Posted on
4/14/2008 7:49:43 PM
NBA Basketball Betting – Warriors Fight For Playoff Lives In Phoenix
By Eric Williams
Despite the fact that the Golden State Warriors, (48-32 SU, 34-46 ATS, 43-35-2 O/U), are in a fight for their playoff lives, the Warriors have struggled down the stretch of the regular season, alternating wins and losses in each of their last six games in the BetUS Sportsbook and losing a huge contest to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday 114-105 despite the fact that they were playing at home.
Now, the Warriors enter tonight’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns, (53-27 SU, 38-39-3 ATS, 44-36 O/U), needing to win both of their final two regular season games while getting some help from the Nuggets in order to reach the postseason.
The Warriors bounced back from their loss to the Nuggets with a 122-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday while the Suns have had their own problems with consistency recently and are coming off a disheartening 101-90 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday that snapped the team’s modest two-game winning streak.
"We didn't have the fight and urgency to get back into the game," said all-star forward Amare Stoudemire. "I was surprised. I thought we had to have more intensity.”
"(We won) two of three on the road trip and that is not too bad, but we couldn't run the table and Houston did us in," coach Mike D'Antoni said.
The Warriors were tied with Denver for the final playoff spot in the conference going into Sunday's games, though the tiebreaker will go to the Nuggets if the teams finish with identical records.
"Everybody on this team knows we have to win the rest of our games," Jackson said. "We can't worry about (the Nuggets) and hope that they lose, we have to go out there and play and if it happens, it happens. We can't worry about them, we gotta take care of our own business."
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my NBA Betting Picks.
The Warriors are 8-19 ATS in their last 27 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
The Warriors are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games vs. a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600.
The Suns are 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a home favorite of 5.0-10.5.
The Suns are 4-0 ATS in their last four games playing on two days rest.
The Over is 5-0 in Warriors last five vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
The Over is 6-1 in Suns last seven games as a home favorite of 5.0-10.5.
The Over is 5-0 in the last five meetings.
The Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.
Analysis: While I’m not in love with the Suns this season after acquiring aging center Shaquille O’Neal, there is no way I see them losing this contest despite the Warriors’ obvious desperation in this game. Take the Suns to win this game and cover the spread while effectively ending the Warriors season.
NBA Free Picks: Suns 112 Warriors 106
10:05 PM EST NBA Odds
Golden State Warriors +5½ -110
Phoenix Suns -5½ -110
Over 231 -110
Under 231 -110
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