NBA: COLOSSAL TWIN-BILL
Four of the best teams in the NBA square off in a doubleheader on ESPN.
New Orleans at Cleveland
Sportsbook.com has lowered Cleveland down to three-point favorites because of injuries, though the Total has remained stable at 185.5. This is the opener on ESPN starting just after 8 pm ET.
The Cavaliers lost in overtime to Chicago last night and will be short-handed for tonight’s important contest. Starting guard Delonte West broke his right wrist in a violent collision with Chicago’s Derrick Rose and will be out an undetermined amount of time.
The Cavs were already without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (broken ankle) and Ben Wallace did not play last night due to an intestinal flu. LeBron James is fighting a cold and had likely his worst game of the season last night shooting 8 of 28 and committing eight turnovers.
All of these elements are coming together at the wrong time for Cleveland. The Cavs (30-7, 26-11 ATS) have taken full advantage of a soft schedule in the first half of the season, but unlike the Cleveland weather, things are about to heat up for them.
After tonight’s matchup with the talented Hornets, they embark on a four-game West swing, playing in unfriendly outposts like Portland, Utah and Los Angeles (Lakers). Before Ground Hogs Day, LeBron and whoever else is standing also play in Orlando and Detroit. Yikes!
But as all good coaches tell their players, “Focus on tonight”, which is what Cleveland has to do. One edge they have is Quicken Loans Arena, where coach Mike Brown’s team has yet to taste defeat with a 19-0 record. Not many squeakers either for the Cavs who are 15-4 ATS at home, winning by a gargantuan 16.5 points per game.
The Cavs could use the quickness of West to help slow down Chris Paul, who nearly had a quadruple-double against Dallas in a victory two days ago.
New Orleans (23-12, 16-18-1 ATS) has alternated wins and losses in their last six contests and is 11-7 (8-9 ATS) on the road. The problem here for the Hornets is playing quality competition on the road, as they are only 5-12-1 ATS if their opponent has a winning home record.
New Orleans is 17-5 UNDER in a road game where the Total is between 180 and 189.5 points and Cleveland is 16-3 UNDER off a loss against a division rival.
Power Line – Cleveland by 6
Orlando at L.A. Lakers
The Lakers (31-7, 18-20 ATS) are 4 ½-point favorites, with the Total of 213.5.
Kobe and compnay lead the NBA in scoring at 107.8 points a game and have a glittering 20-2 home record (10-12 ATS).
Los Angeles has become known to play to the level of their competition this season, accounting for a lousy spread record, but will have no problem getting up for Superman and his bombardiers.
Dwight Howard was mostly a spectator as Orlando (31-8, 27-12 ATS) drained an NBA record 23 three-pointers in a win over Sacramento on the road Tuesday.
It’s not magic that the Magic lead the NBA in three point shots made, averaging over 10 a game on sharp 40.1% accuracy. This opens up the middle for Howard to wreak havoc and Orlando is on a 14-2 run, including five in a row.
The Magic are the best bet in the NBA and are a superb 15-5 straight-up and ATS on the road.
The Lakers suffered a cruel loss at San Antonio in the final seconds, but got the cover and are 6-2 ATS facing a team with a winning record.
The biggest task for Phil Jackson to do is encourage his team to play better defense, since they have allowed 109.6 points a game in their last six outings and are 2-11 ATS in home games after allowing 100 points or more points three straight games.
Orlando is 8-1 ATS as a road underdog this season and a perfect 10-0 ATS versus offensive teams scoring 99 or more points a game this year.
The total could be hard call with Andrew Bynum emerging as a force in recent games and the Lakers 8-0 OVER in home games after allowing 105 points or more. The Magic are 15-6 UNDER after surrendering 100 points or more in their previous game.
The Lakers are 3-11 ATS with one day between contests.
Power Line – Orlando by 3
