Kobe Bryant & Lakers cap Thursday night TNT twinbill
Kobe Bryant & Lakers cap Thursday night TNT twinbill
The MVP debate rages on across the airwaves and print media, but New Orleans' Chris Paul is not part of the discussion despite stellar numbers. Meanwhile two of the leading candidates are in action Thursday night in the TNT NBA doubleheader when LeBron James and the Cavaliers host the Trail Blazers and Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers welcome the Warriors to the Staples Center.
What does Chris Paul have to do to get some respect?
The media coverage surrounding the NBA’s Most Valuable Player race is getting dumber every day. It’s bad enough that the voters (125 sportswriters and broadcasters across the United States and Canada) can’t even agree on the criteria for what makes an MVP. But the way they’ve turned the voting into a “race” akin to a presidential campaign is just sad.
The people with the loudest megaphone – the Worldwide Leader – have already proclaimed the MVP to be down to three players: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the 2007-08 winner, Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, there’s this guy named Chris Paul playing in virtual anonymity in New Orleans who has just as good a resume as anyone this year: 21.9 points, 11.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game, even better numbers than Paul put up last year when he lost the MVP award to Bryant.
As much as this bugs me as a basketball fan, it’s a great development for handicappers. All you have to do is go with the player that’s distancing himself from the pack in the MVP betting odds: King James at -400. Then, just sit back, watch him play in the first game of this week’s TNT doubleheader, and hope he doesn’t get injured.
Portland Trail Blazers at Cleveland Cavaliers (-9½, 185½)
Thursday, Mar 19, 8:05 p.m. (ET) TNT
The Cavaliers (54-13 SU, 42-25 ATS) may have finally hit the ceiling as far as betting value goes. They are no longer the most profitable team in the NBA – that honor goes to Orlando – after going 2-4 ATS during their current six-game winning streak. It doesn’t help that Wally Szczerbiak (39.7 percent from downtown) is out 2-3 weeks with a sprained left knee and Delonte West (39.5 percent) is playing with a sore back. Cleveland has enough perimeter depth to stay in the win column, but covering those ever-growing spreads is becoming a problem.
The injury news is better in Portland (43-25 SU, 34-33 ATS), where Greg Oden returned to the lineup Wednesday night in a 95-85 victory over Indiana (+2). Oden grabbed seven rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench in support of Joel Przybilla. This could be an issue for the Cavs, who are still without Ben Wallace in the paint. The Blazers are 11-5 (9-9 ATS) over the past month with wins over the Lakers (-2½) and Spurs (+4).
The Cavs are 9½-point faves with a total of 185½ points; they’re 3-0 SU and ATS against Portland over the past two seasons.
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers (-13, 233)
Thursday, Mar 19, 10:35 p.m. (ET) TNT
Don’t talk to the Warriors (24-43 SU, 30-33-3 ATS) about injuries. They haven’t had a healthy rotation all year; the latest complication has Andris Biedrins (sprained ankle) missing at least the next two weeks, leaving Ronny Turiaf to once again start at center. This isn’t so bad from a betting perspective. Turiaf (14.89 PER) is an excellent shot blocker and energy player, and unheralded rookie Anthony Randolph (16.59 PER) is vacuuming up a ton of minutes off the bench. Golden State is 4-1 ATS in its last five.
Los Angeles (53-14 SU, 34-33 ATS) has been a money-losing proposition over the past three weeks at 5-4 SU and 3-6 ATS. Coach Phil Jackson called out his players, claiming they were losing their killer instinct – to which the players simply shrugged their shoulders. Jackson told the Los Angeles Times he might rest his starters from here on in. He might choose to sit Pau Gasol anyway after he was hit in the pinky finger of his shooting hand on Tuesday against Philadelphia. Gasol played through the injury and is listed as day-to-day.
If the Lakers (-13) are tired as they approach the 70-game mark, playing against Don Nelson’s Warriors won’t help. They run the fastest pace in the NBA at 101 possessions per game – Los Angeles is No. 5 at 97 possessions. The total for Thursday’s matchup is 233 points.
The MVP debate rages on across the airwaves and print media, but New Orleans' Chris Paul is not part of the discussion despite stellar numbers. Meanwhile two of the leading candidates are in action Thursday night in the TNT NBA doubleheader when LeBron James and the Cavaliers host the Trail Blazers and Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers welcome the Warriors to the Staples Center.
What does Chris Paul have to do to get some respect?
The media coverage surrounding the NBA’s Most Valuable Player race is getting dumber every day. It’s bad enough that the voters (125 sportswriters and broadcasters across the United States and Canada) can’t even agree on the criteria for what makes an MVP. But the way they’ve turned the voting into a “race” akin to a presidential campaign is just sad.
The people with the loudest megaphone – the Worldwide Leader – have already proclaimed the MVP to be down to three players: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the 2007-08 winner, Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, there’s this guy named Chris Paul playing in virtual anonymity in New Orleans who has just as good a resume as anyone this year: 21.9 points, 11.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game, even better numbers than Paul put up last year when he lost the MVP award to Bryant.
As much as this bugs me as a basketball fan, it’s a great development for handicappers. All you have to do is go with the player that’s distancing himself from the pack in the MVP betting odds: King James at -400. Then, just sit back, watch him play in the first game of this week’s TNT doubleheader, and hope he doesn’t get injured.
Portland Trail Blazers at Cleveland Cavaliers (-9½, 185½)
Thursday, Mar 19, 8:05 p.m. (ET) TNT
The Cavaliers (54-13 SU, 42-25 ATS) may have finally hit the ceiling as far as betting value goes. They are no longer the most profitable team in the NBA – that honor goes to Orlando – after going 2-4 ATS during their current six-game winning streak. It doesn’t help that Wally Szczerbiak (39.7 percent from downtown) is out 2-3 weeks with a sprained left knee and Delonte West (39.5 percent) is playing with a sore back. Cleveland has enough perimeter depth to stay in the win column, but covering those ever-growing spreads is becoming a problem.
The injury news is better in Portland (43-25 SU, 34-33 ATS), where Greg Oden returned to the lineup Wednesday night in a 95-85 victory over Indiana (+2). Oden grabbed seven rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench in support of Joel Przybilla. This could be an issue for the Cavs, who are still without Ben Wallace in the paint. The Blazers are 11-5 (9-9 ATS) over the past month with wins over the Lakers (-2½) and Spurs (+4).
The Cavs are 9½-point faves with a total of 185½ points; they’re 3-0 SU and ATS against Portland over the past two seasons.
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers (-13, 233)
Thursday, Mar 19, 10:35 p.m. (ET) TNT
Don’t talk to the Warriors (24-43 SU, 30-33-3 ATS) about injuries. They haven’t had a healthy rotation all year; the latest complication has Andris Biedrins (sprained ankle) missing at least the next two weeks, leaving Ronny Turiaf to once again start at center. This isn’t so bad from a betting perspective. Turiaf (14.89 PER) is an excellent shot blocker and energy player, and unheralded rookie Anthony Randolph (16.59 PER) is vacuuming up a ton of minutes off the bench. Golden State is 4-1 ATS in its last five.
Los Angeles (53-14 SU, 34-33 ATS) has been a money-losing proposition over the past three weeks at 5-4 SU and 3-6 ATS. Coach Phil Jackson called out his players, claiming they were losing their killer instinct – to which the players simply shrugged their shoulders. Jackson told the Los Angeles Times he might rest his starters from here on in. He might choose to sit Pau Gasol anyway after he was hit in the pinky finger of his shooting hand on Tuesday against Philadelphia. Gasol played through the injury and is listed as day-to-day.
If the Lakers (-13) are tired as they approach the 70-game mark, playing against Don Nelson’s Warriors won’t help. They run the fastest pace in the NBA at 101 possessions per game – Los Angeles is No. 5 at 97 possessions. The total for Thursday’s matchup is 233 points.