**Charlotte at New Jersey**



-- Charlotte (21-54 straight up, 41-29 against the spread) is off a win Tuesday as a two-point home favorite against Minnesota, 97-92.



-- The Bobcats have already surpassed their 18 total wins in the inaugural season for the young club.



-- Charlotte has struggled on the road this year with a 6-31 SU mark. However, gamblers have ridden the team to an impressive 22-14 ATS run.



-- Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff and company don’t shy away from running up and down the court, averaging 97 points per game and allowing 101 PPG on the year. The ‘over’ is 43-29 on the year, including 21-14 on the road.



-- Following this game, the ‘Cats will travel to Toronto on Sunday.



-- New Jersey (45-28 SU, 35-36 ATS) remains the hottest club in the league, winning its 13th game in a row Tuesday after holding off Atlanta, 96-94.


-- The Nets failed to cover as 11-point home favorites, while the combined 190 points luckily went ‘over’ the closing total of 186. The team is 10-3 ATS during the recent winning streak.



-- Defense has been the key for head coach Lawrence Frank’s team, allowing just one club to surpass the century mark in the last 13 games. The ‘under’ has prevailed to a 10-3 run.



-- New Jersey is 6-1 SU and 4-3 ATS in the seven meetings against Charlotte. The Bobcats have played tough in The Swamp, going 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS in the past two contests.



-- The Nets currently sit in the No. 3 spot of the Eastern Conference playoffs and could catch Miami for the second seed if they win out and get some help.



-- Finishing the year with 22 straight victories doesn’t seem out of reach either, especially with only one squad (Cleveland) with a winning record in the next nine games.



**Detroit at Miami**



-- A potential Eastern Conference Finals preview is on tap for Thursday between the Pistons and Heat. For the most part, the game is meaningless, with Detroit and Miami all but sealing up the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the East.



-- The Pistons have won two of the three meetings this year, with Miami’s lone 100-98 victory coming on Feb. 12 at American Airlines Arena. For those of you who don’t recall, Dwyane Wade dropped in 37 points and led his team back from a 13-point deficit.



-- Detroit (60-14 SU, 35-38 ATS) captured its fifth straight win Tuesday by stopping New Orleans, 101-93. The Pistons failed to cover as nine-point home favorites, while the combined 194 points jumped ‘over’ the closing total of 184 ½.



-- The Pistons’ offense has been on a roll, posting 104.8 PPG in their last five games. The ‘over’ has cashed in all five games.



-- Flip Saunders has led his club to the second best record on the road this season, going 26-11. Only San Antonio has more victories (27) amongst other teams.



-- Speaking of the Spurs, the Pistons hold a two-game lead over their Western Conference foes for homecourt throughout the entire playoffs.



-- Miami (49-25 SU, 33-40 ATS) snapped a two-game skid Tuesday with a big 115-89 victory over Milwaukee as a seven-point home favorite. The point-spread cover also broke a four-game losing streak for the Heat.



-- The Heat are 29-7 SU at home, but only 15-20 ATS. The ‘over’ is 21-14.



-- As mentioned above, Miami should earn the second seed in the Eastern Conference barring a collapse in its final eight games. After battles with Detroit tonight and a road trip to Washington on Saturday, the final six games don’t feature one team with a winning record on tap.



-- Tip off for this contest is slated for 8:00 p.m. EST, with TNT providing national coverage.



**Los Angeles Lakers at Denver**



-- Los Angeles (40-35 SU, 39-34 ATS) appears to be poised to make the playoffs after missing last season. Currently, the Lakers would face the second seeded Suns, but could meet up with tonight’s opponent if they leap up the No. 6 spot.



-- The Lakers have been on a roll, going 6-1 SU and 5-1 ATS in their last seven games.



-- Phil Jackson’s team is 2-0 both SU and ATS versus Denver this year, including a 99-97 overtime win at Pepsi Center on Nov. 2.




Denver is just one victory away from winning its division. (AP Images)
-- This will be the first of back-to-back tilts for L.A., with a tough road trip on tap Friday against Phoenix.



-- Denver (41-34 SU, 39-36 ATS) is off a brutal loss Tuesday against the L.A. Clippers, 111-109. After posting 75 points in the first half and leading by 20 points (75-55), the Nuggets managed just 32 points in the final 24 minutes en route to the collapse.



-- George Karl’s crew was on a nice second-half roll, but has since dropped four of the last five games, including 2-3 ATS.



-- The defense has been missing for Denver of late, giving up an average of 106 PPG in the last five tilts. The ‘over’ is 3-2 during this stretch.



-- The Nuggets are 24-13 SU and 20-17 ATS at home this year, with the ‘over’ going 24-12.



-- Denver needs to gain one more victory to clinch the Northwest Division. This group is one of two divisions (Atlantic) to have only one team with a winning record.



-- Following this game, Denver will host Golden State on Saturday.



-- TNT will offer national coverage of this game at 10:30 p.m. EST.