NBA Previews for Saturday, October 28.
Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) at New Orleans Pelicans (2-3), Saturday, 7:00 p.m. EST
Line: Cavs -2.5. Total: 217.5.
It was just announced that Anthony Davis will play for the Pelicans. A star player returning to the lineup after an injury does not guarantee his team will win and cover the spread. Vegas only adjusted this line 1.5 points in New Orleans favor after the announcement.
Derrick Rose returns for Cleveland. The Cavs have looked really bad their last three games without him. A little bit of a let-down game for New Orleans after an emotional comeback win Sacramento on Thursday.
Cleveland is 1-4 ATS (Against the Spread) this season, while the Pelicans are 3-2 ATS. The Cavs are 3-2 to the under, while New Orleans is 3-2 to the over.
Houston Rockets (5-1) at Memphis Grizzlies (4-1), Saturday, 8:00 p.m. EST
Line: Grizzlies -1.5. Total: 205.
This is one of those situational spots I like. Consequently, I have talked about it a few times already and will do it throughout the year. The “short-revenge angle” is a situational spot where the team who just lost to their opponent within the last 7 days will defeat them in the rematch.
The Rockets just lost to Memphis at home 5 days ago at home. Houston led by 7 points at the half before being outscored by the Grizzlies by 14 points in the fourth quarter to lose 98-90. Consequently, the loss is the only defeat of the season for the Rockets.
The only catch here is that Houston is on the back-end of a back-to-back, while the Grizzlies have rest. However, that does not necessarily affect this angle unless the previous game was an emotional one with a lot of energy expended for the team on the back-ender.
The Rockets are unbeaten on the road (4-0) and to the surprise of many, are 5-1 to the under this year on totals. Houston is 3-3 ATS, while Memphis is 3-2 ATS.
Philadelphia 76ers (1-4) at Dallas Mavericks (1-5), Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EST
Line: 76ers -1.5. Total: 206.5.
This game will have my pick for the day:
Philadelphia 76ers -1.5, laying $110 to win $100 – The Sixers started this hyped season for “The Process” with three straight losses. They lost an entertaining game in their opener to the Wizards in DC by 5 points. Also, there are 16 ties and 12 lead changes in that game.
Philly led through three quarters at home against Boston in their next game and trailed by 2 points with less than 6 minutes left. However, the Celtics slowly pulled away to win by 10 points. Philadelphia thengot blown out at Toronto the next night.
The Sixers were impressive beating Detroit by double-digits on the road for their only win. In their last game, Philly led Houston at home 104-96 with less than 1:40 left in the game before the Rockets went on a 9-0 run and defeated the Sixers 105-104. Eric Gordon hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the victory for the Rockets.
The Sixers players were very disheartened after the game. I remember the camera being on Joel Embiid for quite a while after Gordon hit that shot. Embiid was in disbelief. He was not in disbelief that Gordon hit that shot. Embiid was in disbelief because Philly totally blew a 9-point lead with less than 100 seconds left in the game. They had a lot of bad offensive possessions where they ran the shot clock down all the way but got terrible shots.
Often times in sports, the best cure for a heartbreaking loss is to get back on to the field or the court or the ice and compete. Good teams generally bounce back well from losses like this because they are determined to get a lead and then not blow a second consecutive time.
I think the Sixers are a good enough team to win a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference this year. Philly has played well in every game other than the back-ender where they were slaughtered at Toronto. Furthermore, I expect them to bounce-back and beat Dallas tonight.
Record: 8-7 on the season, +$30.
Sides: 6-4, while Totals are: 2-1.
2H: 0-2
#1 Sides: 5-6, while #1 Totals are: 8-3.
Sides: (1) Phi, (2) OKC, (3) Hou, (4) Bos, (5) Cle, (6) LAL, (7) Det, (8) Pho.
Totals: (1) LAL un, (2) Phi ov, (3) Cle ov, (4) Bos ov, (5) Hou un, (6) Det ov, (7) OKC ov, (8) Pho un
Note: I will be looking at second half plays tonight. I had a bad day picking second half plays last night. Consequently, I am glad I did place any bets on them.
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