 road games after playing a game at home and more recently it is 20-9 to the under in its last 29 games playing on two days rest. With the last two games easily going over the number, expect the opposite tonight in what will be a low scoring affair. 10* Under (539) Brooklyn Nets/(540) Chicago Bulls

Houston has made two huge comebacks in the last two games to keep the series alive and interesting. The Rockets fought back from a 26-point deficit in Game Three but still ended up losing. In Game Four, they came back from a 13-point deficit and were able to hold on to extend the series as the teams head back to Oklahoma City. Houston has kept games close since getting blown out in Game One but I am expecting the Thunder to regain control and end it tonight with a big win. Obviously the loss of Russell Westbrook is huge for the Thunder and this will be the first game back home without him and the home court edge will be a significant difference in picking the whole team up. Without Westbrook, the Thunder have been far less effective on the fast break, scoring just 15 points in the last two games after totaling 45 in the first two. But again, the venue has played a big part in that. Losses have been far and far between for Oklahoma City this season and consecutive losses have been more rare as it is 18-4 following its first 22 losses including going 17-5 ATS in those games. The Thunder have dominated good teams on their home floor as they are 17-6 ATS in 23 home games against teams with a winning record. Oklahoma City was favored by double-digits in the first two games at home in this series and the line has come down a decent amount due to the Westbrook injury and I feel there is definitely value to be had. The Thunder have covered six of the last eight home meetings with Houston and they are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. 10* (536) Oklahoma City Thunder

We won with Atlanta on Saturday as the Hawks overcame two losses in Indiana to get back in the series. One of the big reasons for that play on the Hawks was they arguably played better in both games in Indiana as they outshot the Pacers but were killed on the boards and outscored substantially at the free throw line. In Game Three, Atlanta again outshot the Pacers but were still outrebounded and outscored from the charity stripe. The Hawks took advantage of Indiana shooting only 27.2 percent from the floor including a mere 16 percent from long range on 4-25 shooting. I expect the Pacers to bounce back in a big way here and despite not having won in Atlanta in 12 straight meetings, they break that streak and take control of this series before heading back home. Indiana matched the lowest-scoring first half in the franchise's playoff history as it scored just 30 points and that alone is motivation enough to come out strong on Monday. After being the more aggressive team in the first two games of this series, the Pacers felt they gave that away on Saturday and if they can establish themselves in that regard once again, Atlanta cannot match up. The Pacers are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games coming off a double-digit loss while the Hawks are 1-5 ATS in their last six games coming off a double-digit win. Additionally, Atlanta is 1-12 ATS in 13 home games this season coming off a home win while the Pacers fall into a great situation as we play on road teams that are coming off a road loss scoring less than 80 points, playing six or less games in 14 days. This situation is 27-10 ATS (73 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (517) Indiana Pacers

Denver is now in a must win situation as it needs to even up this series before heading back home. We played on the Nuggets in Game Three and despite another hot shooting performance from Golden St., they nearly pulled out the victory. Give credit to the Warriors for playing two great games without the services of David Lee who was lost for the remainder of the season after getting injured in Game One. I do not expect them to continue on their torrid shooting pace however and it will be up to Denver to play a better second half here. The Nuggets shot just 39 percent, after taking a 12-point lead to the locker room, while the Warriors shot 53.7 in the final two quarters in Game Three. How big is this game for the Nuggets? In 438 best-of-seven NBA series, only eight times has a team gone down 3-1 and come back to eventually win the series. The Nuggets are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games against teams with a winning record while Golden St. is 8-18 ATS in its 26 games this season following two or more consecutive wins. Denver falls into a solid situation as we play on road teams where the line is +3 to -3 after a road game where both teams score 100 or more points, and playing six or less games in 14 days. This situation is 34-10 ATS (77.3 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (515) Denver Nuggets

Despite outshooting Indiana both games of this series, the Hawks find themselves down 2-0 after losses by a combined 32 points. Atlanta has outshot the Pacers 49.6 percent to 46.1 percent overall so it hasn't been playing poorly but it has been on the wrong side of the home calls for sure. The difference was rebounding and free throw shooting as Atlanta was outboarded 48-32 including 15-6 on the offensive end while getting outscored at the charity stripe 30-7 in Game One. In Game Two, it was outrebounded 47-41 including 15-11 on the offense end while getting outscored at the free throw line 21-11. Those two categories were the ultimate difference between a close game and a blowout in both of those games and a possible outright Hawks win either time and a series split. A return home should be able to cure things for the Hawks as they are in must win mode and know they cannot let another one slip away. Indiana has lost its last 11 games at Philips Arena including both meetings this season. The Pacers are just 19-21 on the road and they have not even played on the road in nearly two weeks as their last road game of the season at Boston was postponed. Indiana is 5-13 ATS this season in road games against teams with a winning record while going 3-13 ATS in its last 16 games after two straight wins by 15 or more points. Atlanta meanwhile is 5-2 ATS in its last seven home games after being away from home for seven or more days and it is 30-13 ATS in its last 43 games after failing to cover five or six of their last seven games against the spread. 10* (506) Atlanta Hawks

The first two games of this series have gone under the total and by a wide margin for that matter. Game One went under by 26.5 points while Game Two went under the total by 27.5 points. This is creating exceptional value going the other way as tonight's total is 6.5 points less than the Game One Total and 2.5 points less than the Game Two total. This is the lowest over/under in this series since the final game of last season when the posted total was 182.5 and the teams combined for 228 points. Going back to the regular season, the under has come in five straight meetings although two of those would have gone over if being played with tonight's total. I am expecting Boston to play a lot better offensively on its home floor following rough performances in New York the first two games. The 23 points the Celtics scored in the second half of Game Two was the fewest in the team's playoff history and the 25 points scored in the second half of Game One was not much better. The Knicks have limited Boston to 39.2 percent shooting on their home court but New York is clearly not the same team defensively on the road, allowing 46.3 percent shooting this season. Additionally, Boston is much better at home, shooting 47.7 percent from the floor which is sixth highest in the NBA. We play the over involving teams after a win by 15 points or more against opponent after scoring 80 points or less two straight games. This situation is 46-20 (69.7 percent) to the over since 1996. Also, Boston is 10-4 to the over in its last 14 games after scoring 75 points or fewer in its last game. 10* Over (739) New York Knicks/(740) Boston Celtics

Miami is clearly the dominant team here and no one didn't say it wasn't going into this series. The Heat are coming off two double-digit wins at home to take a 2-0 series lead and now it shifts to Milwaukee in what is a must win game for the Bucks. Milwaukee played a great game in Miami and they were in it until the Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter but the Bucks hung on for the cover. They outshot Miami 50 percent to 45 percent but Miami benefitted from the home court as it got the call and outscored the Bucks 22-10 from the free throw line which was the ultimate difference. As mentioned before Game Two, the Bucks needed offensive support from players other than Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. Ellis and Jennings combined for 48 points in Game One, and while they indeed got support from others in Game Two, Ellis and Jennings had just 15 combined points on Tuesday night. This is a game that everyone needs to step up to avoid the insurmountable 0-3 series deficit. Miami has won 66 percent of its games as a road favorite but it has covered only 51 percent of those games showing how much it has been overvalued in such situations. The Heat have controlled this season series because of big runs and Milwaukee has to avoid that here. In the two meetings at home, the Bucks won once and were close in the other so the home floor will be a big edge tonight. The Bucks are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 home games following a road trip of seven or more days while Miami is 7-19 ATS in its last 26 road games after covering eight or more of their last 10 against the spread. 10* (734) Milwaukee Bucks

We played on Atlanta on Sunday and the Hawks went down despite outshooting Indiana 50 percent to 44.9 percent from the floor. The difference was rebounding and free throw shooting as Atlanta was outboarded 48-32 including 15-6 on the offensive end while getting outscored at the charity stripe 30-7. Those two categories were the ultimate difference between a close game and a blowout and a possible outright Hawks win. Head coach Larry Drew called his team out for being soft despite coming out and saying that the game was not called in their favor. With two days in-between games, the Hawks have had a chance to refocus and be more physical here to try and grab a split which would bring the home court edge back to Atlanta. Drew was more upset that his team didn't play through the calls and got beat up inside and out. It is imperative that the Hawks match the Pacers intensity. We have seen zero change in the line from Game One to Game Two and that is in our favor here based on the bounce angle as a team that loses usually sees the line go the reverse way so I feel we are on the value side here. Despite being on a four-game, non-cover streak, the Hawks are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games following a double-digit loss while going 18-7 ATS in their last 25 road games revenging a double-digit loss. Additionally, Atlanta is 30-12 ATS in its last 42 games after failing to cover five or six of its last seven games against the spread. Meanwhile the Pacers are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games following a double-digit victory while going just 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games following an ATS win. 10* (729) Atlanta Hawks

The Nuggets definitely got away with one in the first game of this series as Andre Miller drove for a layup with 1.3 seconds left to lift Denver to the Game One victory. That opening game scare will provide the Nuggets with a bigger sense of urgency here as they were taken to the brink in Game One and know they cannot afford to let that happen again. Golden St. nearly pulled off the upset that not many teams have been able to accomplish this season and that is winning in Denver where the Nuggets are now an insane 39-3 on the season. And now Golden St. is at an even bigger disadvantage in Game Two as David Lee was lost for the remainder of the postseason because of a torn right hip flexor while the Nuggets will have some fresh legs returning to the lineup as Kenneth Faried expects to play after sitting out the first game with a sprained left ankle. That is a huge replacement for both sides and Denver has to take advantage. The Warriors enjoyed a rebounding advantage in Game One, in large part because of Andrew Bogut and Lee's 14 rebounds apiece. So rebounding now certainly becomes an issue. Also, the Warriors won't be able to run the high pick and roll with Stephen Curry and Lee which became one of their go-to plays. The Warriors are 2-10 ATS in 12 games this season after consecutive covers while Denver 11-2 ATS this season after failing to cover four or five of its last six games against the spread and it falls into a great situation where we play on favorites that have won 20 or more of their last 25 games with a winning percentage between .600 and .750. This situation is 63-35 ATS (64.3 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (726) Denver Nuggets

Home court was certainly vital during the first set of games as the host won all eight Game One matchups while covering at least six of those and possibly seven depending upon the line from the Knicks game. The home teams are supposed to win obviously but winning and covering goes right into the hands of the public better as they cleaned up this weekend. We have seen the zig zag theory go the other way in recent years in the NBA Playoffs as linesmakers and even the law of averages have turned this once profitable theory into a bust. The situations though cannot be overlooked and opportunities to go with it will still come into play. While that may not trigger a complete comeback that was so lucrative a couple decades back, it does show that playing these in the right spots can give positive results. We come across our first one tonight. The Bulls trailed by as many as 28 points in Game One against Brooklyn and never led so they will be out for a not only a better performance, but a way to tie this series up. The stout defense was dreadful as they allowed the Nets to shoot 55.8 percent from the floor while they were outscored in the paint 56-36. The Nets averaged only 87.5 ppg in four games against Chicago during the regular season, losing three of four so we can stamp Saturday's performance as an aberration. We can also count on the home floor not being as electric as it was in Game One as it was Brooklyn's first meaningful postseason game since the 1956 World Series. Chicago falls into a solid bounceback situation as we play on road teams in a game involving two teams that are shooting between 33 and 36.5 percent from three-point range, after a game allowing a shooting percentage of 55 percent or higher. This situation is 55-28 ATS (66.3 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (717) Chicago Bulls

If you had known this would be a first round series at the beginning of the season, there would have been a lot of excitement but it has certainly lost its luster now. The Lakers stumbled this season and getting into the playoffs was far from guaranteed until a late season push got them in and into the seventh spot no less. Still, not many gave Los Angeles a lot of hope and with the loss of Kobe Bryant, those chances got even smaller. Give the Lakers credit though for coming together and winning their final five games of the regular season to bring at least some momentum into the postseason. The Spurs lack that momentum as they lost their last three games of the regular season including an embarrassing home loss against Minnesota in the season finale. Something says this team steps it up now though and San Antonio knows that this first game is extremely important. The Spurs are 35-6 at home and with the endings to the regular season of both teams, there is value in this number. San Antonio was a 3.5-point favorite in the last meeting in Los Angeles on April 14th and now it is favored by just 8.5-points at home after being favored by 13.5-points in the last home meeting. The Lakers are 0-9 ATS in their nine games this season following two or more consecutive covers while the Spurs are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games coming off a home loss. San Antonio falls into a great situation as well as we play on favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points that are averaging 102 or more ppg against teams allowing between 98 and 102 ppg, after allowing 105 points or more two straight games. This situation is 62-32 ATS (66 percent) since 1996. 10* (712) San Antonio Spurs

A loss against Toronto ended the Hawks chances of getting the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference but it is becoming more likely they let that game go on purpose. It moved them down to the sixth spot so they had to face Indiana instead of Brooklyn (it mattered none since Atlanta split the season series with both), but more importantly, it avoided the possibility of playing Miami in the second round should it escape the first round. The Hawks ended up losing their last two games to end the regular season but that is not a huge concern considering that the Pacers closed the regular season with three straight losses. Additionally, Indiana is just 1-5 over its last six games with the ;one victory coming against lowly Cleveland by only five points. Indiana heads into the postseason with the league's best defensive field goal percentage at 42.0 percent, best defensive three-point percentage at 32.7 percent and the league's second-best scoring defense at 90.7 ppg. If the Hawks can score in transition, it mitigates one of Indiana's biggest strengths which is that tough defense. One key concern for Indiana is the health of point guard George Hill who sat out the end of practices Friday and Saturday with a left groin injury so he is not close to 100 percent. The Pacers are just 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games against teams with a winning record while the Hawks are 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games. 10* (709) Atlanta Hawks

Playoff basketball in Los Angeles is an annual tradition but it is a little different this season. While the Lakers are in, barely, it is the Clippers that are the talk of the town this year and for good reason. They get to open this year on their home floor and it comes against a familiar opponent as the Clippers and Grizzlies meet in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs for the second consecutive season. A year after the Clippers' seven-game victory over Memphis, the Grizzlies have a chance at some revenge but the first game edge goes to Los Angeles with its 32-9 home record heading in. The Clippers have the experience as well as knowing that a loss here could mean a series loss as that is exactly what they did to Memphis last season, winning Game One on the road and eventually winning the series in seven games. The pace of the game will be a big factor in this outcome. The Grizzlies are averaging the second slowest pace in the NBA and while the Clippers are just 19th in pace, they are going to try and push it more on their home floor. While Memphis has one of the best half-court defenses in the league, it's vulnerable in transition against the Clippers

A lot of credit has to given to the Lakers for its late season push into the playoffs, most notably their last game. After losing Kobe Bryant for the season after tearing an Achilles and also playing without Steve Nash, Los Angeles came together as a team and defeated the Spurs on Sunday for its fourth straight win and seventh win in its last eight games. The Lakers are a game ahead of the Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and could move up to seventh place with a victory over the Rockets. While they control their own destiny, the Lakers will also get into the playoffs with a Utah loss at Memphis tonight which they will likely know prior to the start of this game. Conversely, a Jazz win and Los Angeles knows it has to win. Houston is coming off a devastating loss against the Suns on Monday and it know it has to bounce back here. A loss means the Rockets fall into the eighth spot and a first round matchup against Oklahoma City but a victory here coupled with a Golden St. loss puts them up into the sixth seed. Either way, the first round matchup will be difficult but Houston does not want to enter the playoffs riding a two-game losing streak. Coming off that win over the Spurs, I do not see the Lakers putting together another strong performance and they fall into a negative situation where we play against home teams that are playing with double revenge against opponent off an upset loss as a road favorite. This situation is 76-35 ATS (68.5 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (529) Houston Rockets

The Hawks are one of the few teams remaining in the NBA that still has something to play for. They are in pursuit of the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and while Atlanta does not hold the tiebreaker against the Bulls because of two losses in three games during the season series, it will lock it up if it can win tonight and then tomorrow at New York which is very likely considering that the Knicks will again be resting starters. Atlanta has won two straight games following a three-game skid and while getting the fifth -seed is priority and avoiding Indiana in the first round, heading into the playoffs on a winning streak is just as important. The Raptors have been playing some of their best basketball as they have won three straight games and five of their last six. Still, Toronto is just 12-28 on the highway and with a game left at home against Boston tomorrow, I expect a peek ahead to that home finale. The Raptors will be out to avoid the series sweep but after getting crushed at home against the Hawks just over two weeks ago, I don't see it happening. The Raptors are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning record while Atlanta is 12-3 ATS in its last 15 games after allowing 100 or more points in its previous game. The Hawks also fall into a solid situation as we play on teams in the second half of the season that are allowing between 92 and 98 ppg going up against teams allowing between 98 and 102 ppg, after a combined score of 205 points or more in two straight games. This situation is 115-65 ATS (64 percent) since 1996. 10* (702) Atlanta Hawks

Brooklyn is coming off a loss on Sunday against Toronto which snapped a four-game winning streak and ended any chance of moving up in the standings. Despite being two games back with two to go, the Nets can't catch Indiana for the third seed, which owns the tiebreaker as a division winner. With nothing left to play for, it is all about rest now for Brooklyn which hopes to head into the playoffs rested and healthy. Nets head coach P.J. Carlesimo said his staff will discuss resting players over the final two games. Gerald Wallace is definitely out while Deron William and/or Joe Johnson could sit tonight. Washington meanwhile has lost four straight games and the goal is to try and salvage something at the end of the season following a pretty solid mid-season run. "It's very disappointing," Garrett Temple said. " We have two more games left and we definitely want to get to 30 wins." Motivation will be a big factor here and we are getting a very solid number on the team that should come in as the more motivated team. The Nets are 17-35-2 ATS in their last 54 home games against teams with a losing road record while Washington is 33-16-2 ATS in its last 51 games against teams with a winning record while going 13-4 ATS this season against teams with a winning percentage between .501 and .600. 10* (507) Washington Wizards

I played against Phoenix on Wednesday following three straight close losses but instead of folding, the Suns went into Dallas and defeated the Mavericks which ended the latter's playoff hopes. Despite having the worst record in the Western Conference, Phoenix continues to play hard on a nightly basis and at this point of the season, we will continue to see that with just three games remaining. Feasibly, with games left against Houston and Denver, this is the final winnable game on the schedule and the players likely understand that. On top of that, they will be out for some payback after losing by 31 points at home in the last meeting against the Timberwolves last month. Minnesota is coming off a loss last night at Utah which was its third straight loss, all of which came on the road. A return home is certainly ideal but this is the fourth game in five nights for the Timberwolves and at this stage of the season, it is a tough situation. Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic, who missed Friday's game against the Jazz with a left calf contusion, is questionable here and his absence could be huge as he is averaging 18.4 ppg on 62.3 percent shooting in the last five meetings with Phoenix. Minnesota is just 8-19 ATS in its last 27 games as a favorite between 3.5 and 9.5 points while going 6-14-1 ATS in its last 21 games following an ATS win. The Suns meanwhile have prospered here, going 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Minnesota with the road team going 13-3 ATS over the last 16 meetings. 10* (507) Phoenix Suns

This is a big game for seeding on both sides. Indiana can clinch the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory here while Brooklyn is the one team that is chasing the Pacers so the Nets need the win to try and remain alive for that third seed. I feel there is a lot of value on the home team here based on what is at stake and their 30-9 record at home. While Indiana guns for the third seed, moving up to the second seed is still a possibility as it trails the Knicks by two games with a meeting in New York coming up on Sunday. In order for that to still be a possibility, the Pacers have to win here or that game becomes meaningless. The Nets have won three straight games including an upset win at Boston last time out which makes this situation that much more difficult. Even with that victory, the Nets are just 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games against teams with a winning record. These teams played here two months ago and the Pacers were favored by nine points so the line has come down considerably. Indiana lost that game as well as the first meeting in Brooklyn so it has some added motivation of avoiding the season series sweep. The Pacers fall into a fantastic revenge situation as we play on home favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points that are playing with double revenge against opponent off an upset win over a division rival as an underdog. This situation is 44-17 ATS (72.1 percent) since 1996. 10* (702) Indiana Pacers

The Knicks remain the hottest team in the NBA as they have won 13 straight games and their win over Washington on Tuesday clinched their first Atlantic Division title in nearly two decades. The goal now is to keep the space between them and the Pacers for second place in the Eastern Conference which would mean avoiding Miami until the Eastern Conference Finals. That is a big deal for sure but the Bulls have some important things to deal with as well. Keeping a hold onto fifth place is a must so they avoid Indiana in the first round of the playoffs and right now they are tied with the Hawks for that spot. It has not been a good run as the Bulls are 14-18 since the start of February and have lost their last two games to Detroit and Toronto and Chicago's last five losses have come against teams with losing records. The Chicago frontcourt injuries are certainly a concern but tonight they are negated as the Knicks will be without big men Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin on Thursday. The Bulls are 24-10 this season following a loss and going back to last season, it is 14-4 ATS in its last 18 games coming off a loss as a home favorite. The Bulls fall into a solid contrarian situation where we play on home underdogs after failing to cover four of their last five games against the spread going up against an opponent that has covered six or seven of its last eight games against the spread. This situation is 37-7 ATS (84.1 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (502) Chicago Bulls

Two disappointing seasons are about to come to an end as Detroit and Cleveland wrap up their seasons. After dropping 10 straight games, the Cavaliers won two in a row before falling in Indiana last night. Despite the loss, they played very well but they blew a 20-point lead by getting outscored by 25 points in the fourth quarter. That is a tough loss to take but I expect a bounceback here as they will be out to avoid a season series sweep against Detroit after dropping the first three games. Cleveland has struggled against the Western Conference, going 11-18-1 ATS but in its own conference it is a solid 29-18 ATS. Detroit is coming off a home win against Chicago in its last game on Sunday but winning consecutive games have been few and far between for the Pistons. They have not done so since early February and they are 0-5 over their last five games following a victory. Additionally, the Pistons are 11-30 ATS in their last 41 games following a win of more than 10 points while the Cavaliers are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. While Detroit has dominated with five straight wins in this series, it has been favored in all of those and the favorite is 21-7 ATS in the last 28 meetings in this series. 10* (706) Cleveland Cavaliers

Golden St. had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth in its last game but lost against Utah at home on Sunday. The Warriors are still in line to grab that playoff spot as well as keeping hold on sixth place in the Western Conference and this is the game they know they need to take care of business in. With the next three games being against the Thunder, Lakers and Spurs, they cannot slip up here and somehow have the season possibly come down to the final game of the season at Portland. Golden St. is 26-12 at home and it has lost consecutive home games only once all season long as it is 10-1 straight up and 8-3 ATS in its 11 home games following a loss in its previous home game. Additionally, the Warriors are 4-0 ATS in their last four games following a loss. The Timberwolves have been playing much better of late as they have won three of their last four games and are a respectable 6-4 over their last 10 games. They are coming off a win against Detroit last time out as they reached the final goal of the season which was getting head coach Rick Adelman his 1,000th career victory. After losing nine straight road games, Minnesota has won its last three games on the highway but that streaks ends tonight in what is a pretty significant letdown situation. Minnesota is 5-15-1 ATS in its last 21 games following a win and just 3-10-1 ATS in its last 14 road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (668) Golden St. Warriors

Dallas is clinging to a little hope for the playoffs as it trails Utah by two and a half games and Los Angeles by three games and will have to pass both in order to get in. The Mavericks are coming off an impressive win at Sacramento last time out and it was impressive in the fact that they were able to overcome a devastating loss in Denver the previous night. These must win games are tricky when it comes to the betting window as the lines are adjusted because of the must win situation. Case in point right here where Dallas was getting a point and a half from the Kings and is now favored by 3.5 points. That is a significant overadjustment. Of course part of that has to do with Portland's recent struggles as they have dropped back-to-back games by 18 points apiece which makes this a good time to back the Blazers. Teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs are just out to end the season but there is still the pride factor and getting blown out in consecutive games is something that teams strive to recover from, no matter the situation. The Mavericks are just 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a win while the Blazers are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. 10* (518) Portland Trailblazers

The Pacers have yet to clinch the division as they had a shot to lock up the Central Division last night but ended up getting hammered at home against the Thunder. Indiana however has been very solid in the situations at hand tonight as it is 19-8 straight up and against the number following a loss while going 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games following a double-digit loss. The Pacers have clearly been a better team at home than on the road, even though that did not show last night, but they have fared very well against the teams they should take care of as they are 12-3 straight up and 11-4 ATS as a chalk on the highway. Washington looks to avoid the season series sweep while trying to break a nine-game losing skid in this series and while it has been playing very well at home, there is a lot more at stake on the other side. Indiana put up just 75 points last night, its lowest output in over three months, while shooting a season low 9.5 percent from long range and after scoring just eight fourth quarter points, they will be extremely hungry to get the offense going again. Indiana is 13-4 ATS this season as a favorite of fewer than five points and it gets the job done tonight following last night's collapse. 10* (801) Indiana Pacers

Golden St. has won two straight and four of its last five games to inch closer to a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Warriors currently hold down the sixth spot and while they will have to keep on winning to avoid dropping down, this is not the ideal spot. They are coming off a five-game homestand where they are now 26-11 but the road has not been as good as Golden St. is just 17-21 on the highway and this line is a little out of control. This is by far the most the Warriors have had to lay on the road as the previous high this season was 4.5 points at Charlotte way back in December. Additionally, Golden St. was favored by 8.5 points in the last meeting at home against Phoenix and now it is laying nearly as much on the road. The Suns are no doubt struggling as they have lost seven straight games as well as 13 of 15 which includes five straight losses at home. We are not asking them to win here though which is why we are catching a ton of value. In the last five games that the Suns have gotten at least four points at home, they are 4-1 ATS. While the defense has been an issue, the Suns are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game. Golden St. meanwhile is just 3-10 ATS in its last 13 road games while going 0-9 ATS in road games after successfully covering the spread in two or more consecutive games this season. 10* (522) Phoenix Suns

The situation is not a good one for the Mavericks as they trail the Lakers by two and a half games for eighth place in the Western Conference with the season winding down quickly. I played against them in their last game against Los Angeles but I expect a big effort tonight as this game could very well determine the postseason outcome. Dallas has struggled on the road this season with a 14-23 record while the Nuggets possess the best home record at 33-3 so the challenge seems to be difficult but we are getting a line that is taking that into account. Denver is coming off a win last night in Utah and it has actually struggled with no rest playing that first game on the road as it is 3-6 on the year. The Nuggets are playing for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs as they are tied with Memphis for fourth place in the Western Conference so this game means a lot to them as well so they will not be sitting down. However, I expect the Mavericks to show that the significance of this game is more on their side and they have been great facing adversity, going 14-2 ATS in their last 16 games following a loss. They have fared well in this tough environment as well, going 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in Denver and they fall into a great contrarian situation where we play against home teams after two straight wins by 10 points or more going up against an opponent after scoring 85 points or less. This situation is 38-17 ATS (69.1 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (703) Dallas Mavericks

Washington has been playing very well in the second half of the season but it has struggled all year in the situation of no rest with the second game being on the road as it is winless at 0-10 n such spots. The Wizards are coming off a win at home against Chicago last night which was their second straight win with the first one coming against Toronto two nights earlier. While it has been a much stronger second half, winning on the road is still a problem as Washington is 7-29 away from home, which is tied for the second worst road record in the NBA. Toronto will be looking for some revenge following that loss in Washington but more importantly, it will be just looking to win as the Raptors have lost two straight and seven of their last eight games. The Raptors are 17-8 ATS in their last 25 games against teams with a winning percentage below .400 and hey fall into a great situation going against the Wizards as we play against road underdogs that are coming off a home win by 10 points or more with a winning percentage between .250 and .400. This situation is 62-30 ATS (67.4 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (504) Toronto Raptors

This is a big game for both sides with the playoffs approaching as Dallas and Los Angeles are chasing Utah for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Mavericks are two games back while the Lakers are a half-game back following the Jazz win last night, their fifth straight overall. This is the fourth and final meeting between these two teams and the road team has owned it so far with three wins through the first three games but that changes tonight. Dallas beat the Lakers 99-91 at the Staples Center in the season opener, but the only time in franchise history it recorded two wins in Los Angeles came in the 1983-84 season. The Lakers have won 11 of their last 13 home games despite a loss against Washington in their last game at the Staples Center and they have followed up a home loss with a win in their last three home games. The Lakers also fall into a phenomenal situation as we play on teams where the line is +3 to -3 that are averaging 102 or more ppg going up against a teams allowing 102 or more ppg, after scoring 100 points or more four straight games. This situation is 29-8 ATS (78.4 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (766) Los Angeles Lakers

The Clippers return home following a disappointing roadtrip where they went 1-3 including losses in each of their last two games. Los Angeles has won three straight games at home where it is 28-8 on the season and holding its own there is especially important now as it trails the Nuggets by a game fir third place in the Western Conference standings. With 49 wins overall, the Clippers are seeking a 50th victory for the first time in franchise history and we should see a huge effort tonight after what took place in Houston. The Clippers were outscored 30-13 in the third quarter while Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Caron Butler and Willie Green were benched in the final period. The Pacers meanwhile are coming off a win in Phoenix and have gone 3-0 to start this four-game roadtrip while winning four straight overall. Indiana is still a game under .500 on the road so it has had issues despite the current run. Adding to the Pacers success is the fact that it has played the easiest schedule in the NBA and they have played on point against the opposition as they are 38-10 as favorites while going just 9-17 when in the role of underdog. The Clippers meanwhile are 8-0 ATS in their last eight games against the NBA Central and 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss. Indiana is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (746) Los Angeles Clippers

I'm not a proponent of laying road chalk too many times but we have a good situation to do so here. Oklahoma City is coming off a loss in Minnesota last night to fall to two and a half games behind the Spurs for first place in the Western Conference. They have a game at home against San Antonio on deck but it is not for four days so they will be out to get back into the win column and cut that lead back to two games. The Thunder have been a great team this season coming off a loss as they are 15-4 following a loss while covering 13 of those 19 games. They have been just average when playing with no rest but they pulled out a win and cover when playing the second of back-to-back road games following a loss in the only other similar situation this season. Milwaukee snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over the Lakers on Thursday but that was an ideal situation as Los Angles was coming off a win the previous night while the Bucks were coming off a loss at Philadelphia the night before. Milwaukee has been just average at home, going 19-17, and it is just 2-5 both straight up and against the number as a home underdog. Additionally, the Bucks are 5-13 in their 18 home games this season when coming off a spread victory while going 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games playing with just a day of rest. The Thunder meanwhile are 21-8-1 ATS in their last games after allowing 100 or more points in their previous game. 10* (511) Oklahoma City Thunder

Denver had won 15 straight games but went on the road and had the streak halted at New Orleans as the Nuggets were routed by 24 points. The challenge was tougher in their last game at San Antonio but they played better despite coming up short by just a point. Now riding a two-game losing streak, Denver returns home on Friday where it will show no mercy in getting back into the win column. The Nuggets are 32-3 at home including wins in 17 straight games. Brooklyn has gotten off to a great start on its season long eight-game roadtrip as it is 4-1 through the first five games but all of those wins have come against teams not currently in playoff spots, with Dallas being the only contender. The lone defeat came at the Clippers and surprisingly, the Nets were getting more points in that game than they are now which is due to its current run. This is a revenge game for Denver which lost in Brooklyn by 11 points last month which was the final leg of a three-game losing streak. The Nuggets have won the last five home meetings with the Nets by an average of 13.2 ppg and I expect similar things here. The Nets are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while Denver is 11-3 ATS in its last 14 games following a loss. Additionally, the Nuggets are 14-4 ATS this season at home against teams with a winning record. 10* (870) Denver Nuggets

Sacramento is coming off a rare road win last night in Golden St. as it upset the Warriors by seven points as a nine-point underdog. It was just the seventh road win for the Kings and winning consecutive road games has happened only one other time this year. The last four road victories have resulted in a loss in the next road game by 20, 9, 18 and 28 points. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak and while consecutive road victories have been few and far between, consecutive victories of any sort have been hard to come by as Sacramento is 8-17 straight up and 10-15 ATS. While the Kings were winning at Golden St., the Suns were getting destroyed in Utah as they lost by 15 points. The difference was a big fourth quarter by the Jazz as Phoenix entered the final period down by only four points. It was the fourth straight loss for Phoenix as it fell to 7-29 on the road and it will look to break a three-game home losing streak where it is a much more respectable 16-20 on the season. When playing with no rest and the second game being on the road, the Suns are a dismal 2-10 but when the second game of a back-to-back set is at home, they are 2-3 both straight up and against the number and it needs to be noted that two of those losses were against the Heat and Clippers. The last time this situation took place, Phoenix lost at Sacramento and came home to defeat the Rockets the next night. That brings up another solid spot as the Suns will be out for revenge from that Kings loss and they will be going for the season series win on top of it. Phoenix is 10-2 ATS in the last 12 home meetings against Sacramento including an 11-point win in the first home matchup this season. 10* (806) Phoenix Suns

Memphis is sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference but is just a game out of third place so improving on seeding is very possible still. The Grizzlies had won 14 of 15 games but have since gone just 3-4 over their last seven games with the home team winning all seven of those games. That would make the Knicks the likely choice here but I feel that streak is broken tonight. Memphis is coming off an embarrassing road loss at Washington making it four straight non-covers but playing another Eastern Conference team is just what it needs. The Grizzlies are 21-7 straight up and 19-9 ATS in non-conference games this season while going 15-7 following a loss. While the Grizzlies have faltered, the Knicks have found their rhythm again as they have won five straight games including a romp at rival Boston last night. New York is now two and a half games ahead of Brooklyn in the Atlantic Division and percentage points ahead of Indiana for second place in the Eastern Conference. Additionally, the Knicks have covered six straight games so we are going contrarian on both sides of the ATS streaks. New York is just 11-19 against teams ranked within the top 16 while Memphis is 21-16 against similar teams while going 51-25-3 ATS in its last 79 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. Also, we play against teams where the line is between +3 and -3 that are revenging a road loss of 10 points or more going up against an opponent off a road loss. This situation is 78-42 ATS (65 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (759) Memphis Grizzlies

After a bad start to the season, Dallas has made a strong late-season charge as it is 21-13 over its last 34 games and is within striking distance in the Western Conference. The Mavericks trail the Lakers by just a game and a half for the eighth and final playoff spot following two straight wins coupled with Los Angeles having lost three in a row. Dallas is 20-14 at home and it needs to continue to take care of business there and while this is no easy task tonight, this is the start of five straight games against teams currently in playoff positions including two more after this at home. The Clippers are also riding a two-game winning streak but both of those games were at home. They have dropped two straight on the road including a loss at Sacramento last time out and this is the start of four road games in five nights. Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said Chris Paul will be a gametime decision tonight because of an injuries knee. He thinks he will play but because of this four-in-five trip, he may hold him out. "I don't want him to play half-speed out there and have a setback," he said. "I feel he'll be out there. I just don't know how much and how sore he'll be." Los Angeles has won the first two meetings against the Mavericks but both of those were at home and it has not swept a season series against Dallas in two decades. Dallas is 17-8 ATS this season revenging a loss and the Mavericks are 18-4 ATS in their last 22 games following an ATS loss while the Clippers are 0-5 ATS in their last five games following a straight up win. 10* (656) Dallas Mavericks

Denver continues it roll into the record books as it has won 15 straight games which has tied a franchise record. It has played second fiddle to Miami but this is a very impressive run. The Nuggets should be getting Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler back tonight, which was the main reason there was no line until late Monday morning. The schedule has been someone favorable with nine of those games coming at home and four road games coming against teams that will not be vying for the playoffs. We can lump New Orleans into that group but this is a dangerous team that has won its last two games, both against upcoming playoff teams, and will be playing with some pride tonight after getting hammered in both meetings this season against the Nuggets, both in Denver. The Nuggets won those games by 18 and 15 points and they are now favored on the road by nearly the same that they were favored by at home in the most recent matchup last month. While the Nuggets are going for a franchise record winning streak, we cannot overlook the fact that they may be overlooking the Hornets are peeking ahead to their upcoming game against San Antonio on Wednesday. Denver has definitely been hot on the road but it is hard to ignore the fact that it is 17-19 on the highway this season. While the Hornets home record may be worse than that, it is worse by only two and a half games and the linesmakers have had to overadjust with this line. After going on a 10-0-1 ATS run over 11 games, the Nuggets have failed to cover in three of their last four games. The home team has covered four straight meetings and that streak continues tonight. 10* (608) New Orleans Hornets

The Bulls let us down on Thursday as they were hammered pretty bad against Portland. It was their second straight loss, both coming at home, so I expect them to be very motivated tonight to break that skid. Additionally, Chicago will be looking to avoid a four-game series sweep against the Pacers which only adds to the situation. Every game is starting to matter for Chicago which is only a half-game ahead of Boston for sixth place in the Eastern Conference and only 2.5 games in front of the eighth-place Bucks. Avoiding seventh and eighth place is must in the playoffs. Indiana meanwhile is coming off a win last night against Milwaukee as it broke away in the second half for a 24-point victory. The Pacers are rolling again as after dropping four of six, Indiana has won its past three games by an average of 22.4 ppg. The difference though is that the last two games were at home with the road win coming at Cleveland which is the third worst team in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers are just 15-18 on the road as they have beaten the teams they should beat but have lost to the better teams. It shows in the results based on the lines as Indiana is 11-3 as a road favorite but a dismal 4-15 as a road underdog. Chicago falls into a dominant situation as we play on home favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points that are revenging a same season loss going up against that opponent which is coming off a divisional win by 20 points or more. This situation is 42-15 ATS (73.7 percent) since 1996. 10* (506) Chicago Bulls

The Knicks are clearly the better team in this matchup so the line switch from underdog to favorite is justified and a win here likely means a cover as well. After losing four straight games to open a five-game roadtrip, New York won the final road game of the trek against Utah and then blew out Orlando in its most recent game two nights ago. Games are becoming more important now for the Knicks as they are ahead of Brooklyn by just one game in the Atlantic Division so taking care of business in the winnable games is essential right now. New York is 29-7 this season against teams outside the top 16 in the NBA power rankings and it is 19-7 ATS in its last 26 games against teams with a winning percentage below .400. Toronto is 3-9 over its last 12 games including a loss at Charlotte last time out. You can argue that embarrassing defeat will have the Raptors motivated tonight and while that very well could be the case, they won't have enough to bring to the table. The three victories over this recent 12-game stretch came against Charlotte, Cleveland and Phoenix, three of the worst five teams in the NBA power rankings. The last time Toronto defeated a team with a winning record came right here exactly one month ago against the Knicks and New York surely has not forgotten. It is actually a double-revenge spot as New York lost the most recent meeting played at MSG last month as well. The Knicks are 17-6 in their last 23 games revenging a loss where the opponent scored 100 or more points. 10* (801) New York Knicks

I played on Chicago in its last game against Denver and while it lost, it was able to secure the cover in the one-point defeat. Now the Bulls go from an underdog to a favorite which is a role they have struggled in this season, especially laying a big number as they are 4-12 ATS as favorites of six points or more. They have been more successful as a lesser chalk which is the case tonight. Chicago has had problems this season against the elite teams in the NBA, going just 2-17 against teams ranked within the top ten in power rankings. The Bulls however are 22-9 against teams ranked outside the top 16 and that is where Portland falls. The Blazers are 0-2 on this current roadtrip and while the last game at Milwaukee shows a seven-point loss, they were never really in it as they trailed by as many as 27 points as the Bucks took the pedal off the gas. Portland dropped to 9-25 on the road including losses in 10 of their last 11 and 14 of their last 16 games on the highway. Portland has had the Bulls number with wins in three straight meetings in this series including a win at home earlier this season but that works in out favor here with the revenge factor coming into play. Even more so, Chicago has responded very well coming off a loss, going 21-8 this season and going back further, the Bulls are 10-1 ATS in their 11 games under head coach Tom Thibodeau coming off a loss by three points or less. Additionally, Chicago falls into a great situation where we play on teams in the second half of the season that are allowing between 92 and 98 ppg going up against teams allowing between 98 and 102 ppg, after a combined score of 205 points or more in two straight games. This situation is 113-63 ATS (64.2 percent) since 1996. 10* (702) Chicago Bulls

The Thunder were challenged at home last night against the hottest team in the Western Conference and came up small as they lost by 10 points against Denver. It was just their fifth home loss of the season and based on a previous situation, I expect Oklahoma City to come out strong tonight. The Thunder lost at home against Miami on February 14th, also by 10 points, and ended up losing their next game on the road at Houston. The difference there is that those games were sandwiched around the All-Star break so playing right after that bitter defeat will have them fired up tonight. Oklahoma City has been one of the best teams in the NBA when it comes to playing after a loss as it is 14-3 straight up and 13-4 ATS in their previous 17 games this season following a defeat. Memphis was rolling along with a 14-1 run and then ran into Denver on the road and lost a tough one by seven points and then followed that up with a loss in Utah the following night. The Grizzlies bounced back and easily took care of Minnesota on Monday and while they have been very solid at home with a 26-8 record, they are catching Oklahoma City at the wrong time. This is a revenge game for Memphis which lost at Oklahoma City by 17 points but that was a revenge game at the time for the Thunder which lost to the Grizzlies at home by 10 points earlier in the season. Oklahoma City is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games against teams allowing 91 or fewer ppg over the last two seasons and falls into a solid situation where we play on road teams with a winning percentage between .600 and .750 after being beaten by the spread by more than 18 points in their previous game. This situation is 55-34 ATS (61.8 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (615) Oklahoma City Thunder

Golden St. is coming off a huge win yesterday as it throttled the Rockets by 30 points. The Warriors were down by two points early but took control of the game as Houston shot just 32.6 percent from the floor including going 9-35 from long range. It was a big win for Golden St. which moved to a game and a half ahead of Houston for sixth place in the Western Conference while avenging a home loss against the Rockets just over a week ago. Winning streaks have been few and far between though as the Warriors are 0-6 ATS in their last six games following a win. New Orleans is back home following a three-game roadtrip where they went 0-3 and losing all three games against the number as well. The Hornets are 9-7 over their last 16 home games and even the losses have been close ones as of those seven defeats, five have been by six points or fewer. Golden St. has won both meetings so far this season but this line is certainly intriguing. The Warriors were getting five points the last time the teams played at New Orleans Arena but now the line has shifted eight points. Things have not changed dramatically either as the Warriors are 14-15 in their 29 games since then and covering has been an even bigger issue as they are 11-18 against the number in those games. New Orleans is 32-16 ATS in its last 48 games when playing with double-revenge and after rough roadtrip, expect the Hornets to come out and take care of business. 10* (518) New Orleans Hornets

Memphis had its six-game winning streak snapped last night in Denver and I expect that to carry over into tonight. This is not only the third game in four nights for the Grizzlies but it is also the fourth game in five nights which is a huge disadvantage playing in the thin air in Salt Lake City against a fresh Jazz team playing with two days of rest. Utah is coming off a horrible showing against the Thunder last time out but a lot of that can be attributed to the effort from the home team as Oklahoma City, which was out to make up from a disappointing loss at San Antonio two nights earlier, was also avenging a 15-point loss to the Jazz last month in Utah. "We got embarrassed and have to be able to compete in these games," Gordon Hayward said in a somber Jazz postgame locker room. "Coming down to three or four weeks left in the season, trying to get into the playoffs, we can't come out with efforts like this." Now Utah is playing with revenge, triple revenge actually. The Jazz have lost the last three meetings including a 13-point loss in this building last time out. The schedule is playing a big part in an awesome situation as we play on home favorites that are playing only their 2nd game in five days going up against an opponent that is playing its 4th game in five days. This situation is 36-9 ATS (80 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* Utah Jazz

Miami is not only the hottest team in the NBA this season but it is one of the hottest teams we have seen in many, many years. The Heat are winners of 20 straight games and one more will make it the third longest winning streak in the history of the NBA. Obviously, that is a tough streak to go against but it is certainly factored in the line as it has been for a while. Despite winning 20 straight games outright, Miami is just 12-8 ATS, which by most stands is excellent but not going against a 100 percent winning clip. Also, the Heat are just 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games after reeling off 20-straight covers. The thinking here is they should roll Milwaukee but this is a team that gives them fits as Miami has actually lost four of the last six meetings against the Bucks including a 19-point Milwaukee win on this floor back in December. The Bucks meanwhile have hit a bit of a skid as they have dropped two straight games following winning six of its previous seven games. The last two losses have not been close ones either as Milwaukee lost at home against Dallas by seven points and at Washington by 13 points. The Heat are scoring an East-leading 103.3 ppg this season but have surpassed that mark only once in eight March games and Milwaukee has done a number on the Miami offense during those last few meetings as mentioned. That doesn't bode well even with the Bucks recent struggles as the Heat are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game. This is a great setup for the Bucks which are not only getting a bucket more than the last meeting but has an excellent shot at taking this one outright. 10* (816) Milwaukee Bucks

Memphis rolled into Portland on Tuesday riding a four-game winning streak while winning 12 of its last 13 games to improve to 23 games over .500 and keep pace with Denver. The Grizzlies are a game ahead of the Nuggets for the all-important fourth spot in the Western Conference which comes with home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs. They are 5-1 over their last six road games, the only loss coming at Miami but it still resulted in a cover where Memphis is 6-0 ATS over that stretch. This is the third time for Memphis to try and get some payback on the Clippers as it has been unsuccessful in both attempts this season. The Grizzlies were ousted from the playoff last season by the Clippers in seven games as Los Angeles went into Memphis and took Game Seven by 10 points. It then won the first meeting at home very early in the season but then went back to Memphis and destroyed the Grizzlies by 29 points. Playing with no rest is not an issue as the Grizzlies are 9-4 ATS this season including 3-0 ATS in the second of back-to-back road games. Los Angeles has alternated wins and losses over its last five games and sits one game ahead of Memphis in the Western Conference but more importantly has a comfortable nine-game lead over the Warriors in the Pacific Division. While the home floor has been good this season, the Clippers have struggled against some of the elite teams that have come in as games against Oklahoma City (twice) and San Antonio have resulted in losses. Overall, the Clippers are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Grizzlies are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (621) Memphis Grizzlies

We played on San Antonio last night at home against the Thunder but will be going against the Spurs on Tuesday as they hit the road to Minnesota. The Monday game was a big one for the Spurs for a couple reasons as they were playing their first game following a home loss against Portland by 30 points so they were out to make up for that and they were also playing with revenge against the Thunder. A matchup of that magnitude usually results in a letdown the next game and even more so when it is taking place the following night and against a much weaker team. The Spurs have three straight meetings in this series while covering all three as well which includes to wins this season. The last meeting took place in Minnesota and while San Antonio won by 10 points, it was only favored by five points. That was just a little over a month ago so we are getting a much better line this time around and in that last game, Tony Parker was playing for the Spurs and had a game high 31 points. He is obviously out for this one. It has been a tough season for Minnesota as injuries have really hurt the Timberwolves right from the start of the season. They have lost two straight games, both coming by way of a blowout as they lost in Denver by 23 points and then followed that up with a home loss against Dallas by 23 points. Clearly Minnesota is the far inferior team here but when playing the situational angles, they are in good shape for a bounceback on its own part. The Spurs have struggled in playing down to the competition as they are 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games against teams with a winning percentage below .400. San Antonio has been favored by seven or more points on the road five times since mid-December as has gone 1-4 ATS with the lone cover coming just one point. 10* (564) Minnesota Timberwolves

San Antonio has had this game circled since Friday after it was blown out at home against Portland by 30 points. It was the franchise's worst defeat in Tim Duncan's 16 seasons and the second-worst ever at home while the 136 points were the most by a Spurs opponent at the AT&T Center. The challenge will be tough here no doubt as the Thunder bring in one of the best offenses in the NBA but the Spurs will respond to that Friday debacle in a big way. Additionally, San Antonio will be out for revenge following a 14-point loss in Oklahoma City in the last meeting between these two teams. The Thunder are coming off a home win on Sunday against Boston to make it five straight wins to move to within a game of San Antonio for first place in the Western Conference. While they are 14-3 ATS at home against teams with a winning record, the Thunder are just 7-8 ATS on the road against winning teams and they are 1-5 ATS in their last six road games against teams with a winning home record. San Antonio meanwhile is 25-4 at home despite the loss on Friday and it is 12-2 following its 14 previous defeats this season. The only two times the Spurs have lost consecutive games this season took place back in December and in both instances, both of those games were on the road and both were in no rest situation. San Antonio has covered four straight following a loss while going 13-4-1 ATS in its last 18 games following a double-digit loss and they are 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. The Spurs also fall into a great situation where we play on home teams that are revenging a road loss of 10 points or more and coming off a loss by 15 points or more as a favorite. This situation is 61-27 ATS (69.3 percent) since 1996. 10* (504) San Antonio Spurs

Despite being the better team overall, the Blazers are totally overvalued in this game and in no way should they be a road favorite. Portland is coming off a 30-point demolition of San Antonio on Friday and that is surely playing into this number. It was a shocking win as the Blazers were double-digit underdogs in that game and rightfully so as they came in with just eight road wins prior to that. Now they are favored for the fourth time in 32 games on the highway and their 0-3 straight up and ATS mark the three previous times shows they are in another tough spot. New Orleans has dropped its last three games and wins have been few and far between since a 4-1 run in early February. The Hornets are coming off a loss in Memphis last night but they have been respectable in back-to-back situations this season, going 3-4 straight up and 4-3 ATS when that first game of the back-to-back was on the road. Portland is playing with revenge after suffering a 36-point loss here last month but road revenge is not a strong angle to back. The Blazers are 2-13 ATS in their last 15 road games after a double-digit win while New Orleans is 16-4 ATS in its last 20 games following a double-digit road loss. Additionally, New Orleans falls into a great situation where we play against teams where the line is +3 to -3 that are revenging a road loss of 10 points or more going up against that opponent coming off a road loss. This situation is 76-42 ATS (64.4 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (814) New Orleans Hornets

Miami has won 17 consecutive games so clearly it has a bulls-eye on its back and while value may be slim, this is actually a favorable spot for the Heat. They have been at home for close to a week so the schedule is on their side and while a lot of the recent wins have come against far superior opposition, that will not go against them here. Miami took out the Pacers in last year's playoffs four games to two after falling down two games to one but it has been Indiana getting the upper hand this season with two wins in the first two matchups. The Pacers took out Miami by 10 points in January and then by 13 points in February but both of those games were at home. Additionally, Miami was favored by a bucket both times and now favored by just 4.5 points more here, the value is going their way. Indiana has won four straight games on the road but that is in a span of over a month. The Pacers have played only four games on the highway in their last 17 games so the schedule has definitely been in their favor. And the road games have been pretty tame as they have come against Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto and Orlando, which are four of the worst seven teams in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600 and the fact that Miami has not covered any of its last five games at home puts even more value on it here. 10* (808) Miami Heat

Clearly Oklahoma City is a better team than Charlotte, 31.5 games better to be exact. Looking a power ratings, the Thunder are first and the Bobcats are last so looking simply at those factors, the Thunder should roll. But that is why they play the games. Take them out of Oklahoma City and while still a very strong team, they are far from the same. They are 17-12 straight up and 14-13-2 ATS while going 13-12-1 against the number as a road chalk. Decent but far from dominating. And the situation at hand is not in Oklahoma City's favor as this can be considered a big breather game as it is coming off a string of games against the Nuggets, Chippers, Lakers and Knicks, three of which were on the road and the last one coming Thursday night in New York. The Thunder have not traveled well either as they are 2-3 straight up ATS when playing the second of back-to-back road games. Oklahoma City has been favored by 14 or more points four times but all four times have been at home. Charlotte has been an underdog of 14 or more points four times but all of those games were on the road. The Thunder have been double-digit road favorites only twice this season and they failed to cover either of those games, losing one straight up in Washington as a matter of fact. Charlotte has had some bad losses this season but it was completely embarrassed in the first meeting at Oklahoma City as it lost by 45 points, easily the biggest loss this season so motivation will not be an issue. The Bobcats also fall into a great situation as we play on underdogs that have failed to cover the spread in 12 or more of the last 15 going up against an opponent that has covered five or six of its last seven games against the spread. This situation is 45-19 ATS (70.3 percent) since 1996. 10* (804) Charlotte Bobcats

The Clippers are currently fourth in the latest NBA power rankings with the Spurs, Thunder and Heat sitting ahead of them. Los Angeles is 10-3 over its last 13 games with those three losses coming against the Spurs, Thunder and Heat and surprisingly, two of those were at home. The Clippers had lost six of seven road games but they have won their last five games on the highway to improve to 20-12 away from home and those 20 wins are the second most in the NBA. They are coming off a home blowout win last night over Milwaukee but there is no concern of a letdown or playing with no rest. The Clippers are 34-9 this season following a victory so they certainly do not get caught up in anything. Additionally, they are 10-5 this season when playing with no rest while going a perfect 3-0 when traveling from home to on the road. Denver is going to be a very popular play and for good reason as the Nuggets are 26-3 at home including wins in 16 of 17 but nothing has been easy against the top teams on its home floor. Denver lost to Miami, defeated San Antonio by six points, defeated Oklahoma City in overtime, defeated Indiana by one point and defeated Oklahoma City again by two points. As you can see, they have been far from dominant against the top five teams in the league but there is one omission. The Nuggets took out the Clippers by 14 points which sets up a payback spot for Los Angeles but road revenge is not an angle as there will be plenty of motivation anyway. But it does put the Clippers in good position as they are 13-4 ATS revenging a loss this season. Los Angeles has won and covered seven of 10 games when getting points this season and we can add another one to the list here. 10* (503) Los Angeles Clippers

This is the second game of the home-and-home between Houston and Dallas and the Mavericks will be out for some payback after getting shellacked at Houston on Sunday. The game was close through halftime but the Rockets exploded for 44 points in the third quarter, ended up building a 37-point lead and went on to win by 33 points. Houston was playing for revenge on Sunday as it had lost both of the previous meetings this season and going back had dropped the last nine meetings in this series so while it will be out to get its own winning streak going against Dallas, this is not the spot to do it in. The Rockets have been playing better on the road as they are 6-5 over their last 11 games on the highway but are still 13-19 overall. Dallas had a nice run going where it went 12-6 over 18 games to close January and open February but it has since lost four of its last five games culminating with the defeat in Houston. The Mavericks are coming off a 1-2 roadtrip and will be out to snap a two-game skid at home where they are now 16-12 on the season. They are 20-12 ATS following a loss this season including 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games and going back further they are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following a loss by more than 10 points. While the Rockets have been profitable following a win and despite the cover against Dallas last time out, they are just 1-4 ATS against teams with a losing record. Payback will be sweet for the Mavericks on Wednesday. 10* (720) Dallas Mavericks

The Lakers concluded their homestand with a last second victory over Atlanta which pushed them to 30-30 on the season which is the first time they have been at .500 since late December. Going back, Los Angeles is 13-5 over its last 18 games and while that may seem impressive, the schedule has definitely helped it out. Half of those games were at home which is a bonus while five of the nine road games came against teams not even sniffing the playoffs while it lost three of the other four. The Lakers are 3-18 against teams ranked within the top ten of the NBA power rankings and that is horrible for a team that is ranked in the same group by some rankings. Putting that into perspective, teams such as Phoenix, Washington and Minnesota have far better records against the top ten than Los Angeles and it three wins is only one better than Charlotte, Sacramento and Detroit. Oklahoma City returns home following a solid road victory at the Clippers on Sunday and it will be out for some payback on top of it. The Thunder are 26-4 at home and they will be looking to take the season series after winning the first two games but losing the most recent meeting in Los Angeles by nine points. They have been awesome when laying a big number as they are 22-8 ATS in 30 games this season when laying eight or more points. Conversely, the Lakers are 4-15 ATS this season when getting points and again, that comes down to their struggles against the top teams. Additionally, the Thunder are 7-0 ATS in their last seven home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400 while los Angeles is 16-37 ATS in its last 53 games following a victory. 10* (504) Oklahoma City Thunder

The NBA is funny at times where you will see teams play the complete opposite of what they just did depending on the opponent, situation or other factors so basically, you cannot go by 'what you see is what you get'. This is an ugly underdog play for tonight and a lot of it is based on the opposite of what Charlotte has done and what it has done to the line. The Bobcats are off to a 0-3 start on this roadtrip including two straight losses by 30 and 36 points. That is the definition of ugly. As a matter of fact, Charlotte has dropped six straight games overall, losing all of those against the spread, and by an average of 14.2 ATS ppg. The public will be no doubt riding against Charlotte once again so the line had to be adjusted. In this case I feel it was adjusted by too much. Portland is coming off a win over Minnesota on Saturday which was its second win in three games but going back it is just 7-16 in its last 23 games to fall way back in the playoff picture. This includes a 6-6 record at home which is certainly nothing special and some of those losses came against the likes of Cleveland, Milwaukee, Washington and Phoenix so it isn't like they have only been losing to the elite teams. The Blazers are now favored by the most points they have been favored by all season and the role of favorite has not been good anyway as they are 5-11 as a chalk of more than three points. Obviously Charlotte has not been very good against the spread this season but it is hard to see the Blazers get up for this one considering they are 9-19 ATS already this season against teams with a losing record. Also, they are 4-17 ATS in their last 21 games following two or more consecutive covers and they fall into a negative situation where we play against favorites of 10 or more points after having lost four or five of their last six games, and playing just four or less games in 10 days. This situation is 36-13 ATS (73.5 percent) since 1996. 10* (711) Charlotte Bobcats

I played on the Spurs on Friday as they routed Sacramento which came after an embarrassing home loss against Phoenix in their previous game. San Antonio now has a three-game lead in the Western Conference over Oklahoma City and a two-game cushion over Miami for the best record in the NBA but now it will have to sustain the dominance without point guard Tony Parker who went down against the Kings with a Grade 2 ankle sprain. He will likely be sidelined a month and while this loss is obviously a big one, this is the game to back the Spurs because this is where everyone else steps up. "Obviously it's a huge loss, Tim Duncan said. "He's been our leader all year long. But we've played with all kinds of different people this year. We're going to rally." San Antonio is 23-3 at home and not only will be it be rallying around a fallen teammate but it will be playing with some revenge as the Spurs has an 11-game winning streak snapped in Detroit last month. They lost by 10 points, trailed by an many as 21 points and played one of their worst games defensively. Detroit is now 8-20 on the road following a loss at New Orleans on Friday and things will only get tougher here. The Pistons have been very solid within the conference, going 19-20 in the East but playing the Western Conference has been a disaster as they are 4-18 in 22 games which includes a 0-9 road record, losing those by an average of 11.3 ppg. The Pistons are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 road games against teams averaging 99 or more ppg while going 3-12 ATS in their last 15 road games against teams outscoring opponents by three or more ppg. Also, Detroit is 1-11 ATS in its last 12 games as a double-digit underdog while San Antonio is 20-8 ATS in its last 28 home games as a favorite between 6.5 and 12 points. 10* (812) San Antonio Spurs

Brooklyn is coming off a loss at home last night against Dallas, putting it three games behind the Knicks in the Atlantic Division and putting it into a tie with Atlanta for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The loss was not a huge surprise as the Nets are 9-14 against the Western Conference but they are a much better 25-11 within their own conference. They are one of only five teams in the Eastern Conference that possesses a winning road record and they should be fired up to make up for last night's dismal defensive effort as they allowed the Mavericks to shoot 50 percent from the floor. Chicago is coming off a much needed win on Thursday as it easily took care of the Sixers but that team is a mess right now. The Bulls huge home court advantage is not what is used to be. They are just 16-14 in 30 home games while going a dismal 8-22 ATS in those contests. Additionally, they are 1-8 ATS in nine home games coming off a home win. Coming off a loss has been a solid time to take Chicago as it is 19-6 straight up and 15-9-1 ATS but coming off a win has not carried over into more fortunes as the Bulls are 13-19 straight up and 10-22 ATS in 32 games following a victory. The price range is not in their favor either as the Bulls are a horrid 5-17 in 22 games as favorites of four or more points. You can't help but think the Bulls will be peaking ahead to their big matchup with Indiana on Sunday. The home team has taken the first two meetings this season but the road team covered both as the two games have been decided by a total of five points. Going back, the road team has covered the last four meetings. 10* (503) Brooklyn Nets

New Orleans was one of my worst calls ever as instead of coming close to a possible upset against Oklahoma City, which was in a tough situation, the Hornets went on to lose by 45 points. It was their second straight loss as well as their fifth loss in the last six games, going 1-5 ATS in that stretch also. Coming off that defeat will have bettors leery of backing a team like that but that is the best time to go against them as embarrassment does not sit well with NBA players. The three home losses during this recent stretch came against Chicago, Dallas and Brooklyn and while none of these are elite teams, they are all better than what comes to town on Friday. The Pistons are coming off a rare road win to snap a three-game losing streak and the victory gave them a sweep of the season series against the Wizards. Not exactly something to be proud of. Detroit is now 8-19 on the road and they have won consecutive road games only once all season, going 1-6 in its next road game after a road win and the only time it happened was when the second road game was at 13-44 Charlotte. The Pistons have been very solid within the conference, going 19-20 in the East but playing the Western Conference has been a disaster as they are 4-17 in 21 games which includes a 0-8 road record, losing those by an average of 12.3 ppg. This is a revenge game for the Pistons which got thumped at home by 19 points but the Western Conference aspect certainly negates any sort of revenge angle here. Motivation for the home teams will be the big factor as the Hornets want to avenge their last loss and they are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games following a double-digit loss. 10* (816) New Orleans Hornets

TNT wishes this game was part of its Thursday lineup as the network is saddled with a couple of duds as opposed to this great matchup. The Pacers will be without center Roy Hibbert for this game as he was suspended following the fight that took place last game against the Warriors. That will be a big loss for sure but nonetheless, the Clippers matchup well beyond that anyway. They were smoked here last season by 13 points and the damage was done mostly by Danny Granger as he netted 25 points but is still slow in his return as he has scored just seven points in his first two games back. The Pacers will continue to bring him back a little at a time so he will likely be a non-factor tonight. Los Angeles has won two straight games and six of its last seven with the only loss coming against the Spurs last Thursday. The Clippers have won three straight road games where they are 18-12 on the season which is the second best road record in the NBA. The Pacers own one of the best home courts in the league as they are 24-5 including wins in four straight but this is a test they have not seen in a while. The loss of Hibbert may not be felt as much offensively as it will on defense as the Clippers frontcourt can take big advantage. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are shooting a combined 56.4 percent from the floor this season and that percentage is tied with Miami for the second best among starting frontcourt duos. The Clippers fall into a strong situation here as we play on road teams that are coming off two consecutive home wins by 10 points or more and playing six or less games in 14 days. This situation is 51-17 ATS (75 percent) over the last five seasons. Additionally, the Clippers are 18-8 ATS in their last 26 games following a win of more than 10 points. 10* (501) Los Angeles Clippers

Atlanta won in Detroit on Tuesday, its second straight win to open its roadtrip and its fourth straight win on the road overall. The Hawks are now over .500 for the first time since January when they went on a 1-9 run on the highway and they come back down to .500 after Wednesday. The recent run has been impressive but each of their last five wins have all come against teams with a losing record and they have not defeated a team with a winning record on the road since beating Memphis in December. Since then, Atlanta has gone 9-5 in 14 road games against losing teams while going 0-6 against winning teams. This not only shows how the Hawks have struggled against the better teams but also how easy the road schedule has been as 70 percent of their game have been against teams with a losing record. That is not the case for the Jazz which are 31-26 overall including 21-7 at home. Utah is coming off a home loss against the Celtics in overtime and it has lost consecutive home games only once all season which came in back-to-back contests against the Warriors and Clippers. The Jazz have not lost three straight games at home since the end of the 2011 season, a year in which they completed folded down the stretch, going 12-30 over their last 42 games. Utah has been very solid at home against the good teams, going 12-5 ATS against teams with a winning record and they are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 home games against teams with a winning road record. Utah will be out for revenge following a loss in Atlanta earlier this season and it has dropped three straight in this series. The Jazz get that revenge tonight. 10* (718) Utah Jazz

It is rare in the NBA for a team to go from a double-digit underdog to a double-digit favorite in the span of just one game but that is the case here as the Sixers, big underdogs at New York on Sunday, are now big favorites at home against Orlando. I do not think Philadelphia deserves to a be a double-digit favorite in this spot as it has layed a number this big only once and while it covered, it covered by just one point and it was against Charlotte which possesses the worst record in the NBA. Currently, the Sixers are riding a five-game losing streak and have plummeted in the power rankings while now sitting four games out of the final playoff spot. Orlando is certainly not having a good season so it is a big underdog for a reason but the spot sets up well though. The Magic have dropped five straight games including the last four since the All-Star break and it was a scheduling nightmare as Orlando had to play those four games in five nights and now it has had two days off since then which is certainly on their side. The overall record is bad as it the 23-32-1 ATS mark that the Magic have put together but the problem is they have been listed as a favorite way too often as witnessed by their 1-10 ATS record in that role. They are 15-11 ATS as a road underdog and they have been great when the lines are big as 7-1 ATS as a double-digit under. Orlando was embarrassed the last time it played here earlier in the month as it was held to 61 points, which is a season low. They Magic will be out for some retribution and they are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games following a double-digit loss at home. Meanwhile, the Sixers are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following an ATS win.10* (501) Orlando Magic

After getting crushed at home against Miami to open the second half, the Hawks have reeled off two straight wins including a win at Milwaukee on Saturday. They rallied from 10 points down in the final six-plus minutes to make it three straight road wins which is rare as they came in 10-13 on the highway prior to that. Atlanta has not been very good in putting together significant runs as it is 12-17-1 ATS this season following a win and it is 8-17-1 ATS this season following a game where it put up 100 or more points. After getting swept in their season series against the Pacers, including a home-and-home series sweep over the weekend, the Pistons look to regroup this week and start a new winning streak. Detroit lost all four games against Indiana by double-digits but it has a better matchup at hand against Atlanta. The Pistons lost the first meeting in Atlanta in double overtime but bounced back with a win at home over the Hawks last month and I think they are in very good position to make it two straight wins in this series as they inch closer back to .500 at home. Take away those four losses against Indiana and Detroit is 18-15 against the Eastern Conference while going 19-14 ATS in those games. The Pistons offense was dismal on Saturday they scored just nine points in the first quarter which is the fewest by any NBA team in an opening period this season, and they finished with a season low 72 points. Detroit will be without Will Bynum who was suspended for one game ands that has kept this number off the board in most places but don't expect his absence to be overly critical. The Pistons have covered four of the last five meetings in this series and they continue that with a much needed home victory on Monday. 10* (704) Detroit Pistons

We won with Portland on Friday as it was able to keep it close against the Lakers in a wire-to-wire cover as it never trailed by more than five points. The Blazers still lost however bringing their losing streak to seven straight games. To their defense, six of those games were on the road where they have been miserable all season, going 8-21. Portland did lose its last home game against Phoenix but that should have it even more focused here as it will look to add to its 17-9 record at home and this is where it needs to take care of business if the playoffs are going to be any possibility. They have performed well here in these situation as the Blazers are 9-2 ATS at home against teams with a winning record. Boston bounced back from a loss to the Lakers as it jumped out to a big lead against Phoenix and never looked back in its 25-point win. The Celtics are just 1-2 on this current roadtrip and 9-17 on the road overall. After winning seven straight games after Rajon Rondo went down, Boston has come back down to earth with a 2-3 record since then which includes a loss at Charlotte. While motivation should not be lacking, this is also a revenge spot for Portland which lost in Boston by 18 points earlier this season and it is a revenge spot six times over as the Celtics have had the Blazers number. Now we catch Portland in the ideal spot though. The Celtics are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 road games against teams with a winning home record while going 11-23 ATS in its last 34 games coming off a win by 15 or more points. Portland meanwhile is 25-11 ATS in its last 36 home games after failing to cover two of its last three games against the spread. 10* (816) Portland Trailblazers

The Clippers were a letdown on Thursday as they fell down early against San Antonio and could not recover, losing by 26 points. Now they get to take their frustrations out on Utah as this one could get ugly. The Clippers are as healthy as they have been all season and they came into the game against the Spurs on a roll as they went into the break with four straight wins by an average of 16.2 ppg while shooting 52.7 percent from the floor. The loss against San Antonio was the biggest of the season and by far the biggest of their six home losses and they are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss at home. The Jazz have been playing well as they have won three straight games but the streak has been spread out over 11 days so there is not a lot of momentum to take from this. They are coming off a home blowout win over Golden St. to move to 21-6 at home, which matches the record for the Clippers at home. Utah has struggled on the road however as it is 10-18 and despite going 4-5 over its last nine road games since playing here last, those four wins have come against Phoenix, Charlotte, Detroit and Minnesota which are four of the worst teams in the NBA. Utah is just 8-15 against teams ranked top ten in the NBA power rankings and going back, the Jazz are 7-19-1 ATS in their last 27 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. Utah is playing with triple revenge but it is 7-19 ATS in its last 26 road games revenging a loss and the Clippers fall into a solid situation as we play on favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points that are averaging between 98 and 102 going up against teams allowing between 98 and 102, after a loss by 20 points or more. This situation is 38-12 ATS (76 percent) since 1996. 10* (514) Los Angeles Clippers

Houston is coming off a massive win on Wednesday as it defeated Oklahoma City as it overcame a 107-93 deficit in the fourth quarter to outscore the Thunder 29-12 over the last seven minutes. James Harden went off for 46 points after scoring just 42 points combined in the first two meetings against his former team. Revenge was definitely in play as Houston had lost those first two meetings by 22 and 30 points and now the Rockets hit the road where they are 11-18 on the season including losses in four of their last five games on the highway. Brooklyn meanwhile comes in on a four-game winning streak including two wins since the All-Star break. The Nets won at home against Milwaukee thanks to a late three-pointer by Joe Johnson that sent the game into overtime and then won the game on a Johnson jumper as time expired. They have to be given credit as they went out the next night and defeated the Bucks on the road in the second game of a home-and-home as they easily could have fallen into letdown mode from the previous night. They snapped a 13-game losing streak against Milwaukee and now they will look to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Rockets. This includes a loss in Houston earlier this season by 13 points so the revenge factors switches sides here. Even with the losing skid, the home team has covered five of the last seven meetings and the Nets are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. We are catching a solid line as the line swing from that first meeting is just six points and a win here likely means the cover as well. 10* (810) Brooklyn Nets

The Clippers closed the first half on a solid run and it coincides with the health of the team. Chris Paul returned to the lineup at Miami on February 8th and while they lost, they have won four straight games since then. Chauncey Billups was out for most of the first half of the season but has been back for four of the last five games including the last two where he has scored 40 points and the week off for the all-Star break benefitted him the most. Even Blake Griffin and Caron Butler have missed time recently but now everyone, with the exception of Lamar Odom, is back at full strength and ready to make a run. The Clippers used to get owned by San Antonio but those days are long gone and they have actually won the first two meeting this season, one at home and one on the road and while the Spurs will be out for revenge, it will not happen. San Antonio is also riding a four-game winning streak, all coming on the road, as it continues its annual rodeo roadtrip. The Spurs have already played one game since the break as they snuck by Sacramento by six points on Tuesday. They are 21-10 on the road which is easily the best road record in the NBA but it needs to be noted that they were the favorite in the majority of those games and they are just 2-4 when playing as a road underdog. While San Antonio is 33-4 against the bottom 20 teams in the NBA, it is just 10-8 against the top ten while the Clippers are 11-4 against the top ten and that .773 winning percentage is the best in the league. The Spurs are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Clippers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a winning road record. Los Angeles inches closer to the best record in the west with a big win on Thursday. 10* (504) Los Angeles Clippers

The season has been a disappointment for both Boston and Los Angeles although the former had turned things around prior to the All-Star break with wins in of its final nine games so while the rest may have been good, momentum may have been shot. The Celtics are playing in Denver on Tuesday so the situation for Wednesday is not easy. Boston has been decent this season when playing with no rest which is a surprise following its 8-13 ATS record in the second of back-to-back games last season. The Celtics are 5-6-2 ATS with no rest this season but breaking down the last two years shows a huge issue. Boston is a perfect 11-0 straight up when the second game of a back-to-back is at home but just 7-16 straight up when the second game is on the road while going 6-15-2 ATS in those games. The Celtics have lost both games this season when both have been on the road and they have not been close, losing those games by 15 and 22 points. The Lakers are four games under .500 and three games back in the playoff race in the Western Conference so they need to make something happen and fast. They have been horrible on the road but are a respectable 16-11 at home and they will be out for some revenge following a blowout loss in Boston less that two weeks ago. Boston led that game by an many as 32 points so the Lakers will want return the favor here. While Boston's close to the first half was nice, the nine games included seven at home (7-0) and just two on the road (1-1) and overall it is 8-15 on the highway. The Celtics are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 road games against teams with a winning home record. Los Angeles is 2-14 when listed as an underdog and 23-12 as a favorite and it has been good against the spread in this price range. And don't think they won't want to win this one for their late owner Jerry Buss. 10* (720) Los Angeles Lakers

Based on the opening numbers, the wrong team is favored here. Chicago is 11.5 games better than New Orleans including five and a half games with the road/home comparison yet it comes in as the underdog. The Bulls are coming off a pair of losses to close the first half as well as losing four of their last five games but those losses came against the Celtics, Spurs, Nuggets and Pacers and that is a pretty strong group. The last game against the Celtics saw them put up just 69 points which is their lowest output this season so the break came at a very good time. Chicago is 15-10 on the road this season and it is the only team in the NBA that has a better record on the road than it does at home. New Orleans comes in just the opposite as it won its final two games before the All-Star break while going 4-1 in its last five games and while the time off helped the Bulls, it arguably hurt the Hornets as some momentum was shot. They have been playing much better at home of late but their last three wins came against the Blazers, Suns and Kings, all of which have losing records overall and are a combined 18-66 on the road this season. New Orleans is just 2-5 ATS in its seven games as a favorite of less than seven points and it has struggled against the better teams at home, going 5-10 in 15 home games against teams with a winning record. Chicago meanwhile has won 16 of 21 games following a loss and it is 19-7 ATS in its last 26 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of less than .400. Meanwhile the Hornets are 6-21-1 ATS in their last 28 games after allowing less than 75 points in their previous game. 10* (509) Chicago Bulls

This is a great setting for Oklahoma City on Thursday. The Thunder lost to the Heat in five games of the NBA Finals last season after winning the first game at home before dropping the final four contests. The teams had a rematch on Christmas Day with the Heat prevailing at home by six points where they nearly lost a 12-point lead. Now Oklahoma City gets its first chance at the reigning champions at home where it will be looking for some revenge five times over. The Thunder are 23-3 at home this season including winning and covering seven straight games at Chesapeake Energy Arena and while they will be out for revenge, they will also be out to bounce back from their most recent game. Oklahoma City lost in Utah on Tuesday and it ended up being one of its worst losses of the season as it went down by 15 points. The Thunder have been one of the best teams coming off a loss in the lat couple years as they are an amazing 55-16 over the last three years coming off a defeat including 11-1 this season while covering 10 of those 12 games. Also, they have covered four straight following a double-digit loss. Miami has been playing very well with six straight wins but the last five have been at home where it is also 23-3 on the season. The problem has been on the road where the Heat are just 12-11 and while a win over Denver on the highway was big, there are no other significant quality road wins over elite teams. The Heat are just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning record while the Thunder are 18-7-2 ATS in their last 27 games against teams with a winning record. 10* (502) Oklahoma City Thunder

The Wizards cost us in Milwaukee but we will go against them again in what is another favorable situation for the home team. A lot of the reasoning is similar as it was on Monday as Washington has now won four straight games and going back further, it is 11-7 over its last 18 games which is a huge turnaround compared to their 4-28 start. The return of John Wall has no doubt been the key to this recent run of good play but it is hard to ignore the fact that most of the success has been at home where eight of those wins have taken place. To the Wizards credit, it was a big win over the Buck but they caught Milwaukee at a good time as it is struggling and the thought of the Bucks busting out surely was not correct. Prior to Milwaukee losing to the Wizards, it lost to the Pistons at home which gave Detroit a modest two-game winning streak but that didn't last long as it returned home and got beat by New Orleans by 19 points. The Pistons are now a game under .500 at home but they have been much better of late, going 9-7 over their last 16 games at The Palace and this is a big game for them right before the break. Comments were made after the Hornets game that they were lethargic and indifferent and were far from the same team that had just defeated the Spurs in their most recent home game. Detroit swept a home-and-home from the Wizards back in December but even it knows they are a different team now and cannot take them lightly. The Pistons are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against teams with a losing record. 10* (710) Detroit Pistons

Houston continues to struggle on the road as it lost in Sacramento on Sunday by six points as a 6.5-point favorite. The Rockets have now dropped three straight on the highway and are 10-17 on the season. Obviously they will be hungry for a win but this is not the spot for it to happen. They have owned this series with six wins in the last seven meetings but five of those games were at home including the lone meeting last week when they annihilated the Warriors 140-109. Houston tied a record with 23 three-pointers and it was going for the record but Golden St. took offense to it as fouled away so the Rockets could not break it. There were flagrant fouls and ejections and Golden St. will be out for some major payback. Even the coaches got into it and didn't even shake hands after the game. That was the start of a brutal roadtrip for Golden St. as it lost all four games while not covering any of those. The Warriors lost by a combined 60.5 points against the spread as the four games in five nights certainly did them in. The defense was especially bad as they allowed an average of 118.5 ppg and were outscored by 20.7 ppg during their trek. A return home is just what they need as they bring in a 16-6 record in Oakland including wins in four straight. Home games have been pretty rare of late as Golden St. has played those four games along with 10 games on the road and they are at least a respectable 7-7 in those games. Houston is 3-13 ATS in its last 16 road games following a road loss and 0-8 ATS in its last eight road games after allowing 100 or more points in two or more straight games. 10* (512) Golden St. Warriors

Washington has been very impressive of late. The Wizards have won three straight games and going back further, they are 10-7 over their last 17 games which is a huge turnaround compared to their 4-28 start. The return of John Wall has no doubt been the key to this recent run of good play but it is hard to ignore the fact that most of the success has been at home where eight of those wins have taken place including all three during the recent three-game roll. Washington is 3-21 on the road including losses in four straight so it is clearly a different team on the highway than it is at home. Conversely, the Bucks have dropped three straight games as well as five of their last six contests so they are in need of something good to happen and a visit from the Wizards is perfect timing. Milwaukee is coming off an ugly home loss against Detroit on Saturday as it led the Pistons 100-98 late in the game but was outscored 7-0 the rest of the way. The schedule has definitely taken its toll on Milwaukee as this is the first back-to-back home games since January 2nd and 4th as 11 of their last 16 had taken place on the road prior to the Pistons game. Washington falls into a negative situation where we play against road underdogs with a winning percentage between .250 and .400 that are coming off a home win by 10 points or more. This situation is 59-29 ATS (67 percent) over the last five seasons. In addition, Milwaukee last dropped its last six games against the number and it is a perfect 10-0 ATS in its last 10 games following six or more straight ATS losses. 10* (712) Milwaukee Bucks

I played against the Nuggets last night but Cleveland was unable to make a comeback after falling behind big in the third quarter. Denver continues to play some incredible basketball as it is now riding a nine-game winning streak but I will be going against them once again with for a lot of the same reasons. They are 15-2 over their last 17 games but they have only played four road games over this stretch and this is the first time they have gone back-to-back. The schedule has definitely been in their favor but it was a makeup from early in the season when Denver played 17 of its first 23 game on the road. The Nuggets are 22-3 at home compared to 11-15 on the road and the consecutive games on the road is a huge factor as Denver is 0-4 this season in the second of back-to-back road games. Boston meanwhile has been lighting it up since Rajon Rondo went down and it is no coincidence as the Celtics have altered their style of play and teams have not been able to catch up. The six-game winning streak does not imply that Boston is better without Rondo in the lineup but it is playing a different brand of basketball right now that other teams are having a hard time adjusting to and that certainly included the Lakers Thursday night. Boston has had two days off which is pretty big in this spot and in addition, the Celtics are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 and the home team has dominated this series, going 13-3 ATS over the last 16 meetings. 10* (808) Boston Celtics

Washington has the second worst record in the NBA but it is no longer playing like it which has coincided with the return of John Wall to the lineup. The Wizards have won nine of their last 16 games which is just above average but when they came into this run with a 4-28 record, the run has been especially effective. Washington has been getting it done at home as it is 7-1 in its last eight games and even though the loss came against lowly Sacramento, it is no longer a pushover. The last victory came against the Knicks and while that would normally spell a letdown, the Wizards have playing so good here for so long, keeping the momentum going is the bigger factor. This has mostly coincided with the return of John Wall who missed 33 games and is now getting back to full strength. Brooklyn is coming off a win at Detroit in its last game as it was able to outscore the Pistons by seven points in the final quarter to win by three points. That victory coupled with the fact the Nets have the Spurs, Pacers and Nuggets on deck to play prior to the All-Star break makes this a very tough spot to focus. Focus has seemed to have been an issue of late as Brooklyn has not won back-to-back games since late January, going 0-3 in its last three games following a win. After going on a 10-1 run at the start of January, the Nets have cooled off by going 3-3 over their last six games including losses in two of three on the road where they are just 11-11 on the season. Yes that is better than Washington's home record but the Wizards are the hotter team at this point. The Nets are 7-24-1 ATS in their last 32 road games against teams with a losing home record while the Wizards are 16-4-1 ATS in their last 21 games following a win. 10* (804) Washington Wizards

The Celtics won their fifth straight game on Wednesday without Rajon Rondo in the lineup and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of that one. The winning streak does not imply that Boston is better without him in the lineup but it is playing a different brand of basketball right now that other teams are having a hard time adjusting to. The offense went through Rondo. That is not saying that he took over the offense but he moved it to help and create the best opportunity to score and a lot of times, the Celtics have had to settle for jump shots. Now they are able to distribute the ball more early in the possession which is creating more opportunities for better shots and it is showing with their 48 percent shooting over this stretch. This change is causing problems for opponents. The Lakers have been playing well with wins in three straight games on this roadtrip and going back they have won six of their last seven games. I'm still not sold on this team on the road and now they are even more banged up with Pau Gasol expected to miss significant time after getting hurt last game. Dwight Howard is a still a question mark and even Kobe Bryant is nursing a bad elbow. Boston was able to get its revenge over the Lakers from the 2010 NBA Finals with a win in Los Angeles in the first meeting after that but since then, the Celtics have lost the last three meetings and they want to end that drought. The Celtics are 9-4-2 ATS in their last 15 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400 while the Lakers are 9-21 ATS in their last 30 games following a win. 10* (502) Boston Celtics

Since losing Rajon Rondo for the season with a knee injury, the Celtics have stepped up to go 4-0 including big wins against the Heat and the Clippers. While the run have shown a lot of character for the rest of the team, all four of those games came at home so the scheduling worked in their favor. Boston now plays its first road game since then where it is 7-14 on the season including losses in thee straight and 13 of its last 17. it has been a very streaky couple months as the Celtics have had runs of 0-4, 6-0, 6-0 and 0-4 over their last 20 games and this one sets up to start a run going the other way. Toronto was able to win its first game since acquiring Rudy Gay but it gave it back in the second game, losing against Miami. The Raptors are 12-12 at home on the season and while they have been inconsistent, they have dropped back-to-back home games only three times. They should get a boost with the return of Andrea Bargnani as he has missed 26 games with an elbow injury. This is the second meeting this season and Toronto will be out for payback following an 18-point loss in the first meeting back in November in Boston. The home team has covered six straight meetings and the Raptors are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. Boston comes back down to earth in its first road game in nearly two weeks. 10* (708) Toronto Raptors

The Pacers are in an interesting scheduling situation this week. Because of a makeup game played last night, this is the second of three games in three nights for Indiana as it hits the road tomorrow night to face Philadelphia. While in a possible play against spot on Wednesday, the Pacers have are in a good position tonight to keep their winnings ways going at home. The win over the Bulls made it 14 straight home wins and there will be no letdown because of it as Indiana is playing with revenge four times over. It lost the final two meetings last season and lost both matchups this season, both of those games coming in Atlanta. Indiana is 5-0 when playing with no rest and the second game being home, covering four of those five games and this is the first instance of back-to-back games at home. Atlanta meanwhile is coming off a horrible home loss against Chicago on Saturday and the road has been a real problem. The Hawks are 1-7 in their last eight road games with the lone won coming at Charlotte. Overall, Atlanta has played the third easiest schedule in the NBA and when facing tough competition, it has struggled, going 9-14 ATS against winning teams including 4-7 ATS on the road. Additionally, the Hawks fall into a horrible position as we play against road teams with a winning percentage between .501 and .600 that are coming off a double digit loss as a favorite of six points or more, playing a winning team. This situation is 25-5 ATS (83.3 percent) since 1996. 10* (502) Indiana Pacers

I won with Minnesota in its last game as it hammered New Orleans by 29 points. That was mainly a play against the Hornets as they were playing their fourth game in five nights and now we will be going against the Timberwolves. Prior to the win on Saturday, Minnesota had dropped six straight games and 11 of their previous 12 so it clearly is not playing well at all. The situational edge on Saturday goes against the Timberwolves here as they are 0-4-1 ATS in their last five games following a win while going 8-20 ATS after scoring 110 points or more in their previous game. After losing at Utah on Friday, Portland won in the second of the home-and-home on Saturday, defeating the Jazz by six points. That was the Blazers fourth straight home win and they will look to reverse their road woes as they are on a four-game losing skid on the highway. This is the team to play against to make that happen as they are 19-2 against Minnesota in the last 21 meetings including two wins this season with one of those coming in Minnesota. Portland is just a game out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and with five more road games upcoming, it needs to get off to a strong start of the roadtrip. The Blazers have covered 16 of the last 21 meetings here and they add to that with another one on Monday. 10* (709) Portland Trailblazers

I think it is safe to say that New Orleans is ready to end its current roadtrip. After winning in an upset at New Orleans to open the five-game trek, the Hornets have lost the last three games including a blowout defeat last night in Denver by 15 points. The current stretch started Tuesday with a loss against the Lakers so this mark their fourth game in five nights which is tough on any team, especially one than has spent all five days somewhere else and brings in an 8-17 record on the road. Making matters even worse, New Orleans will be without Eric Gordon, who is averaging 16.9 ppg, and the defense will be affected as well as the Hornets have given up an average of 104.8 ppg while dropping six of eight. Minnesota has been worse off as it has lost six straight games after getting hammered at home by the Lakers last night. Going back further, the Timberwolves are 1-11 over their last 12 games but this sets up their best opportunity for a victory as seven of those 12 games were on the road with the home games being against the aforementioned Lakers, Rockets, Nets and Clippers twice. Minnesota is just 3-8 when playing with no rest to is 1-0 when that second game was at home and this is the first instance of a home-to-home situation this season. The Timberwolves are 17-7 ATS in their last 24 games following a loss of more than 10 points and are playing with revenge following a 12-point loss in New Orleans last month. 10* (510) Minnesota Timberwolves

We have a live dog with Milwaukee on Friday. The Bucks have been playing great since they switched coaches as since a 15-point loss at Indiana, they have gone 8-4 in 12 games. They rolled at Detroit two games back but were upended at home by Chicago by 16 points last time out and that alone will provide a huge motivator for tonight. I'm not a huge advocate of road revenge but the Bucks have certainly not forgotten the 14-point loss they suffered at home against the Knicks in the first meeting this season. Despite that, they are 12-4 the last 16 meetings with New York including 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings in New York. Milwaukee is 12-10 on the road while going a solid 10-5 ATS in the role of a road underdog. The Bucks have also been great coming off a loss, 12-6-1 ATS and they are a solid 6-1 ATS in their last seven games coming off a double-digit loss. The Knicks are riding a two-game winning streak which is just the third time they have won consecutive games since mid-December as they 0-2 the last two times they have tried to win three straight games. Since a 7-1 start in December, New York is just 10-10 over its last 20 games. New York is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 games against teams with a winning record and like Milwaukee, the Knicks have been great following losses but not nearly as good coming off victories as they are 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games following a win. 10* (811) Milwaukee Bucks

Memphis has obviously gone through some changes since last taking the court as the Grizzlies traded away Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors for Jose Calderon and Ed Davis, then flipped Calderon to the Detroit Pistons for forwards Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye. This trade will help them out a great deal in the future as Gay is overrated and overpaid but in the present time, Memphis will see some struggles with the chemistry of the new team. The Grizzlies are 12-8 at home but Thursday's game is not the way to try and get the new team acclimated. Oklahoma City is coming off a disappointing roadtrip as it went 3-3 including a loss in the final game at the Lakers on Sunday. The Thunder have had plenty of time off to get some rest and recharge their batteries although tonight would have come with plenty of motivation anyway. The Thunder are 19-3 at home and have won three straight there, but one of their losses was a 107-97 defeat to Memphis on Nov. 14. Gay had 28 points the Grizzlies won for the third time in the past four regular-season visits to Oklahoma City. The Thunder are 19-6 ATS in their last 25 games coming off a loss as a favorite including 4-0 ATS in their last four games. Meanwhile the Grizzlies are 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. The Thunder roll in their first game back home. 10* (502) Oklahoma City Thunder

Utah is eager to bounce back from one of its worse games ever. The Jazz got thumped by Houston by 45 points on Monday which was its fifth-largest loss in franchise history and narrowly missed losing by the worst margin since the franchise moved to Salt Lake City. It was in fact the biggest home loss ever for Utah and the 80 points scored were a season low. The defeat snapped a six-game home winning streak for the Jazz which are now 15-5 at home and every game is becoming big at this point as they are toed for the seventh spot in the Western Conference and are just a game out of the ninth spot. New Orleans meanwhile is coming off a hard-fought battle last night in Los Angeles as the Hornets lost by five points to the Lakers. It was their third loss in four games and New Orleans fell to 8-15 on the road for the season. This is also the third game in four nights in addition to a back-to-back where the Hornets are 1-4 ATS in their last five games playing with no rest. The Jazz are 5-0 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss at home and fall into a great situation where we play on favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points (that are averaging between 98 and 102 ppg going up against teams averaging between 92 and 98 ppg, after scoring 85 points or less. This situation is 32-8 ATS (80 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (720) Utah Jazz

I won with Dallas on Sunday as it easily took care of Phoenix. The Mavericks fell down early but used a big 11-0 run between the first and second quarters and eventually built a 20-point lead and coasted the rest of the way. They have improved quite a bit since a rough start as they are 6-2 over their last eight games including wins in both road games over that stretch Those games were against Sacramento and Orlando though and they take a pretty decent step up in class here. Dallas is just 7-16 on the road overall including losses in 14 of 19 games as a road underdog. After six straight losses, the Blazers had won two in row at home over the Pacers and Clippers before losing at Los Angeles in the second of a home-and-home set on Sunday. Portland fell to 7-14 on the road but it has been much better on its home floor which is certainly typical as it is 15-8 at the Rose Garden. This is the first of two home meetings with the Mavericks this season and Portland will be out for some payback. When the teams met Nov. 5 in Dallas, the Mavericks broke open a close game with a dominant fourth quarter en route to a 114-91 victory. The Mavericks outscored the Blazers 32-12 in the pivotal final period to turn a close game into a blowout. They will be out for revenge as well as making up for the loss against the Clippers and they are 5-0 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss. Portland makes it six in a row after Tuesday. 10* (506) Portland Trailblazers

Washington has had one of the best turnarounds in the NBA this season as it has won seven of its last 10 games but it is still 20 games under .500 and there is no reason it should be laying this kind of number against any team. This is the highest the Wizards have been favored by this season and while the Kings are no juggernaut, playing in the tougher conference is a big edge. Washington is only 6-10 against the Western Conference while Sacramento is 10-9 against the Eastern Conference. The Wizards are coming off a home blowout win over Chicago on Saturday which made it five straight wins at home following a run of 1-7 on their home floor and that is helping to drive up this number. The Kings meanwhile are coming off a loss at Denver on Saturday as 12.5-point underdogs so this line for Monday is telling us that the Nuggets are only 4.5 points better than Washington and that is hardly the case. Another line idiosyncrasy is the fact that these teams played in Sacramento less than two weeks ago and Washington was getting 4.5 points and we are seeing a line swing of over 12 points which is typically unheard of in this league. The Wizards are 8-17-1 ATS in their last 26 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400 and 8-20 ATS in their last 28 games following a win of more than 10 points. The Kings also fall into a great situation where we play against home favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points after beating the spread by 18 or more points total in their last three games going up against an opponent after being beaten by the spread by 54 or more points total in their last ten games. This situation is 24-7 ATS (77.4 percent) over the last 5 seasons. 10* (703) Sacramento Kings

After a 1-10 stretch, the Mavericks have been playing a lot better of late as they are 5-2 over their last seven games with one loss coming against Oklahoma City in overtime and the other coming against San Antonio. Both of those losses were at home so Dallas will be out to span that road skid as they take a big step down in class here. The Mavericks issues have come against the top teams in the NBA as they are just 5-18 against the top 16 teams in the league but 13-7 against all of the other teams and Phoenix falls into that "other" category. This is a very bad spot for Phoenix as it won two straight games, including one against the Clippers, and then had to face San Antonio on Saturday. Not only is this is a back-to-back situation but it is also the Suns fourth game in five nights including four different cities over that stretch. Phoenix is 2-8 this season when playing with no rest including 1-5 when the second of the back-to-back game is on the road. Dallas had covered seven straight games prior to its loss against the Spurs and that included three straight games as a favorite. The Mavericks have won nine of 13 games as home favorites and again, that comes down to playing well against the teams they should be beating. Dallas has won and covered nine of the last 10 meetings including the lone meeting this season in Phoenix and it adds to it as the Suns cannot escape their 4-17 record on the road. 10* (812) Dallas Mavericks

A quick look shows the Raptors have not been playing very good lately as they are 2-5 over their last seven games but that really is not the case. Three of those losses came in overtime including two on the road and one at home against the Bulls. A few bounces their way and things could be a lot better but even still, Toronto is 12-8 over its last 20 games since mid-December so it has been on a big turnaround despite some of the bad luck. The Raptors are 11-9 at home but they have won eight of their last 12 and thanks to playing in the weak Eastern Conference, Toronto is just four games out of the eighth and final playoff spot. Cleveland is coming off a win last night at home against Milwaukee and that made it two straight wins which has been the main reason this line has come down from its opening number. The Cavaliers have been more competitive since the return of Kyrie Irving but playing on the road remains a huge issue as Cleveland is 6-20 on the highway including losses in five of its last six games. Cleveland has been horrible this season when playing with no rest as it has lost 12 of its 13 games in this situation while going just 2-9 following a win. Toronto is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 home games following two straight games as an underdog while going 9-1 ATS in its last 10 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of .400 or less. Meanwhile, Cleveland is 1-7 ATS in its last eight games after scoring 100 or more points in its previous game. 10* (502) Toronto Raptors

It's not often you get line value with Miami but that is the case on Friday. The Heat are coming off an overtime win over Toronto on Wednesday and it took them a while to get out of the blocks which comes as no surprise as they had five days off in-between that games and their most recent game against the Lakers which concluded a 3-3 roadtrip. Miami improved to 17-3 at home and with only one day in-between games here, the Heat should be a lot more sharp. Miami had won seven straight meetings with Detroit before facing the Pistons on the road at the end of December where it lost by 10 points as a six-point favorite. This is where we see the chunk of line value as the line has risen only 3.5 points from that meeting and a change in venue is usually good for a 7-point point swing in most cases depending on the strength of the home court. The Pistons opened a three-game roadtrip with a loss in Chicago by three points and while that may look like a solid effort, it couldn't have gone worse. Detroit blew a 17-point lead in the third quarter and that is becoming commonplace for the Pistons which have now lost 11 games this season after blowing a double-digit lead. Detroit fell to 4-15 on the road and going back to last season, the Pistons are 8-18 ATS in their last 26 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (806) Miami Heat

Toronto is coming off a heartbreaking loss last night against Miami. The Raptors built a sizable first half lead only to watch it slip away but they were able to hang in there and force overtime but came up on the short end of that by seven points. Toronto now has to try and recover in a hurry which is a tall task especially for a team that is just 1-4 this season in the second of back-to-back road games. Speaking of the road, the Raptors are just 4-18 on the highway this season which is the second worst road record in the NBA. To their credit, the last two road losses have been in overtime but losing is losing and it gets very contagious. The Magic can attest to that as they are 14-27 including losses in three straight and 14 of their last 16 games. Orlando cannot be blamed for not trying though as nine of those losses were by six points or fewer and some of those against some pretty hefty opposition. This is the fourth and final meeting between these two teams and it is the final chance for Orlando to salvage a victory in this season series. The Magic have lost all three of the previous meetings and the last one was the worst one as they were hammered on this floor by 35 points and as bad as the season has been, it was their second worst loss of the season so motivation will be at the forefront for tonight. The Magic are 40-15-2 ATS in their last 57 games following a loss of more than 10 points. 10* (502) Orlando Magic

Portland has taken a big slide as it has lost six straight games to fall under .500 for the first time since very early in the season. Most surprising has been the poor play at home as the Blazers were on a nine-game home winning streak but have since dropped their last four games at the Rose Garden. Losing to Oklahoma city to start the skid is one thing but losing to Cleveland, Milwaukee and Washington in three consecutive games is uncalled for. The most recent loss against the Wizards was a very bad one and not because it came against the lowly Wizards, which to their credit are playing much better. But it was the way it happened as they lost on a buzzer-beating three-pointer on Monday. After putting together a 9-4 December, the Blazers started the month of January 5-1, and were starting to become the talk of the Western Conference. Now it just needs a win to get that monkey off their back. Indiana meanwhile is coming off a huge road win over Memphis on Monday as it escaped by a single point. The Pacers have to take the top spot for the most pleasant surprise in the league as they are 26-16 heading into Wednesday, trailing top seeded Miami by just two games. They have done it without one minute being played from Danny Granger which makes it even more impressive but now they face a desperate team in dire need of a win and we are catching a great line because of it. The Pacers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games following a win while Portland is 9-1-1 ATS in its last 11 games against teams with a winning record. 10* (718) Portland Trailblazers

What has gotten into Washington? After a 1-13 run, the Wizards regrouped to win five of their last seven games including wins at the Nuggets and Blazers on this roadtrip, two very tough spots to win at. Overall they have covered seven straight, nine of 10 and 11 of 13 so they have been making some serious money for the backers brave enough to be hanging on during this stretch. Obviously, a lot of this has had to do with the return of John Wall who is clearly a special player as he is averaging 14 ppg and 6.7 apg through his first six games. The Wizards have some momentum going right now but I think it comes to a crashing halt here as this is the final game of this roadtrip so they are looking forward to the trip home. Utah meanwhile has won three straight games and it has had a much better scheduling scenario. The Jazz have played only twice over the last 10 days as they had four days off in-between Miami and Cleveland and then another three days off in-between Cleveland and this one. Utah has won four straight games at home following a very rare three-game losing skid at home as it is now 13-4 at home compared to Washington which is just 3-17 in its 20 road games. The Jazz won the first meeting in Washington as a 3.5-point favorite which makes this line undervalued in my opinion. They are 6-0 ATS in their last six games against teams with a losing record while going a perfect 5-0 in their last five home games. 10* (716) Utah Jazz

I rarely look at road favorites in the NBA but this is an instance where I feel we are on the right side, which is the desperate side. The Celtics were rolling along with a six-game winning streak but then were hammered at home against New Orleans, lost in overtime to Chicago and were hammered again at Detroit to roll into tonight riding a three-game losing streak. Now the team has been called out by head coach Doc Rivers which is certainly called for. "I gotta either find the right combination, the right guys, or we're going to get some guys out of here," Rivers said. "It's the bottom line. Because this group right now, they are not playing right. It's in them to play right. But right now they haven't been -- either because I'm not getting to them, or they are not getting to each other. But at the end of the day, either we gotta do that, or we gotta make changes." This is exactly when the players do in fact step up. The Cavaliers have the second worst record in the NBA and while they are back home after a five-game roadtrip where they went 1-4, home has not been very kind. Cleveland is just 4-12 at home which is the worst home record in all of basketball, yes even worse than Charlotte which has lost 15 straight at home. The talent is there for the Cavaliers to become a very good team in the future but it is one of the youngest teams in the league and going up against one of the most veteran teams in the NBA that is I desperation mode spells trouble. The Celtics are 25-12-1 ATS in their last 38 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of less than .400 while the Cavaliers are 5-16 ATS in their last 21 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. 10* (501) Boston Celtics