betprepare.com

Even though it's not really smart to predict anything in a duel between the two leading teams, I think the Hawks are a bit underestimated here. True, the Warriors dominate at home, but I think the Hawks have enough quality to celebrate even tonight. Coach Budenholzer's team did it a month and a half ago at home. Golden State won't be able to count on Thompson this time, and he created the most problems for Millsap and his team. This will allow the Hawks to give a bit more time to Curry. With Curry covered, the Warriors offense will be quite weakened. On the other hand, coach Bud won't be able to rely on Korver, but I think Thompson's absence is a much bigger handicap for the Warriors than Korver's for Atlanta. True, Kyle often decided the games with his series of three-pointers, but Atlanta showed they play the system, and not rely on individuals. Korver's absence should be covered by Bazermore and Schroder. The latter one showed a huge potential. Either way, I think that the Hawks have enough quality in Teague, Millsap, Carroll and the well-rested Horford, and they will seriously damage the Warriors. Especially considering that Thompson is out. Details

Even though I cannot understand why the Nets are doing so badly this season, I think the odds here are worth going for with medium stake. Williams, Lopez and others have not time left and each next defeat means they will probably not see playoffs this season. Since they meet the Wolves today, who played the Spurs last night, the Nets simply cannot afford to lose. The Nets did struggle with the 76ers last game but I think that the wounded Wolves should be an easier task. The home team are decimated by injuries, this is their 5th game in 8 days and the clearly struggled with fatigue as early as first half of the game with Spurs. It is not yet known who will be in their starting five, but Pekovic and Garnett will probably not be there, Rubio and Neal are questionable. Either way, I think going with the Nets' win at these odds is good since the Nets are more of less complete and definitely favorites against the tired Wolves. Details

No matter the style of game Orlando have since coach Borrega took over, I think the margin is a bit too high here. Orlando are completely focused on protecting their rim, which resulted in their opponents scoring 92.6 points in the last 6 games. Tonight, they are to face Miami who finished with a 100 or more points in 4 out of the last 8 games. But that happened against the teams having a horrible season (the Wolves, Philadelphia, and the Knicks twice). Miami struggled against any half-good defense and I think the same will happen today. Miami had great flow and efficiency against Philadelphia lead by Dragic but Orlando are not Philadelphia. The coach is pushing tough defense at Orlando and they have been a completely different team the last 3 games. I think Miami will have a tough time tonight as they don't have a typical shooter. Vucevic of Orlando will be faced with Whiteside and he could struggle too, while Oladipo will have a tough task against Wade. Details

Even thought it might seem crazy to bet on a team that lost 9 out of he last 10 games, but I think there's enough reason for it. A string of bad results has significantly diminished Denver's chances of making it into playoffs. If coach Shaw's team does not respond immediately, the chances might become non-existent. Since they are set to face Philadelphia tonight, what better chance for response? Granted, the Nuggets are not good against teams from the East but the bottom table team is just what Lawson and others need at this point. Philadelphia played a tough game in Cleveland last night and have never been good when it comes to back-to-back games this season. On top of that, there's a chance Carter-Williams might miss the game after being sidelined for the entire second half yesterday. MCW is the start and the beginning of the team as the fact they lost 20 straight games in which he didn't play suggests. Denver are barely holding their head above water and absolutely need to win this game in order to keep their hopes of playoffs up. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

As more games with the Bulls are done, Bradley is looking better and better. After scoring only 13 points in the first two games, Beal did great in the other two, having scored 26 (9/20) and 25 (3/11) points. The Wizards can't count on Nene, who scores around 15 points on average, and I believe that Beal will be more aggressive in this game as well. The Wizards have been waiting for a home play off win in a while now, and I think they'll do what ever it takes tonight to record one. Beal has been 41 minutes in the game on average in the play off, having 16 shots on average. Given all that, since his three point percentage is at very good 46% in the play off, I think this margin for such a shooter is worth a medium stake. Details

This text will be published soon. Details

With Horford away, Millsap is clearly the primary option on offense for the Hawks this season. Although he is still somewhat inconsistent, Millsap now averages 17.6 points with 46.3% shooting. As the situation in Atlanta is far from ideal lately, I thing Paul could and should reach at least his average figures tonight. The hawks lost their last six games, and each coming game is extremely important to them if they wish to reach the playoff at the end of the season. Under those circumstances, I expect Millsap, along with Teague, to step up and take responsibility, even more so since the Atlanta team is quite decimated. Along with earlier injuries of Horford, Jenkins and Antić, according to current information Ayon and Caroll will miss this tonight's game as well, which means that Millsap will get a lot of play time in an even game. Last night Paul spent only 28 minutes on the court and rather underperformed (3/10), so fatigue should not be much of an issue, and if we note that he scored 16 and 23 in the first two games vs the Wizards earlier this season (with Horford on the team), I believe this margin has very good value tonight. Details

Even though Bosh has gone over this margin in last six out of seven games, I will have to go for an under tonight. First of all, Chris has had a surreal shot efficiency lately (63.3%) but I believe that he will have a hard time reaching that percentage against Ibaka. Even though Perkins will start on Bosh,this will probably change soon by Oklahoma using a short five man squad which means Ibaka covering Bosh. Apart from wrestling Ibaka in offense, he will have problems in defense considering the progress shown by the Thunder's center, while he will surely have to close down the gaps and guard Durant. Another thing that speaks in favor of this bet is the fact that Wade should start tonight which means a few shots less for Chris. James said that he loves these games so I wouldn't be surprise if we see him dominate this game. Anyway, I think Chris will have a hard time going over this margin. Details

Even though their only defeat in the New Year came against the Raptors, I believe these odds are a bit too high. The Raptors have traveled to Brooklyn without DeRozan who is their most important player, apart from Lowry. Ross did great against the Clippers but I don't think the Clippers' defense is nowhere near the same level as the one the Nets have been playing lately, so it's very difficult to expect a new performance by this guy. Even though his team may not be brilliant in offense, coach Kidd's first 5 has been very tough lately and the bench with Williams and Blatche brings in a lot of energy. Even though it's just half-season, the Nets could really use a win ere as it would put them only half a game behind the top team in their division, something which seemed like mission impossible a month ago. Just how much they want to win is witnessed in the Blatche's statement that it's time to repay the debt, and I believe the Raptors without DeRozan are a good chance to take. Details

Even though the margin for this over is pretty high, the circumstances simply force me to make this bet. Apart from a nasty surprise in every game, the Knicks suffer an injury storm every now and then, and this is the case for today ahead of their game against the Cats. After losing Stoudemire and Martin, the Knicks have lost Bargnani against the 76ers and are without tall players, except for Chandler and reserve player Typer. This means we will see Melo as the power forward for the most of tonight's game and probably for over 40 minutes, considering the injuries. Even though Bargnani has been blowing hot and cold, he regularly takes his 10 shots and someone will have to take over for him. Felton has some problems with his back and his form while Shumpert and Smith have been giving very fluctuating performances. The only constant player is Anthony and a new defeat for the Knicks would be a total disaster, so I expect Melo to go over this margin in a night of average shooting. Details

Although he did have some memorable performances so far this season, Johnson has not been shining overall. Joe is averaging 15.8 points with a 42.7% shooting percentage. However, if we take into account the fact that he played a great majority of the games, and that the Nets were seriously decimated, meaning he often had to take a bigger role as well as more playtime, it is clear the average number should be somewhat higher. The Nets have announced Williams will be returning to the hardwood in this game, while it is also possible we will see Pierce on court as well. This means Johnson goes from being the second offensive option (Lopez was the first) to being the third or even fourth. The margin we have tonight is the result of a few good performances Joe gave while he and Lopez were the ones carrying the team, but I expect a somewhat lower performance tonight. Coach Kidd announced that the Nets will try to play slower, with more focus on Lopez. If Joe does not pull off a perfect shooting night, I don't see him scoring over 18 points. Details

Even though there were some rumors that DeRozan could be cut from the team, he turned into one of Raptors' most important players. He and Gay are the only players in the team to get over 15 points this season and since Gay left for Sacramento, DeRozan is the only one left with this "accomplishment". One should not emphasize just how many balls Gay used to use but it is becoming clear that someone will have to take those shots tonight. Since the reports state that none of the newcomers from the Kings will play tonight, it seems logical that DeRozan will have to take full responsibility along with Lowry perhaps. All in all, after Gay's departure DeRozan became the main man for the Raptors and they will have a shorter rotation, which means that Demra will have lots of play time and I believe he will be able to go over this margin. Details

I had a tip for Lopez in the last game the Nets played but it didn't go through. Brook ended up at 12 points after getting 10 in the first period (3/9). The reason for this should be sought in the blowout that limited his game time to only 21 minutes. I don't expect a similar story as this is the game that both teams simply have to win. On the one hand, Woodson might get sacked while the Nets are in a slightly better situation, albeit still underperforming. The Nets have quite a little sickbay of their own and Terry, Pierce and probably Kirilenko are out, while it is looking increasingly likely that Williams will miss the tonight's game even though there is still some chance he play. All in all, I think that for the Knicks to get a good result, Lopez will have to carry his team and this is coupled with the fact that the Nets' defense is very shaky since Bargnani is all but a good defensive player. Details

Although Williams is in a class of his own, what is perhaps most noticeable in the way Nets are playing is the absence of Lopez. When he returned after recovering from his injury, Lopez was the best player on his team in their debacle vs Houston. scoring 16 points (5-9) in 21 minutes. His play time went up (31mins) in the next game, with the number of shots also rising accordingly (7/16), putting Lopez at 20 points in total. Tonight the Nets are hosting the Nuggets, who have gained momentum, but who also quite often, bordering on a tradition, have trouble with opposing centers. The Nets will be decimated tonight as well, playing without Williams, Terry, Kirilenko, and Pierce, which leaves Lopez and Johnson as the only players capable of scoring big vs the Nuggets. I've said nothing of Garnett as KG is still looking for his game this season, while Johnson depends heavily on shooting. With all the above in mind, I see Lopez as having the most space today, and should go over the stated margin as his play time has steadily grown since he recovered from the injury. Details

News just came out that Houston have been devastated by some kind of virus infection. Harden was out already, with a foot injury, and now he's one of the players with the symptoms of the infection. The rest of them are Howard, Lin and not so important Garcia and Smith. We should also add the fact that Parsons has some back issues, and it's questionable how much he can play. Besides, Casspi has his own problems (knee injury), so the Rockets coach is in a really uncomfortable situation tonight. To keep it short, there are no announcements of someone not performing tonight, and everyone's expected in the roster, but I think Toronto have a big chance for celebration, with conditions like these. Option of them not losing with 9 difference also has a value. Details