NBA: NBA Thursday TNT Doubleheader

In the two televised games on TNT tonight, a special situation occurs you don’t see every night. Boston and Dallas are the two road teams that are on television and they rank first and third respectively in the NBA for the best straight up road records at

2010-01-29

In the two televised games on TNT tonight, a special situation occurs you don’t see every night. Boston and Dallas are the two road teams that are on television and they rank first and third respectively in the NBA for the best straight up road records at 16 -6 and 16-8. Their opponents are both in the Top 10 for the best home records, winning over 73 percent. This leaves Sportsbook.com bettors with the quandary of not only deciding which teams will cover the spreads, but also whether or not they are worth an accompanying money line wager.

Boston at Orlando 8:00 Eastern
The Celtics (29-13, 17-25 ATS) have the second best record in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland. This veteran club is 16-6 on the road, but is far from a good bet despite that success. Boston is merely 11-11 ATS in the visiting green uniforms; however it’s hard to blame them for being average. The Celtics have been labeled a road favorite in 16 of their 22 road excursions. They are 12-4 SU, a very solid record, in those games, having won by an incredible 8.2 points per game, yet are 7-9 ATS, which ends up being more an indictment of the opposition, than of Boston.

The Orlando Magic (29-16, 21-21-3 ATS) have played 10 of their last 14 away from their central Florida home and will be in more familiar surroundings with four of their next five outings in front of the home folks. The Magic are 16-4 SU at Amway Arena (5th best home record) and punish visiting clubs by 10.4 points per game. In the gambling world, this type of success will bring high numbers from oddsmakers, which is why Orlando is a not so magical 10-9-1 ATS at home.
The Celtics only recently got Kevin Garnett back after he missed 10 games. While the defense has picked up immediately, the offense is lagging behind. Boston averages 99.7 points per game, but has only reached that figure twice in last nine tries. This explains a recent 3-6 ATS record, including losing five in a row. The Sportsbook.com oddsmakers have handed out the typical number for these evenly matched teams, making the C’s a four-point underdog with total of 187.5.

Boston is a deceiving 10-20 ATS after playing consecutive games as favorite this season (they win by 5.4 PPG). Orlando lost at Memphis in its previous game and is a splendid 34-12 ATS off a road defeat over the last three seasons. The road team has won three in a row in this matchup, including the Magic totaling a mere 77 points at home on Christmas Day, losing by nine as 5.5-point favorites. They are 23-11 ATS revenging a home loss. The total is the lowest in 11 regular season games at the city Walt Disney made famous and six of the last eight have played UNDER the number.

Dallas at Phoenix 10:30 Eastern
Dallas (30-15, 20-25 ATS) is a rock solid 16-8 on the road (15-9 ATS), winning by over four points per game. The Mavericks seem to be more comfortable away from home, despite having the same winning percentage, as evidenced by the +1.5 points per game scoring differential at American Airlines Center. Their one point 108-107 win over Milwaukee Tuesday got them into the NBA record books and it’s hard to determine if the Mavs are good or just lucky, as that win was their 10th straight victory by a single digit, tying the St. Louis Hawks from 50 years ago. Dallas is 47-26 ATS on the road after a game where both teams scored 105 points or more.

Phoenix (26-21, 22-24 ATS) is no longer on the rise. After starting 14-3, the Suns have been setting, losing 18 of their next 30. In that first part of the season, Phoenix at least gave a passing interest in attempting to play defense, allowing 104.5 points per game, since then the Suns have shown a greater disinterest in halting opponents from scoring, now ranked next to last in points allowed at 107.9.

Phoenix is 17-6 at home with an 11-11-1 ATS mark. They have been without two important bench players lately, Leandro Barbosa and Grant Hill, with Barbosa out six weeks after wrist surgery and Hill day-to-day with bum heel. Also swirling around the desert is the specter of Amare Stoudemire trade, which has him going pretty much everywhere but to a good team. While the Suns big man talks about wanting to win, his defense and rebounding would generously be described as ordinary. The floundering Suns are 7-21 ATS in January games over the last two seasons.

Phoenix is a 1.5-point home favorite with total of 216 and they are off a 114-109 overtime home loss to Charlotte. The Suns are 20-9 ATS in home games after contest in which both teams scored 105 points or more and are 18-8 OVER after draining a dozen or more three-point shots. Dallas on the other hand is 11-2 ATS as visitors after not covering the spread and 11-1 UNDER after two straight games where they made 50 percent of their shots or better.

The Suns are playing into triple revenge and have lost five of last six to the Mavs and needs to show some defensive acumen to improve the home record.
The StatFox Power Lines show Orlando by 7, and a Pick em’ in the nightcap.

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