2-14-12

[Mr. IWS]

Note:

ALL PLAYS POSTED ARE UNCONFIRMED UNLESS YOU BUY THEM YOURSELF. THERE IS BAD INFO PASSED AROUND FROM TIME TO TIME, SO PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK

[Mr. IWS]

David Banks

Atlanta Hawks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
A pair of second place teams in their respective divisions will collide in Tinseltown Tuesday night when Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers (16-12, 12-16 ATS) square off against Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks (18-10, 14-13-1 ATS); Tip-off from the Staples Center tip is set to go live at 10:30 ET.

The Hawks will be in an ornery mood when they take to the hardwood Tuesday night after getting embarrassed in a crucial Southeast Division duel with the Miami Heat their last time out. Atlanta found itself behind the 8-ball right from the get go as the Heat bolted out to a 30-18 lead after one quarter of play, and took a 22-point lead with them into the break before coasting in the second half to pull out the 107-87 road win and cover as four-point chalk. The loss snapped the Hawks mini two-game winning streak, and in the process, dropped them three-games in back of the division leading Heat. Willie Greens 17 points off the bench paced the Hawks who only had one other player register double-digits in scoring. Atlantas struggled to score points of late averaging just 87.8 PPG their last six games; down 7.7 points from their regular season average (#14 at 95.5 PPG). That figure doesnt figure to improve against the leagues 4th ranked scoring defense (90.9 PPG). The Hawks have been decent away from Philips Arena to date amassing 9-5 SU & 8-5-1 ATS records.

The Lakers return home from a six-game road trip that saw them go 3-3 SU & 2-4 ATS to move to four-games over the breakeven point for the year. The trip would have been an even bigger disappointment had Kobe Bryant not come up with a clutch shot in the closing moments of Sundays matinee battle in Toronto with the Raptors. Still, snagging three wins away from the Staples Center was huge for Coach Mike Browns squad considering it had only won twice as a visitor going into the roady. They now return home to host the Hawks where they check in a much better 11-2 SU & 8-5 ATS for the season. Only the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers managed to defeat them in their own house, and those two defeats came by an average of just 1.5 points per game. LAs offense has been far from up to snuff this season, as its 92.7 PPG average checks in at #21; the team has also been wretched from beyond the arc where its converted on just 29.1 percent of its overall attempts (#30).

The home team has covered six of these non-conference rivals L/8 overall meetings. The host had also won each of the previous seven meetings SU until LA went into Hotlanta and scored the 101-87 road win and cover (-4.5) in the teams most recent confrontation last season. Atlantas 3-0-1 ATS its L/4 road tussles, but checks in 1-6 ATS its L/7 against Pacific Division opponents and has dropped four of its L/5 visits to the Staples Center. The favorite has covered five of the L/7 overall meetings, but Los Angeles stands just 2-8 ATS its L/10 against the Eastern Conference. The over is 5-2 the L/7 times these teams went at one another in LA.
PICK: OVER

[Mr. IWS]

Paul Leiner

100* Over 189 Grizzlies/Rockets

50* St Johns +9

[Mr. IWS]

Sports Wagers NBA (Pass CBB)

TORONTO +5/+180 over New York Pinnacle
Reagrdless of the outcome here, we're going with the best of it by betting against the suddenly overhyped New York Knicks. Some have compared Jeremy Lins' arrival and subsequent heroics to that of Tim Tebow. Lin is getting the same amount of press, as the media continues to blow everything out of proportion. Had this game been played before that hype and without Carmelo Anthony and Baron Davis in the lineup, as they are here, the Raptors would've been a 5-point favorite. All the Raptors have done is beat the Celtics and come from 20 down to against the Lakers to force L.A. into a last second shot to beat them. The Raptors are continually improving. Three of their last five games have come against Miami, Boston and the Lakers. They went 1-2 against that trio but did not look out of place in any of them with biggest margin of defeat being by six points in Miami. Win or lose, we now get to take advantage of a bad line because of the inflated “Lin” factor. Play: Toronto +180 (Risking 1 unit) Play: Toronto +5 (Risking 1.05 units to win 1).

OKLAHOMA CITY -12½ over Utah Pinnacle
The Thunder have played the least amount of home games in the Association. They're 12-5 on the road and they're 9-1 at home. Playing their fifth game in seven nights on the road, the Thunder went into Utah on Friday and beat them by 14. The Jazz played last night in New Orleans and lost. Utah will now play its third game in three successive nights against one of the best and highest scoring teams in the league. The Jazz have just three road wins in 11 tries. They're a middle of the pack team in terms of scoring, rebounding and defense but on the road they drop off significantly. They played as good as they could against an exhausted Thunder team last Friday and were ultimately put away in the second half. Playing their third game in three nights and playing in the Thunders house against a rested Thunder squad, the Jazz have about as much chance of covering this number as “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” does of winning best picture at the Academy Awards. Play: Oklahoma City -12½ (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).

[Mr. IWS]

Sports Wagers NHL

N.Y. Rangers +123 over BOSTON Pinnacle
The Bruins haven't won back to back games in over a month. They're coming off that 4-3 OT win over Nashville in a game they played well in but still needed a goal in the final minute to send it into OT. Boston has allowed five goals or more in three of its last eight and three or more goals in six of those. The B's are still not right while the Rangers are legit Cup contenders. The Rangers are in every game. They don't lose often and they don't trail in the game often either. New York has won seven of nine with both losses over that span coming against the Devils, 1-0 and 4-3 in OT. To give you an idea of how consistently good the Blue Shirts have been, consider that they have not lost consecutive games since December 13 and 15. Since then, they've won 19 of 25 games. The Rangers have beaten the B's once this year already. They also beat them both times they met last season. At the moment the Rangers are in better form and they have a big edge in net with Henrik Lundqvist over the suddenly shaky Tim Thomas. Play: New York +123 (Risking 2 units).

Dallas +185 over DETROIT Pinnacle
The Red Wings will go for an NHL record 21st straight win at home after tying the record against Philly on Sunday. In the past 48 hours, there has been intense media coverage and nobody want to talk to the Stars. They all want to talk with Red Wings players and that has them thinking more than they should be. Especially undrafted goaltender Joey MacDonald. A 32-year old career minor leaguer, MacDonald has appeared in just 26 NHL games. He was called up to backup Ty Conklin so he was a backup to a backup. Granted, he's played well in three games since Conklin was yanked but there's added pressure here. The Stars will come in with nothing to lose. They're expected to go down in defeat. However, they know this team well. Despite losing both games to Detroit this season, Dallas was in a position to win them both, as they lost 5-4 in the first meeting and 3-2 in OT in the second. The Stars will give it everything they have in an attempt to prevent the Red Wings from doing what the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders dynasties could not. Play: Dallas +185 (Risking 2 units).

BUFFALO -108 over New Jersey Pinnacle
The Devils have lost two in a row and at least one or perhaps both were due to poor goaltending. Both Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg have two of the worst save percentages in the league. . Brodeur's, the lower of the two (.899) is the confirmed starter here. The Devils can dominate a game and still lose, as they did against these same Sabres before the break when they outshot them 28-14 and lost in OT. We see in the Chicago Blackhawks what can happen to a good team with poor goaltending. It deflates and demoralizes a club. They lose games they should have won and it takes it's toll over time. The Blackhawks have lost eight straight because of lousy goaltending and unless New Jersey addresss this, they're not going anywhere this year. Meanwhile, something happened over the all-star break to the Sabres. They woke up. They've picked up points in five of six games since the break. Included over that span is two shutout wins over Boston (6-0) and the Rangers (1-0). The Sabres are to the NHL this season what Philadelphia was to the NFL. Huge talent and nothing to show for it so far but again, this sleeping dog has awoken and they're very dangerous right now. Play: Buffalo -108 (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).

[Mr. IWS]

Jimmy Boyd 2/14
5* Wisconsin Green Bay -4.5

4* Hofstra -3
4* Indiana Pacers +3 (-115)

[Mr. IWS]

WUNDERDOG
NBA 91-69 Season-to-Date +$3300
Game: Miami at Indiana (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: Game Total UNDER 198.5 -110

The Indiana Pacers have come a long way. Just a few short years ago they went the Phoenix, and Golden State method, and just tried to outscore everyone they faced. They now have a nucleus of talent that can go toe-to-toe with most teams and stand at 17-10 on the season. The Pacers have allowed just two of their last 21 opponents to taste the century mark, so looking at a total just shy of 200 is certainly showing value on the low side. The Heat are much more well known for the offensive talent their trio of stars, but they have been great on the defensive end as well. Miami has allowed just two of their last 17 opponents to touch the 100-point mark. Play this one UNDER the total.

[Mr. IWS]

Alatex
Delaware + 3

[Mr. IWS]

Sharpwins

Texas -2.5

Siena +4.5

Portland Blazers -14.5

Houston Rockets +3

San Antonio Spurs -8

[Mr. IWS]

Viking Sports NHL 2.14
NYI/Win 5.5 u

OTT/TB 5.5 O

NYR/BOS 5 U
DAL/DET 5.5 U

[Mr. IWS]

Info Plays

7* Oklahoma +3

[Mr. IWS]

MRC
CBB Plays for Tuesday, February 14
Virginia +1
Texas -3
Virginia Commonwealth +1

[Mr. IWS]

Jimmy Boyd 2/14
5* Wisconsin Green Bay -4.5

4* Hofstra -3
4* Indiana Pacers +3 (-115)

[Mr. IWS]

The Popular Choice

2* Vir +1
4* Spurs -6 1/2

[Mr. IWS]

WUNDERDOG SPORTS
GAME OF THE MONTH
Washington Wizards-Portland TrailBlazers Under 194