Bobcats vs Heat NBA Handicapping
Yes, they have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Yes, everyone who they have to have healthy to win is healthy.
Yes, they have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Yes, everyone who they have to have healthy to win is healthy.
So much for that Super Bowl Sunday matchup of the best point guard in the Western Conference vs. the best PG in the East.
We’ve torn another sheet off the calendar, and as the forced march also known as the NBA regular season heads into the final two full months, the New York Knicks are managing to hang with the Miami Heat at the top of the Eastern Conference.
If there’s a watershed game on the Indiana Pacers’ schedule, tonight’s tester at home against the Miami Heat could be it.
Getting several mediocre players in a deal for one good one is never a good idea, but sending Rudy Gay to Canada was a deal engineered not by the Memphis Grizzlies’ front office.
Memphis Grizzlies (29-15) at Oklahoma City Thunder (34-11)
Thursday, Jan. 31
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
8 p.m. EST
Spread – Thunder -8 at Bovada
O/U – 191.5
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No, the bean counters didn’t much like Gay’s big salary, so he had to be sacrificed for the greater good – namely, so everyone else could continue to get their checks the first and 15th of every month, and the team would not wind up paying luxury tax money.
The question now is whether Gay’s removal from the starting lineup will have an effect on the Grizzlies, who are enjoying their second straight solid season and figuring out what they need to do to make life uncomfortable for the likes of the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers come playoff time.
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It was not known early today whether the three players (Tayshawn Prince, Austin Daye and Ed Davis) the Grizz got in return for Gay will be in uniform when Memphis tests its mettle tonight against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
But all three are decent defensively, which fits in well with the Grizzlies’ emphasis on controlling tempo, keeping things close for 40 minutes and then winning ugly in the late going.
That formula has enabled Memphis to establish itself as the fourth-best team in the Western Conference, and the Grizz will need to keep the ball rolling without Gay in order to hold off Denver and Golden State for the No. 4 playoff seed and home-court advantage in the first round. [ad-6571516]
In OKC, meanwhile, no one is panicking, but the Thunder are in re-trench mode after losing two of their last three and three of the last five. In their last two defeats (Warriors and Lakers), the Thunder have fallen down on the job in the fourth period of both games. Russell Westbrook has made only 9 of his last 38 shots, and that has to improve because we all know that he is not going to stop shooting.
Because it all happened on the road, no one is too concerned. Except maybe OKC coach Scott Brooks, who doesn’t much like what he sees on the defensive end, where the Thunder gave up an average of 106 points during six games away from home.
Eight points is a bit high, the number no doubt inflated by the uncertainty created by the Gay trade and the Thunder’s tendency to win big at home. In its last three home games OKC has won by 24 (Philadelphia), 22 (Minnesota) and 20 (Denver).
No reason to believe this one will be any different, especially since Memphis will still be sorting things out without Gay and with several newcomers.
OKC to cover the 8.
Is it too early to start asking if it’s too late?
The All-Star break is a few weeks down the road, and once that turn has been made, playoff hopefuls such as the Dallas Mavericks will have fewer than 30 games left to chase down Utah and/or Houston for one of the final Western Conference playoff spots.
Dallas Mavericks (19-26) at Golden State Warriors (28-17)
Thursday, Jan. 31
Oracle Arena, Oakland
10:30 p.m. EST
Odds: Mavs -3 & O/U is 205.5 at JustBet
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Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors Preview
Problem is, the Mavs are not alone. The Lakers are also gearing up for the stretch run, and Minnesota is also hanging around.
And before anyone can think about getting to the Jazz or Rockets, they have to get through Portland, where the Trail Blazers are starting to get hot and again making it hard for visitors to win in the Northwest.
So the Mavs – who are seven games under .500 — have plenty of heavy lifting ahead, including three more games on the road (at Golden State tonight, Phoenix, Oklahoma City) before heading back to Texas.
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Dallas is hoping that a decent showing tonight in the Bay Area will help remove the stink from Tuesday night’s bad loss in Portland, where the Mavs dominated play through most of the night before spitting up a 21-point third-period lead and a seven-point edge in the final 2:09 before losing to the Blazers at the buzzer.
Dallas even had the ball in the final seconds before O.J. Mayo was called for a charge, setting up a game-winning 18-footer by Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge. [ad-6571516]
If there is a plus side to the maddening inconsistency that the Mavericks have shown of late, it is the improved play of Dirk Nowitzki as he rounds into full basketball shape after missing the first two months of the season due to injury. The Mavs go nowhere without Nowitzki at full throttle, and the big guy’s minutes and scoring are both returning to pre-injury level.
Golden State, meanwhile, is enjoying a brief respite at home in the midst of a road-centric schedule. The Warriors just finished a four-game swing through the Rust Belt, and after taking on the Mavs and Suns, 10 of the next 13 will be on the road as GS tries to maintain its standing among the Western Conference heavyweight contenders.
It’s hard to keep track of all the injuries these two teams are dealing with. Golden State may be without Stephen Curry (thus no betting line as of early today), and Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes will probably both be sidelined as well. Dallas is shuffling its front line due to a concussion suffered by center Chris Kaman, who will be out indefinitely.
These teams put up 206 in their first meeting, but figure on something in the high 90s this time around.
MAVERICKS 97, WARRIORS 95.
The Washington Wizards started the season with a nice, tidy 12-game losing streak, basically taking the helium out of any balloon that might have been filled when the team won its final six games in 2011/12.
In casino security rooms – those folks who spend all day staring at video monitors trying to find cheaters at blackjack and roulette tables – they refer to anything out of the ordinary as JDLR.
The top teams in the NBA all take care of business at home. San Antonio 20-2. Clippers 20-5. Oklahoma City 19-3. Miami 18-3. When the best teams lose at home, eyebrows are raised.
Whatever is going on in Phoenix, it’s not good. Coaching change, veterans with no interest in playing, assistant coaches not even showing up for practice.
So how many shots do you think Carmelo Anthony will hoist up against the Celtics tonight? Twenty-five? Thirty?
Much has changed for the Golden State Warriors since they last took on the Oklahoma City Thunder, way back on Nov. 18.
Allow us to throw some ice water on what has easily been the most successful season in the history of the punch line known as the Los Angeles Clippers.
Maybe John Wall should be in the conversation when we start to talk about voting for MVP in the NBA.
Come playoff time all the problems that the Miami Heat are now experiencing may be long forgotten. No one will be worried about motivation, because it’ll be the playoffs and everyone will be “up.”
The Brooklyn Nets are playing like they plan to run the table in 2013.