Free Picks for Wednesday, Monday, January 23rd, 2017 from some of the nations best and worst handicappers.
Jesse Schule
Flames vs. Maple Leafs
Play: Maple Leafs -135
The Leafs are one of the league's hottest teams, coming into tonight's home game versus Calgary with a record of 9-2-2 in their last 13 games. They are ranked 6th in the league in scoring, and they boast the league's second best power play converting on 24.1 percent of their chances. Calgary has struggled to keep the puck out of their own net, coming off back to back home losses by a combined score of 11-6. Both the Flames goaltenders are struggling. Brian Elliot has given up eight goals in three straight losses, while Chad Johnson was pulled after conceding three goals in less than six minutes in his last appearance. The home team has won 19 of the last 26 in this series, and the Flames have lost four straight at Air Canada Center.
Stephen Nover
Sharks vs. Avalanche
Play: Avalanche +197
Granted, Colorado is the worst team in the NHL. But the Avalanche have been playing better lately and catch San Jose carrying a high fatigue rating and in a vulnerable spot. So at this huge 'dog price the Avalanche are worth a peanut. The teams just met in San Jose on Saturday. The Avalanche actually outplayed the Sharks, but lost 3-2 in overtime. Colorado played well in its previous game, too, a 2-1 road loss to Anaheim on Thursday. "I think that we're doing certain things better now than we have at any point during the season," Colorado coach Jared Bednar was quoted as saying. The Sharks are in action for the fifth time in eight days. They aren't going to be helped playing in Denver's high altitude. The Sharks also have a more challenging road game against Winnipeg on Tuesday. So that could mean a backup goalie starting for San Jose and a reduction in minutes for certain key players. The Avalanche have short revenge going. They aren't going to lack for motivation.
Mike Lundin
Cavs vs. Pelicans
Play: Cavs -6½
The Cleveland Cavaliers have not looked much like a title defending team lately, winning just two of their last six games. They've had to take on both Golden State and San Antonio during that stretch though, and I think they'll put a solid beating on the New Orleans Pelicans tonight. The Pels are coming off a humbling 143-114 loss to the Nets, and they're 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points and 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss at home.
The Cavs are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games, but I'm gonna take the contrarian rout here and claim that it's about time they cover the spread! Lay the points with the Cavs.
Bob Harvey
San Antonio at Brooklyn
Play: San Antonio -12
The San Antonio Spurs need to be wary of a letdown when they take on the basement dwelling Brooklyn Nets. The Spurs are coming off a 118-105 overtime victory over Cleveland, going from a best to worst scenario.
San Antonio (24-9, 25-17 ATS)has taken the last three in the series, including a 130-101 home triumph on December 10. Kahwi Leonard had 41 points in Saturday’s overtime victory over the Cavs and has scored 30 or more points in his past six games.
The Nets (9-34, 20-21 ATS) have lost nine of their last 10 to fall further into the abyss of the NBA basement. They own a five-game lead over Miami for the worst record in the league and it doesn’t appear a change is on the horizon.
Surprisingly Brooklyn is a respectable 11th in scoring with an average of 106.2 points per game. The problem lies on defense where they’re dead last allowing an average of 114.9 points per game. San Antonio is as solid as they come: they’re 7th in scoring 107.6), 2nd in defense (98.9) and has the third best ATS record in the league. The Spurs are 8-2 SU in the past 10 meetings, 13-3 ATS in the last 16 meetings in Brooklyn and 22-7-1 last 31.Overall the Spurs are 15-5 ATS in their last 20 games overall.
The Nets are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 overall and 1-4 ATS last five against the Western Conference.
The UNDER is 6-1 in the last seven series meetings in Brooklyn.
Sean Murphy
Cavs vs. Pelicans
Play: Over 216
The first meeting between these two teams this season came earlier this month and it was a low-scoring defensive affair with the Cavs winning by a 90-82 score. I expect a much different story to unfold in their rematch in New Orleans on Monday night.
The Cavs haven't played a great deal of defense since that earlier meeting, allowing at least 100 points in all nine games. They'll face a considerable test against a Pelicans squad that scores over 106 points per game at home this season.
The Pelicans were torched for 143 points against a weak Brooklyn squad last time out. Needless to say, they'll have motivation on their side in this one. Note that New Orleans has scored 118 and 114 points in its last two contests.
The last two matchups between these two teams in the Big Easy have produced 233 and 222 points, with the latter matchup needing overtime to get there.
Mike Anthony
Oklahoma State -3.5
TCU is heading into their third leg of a three game road swing with their first two results coming in competitive defeats at Texas Tech and Baylor. In their last outing TCU battled hard defensively against Baylor, but came up short against the Bears losing by a final of 53-62.
Oklahoma State put up some respectable results back during the nonconference, but the Cowboys have had a tougher time getting traction in the highly competitive Big 12 as the Cowboys now stand 11-8 overall and 1-6 in conference. Oklahoma State is better than their overall conference record might suggest and we saw that in their last outing as the Cowboys went on the road and looked very impressive beating Texas Tech by a final of 83-64. Oklahoma State is very dangerous when they get their offense rolling as the Cowboys rank 8th in the nation in scoring average compared to just 319th in total defense. We like Oklahoma State to play off of their recent momentum as they go on to win and cover this spread today behind their home crowd.
Rob Vinciletti
Oklahoma vs Texas
Play: Texas -2
The Longhorns are 11-0 vs losing teams and have covered in 6 of the last 7 games, as well as 16 of the last 21 in conference. They catch Oklahoma here off a pair of overtime games, the last of which was a double Overtime loss at home to Iowa St. The Sooners are 2-5 after scoring 80 or more points and have failed to cover 12 of 17 off a spread loss. Texas has lost their last 2 home games here but should break out to a win in this one.
Larry Ness
New York vs. Indiana
Pick: Indiana
The 22-21 Indiana Pacers have lost back-to-back games (at the Lakers and Jazz) but have won seven of their last 10 games, despite those recent struggles. Indiana's road woes continued on its short three-game Western swing but will return home to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where they have put together a 16-5 SU home record. Meanwhile, the 19-26 NY Knicks have lost seven of their last nine games and after a promising 14-10 start to the season, have gone just 5-16 since.
New York fell 107-105 at home to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night at home, despite another 30-point night from Carmelo Anthony (22.5-6.0). Anthony had a chance to win the game with a three-pointer at the buzzer, but missed.The Knicks' last three losses have all been within three points and by a combined six points, adding to their recent frustration. "You couldn't have asked for a better look or a better shot than that," Anthony told NorthJersey.com. "The shot felt good. It was a tough one to see not go in." In fact, seven of New York's last 13 losses have come by five or less points. The Knicks begin a stretch of five of six on the road by visiting the Pacers on Monday and will be looking to win for just the FOURTH time in 17 games. Figuring out how to put together 48 minutes of consistent effort is an issue and I'm not even remotely convinced that the Knicks are capable of doing that.
Returning home is a good thing for the Pacers. "I think one of the biggest things right now is energy," forward Thaddeus Young told Pacers.com. "We start off with a lot of energy at home, get ourselves a big lead and we are able to sustain that throughout the games. For some reason in the second half (on the road) we tend to pick it up, but it's just too hard. You make a run and tire yourself out." Indiana had won seven of eight before dropping the last two and will play 10 of its next 15 games at home. SF George (21.9-6.0-3.2), PG Teague (15.7-4.1-8.0) and the 6-11 Turner (15.6-7.5) have been the core for this team in the season to-date.
The Pacers are 16-5 SU at home and currently own a five-game winning streak at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, the Knicks are 7-15 SU on the road, allowing 110.6 PPG. The Knicks have lost nine of their last 11 road games, including 123-109 at Indiana to the Pacers back on January 7, when the Pacers shot 50.0 percent from the floor plus out-rebounded the Knicks 53-32! That was Indiana's EIGHTH win in the last nine meetings between the two teams. What changes here? Nothing! Lay the points.
Jim Feist
Troy at Arkansas Little Rock
Pick: Over
Troy has lost two straight games after losses to Texas State and Arkansas State. Troy is an offensive powerhouse, averaging 80.6 ppg and shooting 46.5 percent this season. In addition, Troy is shooting 37.4% from beyond the 3-point arc. Not surprising that they are 10-1 O/U in their last 11 games and 5-0 O/U in their last five away contests. Little Rock is 3-3 in conference play after a win over South Alabama last time out. These clubs are 4-1 O/U in their last five meetings at Arkansas LR. The team that dictates the pace here will likely win. Considering Troy has scored 71 or more in its last eight games, I look for the road club to get plenty of points.
Wunderdog
Sacramento vs. Detroit
Pick: Sacramento +6.5
You need muscle up front when you face the Pistons, and Sacramento has it with DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings topped Detroit 100-94 on January 10 as Cousins had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Sacramento comes off a close one, Saturday's 102-99 loss at Chicago as Cousins had 42 points. The Kings are 15-7 ATS following a straight up loss. Detroit is home on a three-game win streak, but the Pistons are 2-8 ATS following a straight up win. Detroit is also 3-10 ATS after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game, and the underdog is 11-4-1 ATS in the last 16 meetings.
David Banks
New York @ Indiana
Pick: New York +5.5
Can it get any worse for the New York Knicks? They are losers of 10 of 12 games prior to a Martin Luther King Day matchup with Atlanta. They are one of the NBA’s worst defensive teams. The Knicks give up 108.3 points a game, which is 25th in the league. They also don’t play well away from home. The Knicks are just 6-15 away from Madison Square Garden this year. To top it off, New York must face Atlanta, Boston, Washington, and Phoenix before travelling to Indiana to take on the Pacers.
The Pacers and Knicks have played twice already this season. The Knicks won the first game on Dec. 20 when Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points in a 118-111 victory. The game was played at the Garden. On Jan. 7, the Knicks traveled to Indiana and lost 123-109. Anthony was held to just 17 points, five below his season average.
New York will have to find a way to slow down the Pacers frontcourt which features leading scorer Paul George (22.1 ppg), forward Thaddeus Young (11.7 ppg), and center Myles Turner who averages 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Slowing down Indiana’s frontcourt could be made even more difficult if 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingas is still out of the lineup. The Knicks center, who averages 19.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game, has not played since Jan. 11 due to soreness in his Achilles.
Rocketman
Cleveland State @ Wisconsin Green Bay
Play: Wisconsin Green Bay -6
The Cleveland State Vikings travel to Wisconsin Green Bay to take on the Phoenix on Monday night. Cleveland State is 6-14 SU overall this year while Wisconsin Green Bay comes in with an 11-8 SU overall record on the season. Cleveland State is 2-12 SU and 3-10 ATS this year as an underdog. Cleveland State is 1-10 SU and 2-8 ATS this year when playing on the road. Cleveland State is 60-104 ATS last 164 games after a loss against a conference opponent. Cleveland State is 1-9 SU and 2-8 ATS this year when playing against a team with a winning record. Cleveland State is 4-17 ATS last 3 years and 1-7 ATS this year against good offensive teams scoring 77 points per game or more. Wisconsin Green Bay is scoring 79.7 points per game overall this year, 86.2 points per game at home this season, 76.6 points per game their past 5 games overall and 78.4 points per game against conference opponents this season. We'll recommend a small play on Wisconsin Green Bay tonight!
Brandon Lee
Pistons -6½
Detroit is worth a look here at home against the Kings. The Pistons have been a major disappointment so far this season, but they are coming into this one having won 3 straight and will be playing their 3rd straight at home. I don't see Detroit overlooking this game against the Kings, despite the fact that Sacramento has lost 5 straight and 8 of their last 9 overall. That's because the lone win during this stretch for the Kings was a 100-94 victory at home against these Pistons. A game in which Detroit managed to blow a 18-point lead. Those kind of losses don't sit well and this one is fresh in the minds of the Pistons.
John Martin
Clippers vs. Hawks
Play: Hawks -7½
The Los Angeles Clippers continue to struggle without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Los Angeles lost six straight shortly after Griffin had surgery, and now they've lost two straight since Paul was hurt last Monday against Oklahoma City. That includes a 98-123 road loss to the Denver Nuggets last time out. The Hawks have gone 11-2 in their last 13 games overall. They have won their last three home games by 17, 9 and 13 points. The Clippers are 1-11 ATS after a combined score of 205 points or more in 3 straight games this season. Los Angeles is 0-7 ATS in road games after allowing 100 points or more in 2 straight games this season. The Clippers are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 road games overall. The Hawks are 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.