Doc’s Sports Picks

Dallas enters on a back-to-back, and they are just 2-4 in these situations this season. Detroit has been very good at home (13-6-2) and horrible on the road (5-11-2-1), so home ice advantage will come into play here, especially the way Dallas has played on the road (4-12-0-1). The home team is 14-3 in the last 17 meetings, and we see the Stars getting worn down once this game goes on and we think their offense will suffer because of the B2B (the under is 5-1 for the Stars six B2Bs).

Houston is playing with a lot of confidence right now. They have won three of four, all on the road. They will want to put their best foot forward tonight against one of the best teams in the conference. Golden State is coming in on a back to back and they played in OT last night so fatigue will definitely be an issue. This team has not been consistent lately, and they have upcoming games against playoff teams like Utah and Dallas that they will probably give full energy for. We think they might not bring it here.

The Jazz have covered only one of their last seven games and this team has lost every time they failed to cover. We don’t think their form warrants this big of a spread. The Pistons have a nice young group of players and they normally don’t give up, and we think they will go all out tonight as this is certainly a winnable game with the way the Jazz have been playing.

The Blazers are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 as a road underdog. We think the Celtics will take care of business here and this looks like a double digit win for us. Portland has been very poor on the road this season and we don’t think they have the personnel to be competitive in this matchup.

This is a perfect Get Right game for the Lakers. The oddsmakers have made major adjustments with this team, and deservedly so. They have been awful. They do have the best player on the planet, who should be motivated to get the convincing win here.

The Thunder are one of the best ATS teams in the NBA this season. They suffer the occasional blowout but they more often than not play it close and lose the game but cover as a big dog. And when they do suffer one of those blowouts, they normally come back strong the next game. They are 4-0 ATS when losing by 10 or more points their previous game. OKC has covered four straight here in Charlotte and they are 17-7-1 in the last 25 meetings.

7 Unit Play. Take #892 Wisconsin over Michigan State (9p.m., Friday, January 21 FS1) Wisconsin is on a roll now and we will continue to pound them. Michigan State has played a much easier schedule than has Wisconsin in Big 10 play and thus their 5-1 record is not an indication of the talent of this team. Wisconsin has played a brutal schedule in Big 10 play, and they are always a tough team to beat at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin has won 6 straight games including beating Northwestern last time out, a team that beat Michigan State in East Lansing. Michigan State 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog. Wisconsin is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite.