Nash and Suns host road-weary Magic
A busy NBA weekend start with 11 games on Friday, with the late tip between the Suns and Magic in Phoenix the second part of an ESPN doubleheader. Following their fast start, the Suns have dropped four of five to fall three games behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division. For Orlando this will be its sixth road game in the last seven, with the Magic sporting an impressive 10-3 record on the highway this season.
This past Wednesday was Steve Nash Internet Day, as proclaimed by the bloggers at Bright Side of the Sun. But really, isn’t every day Steve Nash Internet Day?
He’s immensely talented, he appeals to the sharp online demographic, and he’s frickin’ hilarious. Not only that, when Nash wears a shirt and tie, I feel compelled to call him for tech support.
Nash leads the NBA in assists per game (11.0) and he’s second to Chris Paul among point guards in Player Efficiency Rating. But will either man get to start for the Western Conference at the All-Star Game in Dallas? Thursday’s voting numbers had Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady as the leading guards in the West.
Yes, Tracy McGrady, who claims to be ready to play for the Houston Rockets once they decide it’s safe to roll the dice on his reconstructed knees. They don’t seem to be in too much of a hurry.
Orlando at Phoenix (-3, 216)
Friday, Dec 11 - 10:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN
Nash’s Suns have dropped four of their last five games SU and ATS to fall to 15-7 (12-10 ATS). They haven’t shown nearly the offensive prowess they did in November – the last six Phoenix games have gone 'under.'
Playing six of seven on the road has something to do with it, as does the quality of opposition, losing most recently to the Cavaliers, Lakers and Mavericks. And the Suns have been without Leandro Barbosa (21.7 points per 40 minutes) for these past five games due to a sprained ankle.
The Magic (17-5 SU, 13-9 ATS) can also claim to be road-weary; Friday night will also be their sixth away game out of seven. But Orlando isn’t having any problem winning (6-1 SU, 4-3 ATS) or scoring for that matter. Five of the last six games for the Magic have gone 'over.' This is all with point guard Jameer Nelson (knee) still not cleared to practice.
Jason Williams has been running the show and doing a decent job with a 15.94 PER – the indexed league average is 15. The question for Friday will be whether or not Williams can keep up with Nash.
The early betting odds had Orlando as a slight underdog at +1½, a number that has risen to at +2½ at most shops, +3 at some. The original total, 214½, is also on the rise to 216 at most shops.
Cleveland at Oklahoma City
Sunday, Dec 13 - 7:00 p.m. (ET)
The Cavaliers (15-7 SU, 11-11 ATS) are so good that nobody’s really talking about their games. They’re talking about whether LeBron James can play in the NFL, or coach in the NBA – or whether he should have been dancing in the middle of a time-out huddle last week with the Cavs up big on the Chicago Bulls.
Here’s a more relevant topic of conversation: Shaquille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao don’t mesh very well on the floor, prompting coach Mike Brown to insert sophomore J.J. Hickson in the starting lineup at power forward.
Let’s take a gander at three advanced stats for each of Cleveland’s four primary big men.
Shaquille O’Neal: 14.75 PER, 0.5 Win Shares, minus-4.3 Roland Rating
Anderson Varejao: 13.91 PER, 2.0 Win Shares, plus-8.3 Roland Rating
J.J. Hickson: 13.74 PER, 1.0 Win Shares, minus-5.8 Roland Rating
Zydrunas Ilgauskas: 11.15 PER, 0.8 Win Shares, minus-3.1 Roland Rating
The PER metric doesn’t reflect defense very well, which is why Varejao is low on that end but doing very well otherwise. The larger point is that the Cavs only do well with the complementary post combinations of either O’Neal-Hickson or Varejao-Ilgauskas. This limits Varejao’s minutes and detracts from their ability to get to the pay window, unlike last year when Cleveland led the NBA at 50-32 ATS.
Oklahoma City is in a much better position to cash in at 11-9 SU and 12-8 ATS. First and foremost, the Thunder have a significantly lower profile within the betting public. Second, this is a team with growth potential, loaded with young and improving stars like Kevin Durant (24.44 PER), James Harden (17.99 PER) and Russell Westbrook (15.99 PER).
And they play tough at home at 6-5 SU and 7-4 ATS, while the Cavs are beatable at 7-5 SU and ATS on the road. Keep an eye on the odds and results between now and Sunday to make sure this matchup still belongs on your radar.
A busy NBA weekend start with 11 games on Friday, with the late tip between the Suns and Magic in Phoenix the second part of an ESPN doubleheader. Following their fast start, the Suns have dropped four of five to fall three games behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division. For Orlando this will be its sixth road game in the last seven, with the Magic sporting an impressive 10-3 record on the highway this season.
This past Wednesday was Steve Nash Internet Day, as proclaimed by the bloggers at Bright Side of the Sun. But really, isn’t every day Steve Nash Internet Day?
He’s immensely talented, he appeals to the sharp online demographic, and he’s frickin’ hilarious. Not only that, when Nash wears a shirt and tie, I feel compelled to call him for tech support.
Nash leads the NBA in assists per game (11.0) and he’s second to Chris Paul among point guards in Player Efficiency Rating. But will either man get to start for the Western Conference at the All-Star Game in Dallas? Thursday’s voting numbers had Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady as the leading guards in the West.
Yes, Tracy McGrady, who claims to be ready to play for the Houston Rockets once they decide it’s safe to roll the dice on his reconstructed knees. They don’t seem to be in too much of a hurry.
Orlando at Phoenix (-3, 216)
Friday, Dec 11 - 10:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN
Nash’s Suns have dropped four of their last five games SU and ATS to fall to 15-7 (12-10 ATS). They haven’t shown nearly the offensive prowess they did in November – the last six Phoenix games have gone 'under.'
Playing six of seven on the road has something to do with it, as does the quality of opposition, losing most recently to the Cavaliers, Lakers and Mavericks. And the Suns have been without Leandro Barbosa (21.7 points per 40 minutes) for these past five games due to a sprained ankle.
The Magic (17-5 SU, 13-9 ATS) can also claim to be road-weary; Friday night will also be their sixth away game out of seven. But Orlando isn’t having any problem winning (6-1 SU, 4-3 ATS) or scoring for that matter. Five of the last six games for the Magic have gone 'over.' This is all with point guard Jameer Nelson (knee) still not cleared to practice.
Jason Williams has been running the show and doing a decent job with a 15.94 PER – the indexed league average is 15. The question for Friday will be whether or not Williams can keep up with Nash.
The early betting odds had Orlando as a slight underdog at +1½, a number that has risen to at +2½ at most shops, +3 at some. The original total, 214½, is also on the rise to 216 at most shops.
Cleveland at Oklahoma City
Sunday, Dec 13 - 7:00 p.m. (ET)
The Cavaliers (15-7 SU, 11-11 ATS) are so good that nobody’s really talking about their games. They’re talking about whether LeBron James can play in the NFL, or coach in the NBA – or whether he should have been dancing in the middle of a time-out huddle last week with the Cavs up big on the Chicago Bulls.
Here’s a more relevant topic of conversation: Shaquille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao don’t mesh very well on the floor, prompting coach Mike Brown to insert sophomore J.J. Hickson in the starting lineup at power forward.
Let’s take a gander at three advanced stats for each of Cleveland’s four primary big men.
Shaquille O’Neal: 14.75 PER, 0.5 Win Shares, minus-4.3 Roland Rating
Anderson Varejao: 13.91 PER, 2.0 Win Shares, plus-8.3 Roland Rating
J.J. Hickson: 13.74 PER, 1.0 Win Shares, minus-5.8 Roland Rating
Zydrunas Ilgauskas: 11.15 PER, 0.8 Win Shares, minus-3.1 Roland Rating
The PER metric doesn’t reflect defense very well, which is why Varejao is low on that end but doing very well otherwise. The larger point is that the Cavs only do well with the complementary post combinations of either O’Neal-Hickson or Varejao-Ilgauskas. This limits Varejao’s minutes and detracts from their ability to get to the pay window, unlike last year when Cleveland led the NBA at 50-32 ATS.
Oklahoma City is in a much better position to cash in at 11-9 SU and 12-8 ATS. First and foremost, the Thunder have a significantly lower profile within the betting public. Second, this is a team with growth potential, loaded with young and improving stars like Kevin Durant (24.44 PER), James Harden (17.99 PER) and Russell Westbrook (15.99 PER).
And they play tough at home at 6-5 SU and 7-4 ATS, while the Cavs are beatable at 7-5 SU and ATS on the road. Keep an eye on the odds and results between now and Sunday to make sure this matchup still belongs on your radar.
