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I'm pretty sure we won't have Derrick Favors on this margin for a long time. Even last season when he was injured, he did a good part of the games. The Jazz's wing center recorded 16.4 points, and the current margin is a product of dosing the playing time in the first six games. Favors "broke off his chain" on Wednesday when in 35 minutes against the tough Hornets he recorded 16 points with 8-for-12 shots from the floor, and he should be at similar numbers tonight when they will face the lost Orlando boys whose defense is still not functioning. Details

Nikola Vucevic scored an average of 18.2 points for 31 minutes on the court last season. But the club management made some strange moves over the Summer and they acquired many tall players and that why limited Vucevic and Gordon's development. They acquired Ibaka, Blyombo and Green, so now they have to find playing time for all those players. That is why Vucevic's playing time dropped to 27.4 per game, which is why his offensive numbers are suffering as well. He scored 17 (7714), 7 (3/12), 11 (5/8), 24 (11/16), 10 (4/11) and 6 (3/6) points, 24 of which were against wounded 76ers who are basically playing without a center. Besides, Vucevic is questionable for today's game because of a shoulder injury, and he held his shoulder several times this season with a painful grimace. Another bonus is the match-up, because Robin Lopez will be on the other side, and he can play defense. Considering everything we mentioned, Vucevic would have hardly gone over the margin even if he was healthy, and in the situation when he is not completely fir, this bet gets even more value. Details

There are a few options for this game, but what I consider by far the best is the under of hosts' points, and I'll explain why. The Nets are tonight without Jeremy Lin (15 points per game) and Greivis Vasquez, which means their offense will be led by rookie Isaiah Whitehead who so far is known only be the desperate shot (35.3%), and his big number of turnovers (3.0) considering the time he's playing (13.3). Behind him is the recovered Randy Foye who will debut for the Nets, so it's hard to expect him to be brilliant. It's known that the Nets build their offense over Lopez, and that means putting the ball down into the paint, which takes a lot of time and lowers the number of possessions. On the other side, the Hornets under coach Clifford are one of the top 10 defenses of the league, and Bogdanovic will have one of the tougher match-ups (15.4 points per game) and who will be chased by Batum. Looking at offense numbers of the Nets, they went over 100 in four out of five games, but that's why the Hornets allowed over a 100 in one our of four, and that was 104 by the Celtics who are far more offensively potent team. Considering all above, I don't see the Nets above 100 today. Details

Things are pretty straightforward here, Sacramento will probably be without Rudy Gray, their starting forward who hits 17,4 points on average and follows Cousins as the second-best scorer. That means that Cousins will have a lot of possessions and since his average so far is 27,5 points, this margin is definitely off. He went over it three times (21, 33, 40, 36, 24). Most importantly, he always took at least 20 shots and sometimes even close to 30. He will take even more tonight as he is motivated following a suspension. Details

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Al Jefferson has been far from his best performances this season, and his playing time has been dropping for the third straight season. Two seasons ago he spent 35 minutes on the court on average, last season 30,5 and this season he has been at only 26,5 which is the least in the last 10 years. Since they are playing a back-to-back game tonight, it is expected that Clifford will rest him for a few minutes more. He went over this margin only twice in the seven games so far. In his first game he scored 17 (8/14) and six days ago 31 points (15/18). In other games he socred 10 (5/15), 10 (5/12), 14 (7/12), 13 (3/9) and last night only 9 (3/9) The fact is that his teammates are not looking for him as much as they used to and that is clear from his numbers. In such situation when he has reduced playing time and has a back-to-back ahead of him, I cannot imagine him over this margin. Half a basket lower margin is available in all betting houses. Details

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Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor are the backbone of the young 79ers and it is clear that everything is decided by them. Noel woke up in the second part of last season, and now he has been playing at a high level from the start of the season. He and Okafor are working together better and better and it can be seen in his numbers. He scored 14 (5/13), 8 (2/12), 17 (8/16), 18 (9/18), and in the last two games the amount of balls he spent has grown. He spends 34 and a half minutes on the court on average, and since he probably won't be facing much of a challenge tonight since Vucevic is questionable, this margin is missed by at least two points. Noel is at an average of 14,2 point, and tonight everything is in favor of him being closer to 20, like in the last two games. The bet is also available in all betting houses. Details

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I really don't get it why are Milano such favorites after only four matches. The fact that they're losing 3-1 tells us enough what kind of problems are they facing with in these series. Sassari found a way to stop them and overcome their physical lacking. They're completely aggressive, on the verge of fouls and Milano's offense are having great problems. Except for Gentile and Samuels they have no solutions in the offense, and the difficult circumstance is that they're no longer dominant in the rebound. Today Hackett is out as well because of the suspension, and he had a good match-up against Dyson. Ragland won't have that today and Sassari will have an easy job. Milano have great pressure on them which Sassari will try to make use of. Although the handicap seems like a logical option, and I think a lot better one is Milano's under. In these series they scored 75, 84, 75 and 67. In that whole story the margin is missed by a couple of points. Details

Venezia have 2-1 lead and today they have a great chance to take a 3-1 lead and go back to their court to finish this series. The pressure is definitely on Reggiana, they can't lose, but they will have trouble winning without their key player. Lavrinovic injured a muscle in the last game and the coach said that it is highly probable that he will not be playing. As soon as he left the game, Venezia took a double digit lead which was at times even 16 points. Even Menetti admitted that the injury is a big blow for the team because they don't have another player of his caliber, and without him they lose the post-up game and control of the rebounds. The numbers are also showing his importance, in 16.5 minutes on the court (he doesn't have the strength to play longer) he scored 15 points and caught almost 5 rebounds. Regianna cannot be the favorites without him, regardless of the home court where they are generally very strong. It definitely worth taking considering the circumstances. The braver ones can, for a lower stake, bet on the win which is paid nicely. Details

Setting this margin at Cantu makes no sense for me if I take a look at head-to-head matches. They scored 73 and 68 points in regular season and 70 and 72 in the first two games of this series. They scored 90 points and won the last game. It's quite clear what Venezia have to do if they want to advance to semifinals. Recalcati has done a good job detecting the reason behind their defeat, which is first and foremost lack of aggressiveness that gave Cantu a lot of room. That is, in my opinion, the key to Venezia succeeding. When they're aggressive, they force Cantu into a lot of turnovers and their attack boils down to individual attempts. Cantu scored 90 points yesterday thanks to the first quarter in which they scored 30. Judging by the other four games of the season and Recalcati and his players' experience, that will most likely not happen again today. The tension will be high, the stake as well and I don't think Cantu will do brilliantly on the offensive end today. The only thing stopping me from going with much higher stake is the fact Vanezia conceded over this margin in 4 out of the last 5 regular season games. But they conceded over only once in the 8 previous games (their average is 70 goals in those games), which is clearly proving their defense is capable of doing well. Details

Everything is more than clear here, but here are some basic information. Milano is by quality the best team in the League. They finished the regular season as the best offense with the average of 86.1 points per game, best two-point shot (59.1%) and three-point shot (37.7%) percentages, and as the second best team in assist efficiency (17.7%). They were also the best defense that conceded only 73.4 points per game. It all comes to the fore against Bologna, who are not a match for them physically. With all that, Bologna's big problem is rotation because they don't have any real power from the bench, and it is unsure whether their starting point guard Gaddy (clavicle contusion) and first option from the bench Fontecchio (sprained ankle) will play. Mazzola is also not in the best condition, he is still recovering from an injury, he did play in the last game but he is not completely fit. Even with all of them on the court, Bologna is no match for Milano for whom this play-off is a 'holy mission'. They have shown how much better than Bologna they are in the regular season when they won by 23 and 27 points. I don't see a way in which today's game can stay below a 15 point difference and the margin is, in my opinion, completely missed, because in the previous two games it was set on 17-18 points. Details

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The whole season comes down to these 40 minutes. The winner stays in the league, the loser goes to the lower ranks. The pressure? I think it's huge and hands will definitely be shaking. Pesaro got into a crisis in the worst moment of the season, they've got seven defeats and almost no self-confidence. Caserta, on the other hand, are coming in a great form, they saved themselves from an almost impossible situation, and they are deciding their faith today. They've got three consecutive wins, the last two being against Sassari and Reggiana. They left Reggiana at 65 points, and that's what they have to do today. Pesaro are dangerous offensively if you let them be, but like I said, they've got low self-confidence, and they went over this margin in the last seven rounds only against Bologna and Pistoia, teams who don't play good defense. With all that's at stake, I don't think this match will look beautiful. The first match ended 80-73 for Caserta, and it should be even tougher today. Details

The season ends today for Cremona. They haven't been the same in the second part of the season as they were in the first, and that's why we won't be seeing them in the playoff. They're only doing their job today and will do it without their best scorer Hayes (15.4p/m) who's injured. Sassari are in a good mood after beating Venezia, they needed that more than anything. They're a team who play carried with their self-confidence, so their goal of coming to the playoff with two wins in a row is obvious. Also, they need the win to be the fourth and get the home court advantage, but for that, they have to see how the duel between Trento and Bologna ends, they can't have Trento winning that one. Either way, they have to win, and they showed they don't mind playing against Cremona when they beat them 74-96 in the first duel. Details

Trento have done a great thing, they secured the play-off, and two days ago they got the awards for the MVP of the regular season (Mitchell) and the best coach (Buscagli). With a win today, they would definitely be fourth and have a home court advantage in the play-off. This is a huge advantage for them because they had six consecutive wins at home, and they only lost there against the best teams. The motivation is high today, higher then at Bologna whose coach said it didn't matter if they're seventh or eighth placed. The question is how much will he use Hazell and Ray today, their best players who are struggling with injuries. It is insane to send them on the court unprepared and jeopardize their health for the play-off. Everything is on Trento's side today, they just need to take what is offered to them. Details

Deja vu for Cantu. In the last game of the first part of the championship they played against Roma who they needed to defeat in order to secure the Cup appearance. They were defeated 60-50 and lost the FInal 8. I don't believe they will do the same today because they have been playing great for the last month. Metta World Peace has given them what they were missing and they definitely deserve the play-off. This is their game of the season, they're all healthy and ready, which can't be said about Roma. This game means nothing to them, and they will most definitely be playing without Curry today, and he is important for the game in both directions. It will all come down to Stipcevic and Edi, and Cantu know how to defend against them. If Cantu didn't have bad away game record, this would be offered at higher odds. Details