Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Saturday 12/8/18
Saturday’s NBA
Houston lost six of its last eight games; they’re 3-8 vs spread as AF. Eight of their last ten games went over total. Mavericks won nine of their last 12 games, are 6-1 as HU. Three of their last four games stayed under. Rockets won eight of last nine games with Dallas (6-3 vs spread); Houston covered its last four visits here. Eight of last ten series games stayed under.
Kings won their last three games; they’re 5-5 as AU. Nine of their last ten games went over the total. Indiana won four of its last six games; they’re 1-6 vs spread in last seven games as a HF. Pacers’ last five games stayed under. Pacers won four of last five games with Sacramento; six of last eight series games stayed under. Kings are 2-1-1 vs spread in their last four visits to Indiana.
Denver won/covered seven of last eight games; they’re 3-0 vs spread if they played night before, 3-4 as AF. Three of their last four games went over. Atlanta lost 14 of its last 16 games; they’re 1-7 vs spread in last eight home games. Five of their last six games went over. Hawks won seven of last ten games with Denver; three of last four series games stayed under. Nuggets are 1-4 vs spread in their last five visits to Atlanta.
Washington won/covered its last three games; they’re 2-3 vs spread as AF. Four of their last five games stayed under. Cleveland lost six of its last seven games; they’re 5-8 vs spread at home this year. Six of their last nine home games stayed under. Cavaliers/Wizards split their last six meetings; Washington covered three of last four visits to Ohio. Three of last four series games stayed under.
Brooklyn snapped 8-game losing skid last nite, upsetting Toronto; they’re 7-6 vs spread on road this season. Three of their last four games stayed under. New York lost four of its last five games; they’re 2-2 as HF. Over is 8-4 in their last dozen games. Knicks won five of their last six games with Brooklyn; last three series games stayed under the total. Nets are 1-4 vs spread in their last four visits to Manhattan.
Boston won/covered five of last six games; they’re 2-5 as HF this season. Seven of their last eight games went over. Bulls upset OKC last nite, ending 7-game losing skid; Chicago is 7-5 vs spread at home this season. Four of their last six games went over. Celtics won eight of last nine games with Chicago; they covered four of last five visits to Windy City. Six of last nine series games stayed under.
Lakers won/covered four of last five games; they’re 4-7 vs spread on road this season. Under is 14-4 in their last 18 games, 0-2 in last two. Grizzlies won three of last four games; they’re 7-1 as HF. Last three Memphis games stayed under. Lakers won four of their last six games with Memphis; they’re 1-3 vs spread in last four visits to Tennessee. Over is 6-1-1 in last eight series games.
Minnesota won/covered six of last seven games; they’re 8-3 vs spread in last 11 games. 14 of their last 17 games stayed under. Trailblazers lost six of their last eight games; they’re 1-8 vs spread in last nine games. Over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Home side won last nine Minnesota-Portland games; Timberwolves lost last five visits here (0-5 vs spread). Last three series games stayed under the total.
Miami split its last six games (4-2 vs spread); they covered four of last six road games. Seven of last nine Heat games stayed under. Clippers won five of their last seven games; they’re 8-0-1 vs spread in last nine home games. Four of their last six games stayed under. Miami/Clippers split their last 10 meetings, with Heat winning last two; Miami is 3-2 vs spread in last five series games played here. Last seven series games stayed under.
Saturday's Tip Sheet
December 7, 2018
By Kevin Rogers
Game of the Night: Wolves at Blazers – 10:00 PM EST
Minnesota and Portland both sit above .500 but are trailing surging Oklahoma City in the Northwest division. The Wolves (13-12 SU, 14-11 ATS) travel west for a four-game trip looking to improve on a dreadful 2-8 record away from Target Center. The good news is Minnesota has won each of its past two away contests, while going on a 6-1 SU/ATS run the last seven games. The Wolves rallied from a 15-point deficit on Wednesday to stun the Hornets, 121-104, while outscoring Charlotte, 35-18 in the fourth quarter.
The Blazers (14-11 SU, 12-13 ATS) snapped an eight-game ATS slide by routing the Suns on Thursday, 108-86 to easily cash as 12 ½-point home favorites. Portland limited an opponent to less than 100 points for the first time since holding Boston to 94 points on November 11. The Blazers jumped out to a 34-9 lead after one quarter and never looked back on Thursday as Damian Lillard led Portland with 25 points and C.J. McCollum sat out due to an ankle injury.
The home team has dominated this series in two matchups this season. Portland ripped an undermanned Minnesota squad at the Moda Center on November 4 as 5 ½-point favorites, 111-81, while the Wolves picked up revenge 12 days later, 112-96 at Target Center. The home squad owns a perfect 9-0 record the last nine meetings since March 2017 as the Wolves seek their first victory in Portland since April 2016.
Sac Daddies
The Kings (13-11 SU, 15-9 ATS) are proving that the first month was not a fluke. Sacramento picked up its seventh road win of the season on Friday in a 129-110 blowout of Cleveland to improve to 8-4 ATS in its past 12 games away from Golden 1 Center. The Kings shot a scorching 57% from the floor last night, led by De’Aaron Fox’s 30-point, 12-assist effort on 12-of-16 shooting from the field. Sacramento improved to 6-2 against the Eastern Conference as the Kings face another Eastern foe on Saturday.
On the second stop of a three-game road swing against Central division opponents, the Kings head to Indiana to face the Pacers (15-10 SU, 12-13 ATS) for the second time in seven days. Sacramento edged Indiana at home last Saturday, 111-110 to end a four-game skid to the Pacers. Indiana returns home after routing Orlando on Friday, 112-90 as four-point road underdogs. The Pacers have thrived on the second of a back-to-back this season by compiling a 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS record in four tries.
Purple Pain
The Lakers (15-10 SU, 10-14-1 ATS) entered San Antonio on a four-game winning streak last night, but exited with a loss following a horrific fourth quarter meltdown. Los Angeles led San Antonio by 10 points after three quarters, but the Spurs outscored the Lakers in the fourth, 44-21 to pick up a 133-120 victory. LeBron James posted 35 points and 11 assists, but the Lakers couldn’t pull off the home-and-home sweep of the Spurs after beating San Antonio by eight on Wednesday.
Los Angeles heads to Memphis as both teams are playing with no rest for their first matchup of the season. The Grizzlies (15-9 SU, 15-9 ATS) rallied past the Pelicans on Friday, 107-103 as five-point underdogs for their second straight win following a 1-4 stretch. Memphis and Los Angeles split its four-game series last season as three of those contests sailed OVER the total.
Tex Mess
Just when the Rockets (11-13 SU, 9-15 ATS) had things figured out by starting November on an 8-2 run, the team with the NBA’s best record last season has slid to 2-6 the past eight games. The latest setback for Houston came at Utah in a playoff rematch on Thursday as the Rockets fell to the Jazz for the second time this season, 118-91 as 1 ½-point underdogs. The Rockets slipped to 1-5 in their past six games away from Toyota Center, while looking to avenge a blowout loss to Dallas.
The Mavericks (12-11 SU, 15-8 ATS) have been one of the best home teams in the league at 10-2, but one of their most resounding wins came at Houston last month, 128-108. Not only did the Mavericks easily cash as 5 ½-point underdogs, but pulled away in the fourth quarter thanks to veteran Devin Harris’ 20 points off the bench and a 20-point effort from standout rookie Luka Doncic. The Mavs have dropped four consecutive home meetings with the Rockets since 2016, but Dallas owns a terrific 5-1 SU/ATS mark as a home underdog this season.
New Yuck
The Nets (9-18 SU, 12-15 ATS) threw away a 23-point advantage in a last-second home loss to the Thunder on Wednesday. Brooklyn bounced back on Friday by edging Toronto in overtime, 106-105 as 8 ½-point underdogs for its second consecutive cover. Now, the Nets make the short trip to Madison Square Garden on Saturday looking to turn around an ugly 0-6 SU/ATS mark with no rest this season.
The Knicks (8-18 SU, 13-12-1 ATS) have dropped two straight since a thrilling home overtime victory over the Bucks last Saturday. New York’s defense was shredded at Boston in a 28-point setback on Thursday as the Celtics shot 53% from the floor and drilled 13 three-pointers. These two New York City rivals have split a pair of meetings this season with the home team winning each time. Since the start of last season, the Knicks have owned the Nets by capturing five of six meetings, while covering in all six instances.