Posted on
4/3/2008 6:21:33 PM
NBA Basketball Betting Power Poll - Week 23 – Part 1
By Mike Rose
(CURRENT) (TEAM) (W/L OVERALL & W/L FOR WEEK) (ATS RECORD) (LAST WEEKS RANK)
1) Boston Celtics (60-15/4-0) (47-26-2 ATS) (LW: 1) The Celtics picked up an impressive home win and cover over New Orleans to start the week, and then toyed with the rest of their opponents to go 4-0 SU and ATS for the week. Boston’s enormous turnaround is the talk of the league, and the 60 wins with seven games to go all but assure them of home court advantage throughout the post-season.
2) New Orleans Hornets (52-22/3-1) (46-26-2 ATS) (LW: 2) The Hornets commenced their six-game Eastern Conference road trip in Boston to start the week. They lost by a 112-92 final count as seven-point underdogs, but picked up wins in their next three against Toronto, Orlando, and Miami. They’re currently the #1 seed by percentage points over San Antonio in the Western Conference, and they get all three of their games at home this week against the Knicks, Warriors, and Jazz.
3) LA Lakers (51-24/2-1) (43-30-1 ATS) (LW: 3) The Lakers won two of three SU this week, but failed to cover any of their games ATS. The loss to Memphis at home was humiliating, and will definitely be felt by Phil Jackson and company once the playoff seeds are finalized. Pau Gasol couldn’t have come back at a better time with the Lakers now a game and a half in back of the Hornets for the top seed. They’ll look to make up ground this week with games slated to go at home vs. Dallas and on the road against both Sacramento and Portland.
4) San Antonio Spurs (52-23/3-0) (35-38-2 ATS) (LW: 7) The defending champs have been playing with their hair on fire for a number of weeks now after falling to as low as #13 in this poll just a short three weeks ago. With their 3-0 SU and ATS mark last week, the Spurs are the proud owners of an eight-game winning streak and sit just a half game in back of the New Orleans Hornets fort he top seed in the West. They’ll look to increase that streak to 10 this week with games at Utah and Portland.
5) Utah Jazz (50-26/3-1) (41-35 ATS) (LW: 4) The Jazz kept pace with the division leaders in the West this week by winning 3 of their 4 games both SU and ATS. However, it doesn’t get any easier for the Jazz to close out the season as all six of their final games are against playoff participants or contenders. They’ll look to knock off the Spurs at home this week before traveling to New Orleans to take on the Hornets for the final meeting of the regular season.
6) Detroit Pistons (53-21/3-0) (39-34-1 ATS) (LW: 5) The Pistons rolled along this week as Head Coach Flip Saunders experimented with his rotations for the post-season, but it didn’t matter as the Pistons went on to win all three of their contests. Their lone cover came against Cleveland, which shows they’re still gearing up for the tougher teams and coasting against the lesser competition. Look for more of the same this week with games slated to go against New Jersey, Miami, and New York.
7) Phoenix Suns (50-25/3-1) (35-37-3 ATS) (LW: 9) The Suns bounced back from their losing mark a week ago to post a 3-1 SU and 2-2 mark ATS. They currently sit just one-game in back of the LA Lakers for the top spot in the Pacific Division, and get the advantage of playing both Minnesota and Dallas at home this week before traveling to Memphis to take on the woeful Grizzlies. If they play their hand correctly, they could overcome the Lakers this week considering they have the easier schedule of the two teams.
8) Denver Nuggets (46-29/3-1) (41-34 ATS) (LW: 12) The Nuggets have turned the intensity up over the past couple weeks knowing full they need to play at a peak level to grab one of the eight seeds for the playoffs. They followed up last weeks 3-0 SU and ATS mark with a 3-1 SU & 2-2 ATS effort this past week. They’re now the rightful owners of the #8 seed and hold a one-game lead over the Golden State Warriors. They’ll host the Kings to start the week, but then hit the road for four starting with the Sonics before visiting the Clippers. This road trip is crucial for the Nuggets if they expect to qualify for the second season, so hopefully AI and Melo have enough left in their tanks for a winning road trip.
9) Houston Rockets (49-25/0-2) (41-31-2 ATS) (LW: 6) Since rattling off 21 wins in a row, the Rockets are now 3-5 SU and 1-6-1 ATS. They lost both of their games both SU & ATS this past week against San Antonio and Sacramento, and it looks as if the injury to Yao Ming is finally starting to catch up tot them. They currently own the #6 seed in the west, but that could be in jeopardy with five of their last eight games coming on the road.
10) Dallas Mavericks (47-28/2-2) (32-39-4 ATS) (LW: 11) The Mavs managed to win two of their three games before Dirk Nowitzki returned in their revenge match-up with Golden State who beat them earlier in the week. The 111-86 home win and cover allowed them to hold onto the #7 seed, but they’ll be severely challenged to increase their level of play this week with games slated to go at both the Lakers and Suns before returning home to take on the Sonics. With Dirk now back in the line-up, look for the Mavs to alleviate some of their fans concerns and qualify for the post-season.
11) Orlando Magic (47-28/1-1) (45-27-5 ATS) (LW: 13) The Magic opened up their week of play with a solid road win and cover at Milwaukee, but followed it up with another home loss to the New Orleans Hornets. The loss was the third in a row for the Magic at home against a Western Conference club, and that can’t make the team happy knowing they don’t have what it takes to beat the better Western Conference clubs in their own house. The Magic’s all but locked up the #3 seed in the East, so look for them to coast throughout their remaining schedule.
12) Philadelphia 76ers (38-37/1-2) (41-31-3 ATS) (LW: 8) The Sixers opened up the week with an ugly loss at home against Phoenix, and then just fell short at Cleveland 91-88 as 4.5-point road pups. They did however win their crucial match-up with the Nets in New Jersey, and come into this week’s action tied with both Washington and Toronto at 38-37 overall. They’ll play two against Atlanta to start the week before welcoming in the Detroit Pistons for the final regular season match-up of the season.
13) Golden State Warriors (45-30/2-3) (33-42 ATS) (LW: 10) Posted last week: They’re clinging on the #8 seed right now, but it wouldn’t come as any shock if they relinquished that position and failed to qualify for the post-season after last years memorable run. With the Warriors losing 2 of 3 games SU this past week, they’re now on the outside looking into the playoffs and trailing the Denver Nuggets by one game for the 8th seed. They’ll look to make that ground up this week with two on the road against Memphis and New Orleans before returning home to host the Sacramento Kings.
14) Cleveland Cavaliers (42-33/2-1) (35-40 ATS) (LW: 14) The Cavs picked up two wins in three attempts this past week, but they went 1-2 ATS and are now a poor 4-6 ATS their L/10. It looks as if they’re more than happy with the #4 seed considering they’re 5-5 SU their L/10, and playing .500 ball the rest of the way will all but assure them of the 4/5 match-up in the post-season. They could make up some ground at home this week hosting the Bulls, Magic, and Nets, but they’re carefree attitude towards winning leads me to believe they’ll just be coasting through to the post-season.
15) Atlanta Hawks (35-40/4-0) (35-39-1 ATS) (LW: 16) With the Hawks perfect 4-0 SU mark this past week, the Hawks now have a strong hold on the #8 seed in the East. They’re also just three games in back of Washington, Toronto, and Philadelphia so its safe to say the Hawks will find themselves back in the post-season for the first time in ages. They can make up even more ground this week with a home/home series slated against Philly and a road game at Indiana.
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