BASKETBALL STAT CHECK
The NBA trade deadline is the big story this week; some of the teams listed below could have a different look to them – but apparently not the Hornets. Tyson Chandler is going back to New Orleans after he failed his physical.In his honor, we kick off our latest list of 10 basketball stats and factoids with this gem: According to Chandler’s Twitter page, he suffered a sunburn during the All-Star break while vacationing with his family in San Cabo. No word yet if that’s why Oklahoma City rescinded the trade.
NBA
Dallas at Houston: The Mavs have won seven of nine games at 6-3 ATS since coach Rick Carlisle turned the offense over to point guard Jason Kidd. Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of Kidd’s arrival from New Jersey.
New Orleans at Utah: The Jazz are 56-27-2 ATS in their last 85 games at the EnergySolutions Arena, which locals still refer to as the Delta Center. The over is 7-2 in Utah’s last nine at home and 17-6 in the past 23 games overall.
Boston at Phoenix: In each of the first two games of the Alvin Gentry Era, rookie and back-up point guard Goran Dragic had 12 points against the Clippers – his first double-digit games of the season. Boston’s No. 2 pivot, Tony Allen, is out for eight weeks after surgery on his thumb.
Miami at Orlando: James Jones had played just 186 minutes this season before starting at small forward for Miami in Wednesday’s 111-104 loss to Minnesota. Jones has a 7.07 PER this year – 15 is the indexed average.
Detroit at Cleveland: The Pistons are 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games after a loss. They host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night; San Antonio has lost two in a row after winning 10 of its previous 12 games.
NCAAB
Butler at Davidson: Davidson guard Stephen Curry leads Division I in possessions used at 37.8 percent – that’s possessions ending with Curry either shooting or turning the ball over, which happens 15.3 percent of the time. Curry’s status for Saturday is uncertain thanks to a sprained ankle.
Marquette at Georgetown: Hoyas players are, on average, 1.9 inches taller than the Golden Eagles. Marquette has one true big: Chris Otule, a 6-foot-10 freshman who plays garbage time if at all. Georgetown’s is anchored by 6-foot-11 superfrosh Greg Monroe.
North Carolina at Maryland: Tyler Zeller had a GPA of 3.98 at Washington High School in Indiana. The 7-foot frosh and McDonald’s All-American came back from a broken wrist and played his third game as a Tar Heel in Wednesday’s win over N.C. State, scoring a single bucket in nine minutes.
Oklahoma at Texas: Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin is the first player in Big 12 history to post 40 points and 20 rebounds in the same game, embarrassing Texas Tech last Saturday with 40 and 23. The over is on a 3-0 run for Texas and 7-1 for the Sooners.
Villanova at Syracuse: Villanova opponents score a third of their points from behind the arc, well above the Division I average of 27.6 percent. But Syracuse, despite the presence of Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf, score just 24.7 percent of their points from the land beyond.
