Tuesday Feb. 7th Football has ended, but basketball is still in full swing. The NBA is reaching its mid-point with the All-Star Break less than two weeks away. There are four games on the board for Tuesday night. The Detroit Pistons try to bounce back off a rare SU loss, while the Clippers and Mavericks try to remain the hottest teams in league. Below is a complete look at all four matchups this evening. DETROIT (-10, 191 ) at ATLANTA The best team in the NBA is coming off a rare SU loss. Detroit was in a difficult scheduling spot on Saturday as they had to travel to Indiana without rest and play their third game in four nights. The result was a rare defeat as a 7-point favorite, 93-85. Despite the loss, Detroit is still 39-7 SU this season, including 18-5 SU away from home. The Pistons have bounced back strong this season after a bad performance, going 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS following a defeat. The Atlanta Hawks are coming off a 98-85 road loss at Washington on Saturday. Despite the recent defeat, Atlanta is still playing solid basketball and stands 3-1 SU/ATS the past four games. The turnaround began a couple of weeks ago when point guard Tyrone Lue returned to the lineup. Lue is a key ingredient for the Hawks and is second in assists (3.0 apg) and fourth in scoring (10.5 ppg). Unfortunately, for Atlanta, Lue injured his knee in practice yesterday and is now expected to miss the next four to six weeks. L.A. CLIPPERS (-7, 198) at NEW YORK The L.A. Clippers are one of the hottest teams in the league and they have gone 8-1 SU/ATS their past nine games. The Clippers are also a solid 3-1 SU/ATS on this current six game road trip. Los Angeles has shot at least 48 percent or higher in their past seven games and they have scored 105 points or more in five of their past six contests. The Knicks remain one of the coldest teams in the NBA and stand an awful 1-11 SU and 2-10 ATS over the past twelve games. The team has especially struggled without point guard Stephon Marbury who has missed five of the past ten contests. Marbury is now out for at least the next two weeks with a shoulder injury. He leads the team in scoring (18.1 ppg), assists (6.9 apg), and steals (1.2 spg). The Knicks are hoping that recently acquired guard Jalen Rose will be able to take over in Marbury's absence. Rose made his New York debut on Sunday and scored 16 points with 11 assists versus the Rockets. L.A. LAKERS at DALLAS (no line) The Lakers were in an extremely difficult situation on Saturday night as they traveled without rest to New Orleans and had to play their fifth road game in seven nights and without two of their best players. Both Lamar Odom and Chris Mihm missed the game and both are questionable again tonight. Odom leads the team in rebounding (9.4 rpg) and assists (5.3 apg) and is second in scoring (14.0 ppg). Mihm is second on the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and fourth in scoring (10.6 ppg). This is a major revenge game for the Mavericks who are 0-2 SU/ATS versus the Lakers this season, losing both games outright as 7 and 3 point favorites in mid-December. Dallas is currently the hottest team in the league and has gone 11-0 SU and 9-2 ATS the past three weeks. The Mavericks have made solid improvements on defense this season and are allowing just 93.3 points per game (versus opponents that average 95.7 ppg overall). MEMPHIS at SACRAMENTO (-2, 179 ) Memphis started the season 23-11 SU, but the Grizzlies have since gone just 3-9 SU the past three weeks. Memphis has also lost six of their past eleven games outright as a favorite. Sacramento is 2-3 SU/ATS with Ron Artest in the lineup and he is currently leads the team in steals (2.0 spg) and is second in scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounds (6.6 rpg). The Kings blew a 13-point lead at Utah on Thursday, but Sacramento did get revenge on Sunday with an easy 96-78 win over the Jazz on Sunday. The Kings remain short-handed and were without both Brad Miller and Bonzi Wells on Sunday and both players are questionable again tonight. Miller leads the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg), is second in assists (5.2 apg), and third in scoring (15.0 ppg). Wells is second in rebounding (7.9 rpg), third is assists (3.1 apg), and fourth in scoring (14.6 ppg). STEVE MERRIL is a professional sports handicapper and a documented member of The Professional Handicappers League. Get his Premium plays here. |
