Utah

Chicago was in a terrible scheduling spot on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls had just finished a frantic end to their regular in which they needed to win on the final day in order to just make the playoffs. They then had a quick turnaround with little time to get ready for Cleveland. There was reason to expect Chicago to have little in the tank, and that certainly was the case early in the ballgame. The Cavaliers jumped on the Bulls quick as they led by 14 points (32-18) at the end of the first quarter. But what Chicago did during the rest of the game was quite impressive.

Over the final three quarters of the game, the Bulls actually out-scored Cleveland 65-64. Chicago also made a big late run as they cut Cleveland

Charlotte is a young team that lacks any playoff experience together. In fact, the Bobcats are making their first appearance in the playoffs as a franchise. The Bobcats season took a positive turn when they traded for Stephen Jackson. Prior to his arrival, Charlotte

Utah once again showed a huge home/road dichotomy this season. At home, the Jazz went a fantastic 32-9. But on the road, they once again played mediocre basketball and went just 21-20. Now their road record was better than in year

Milwaukee was one of the hottest teams in the NBA after the All-Star break. The Bucks went 22-9 over that stretch and they did it without their best player Michael Redd who suffered a season-ending knee injury. And they were also without Andrew Bogut for their final seven games after he had season-ending surgery for a trio of injuries. However, things really caught-up to the Bucks over the final two weeks of the season, especially when they faced the better teams in the league.

The Bucks were able to beat Chicago in the first game after losing Bogut, but a 79-74 win wasn

Chicago needed a big run down the stretch just to make the playoffs, and in fact, they needed to win at Charlotte on the final day of the regular season to punch their ticket. The Bulls had to exert a ton of energy and emotion, and because of that, there

Both of these teams are in the playoffs; Boston is locked into the number 4 spot so they have nothing to gain in this game tonight. Milwaukee currently sits in the number 6 spot, but they can jump up to number 5 if they win here combined with Miami

This is a huge game for both teams tonight. If Denver wins, the Nuggets will win the Northwest Division title. More importantly, the Nuggets will secure the number 3 spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Denver can still achieve those two goals even if they lose (based on what Utah does in their final two games), but with their fate in their own hands, expect the Nuggets to play with purpose and passion tonight.

If Phoenix wins, the Suns can inch closer to securing home-court in the first round of the playoffs. The Suns can slide no lower than the fifth spot, but they certainly want to move up in order to get the home-court advantage in either the third or fourth playoff spot.

There was plenty of reason to expect Houston to play in a lower scoring game than expected last night in Phoenix. While it wasn

Houston is out of the playoffs, but the Rockets have not quit on the season. One of the main reasons why they failed to make the post-season was their terrible defensive play throughout the year. However, Houston made defense their number one priority down the stretch and the results have shown a nice improvement. The Rockets have held their last three opponents to 103, 96, and 90 points which is a big difference from the 119, 114, and 133 points they allowed in their previous three games.

The Rockets have lost all three of the previous meetings with Phoenix, and once again, it was because of their defense. They know they need to play stronger defense tonight if they want to have any shot at winning this game because they are unlikely to out-score the Suns if they want to play at a fast pace. The three losses have been close, all by 8 points or less, so if we get another competitive game, that means we

Boston was embarrassed at home last night by the Washington Wizards, 106-96. The game wasn

Chicago played in an extremely important game last night against Cleveland. The Bulls are fighting for their playoff lives, and once again, tonight is another huge game for them. But playing last night and now playing tonight on a back-to-back set is not an ideal situation for Chicago. The Bulls hung on to beat Cleveland 109-108 in a game that was played at a fast pace and a game that had multiple lead changes throughout. The game took a lot out of the Bulls, and since they won an emotional game over an elite team, that effort will leave them flat for tonight

Often times we

Utah played in a wild, high-scoring game last night against Oklahoma City. The Jazz held an 11-point lead with just over 2 minutes left to play, but the Thunder hit 4 three

Oklahoma City is not in a good scheduling spot for this game tonight. The Thunder will be playing their third game in four nights and it

San Antonio comes into today

This game doesn

Portland played a much better game last night than expected. The Blazers went all out in order to beat the Knicks which was quite surprising knowing they had a game on deck tonight in Denver. By winning last night, Portland clinched a playoff spot which apparently was their focus after the type of game they played. It appears they just wanted to get in, and their seeding in the playoffs was secondary because tonight

Orlando has been quietly waiting for tonight

New York has had their issues this season, but they are actually a pretty talented team. When playing good, the Knicks can beat any team in the league. New York has wins over Phoenix, Atlanta (3x), Dallas, and Denver. They

San Antonio has played Under the total by a combined 44 points in their last two games, and there

San Antonio cashed an easy Under for us last night in Boston; the game stayed Under by a whopping 25 points. And playing on back-to-back nights, we feel there

After playing some out-of-character high-scoring games, the Spurs have gone back to their preferred style of basketball. San Antonio played a stretch of three consecutive games in which there was an average of 230 points scored per game. High-scoring games like that are few and far between for the Spurs, and their last three game results fall right in line with their normal point totals. Over their last three games, San Antonio has played to an average of just 189 points per game, and if their most recent game against Cleveland had not ended with 21 points scored over the last 44 seconds of the game, their game average would be much lower.

Boston has really cranked-up their defensive intensity over the last two weeks. The Celtics have held six of their last seven opponents to less than 99 points, and over their last five games that number is even better. The Celtics are allowing only 95 points per game on 45.6% shooting over that time, and since the Spurs have no problem playing a half-court game, Boston

Dallas has hit a bit of a rough patch after their 13-game winning streak was snapped two weeks ago by the Knicks. Since that loss, the Mavericks have lost three of their last five games. But after an extended winning streak gets broken, it

The Lakers are 2-0 since Andrew Bynum went out of the lineup. Los Angeles hasn

There

There

San Antonio has never been a good team when playing on back-to-back nights. The Spurs are a veteran team that is up there in age, so playing without rest isn

San Antonio enters off a wild, high-scoring game versus Golden State on Friday night. The Spurs won that game 147-116, but despite their high shooting percentage, the box score says they shouldn

Milwaukee is in a terrible scheduling spot for this game tonight. The Bucks played in a double overtime game in Sacramento last night and now must play in the thin air and altitude of Denver on a back-to-back set. That situation is always tough, but the way Milwaukee came back to win last night makes it even tougher.

The Bucks were down by 8 points with around 2 minutes left to play in that game. They nailed a three at the buzzer to force overtime, and then they needed a second extra session to escape Sacramento with a 114-108 win. The Bucks also hit a whopping 14 three

Milwaukee was on a torrid pointspread run; they covered ten straight from February 19th through March 6th. But over their last four ballgames, Milwaukee is just 1-2-1 ATS. And considering four of their last five games have all come right down to the wire, the Bucks

Miami suffered a 76-88 loss as a 2-point home favorite versus San Antonio on Tuesday night, but the Heat should bounce back with a solid performance this evening. Miami qualifies in a strong 54-25 ATS revenge situation which plays on teams off a double-digit loss as a favorite.

Miami lost the most recent meeting versus Orlando on February 28th, 80-96, but the Heat actually won the two early meetings this season in November and December both outright as an underdog, including an easy 104-86 home win as a 4-point underdog.

Miami is 6-2 SU in their past eight games overall which includes impressive home wins versus both the Lakers and Hawks. Orlando has played five of their past six games at home, so the Magic might be a bit flat tonight having to now travel and play without rest after their easy 110-84 home win versus San Antonio last night.

Play HEAT (+).

Milwaukee has been playing some terrific basketball since the All-Star break. And it

The Lakers played in a wild, high-scoring game last night in Golden St. Los Angeles won 124-121, but the pace and the way the game played out will leave the Lakers a bit short tonight on this back-to-back set in Sacramento. LA jumped out to a 39-32 lead after the first quarter, but their lead was wiped away after the Warriors won the second quarter by 13 points (33-20). So the Lakers were down by 6 points at the half despite having a whopping 59 points on the board.

That

Denver

New Orleans is playing terrible basketball right now. The Hornets have lost eight of their last ten games, and they haven

Boston comes into today

New York has had their issues this season, but they are actually a pretty talented team. When playing good, the Knicks can beat any team in the league. New York has wins over Phoenix, Atlanta (3x), and Portland this year so it

Portland prefers to play a slow-down, half-court style of basketball, however last night they were caught in a fast, uptempo game against Golden State. The Blazers struggled in the first three quarters and trailed 83-96 entering the fourth quarter. Portland then buckled down on defense and outscored the Warriors 27-9 to in that final period and won the game 110-105.

Portland learned their lesson and should carry that defensive focus into tonight

Atlanta is in a very good scheduling spot to get a convincing win tonight. The Hawks come into this game off back-to-back road losses at Miami and at New York in their latest. Atlanta

There

Boston has really amped-up their defensive intensity recently. The Celtics have held their last three opponents to 86 points or less; those three teams shot a combined 43.1% (95-220) from the field and an eye-popping 13.8% (5-36) from three-point land. That

San Antonio suffered a big blow the other night when Tony Parker broke his right hand in a scrum for a loose ball. Parker had just got back into the lineup after getting over some other injuries and the Spurs offense was starting to click with Parker at the point. But all of that rhythm is gone now, and the Spurs must now re-work George Hill back into the starting lineup at the point. Hill was good when Parker was out before, but it

This is the second meeting of the season between these two; the Lakers won the first game 98-92 after a huge fourth quarter. That game had just 190 points scored, but 58 of those points came in the final quarter. Low-scoring games has been the norm between the Lakers and Magic so we expect today

San Antonio has never been a good team when playing on back-to-back nights. The Spurs are a veteran team that is up there in age, so playing without rest isn

Oklahoma City comes in off one of their worst games of the season; the Thunder lost by 29 points (119-90) at Denver on Wednesday night. We expected that loss though as we used Denver in that game because they were rested and OKC was playing on a back-to-back set. The Thunder played at home the night before and it was played at an extremely fast pace with three of OKC

Utah has alternated wins and losses over their last five games. The Jazz lost their latest, a 108-104 defeat at the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. Off that upset loss, Utah has had a full two days to prepare for tonight

Oklahoma City is in a terrible scheduling spot tonight. The Thunder played at home last night and beat Sacramento 113-107. That game was played at an extremely fast pace, and with three of OKC

San Antonio once again hits the road tonight; this will be the Spurs

Portland has played some good ball on their current road trip; the Blazers have won and covered three of the four games with the lone loss coming in overtime. However, Portland was catching teams at the perfect time as all three of the teams they beat were either missing key players because of injury or suspension. Tonight, things will be much tougher for the Blazers because they are playing their fifth game in seven nights in the final game of a long road trip. Portland is already satisfied with the results of this trip, win or lose here, so there will be some lack of focus for tonight

These two teams just played last week; the Clippers won 99-89. But that final score is sort of misleading as the first half saw a lot of points scored. The Clippers lead 60-45 at the half, but the pace slowed way down in the third and fourth quarters. After the break, the teams combined for just 83 points as both teams just went ice cold from the field. But the Kings were working in a new lineup after making a trade, and the Clippers were unable to maintain their hot, first-half shooting. But tonight, we expect another fast pace and solid shooting for the whole ballgame.

Sacramento

There

Detroit has been one of the unluckiest teams in the NBA this year. The Pistons have had to juggle their lineup numerous times because of all the injuries they

Houston comes in off a stretch of games in which they were able to play at their preferred pace. The Rockets like to get up and down the court; a team that simply loves to play at a fast tempo. Their last three opponents all play a similar, fast style and the Rockets

The Celtics will most likely be without Paul Pierce for this game; head coach Doc Rivers said Pierce would not play tonight because of an injured right thumb. There

This game sets-up nicely for a low-scoring game. Oklahoma City has been playing higher scoring games than normal because they

Detroit has been one of the unluckiest teams in the NBA this year. The Pistons have had to juggle their lineup numerous times because of all the injuries they

When Los Angeles made a coaching change two weeks ago, the Clippers needed to rectify an offense that was stuck in reverse. Mike Dunleavy was replaced by assistant Kim Hughes, and Hughes was not shy in telling everyone his immediate intentions for the way he wanted the Clippers to play. "I hope we run like crazy," Kim Hughes said before his first game as the Clippers' head coach.

While the offense has improved, the defense has become worse. Los Angeles has allowed at least 109 points or more and 49% FG or higher in four of their past five games, going just 1-4 SU/ATS during that span. The Clippers did get a rare win on Saturday against an equally weak Sacramento squad, but Los Angeles now fits a negative 56-92 ATS situation tonight which plays against Class-D teams off a SU win and the Clippers are likely to struggle against a superior Charlotte team that will be extra focused after a loss in their past game.

Charlotte was in a difficult scheduling spot on Saturday as they had to travel to Milwaukee without rest after a big home upset win of Cleveland on Friday night. It was a revenge game for Milwaukee and the Bucks have actually been playing competitive basketball with Michael Redd out of the lineup. Charlotte was a perfect 2-0 SU/ATS in the two meetings with the Clippers last season, winning the two games by a combined 26 points, despite being favored by just 1 point in each game.

Play BOBCATS (-).

Utah concludes their four-game road trip tonight in Portland; the Jazz have won the first three games of the trip. But those three games came against three teams that currently have a lot of issues going on with injuries and trades. The Jazz caught those opponents at the perfect time and they took full advantage of the situations. But tonight, Utah is in a difficult spot with this game being their fourth over the last six nights and their final game of what has already been a successful road trip.

The Jazz are also catching Portland at the wrong time as the Blazers enter off their worst game of the season as they lost 96-76 to the Celtics two night

When Los Angeles made a coaching change a few games ago, the Clippers needed to rectify an offense that was stuck in reverse. Mike Dunleavy was replaced by assistant Kim Hughes, and Hughes was not shy in telling everyone his immediate intentions for the way he wanted the Clippers to play. "I hope we run like crazy," Kim Hughes said before his first game as the Clippers' head coach.

Their first game against the Spurs did not play-out fast as San Antonio forced a half-court game. But in their next four games, we saw Hughes

These are two of the top teams in the league and the edge goes to the Suns at home tonight where they stand a solid 18-7 SU. Phoenix is coming off a 97-107 road loss at Dallas on Wednesday, but Phoenix should bounce back this evening as they now fit a 62% ATS home revenge situation.

The Suns 102-101 loss at Atlanta on January 15th was misleading as Phoenix held a 5-point lead in the final minute of the game, but missed free throws and allowed Atlanta to hit a walk-off three-pointer at the buzzer for the win. Phoenix still got the pointspread cover and overall the Suns are a solid 3-1 SU/ATS in the past four meetings with every win coming by at least 5 points or more. The Suns have actually dominated the recent meetings by more than the final scores have indicated as Phoenix has held 12, 13, 19, and 37 point leads in those past four games versus Atlanta.

Phoenix is an explosive offensive team that is averaging 109.6 points per game this season and shooting a fantastic 48.6% FG, including 112.7 ppg and 49.6% FG at home. The Suns should have plenty of success against a struggling Atlanta defense that has permitted 50%, 51%, and 51% FG in their past three games.

Play SUNS (-).

The Lakers have played surprisingly well during the past four games without Kobe Bryant in the lineup, but they are now facing their most difficult test against the Boston Celtics. Kobe Bryant is listed as doubtful tonight and is unlikely to play and even if he makes a surprise appearance, he will not be fully healthy. Bryant leads the team in scoring (28.0 ppg), assists (237), and steals (85).

Boston has underperformed this season, but the main reason has been injuries and the Celtics are finally healthy again with Paul Pierce back in the lineup. Boston lost their final two games before the All-Star break as the chemistry of the team was disrupted and Pierce was not fully healthy. That is no longer the case and Boston should perform well tonight on the national stage against the defending World Champions.

Boston is a solid 18-9 SU on the road this season and the Celtics have revenge from a narrow 90-89 home loss on January 31st.

Play CELTICS (+).

When Los Angeles made a coaching change a few games ago, the Clippers needed to rectify an offense that was stuck in reverse. Mike Dunleavy was replaced by assistant Kim Hughes, and Hughes was not shy in telling everyone his immediate intentions for the way he wanted the Clippers to play. "I hope we run like crazy," Kim Hughes said before his first game as the Clippers' head coach.

Their first game against the Spurs did not play-out fast as San Antonio forced a half-court game. But in their next three games, we saw Hughes

The Suns are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. They

Boston

When Los Angeles made a coaching change a few games ago, the Clippers needed to rectify an offense that was stuck in reverse. Mike Dunleavy was replaced by assistant Kim Hughes, and Hughes was not shy in telling everyone his immediate intentions for the way he wanted the Clippers to play. "I hope we run like crazy," Kim Hughes said before his first game as the Clippers' head coach.

Their first game against the Spurs did not play-out fast as San Antonio forced a half-court game. But in their next two games, we saw Hughes

The oddsmakers incorrectly priced this game as they opened the West a favorite. But sharp money has come in on the East and we certainly agree with that move. The Western Conference has better overall teams, but the Eastern Conference has just as much talent at the top with individual stars such as LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Dwyane Wade.

James and Howard were strong 2 years ago when the East won 134-128. Last year, the West throttled the East by 27 points (146-119) and the East is out to atone for that embarrassment. The Western Conference is also short-handed due to injuries as Kobe Bryant, Brandon Roy, and Chris Paul will not play tonight. Kobe and Paul were great last year in the West win, but neither will be on the floor tonight.

The East has won three of the past five meetings, and with the West playing without two of their top scorers, the East should notch another win tonight. The East also has plenty of size with Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh to battle the West down low. The East has the better overall starting lineup and they will present match-up problems for the West.

Play EAST (-).

The second-year players have a tremendous advantage over the first-year players as the veterans are used to the pressure and spotlight of the All-Star weekend. Another major advantage is that some of the second-year sophomores played in this game last season and are therefore familiar with one another.

The Sophomores have dominated this contest in five of the last six seasons, winning by 41, 10, 27, 24, and 20 point margins. Last year the Sophomores only beat the Rookies by six points (122-116), and that was the smallest margin of victory since 2002. That close game shows just how talented the Rookies were last season, and six of those nine players return here for the Sophomore team.

The only other close game recently was in 2006 when the Sophomores won 106-96, but the non-covering 10-point win (as an 11½ point favorite) was misleading as the Sophomores held a 23-point lead in the game. Overall, the Sophomores have led by 43, 23, 29, 30, and 20 point margins in five of the previous six meetings.

The Sophomores also have a guard/center combination that are teammates in O.J. Mayo/Marc Gasol (Memphis) and a 7-foot combination of Marc Gasol/Brook Lopez that will be playing together and should provide extra familiarity and teamwork tonight along with a big advantage in the paint.

Play SOPHOMORES (-).

Last year

Orlando hit a rough patch during the first three weeks of January. The Magic went 2-7 over that stretch, and after a game against the Celtics, Dwight Howard called for a players-only meeting to straighten things out. And despite Howard calling his teammates together, the players actually called Howard out as they were disappointed in what he was doing on and off the court. That meeting has done wonders; Orlando is 6-1 since and Howard is on an absolute tear as he is averaging 21.7 points, 14.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game.

The Magic are currently on a 10-2 run and they are certainly playing some of the best basketball in the league right now. Their two losses were both close; a 5-point loss at Memphis and a 1-point home loss to Washington. And they

We played the Over in the Jazz/Clippers game last night, and we

The Clippers made a coaching change prior to their most recent game; an embarrassing 98-81 home loss to the Spurs. New head coach Kim Hughes was not shy in telling everyone his immediate intentions for the way he wants the Clippers to play. "I hope we run like crazy," Kim Hughes said before his first game as the Clippers' head coach. But that did not pan out on Saturday night, but a lot of that had to do with the Spurs forcing their half-court, defensive style on Los Angeles. But tonight figures to be a lot different.

Utah is also a team that would rather play at a fast pace. And the Jazz certainly enter this game in terrific offensive form to ensure we get the anticipated up and down game. Utah has scored 101 points or more in ten straight games; they

The Celtics will most likely be without Paul Pierce for this game; just like they were when they played in Orlando on Christmas day. There

Denver has been dealing with injury issues for awhile now as both Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony have been in and out of the lineup. Billiups has been playing through his ankle issues while Anthony has missed the last six games. Carmelo was set to return on Wednesday night, but he was held back and he said it would take a

San Antonio is currently on their annual

Phoenix struggled for much of January as they were still adjusting to not having Leandro Barbosa on the court. Barbosa is their best second unit player and he

Golden St

The Lakers are finally wrapping up their longest East Coast road trip of the season; they are playing their eight and final game of the trip. At this point, fatigue has already set in, and the players just don

Phoenix has been struggling lately; they are just 3-7 over their last ten games. But they have a valid excuse for the poor performances. Leandro Barbosa, their best second unit player, has been out after getting surgery on his wrist. Barbosa is the Suns

The Lakers continue on their longest East Coast road trip of the season; they are playing their seventh game of an eight-game trip. At this point, fatigue sets in, and the players know they cannot keep playing fast-paced games.

Portland has been very unlucky with the amount of injuries they

Boston

The Celtics were without Kevin Garnett for quite a long time earlier this year, and their defense really suffered without him on the floor. But Garnett returned to the lineup two games ago, and Boston

Chicago won again on Monday night; they beat the Spurs 98-93 after closing the final minute with a late 7-2 scoring surge. The Bulls have now won three consecutive games as significant sized underdogs (+ 6 or more in all 3 games). But Chicago is in an extremely difficult scheduling spot for tonight

The Lakers are in the midst of a season-long eight game East Coast road trip. They

Milwaukee has been one of the unluckiest teams in the NBA over the last few seasons. The Bucks have had to juggle their lineup numerous times because of all the injuries they

San Antonio is in a great spot tonight to get a much needed blowout win. The Spurs come into this game off back-to-back home losses to the Jazz and Rockets. Their defense was terrible in those games as they allowed 105 and 116 points respectively. But the Spurs have had two days off since, and they

Oklahoma City comes in off a 2-point loss last night at Memphis. But the Thunder have been at their best this season when playing off a loss. In games directly following a loss, the Thunder have gone 15-3 ATS so far this year. As an underdog in that role, they

Houston comes in off a stretch of games in which they were able to play at their preferred pace. The Rockets like to get up and down the court; a team that simply loves to play at a fast tempo. Five of their last six opponents also like to play a similar style and the Rockets were able to put-up some good offensive numbers in those games; they scored 101 points or more in all five of those games. In the one game against a slower, defensive minded team, Houston only scored 94 points against Charlotte.

Tonight, Houston will once again be playing a team looking to play at a slower pace. San Antonio is off a home loss in their last game because their defense did not play good enough. The Spurs allowed the Jazz to score 105 points, and a big reason for that was the fact that Utah was able to get to the free throw line 32 times in the game. That

The Lakers begin a long road swing tonight; an eight-game trip that runs through the end of the month. They

Chicago is in the midst of a seven-game road trip, but things have not gotten off to a good start. The Bulls

Indiana is a much different team right now because they

These two haven

Sacramento has hit the wall recently; the Kings have lost three straight and eight of their last ten games. And a major reason for that has been their lack of offensive production. The Kings have been held to 88 points or less in their last three games as they

Utah is playing some good basketball right now. The Jazz have won four straight and five of their last six games overall. They

Oklahoma City comes in off an overtime home loss to the Spurs. But the Thunder have been at their best this season when playing off a loss. In games directly following a loss, the Thunder have gone 13-3 ATS so far this year. As an underdog in that role, they

Cleveland comes into this game pistol hot; they

Boston enters tonight off a dominating win in New Jersey last night. The Celtics won that game by 24 points (111-87). They shot an incredible 53.1% (43-81) from the field with seven different players scoring in double digits. Rajon Rondo played spectacular at the point as he had 14 assists and just one turnover on the night. But Rondo has historically played poorly in back-to-back games, and off such a good performance last night, it

Minnesota

The Lakers come into tonight