posted February 22, 2008 at 17:31 in NBA Betting Trends

Out of the two biggest trades on Thursday, I like this one much better. What Byron Scott, coach of the Hornets, is doing is laying the groundwork for a good run in the playoffs. He wanted to shore up his bench and did so by acquiring Bonzi Wells and Mike James. Both guys will help New Orleans without ruining the chemistry that Scott has nurtured in his team. The Hornets have gone 5 and 5 against the BetUS spread in their last 10 games. Not bad, but not great either. The Spurs, who made no real moves save for signing Damon Stoudemire, have gone a one game better 6 and 4 against the BetUS spread in their last 10 games.

Here are more trends:

The New Orleans Hornets are 21-5-2 against the spread in their last 28 games playing on no rest.

The New Orleans Hornets are 4 and 1 against the spread in their last 5 games versus a team from the NBA Southwest Division.

The San Antonio Spurs are 2 and 5 against the spread in their last 7 games playing on 1 day of rest.

The New Orleans Hornets are 7 and 3 against the spread in their last 10 games versus the San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio.

This is a powerhouse game between two terrific Western Conference teams on a Saturday night. I for one will absolutely be glued to the big-screen at my local bar, that is until the Lakers start to play - - then I will move to the small screen. I’m giving the Hornets a nicer cushion then they probably deserve in here only because I do think that most BetUS NBA bettors have a tendency to put money on the Spurs even though the Spurs are dreadful against the spread.

Actually, the Spurs are almost even against the BetUS spread this year, but that won’t matter when the Hornets come to town. As they proved versus the Jason Kidd led Dallas Mavericks the other night, these Hornets are very, very good. New Orleans is 32-19-1 against the spread so far this season. That’s not just good, that’s fantastic.

On Saturday I see no reason for these Hornets to get another against the spread win. In fact I really like them straight-up versus a Spurs team that they beat by 24 points the last time they met them in San Antonio.

They probably won’t beat them by that margin again, but they can certainly beat them. I’m going to take the Hornets straight-up and against the spread in this game.

The predicted BetUS NBA betting line is New Orleans Hornets + 3.5 against the spread on the road versus the San Antonio Spurs.

The Hornets are the better team, made the better move, and should prove it against the defending NBA champions on Saturday.

You’ll find the latest 2007-2008 NBA odds and lines in the best online sportsbook, BetUS.com. Betting on NBA player and game props makes every aspect of the game exciting. Join BetUS.com today to bet on the NBA and make online sports betting work for you!