Front Page NBA Picks (Wed, Nov 19)

[Willie Bee]

Sacramento Kings & New Orleans Hornets Over 192½

Game Time: 11/19/2008 08:05 PM -
By: Jimmy the Moose | sportspic.com

In five of the last six meetings between the Kings and Hornets, those holding Over tickets have cashed. Play it that way tonight when Sacramento travels to New Orleans.

The Sacramento Kings played last night, lost but played over the total. This season they have played the Over in four of their six road games.

The Over is 10-2 in their last 12 road games dating back to last season. The Over is 7-3 in their last 10 games playing the back end on a back-to-back.

The Over is 4-1 in the New Orleans Hornets' last five games vs. a team with a losing SU record. The Over is 16-6-2 in New Orleans' last 24 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. The teams have played over the total in five of their last six meetings.

Free Pick: Kings-Hornets Over 192½ (-110)

[Willie Bee]

History Repeats: Cavaliers, Pistons go Under 191½ again

Game Time: 11/19/2008 07:35 PM -
By: LT Profits Sports Group | who2beton.com

This is a huge total when you consider the Under is 25-6 the last 31 meetings between the Cavaliers and Pistons, and their meetings last year averaged 165 points.

The Under is a remarkable 25-6 in the last 31 meetings between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons, and the fact that both teams have good Over records this season has inflated this total to the point where the Under looks to have great value.

These teams went Under in all four meetings last season, with the average combined total score in those games being an extremely low 164.8 points! In fact, only one of the last 11 meetings has exceeded 183 points, and even that game went into overtime and was at only 182 points at the end of regulation time.

Sur the Cavaliers are scoring more points this season, but their defense is still allowing only 92.5 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting, and that figure even drops slightly to 90.8 points on the road. Cleveland has allowed 100 points just once during their current eight-game winning streak, allowing only 91.1 points per game in the other seven contests.

The Pistons are playing their first home game after a four-game Western road trip, a situation where the home team often comes up flat. Looking specifically at Detroit, their games have averaged just 187.6 points when returning home after a road trip of four or more games since the 2000-01 season.

Despite the fact that both clubs are playing more up-tempo this year, we feel compelled to play the Under here with the posted total set nearly 30 points higher than the average total score in all their meetings last season.

Free Pick: Cavaliers, Pistons Under 191½ (-110)

[Willie Bee]

Chicago Bulls +6½ cover at Portland Trail Blazers

Game Time: 11/19/2008 10:35 PM -
By: Jim Feist | playbook.com

The Bulls are treading water at 5-6 straight up, but have covered the spread in their last three. Take Chicago and the points in Portland against the Trail Blazers tonight.

The Chicago Bulls (5-6 SU) have covered three straight games after their cover at the Lakers on Tuesday night. The Bulls trailed most of the game, but made it close at the final, losing 116-109.

Ben Gordon leads the Bulls with 21.3 ppg, while Drew Gooden leads in rebounds with 8.6 rpg. Derrick Rose, their rookie guard, is second on the team in scoring with 18.9 ppg.

The Portland Trail Blazers (6-4) have been a surprise team this year. They are led by Brandon Roy (21.3 ppg) with Joel Przybilla grabbing a team-leading 8.4 rebounds per game. Greg Oden has only played in four games so far this season, but did score 13 points with eight boards in 24 minutes off the bench Saturday night.

The Blazers are also coming off a game last night in which they lost at Golden State, 111-106. The Bulls have covered seven of the last nine games in this series and we expect them to cover tonight as well.

Free Pick: Bulls +6½ (-110)