NBA Odds and Predictions: Tuesday, January 27 Opening Line Report and Handicapping
by Alan Matthews - 1/26/2015
Certainly a game I have been looking forward to for weeks arrives on Tuesday night in what I still think has a good shot of being an NBA Finals preview as
the Bulls visit the Warriors for the only time this season. Golden State has looked like the West's best all season, while
Chicago has been up-and-down since the calendar flipped to 2015. A Bulls-Warriors NBA Finals is priced at +1000on Sportsbook.ag. Here's a look at every game on Tuesday's schedule.
Raptors at Pacers (+3.5, 195)
Toronto has won two straight and comes off a 114-110 home win over Detroit on Sunday. DeMar DeRozan had 25 points and Jonas Valanciunas 20 points and 11 rebounds. That ended the Raptors' two-game skid at home. Indiana ended a seven-game skid with Sunday's 106-99 victory in Orlando on Sunday. The Pacers trailed by seven entering the fourth quarter but got 16 points from some dude named Damjan Rudez in the final 12 minutes. C.J. Miles sat out with a sore left groin. He is day to day. Toronto won the first meeting, 106-94 at home on Dec. 12. Lou Williams had 26 points and Valanciunas had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Toronto's bench accounted for 64 points. The Raptors didn't have an injured DeRozan then.
Key trends: Toronto is 0-6 ATS in its past six after scoring 100 points or more in its previous game. Indiana is 2-8 ATS in its past 10 overall. The "over/under" has gone under in six of Toronto's past seven overall. The Raptors have covered five straight meetings.
Early lean: Toronto and under.
Cavaliers at Pistons (+6, 203.5)
Detroit got crushing news Saturday when starting point guard Brandon Jennings ruptured his left Achilles' tendon. He's done for the season. The Pistons lost their first game without him, 114-110 in Toronto on Sunday. D.J. Augustin moved into the starting lineup for Jennings and had a season-high 35 points. Cleveland is trending upward again as it has won six straight. LeBron James had 34 points in Sunday's 10-point win over the Thunder. James is averaging 30.3 points in his past seven games since returning from injury. One of Cleveland's worst losses of the year was 103-80 at home to Detroit on Dec. 28. Jennings had 25 points and the Pistons hit 17 3-pointers. Detroit, which had just cut Josh Smith, was 6-23 entering that game. That made it the worst opponent a LeBron team had ever lost to at home and at least 20 games into the season. Kyrie Irving sat that out with an injury.
Key trends: The road team is 5-1 ATS in the past six meetings. Cleveland is 4-0 ATS in its past four against teams with a losing record.
Early lean: Cavs and over.
Bucks at Heat (-4.5, 184)
Milwaukee lost 101-95 in San Antonio on Sunday despite taking an early 12-point lead. San Antonio rallied by holding Milwaukee to 4-for-19 shooting in the third quarter. Miami won its second straight Sunday, 96-84 in Chicago. The Heat's Hassan Whiteside continued his recent great play with a triple double: 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks. His previous high was five blocks. Milwaukee leads the season series 2-0, winning 91-84 in Miami -- to end a 10-game losing streak in the series (including playoffs) -- in mid-November when the Heat didn't have Dwyane Wade, and 109-85 at home on Dec. 5 when Wade played.
Key trends: The Heat have covered just three of their past 17 after a win. The under is 10-1 in Milwaukee's past 11 playing on one day of rest. The favorite is 8-3 ATS in the past 11 meetings.
Early lean: Heat and under.
Grizzlies at Mavericks (-4.5, 200.5)
Memphis hosted Orlando on Monday looking for its third straight win. Dallas has lost two straight, falling 109-106 in New Orleans on Sunday. Monta Ellis had 36 points and gave Dallas its last lead at 106-105 with 12.3 seconds left. Tyson Chandler briefly left in the third quarter to get an X-ray after colliding with Anthony Davis, but it was negative and he returned in the fourth quarter. These teams have split, each winning when they shouldn't have. By that I mean Memphis won the high-scoring game, 114-105 at home on Dec. 9. The Mavericks won the low-scoring game, 103-95 on Jan. 19 also in Memphis.
Key trends: Memphis is 1-5 ATS in the past six meetings. The over is 6-1 in the past seven.
Early lean: Mavs and over.
Wizards at Lakers (+8, 199.5)
Los Angeles has lost eight straight, falling by 12 at home to Houston on Sunday. Los Angeles, which committed 21 turnovers and went 1 for 13 on 3-pointers, hadn't lost eight straight games since March 2005. Nick Young played just nine minutes for the Lakers and went scoreless, getting benched for the entire second half. He's about the only scorer they have with Kobe Bryant out of the season. The Wizards ended a two-game slide with a 117-115 OT win in Denver on Sunday. L.A. lost in Washington 111-95 on Dec. 3. Kobe did play in that one and had 29 points. The Wizards outscored the Lakers 56-20 in the paint despite Nene being out with an injury.
Key trends: The Lakers have covered one of their past eight vs. the East. Washington has covered two of its past eight vs. the West. The Wizards have covered four straight in L.A.
Early lean: Washington and over.
Bulls at Warriors (-10.5, 211)
Chicago looked good on Thursday and Friday with wins over San Antonio and Dallas but then lost by 12 at home to Miami on Sunday. Derrick Rose scored 19 for Chicago but missed all six 3-pointers. Starting forward Mike Dunleavy missed a 13th straight game with an ankle injury but is close to returning. Golden State won its fifth straight and 19th in a row at home Sunday, 114-111 over Boston. The Warriors also are 14-0 against the East this year. They are the first team to go 14-0 against the East since the 1971-72 Lakers won their first 19. Chicago started playing its best basketball of the season for about three weeks following a 112-102 home loss to Golden State on Dec. 6. Draymond Green had a career-high 31 as the Warriors won their 12th straight at the time, setting the franchise record. Rose had nine points and six assists.
Key trends: Chicago is 1-7 ATS in its past eight Tuesday games. The Warriors have covered four straight vs. teams with a winning record. The Bulls are 1-4 ATS in the past five at Golden State.
Early lean: Take the points. Go over.
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