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Re: 11-18-09
Stephen Nover
Wednesday night ...
25 Dime WIZARDS
20 Dime OVER Buffalo/Miami-O
25 Dime WIZARDS - The standings show Washington with one of the worst records in the league at 2-7. Cleveland, of course, is an elite team. There's no finer player than LeBron James.
But the Wizards are a very live 'dog in this spot. This is a rare nationally televised game for Washington being on ESPN. It's the season debut of Antawn Jamison, who has missed every game because of a shoulder injury. Jamison is the heart of the Wizards. The team will get a huge boost from his being back. Also back is key backup guard Randy Foye. It's the first time this season the Wizards will have their entire core group of players healthy.
The Wizards have been idle since Saturday. Cleveland played a sloppy game last night against Golden State. The Cavaliers got stuck playing Golden State's up-tempo style and couldn't put away the Warriors until the final two minutes. The Cavaliers committed 17 turnovers and were outplayed during the final period.
The Cavaliers enter this matchup extremely banged-up. Shaquille O'Neal is out with a strained shoulder. Anderson Varejao, another of the Cavaliers big men, is questionable with a bruised hip as is guard Jamario Moon, who had to leave last night's game with an ankle injury.
Washington's 2-7 record is somewhat deceiving. The Wizards have been sloppy. Gilbert Arenas has been up-and-down since coming back from knee surgery. But the team has desperately missed Jamison and has played maybe the most difficult schedule in the league so far.
The Wizards have already faced seven playoff teams from last season with five of their first nine games occurring on the road. They've already gone against four division leaders - Cleveland, Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas. If you discount the 0-11 Nets, the Wizards have played opponents that have a .702 winning percentage.
The Wizards usually play the Cavaliers tough at home. Cleveland is 4-19 in its last 23 regular-season away contests versus the Wizards. Washington has won four in a row at home against the Cavaliers. Washington has covered four of the last five times it has met Cleveland.
"I'd be surprised if we didn't play well," Wizards coach Flip Saunders was quoted as saying.
20 Dime OVER Buffalo/Miami-O - What do you figure is going to happen when two bad Mid-American Conference teams with terrible defenses get together for a Wednesday night nationally televised game?
Points, that's what. There are going to be a ton of points racked up in this matchup.
Buffalo's season is lost, but the Bulls' offense has gotten into gear late in the year. The Bulls are averaging 28 points and 464.3 yards of total offense during their last three games. Buffalo has been doing plenty of damage on the ground, averaging 200.3 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per rush in its last three games.
Miami of Ohio has trouble stopping the run, allowing 195.3 yards rushing in its last three games. The Redhawks rank 100th in run defense and 107th in scoring defense allowing an average of 33.5 points per game.
Buffalo quarterback Zack Maynard isn't the sharpest quarterback out there, but he'll be able to pick his spots off play-action with Miami of Ohio having to respect the run. The Redhawks don't put heat on a quarterback. They have six sacks in their last three games.
The Redhawks have only one interception in their last three games. During this time frame they've allowed opposing quarterback to connect on 60.5 percent of their throws.
Buffalo doesn't present much of a pass rush either. The Redhawks are a passing team behind quarterback Zac Dysert, who has averaged 344 yards passing in the last four games with seven touchdown throws.
Dysert should have success against a Buffalo defense that has allowed 30.3 points in the last three games, 5.8 yards per play and 416.7 yards of total offense.
The two teams have gone over in four of their past five head-to-head games.
Stephen Nover
Wednesday night ...
25 Dime WIZARDS
20 Dime OVER Buffalo/Miami-O
25 Dime WIZARDS - The standings show Washington with one of the worst records in the league at 2-7. Cleveland, of course, is an elite team. There's no finer player than LeBron James.
But the Wizards are a very live 'dog in this spot. This is a rare nationally televised game for Washington being on ESPN. It's the season debut of Antawn Jamison, who has missed every game because of a shoulder injury. Jamison is the heart of the Wizards. The team will get a huge boost from his being back. Also back is key backup guard Randy Foye. It's the first time this season the Wizards will have their entire core group of players healthy.
The Wizards have been idle since Saturday. Cleveland played a sloppy game last night against Golden State. The Cavaliers got stuck playing Golden State's up-tempo style and couldn't put away the Warriors until the final two minutes. The Cavaliers committed 17 turnovers and were outplayed during the final period.
The Cavaliers enter this matchup extremely banged-up. Shaquille O'Neal is out with a strained shoulder. Anderson Varejao, another of the Cavaliers big men, is questionable with a bruised hip as is guard Jamario Moon, who had to leave last night's game with an ankle injury.
Washington's 2-7 record is somewhat deceiving. The Wizards have been sloppy. Gilbert Arenas has been up-and-down since coming back from knee surgery. But the team has desperately missed Jamison and has played maybe the most difficult schedule in the league so far.
The Wizards have already faced seven playoff teams from last season with five of their first nine games occurring on the road. They've already gone against four division leaders - Cleveland, Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas. If you discount the 0-11 Nets, the Wizards have played opponents that have a .702 winning percentage.
The Wizards usually play the Cavaliers tough at home. Cleveland is 4-19 in its last 23 regular-season away contests versus the Wizards. Washington has won four in a row at home against the Cavaliers. Washington has covered four of the last five times it has met Cleveland.
"I'd be surprised if we didn't play well," Wizards coach Flip Saunders was quoted as saying.
20 Dime OVER Buffalo/Miami-O - What do you figure is going to happen when two bad Mid-American Conference teams with terrible defenses get together for a Wednesday night nationally televised game?
Points, that's what. There are going to be a ton of points racked up in this matchup.
Buffalo's season is lost, but the Bulls' offense has gotten into gear late in the year. The Bulls are averaging 28 points and 464.3 yards of total offense during their last three games. Buffalo has been doing plenty of damage on the ground, averaging 200.3 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per rush in its last three games.
Miami of Ohio has trouble stopping the run, allowing 195.3 yards rushing in its last three games. The Redhawks rank 100th in run defense and 107th in scoring defense allowing an average of 33.5 points per game.
Buffalo quarterback Zack Maynard isn't the sharpest quarterback out there, but he'll be able to pick his spots off play-action with Miami of Ohio having to respect the run. The Redhawks don't put heat on a quarterback. They have six sacks in their last three games.
The Redhawks have only one interception in their last three games. During this time frame they've allowed opposing quarterback to connect on 60.5 percent of their throws.
Buffalo doesn't present much of a pass rush either. The Redhawks are a passing team behind quarterback Zac Dysert, who has averaged 344 yards passing in the last four games with seven touchdown throws.
Dysert should have success against a Buffalo defense that has allowed 30.3 points in the last three games, 5.8 yards per play and 416.7 yards of total offense.
The two teams have gone over in four of their past five head-to-head games.
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