Posted on
1/21/2008 5:28:01 PM
NBA Basketball Betting – Milwaukee at New Orleans
By Charles Jay
The Milwaukee Bucks (16-24 SU, 18-21-1 ATS) will try to bounce back from a twenty-point loss to the Golden State Warriors when they visit the Crescent City to take on the New Orleans Hornets (27-12 SU, 24-14-1 ATS) in NBA action starting at 3:30 PM ET from the New Orleans Arena.
In the BetUS NBA basketball betting odds, New Orleans is listed at -10, with the total posted at 192 points.
In the HEAD-to-HEAD NBA betting trends:
* NO is 5-1-1 ATS in the last seven meetings
* NO has won four of the last five meetings SU
* The last five meetings have gone OVER the total
* MIL has covered seven of the last ten meetings as the visitor
* NO has won the last five meetings SU as the home team
* Seven of the last eight meetings on NO's home court have gone OVER the total
Milwaukee is averaging 95 points per game, and 94 ppg on the road. The Bucks are turning the ball over 15 times a game, and shoot 45.2% from the field. Milwaukee, however, is the third most permissive team in the league on defense, allowing opponents to hit 47.1% of their shots. Also:
* MIL has covered six of its last eight games
* MIL has won one of its last five games SU
* MIL has played four of its last six games OVER the total
* MIL has covered five of its last six road games
* MIL has won three of its last 15 road games SU
New Orleans allows only 93.2 points per game at home, which is the fourth best figure in the league. The Hornets are making 7.5 three-point shots per contest, and have committed just 11.9 turnovers on average, compared to 21.2 assists per game. Also:
* NO has won and covered seven of its last eight games
* NO has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* NO has covered six of its last eight home games
* NO has won eight of its last ten home games SU
Milwaukee is to be commended for trying hard on the road. The Bucks have battled through some injuries to cover six of their last eight as the traveler. But straight-up wins have still been hard to come by, and Milwaukee does not do a lot of three-point bombing (only 5.4 made per game), which means it is harder to come back from large deficits.
A large deficit is what they may face against this New Orleans unit, which is playing some great basketball. The Hornets have won and covered seven of their last eight games, and over the course of their last four they've allowed only 86.4 ppg. A Friday blowout of Charlotte, which has been playing some good ball lately, may be a pretty good barometer as to where this team is right now.
New Orleans is also producing better offensively than it usually does, tallying 116 ppg over their last three in the New Orleans Arena. That's a bad sign for the Bucks, who have a shoot-first point guard (Mo Williams) and a shooting guard who has a tendency to throw them up indiscriminately (Michael Redd). At any rate, they do often struggle for points. They don't have enough firepower or defense to keep up here.
We're going to lay the chalk with New Orleans, the ten-point favorite in the BetUS NBA betting odds.
BetUS NBA basketball betting odds: NEW ORLEANS -10, Total 192
JAY'S PLAY: NEW ORLEANS
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(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a freelance writer and handicapper who not only can make his shots from the top of the key, but also contributes with gusto to the BetUS Locker Room)