Posted on
4/8/2008 5:58:18 PM
NBA Basketball Betting Trends – Denver at Los Angeles
By Eric Williams
BetUS Sportsbook bettors dislike the inconsistent Denver Nuggets (46-31 SU, 41-36 ATS, 46-31 O/U) these days. The Nuggs thought they were in the hunt for a playoff spot just over a week ago, now, they find themselves with their luggage packed for summer vacation after dropping two consecutive games and three of four.
On Sunday the Nuggets were handed an excellent bit of payback from the lowly Seattle Supersonics as they lost 151-147 in double overtime to the very same team they ran the score up on back on March 16 in Denver when they trounced the young Sonics 168-116 in a contest that many say show the lack of class of head coach George Karl.
While the Nuggets are fighting for a postseason spot, tied with the Golden State Warriors for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Clippers, (23-54 SU, 32-45 ATS, 33-44 O/U), aren’t playing for anything other than pride and by the looks of it, they don’t have much. The Clippers have lost two straight games and eight of their last ten, including a dismal 105-79 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
"We've got to get all three of them," Nuggets guard J.R. Smith said of his team’s next three opponents. "We got to beat Golden State because they're right on our heels. We owe Utah and we got to beat the Clippers just to stay ahead. If we don't play, we'll be sitting at home watching the playoffs."
While the Nuggets haven’t had any problems putting the ball in the bucket this season, stopping their opponents has been a big problem as the Nuggets are the league’s second worst defensive team, allowing a whopping 107.0 points per game.
"It's like in the first half we feel out the game and don't play with an urgency, especially defensively," Karl said. "When we're scoring points we kind of have a looseness defensively ... You want to win and you want to make stops."
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my NBA Betting Picks.
The Nuggets are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game.
The Nuggets are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games following a S.U. loss.
The Clippers are 4-0 ATS in their last four Tuesday games.
The Clippers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a SU loss of more than ten points.
The Over is 4-0 in Nuggets last four games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game.
The Over is 9-0 in Clippers last nine games following a SU loss of more than ten points.
The Under is 6-0 in the last six meetings in Los Angeles.
The Under is 9-2 in the last eleven meetings.
Analysis: While I like the Nuggets to win this game, something keeps telling me that the Clippers are going to unexpectedly show up and actually compete for a change. While I haven’t said it much this season, I say take the Clippers to cover the high spread tonight.
NBA Free Picks: Clippers +12½ Points/Over 213 Total Points
10:35 PM EST NBA Odds
Denver Nuggets -12½ -110
LA Clippers +12½ -110
Over 213 -110
Under 213 -110
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