Betting news, trends, odds and predictions for Wednesday, March 14, 2018 from various handicappers and websites
Wednesday’s NBA
Bucks won six of last eight games with the Magic; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Orlando. Four of last six series games stayed under. Milwaukee won its last two games after a 1-6 skid; they’re 7-1 this season as road favorites. Under is 5-3 in their last eight road games. Orlando are off an 0-5 road trip; they’re 8-3 vs spread in last 11 games as home underdogs. Under is 6-2 in their last eight games.
Wizards/Celtics split their last eight meetings; Washington is 1-5 vs spread in last six visits to Boston. Seven of last nine series games went over. Wizards lost five of their last seven games; they’re 7-2 vs spread in last nine games as road underdogs. Six of their last eight games went under the total. Celtics won six of their last eight games; they’re 1-7 vs spread in last eight home games. Over is 7-2-1 in their last ten games.
Miami won eight of last ten games with the Kings; they’re 2-2 vs spread in last four visits to Sacramento. Eight of last ten series games went over. Heat won six of their last nine games; they’re 4-5 vs spread as road favorites. Seven of their last ten games went over. Sacramento lost seven of its last ten games; they’re 3-9 in last 12 games as home underdogs. Five of their last six games stayed under.
Golden State won its last six games with the Lakers but LA covered last three; Lakers are 1-3 vs spread in last four visits to Oakland. Last three series games went over. Lakers are 1-4 vs spread on road if they played night before; they won eight of last ten games, are 4-1 vs spread in last fie road games. Over is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Golden State is 0-6 vs spread in its last six games; five of the six games stayed under.
NBA
Wednesday, March 14
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Trend Report
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MILWAUKEE @ ORLANDO
Milwaukee is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Milwaukee's last 14 games on the road
Orlando is 20-3 SU in its last 23 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando's last 6 games
WASHINGTON @ BOSTON
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
Boston is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Washington
MIAMI @ SACRAMENTO
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 5 games on the road
Miami is 16-2 SU in its last 18 games when playing Sacramento
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Sacramento's last 13 games when playing Miami
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Sacramento's last 6 games
LA LAKERS @ GOLDEN STATE
The total has gone OVER in 7 of LA Lakers's last 8 games on the road
LA Lakers is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing LA Lakers
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against LA Lakers
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Preview: Bucks at Magic
Gracenote
Mar 14, 2018
The Milwaukee Bucks have emerged from a porous stretch with back-to-back victories and look to tack on another triumph when they visit the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. The Bucks dropped six of seven games over an 11-day stretch before reversing course with wins over the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies.
All-Star small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to lead Milwaukee's pursuit of a playoff spot as he has posted 33 double-doubles and 20 30-point outings, the latter tying for eighth most in franchise history. "My goal is to make the Bucks a championship level team," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "Playing late into the playoffs helps me as a player and helps us as a team. We have to keep doing that." Orlando has dropped 12 of its last 14 games and registered a season low for points in Tuesday's 108-72 road loss against the San Antonio Spurs. "It's hard with this many games left and having nothing to play for," center Nikola Vucevic told reporters afterward. "It's not easy year after year after year for me. The frustration has really grown on me, especially the last two years. I felt like at some point we were going in the right direction, but then we took a turn downhill."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (36-31): Guard Brandon Jennings was a big hit in his first game since signing a 10-day contract with the club by producing 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in Monday's victory over the Grizzlies. Jennings played his four seasons with the Bucks (2009-13) and was once the team's top player, and that stint included his career-best 19.1 scoring average in 2011-12. The 28-year-old who played in China and for Milwaukee's G League franchise this season was beaming afterward saying, "I felt like it was my first rookie game again. Just to put on that jersey was a blessing, and I was just grateful."
ABOUT THE MAGIC (20-48): Orlando leading scorer Aaron Gordon is counting on making his return after a three-game absence due to his second concussion of the season. Gordon, who averages 18.3 points, didn't clear the concussion protocol for Tuesday's game against the Spurs after an independent NBA-appointed physician examined him, and Gordon told reporters he still needs to pass a memorization and recognition test. "Of course, you want to be safe. Better safe than sorry," Gordon told the assembled media. "I feel OK, but protocol is protocol for a reason."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Bucks have lost 20 of their last 23 visits to Orlando but one of the wins was a 111-104 decision on Feb. 10.
2. Milwaukee swingman Khris Middleton is averaging 27 points on 20-of-30 shooting over the past two games.
3. The Magic committed 21 turnovers and shot just 34.1 percent from the field in the loss to the Spurs.
PREDICTION: Bucks 107, Magic 103
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Preview: Wizards at Celtics
Gracenote
Mar 14, 2018
The Boston Celtics will be severely shorthanded on Wednesday when they host the Washington Wizards. Star guard Kyrie Irving is among the four players who will miss the contest while power forward Al Horford is questionable due to illness.
Irving continues to deal with left knee soreness that will cause him to sit out for the second time in four games while point guard Marcus Smart (thumb), shooting guard Jaylen Brown (concussion) and forward Daniel Theis (knee) will also be in street clothes for a team that has dealt with injuries since losing small forward Gordon Hayward to a broken ankle in the season opener. "We are equipped and we will battle on, I think is the way you got to look at it," Boston coach Brad Stevens told reporters. "I've never been in a season that's been like this. Obviously it started right out of the gate this way with Gordon." Washington is struggling with five losses in its past seven games after losing 116-111 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday and coach Scott Brooks was dismayed over his club's interior defense after allowing 64 points in the paint. "You can't expect your bigs to protect you every time. You got to guard, you got to guard the ball," Brooks told reporters. "You can't keep saying the same things every game. It's been four games now, and we've given up over 60 points in the paint. It's a personal pride."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, NBCS Boston
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (38-30): All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal is aware of Boston's injury issues and feels there is no excuse for not winning Wednesday's contest. "We need it, we need to win," Beal told reporters after Tuesday's setback. "It's plain and simple. It's not anything we need to pinpoint on doing, we know who we're playing, we know what environment we're going to be in, so there should be nothing new for us. Just go out there and get a win, whatever it takes." Beal scored 19 points against the Timberwolves on a night in which power forward Markieff Morris stood out with a season-high 27 points.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (46-21): Theis was ruled out for the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee, an injury that occurred during the final minute of Sunday's loss to the Indiana Pacers. The 25-year-old rookie from Germany has been a key member of the rotation with averages of 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while recording 48 blocked shots and 30 steals. "I appreciate the way that he approached every day, and he'll approach the rehab the same way," Stevens told reporters. "But you really feel for him. He was a guy that came in knowing he could play, but maybe not even expecting to have the type of season he had."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The squads have split two meetings this season with the visiting team prevailing on both occasions.
2. Washington PG Tomas Satoransky continues to play well in place of injured All-Star John Wall (knee) and recorded 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals against Minnesota.
3. Boston rookie SF Jayson Tatum scored 19 points versus Indiana for his best scoring effort since a 27-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 2.
PREDICTION: Wizards 109, Celtics 107
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Preview: Heat at Kings
Gracenote
Mar 13, 2018
The Miami Heat dropped the opener of an important three-game road trip while missing two key players. They hope to have either Hassan Whiteside or Dwyane Wade back in the lineup when they try to snap an eight-game road losing streak at the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
Playing without Whiteside (hip) and Wade (hamstring), Miami's two-game winning streak came to an end with a 115-99 loss at Portland on Monday, dropping it back into eighth place in the Eastern Conference - a half-game behind seventh-place Milwaukee. "It's going to be important [to win Wednesday] because we didn't start the road trip well, but this [next] game we must have," guard Goran Dragic told reporters after scoring a team-high 23 points in the loss. "You know, [the Kings] are going to play with basically nothing to lose. They're already out. We need to take care of business and try to approach this game like its a playoff game, make sure everybody is on the same page and win." Sacramento dropped both ends of a two-game road trip - including Monday's 106-101 setback at Oklahoma City - but it recently had a 3-2 homestand and is a respectable 11-14 against the East. The Kings also won at Miami 89-88 on Jan. 25 and have a chance to sweep the season series for the first time since 2001-02.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), NBCS California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE HEAT (36-32): Dragic was a bright spot Monday, making 10-of-17 shots, and so was reserve forward Justise Winslow, who finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks to continue his recent surge. "He was facilitating, getting us organized into offense and then when it was time to be aggressive, he dropped his shoulder and got to the rim a few times," coach Erik Spoelstra said of Winslow. "He probably could have drawn a couple of fouls - a lot of contact on those drives. But he's been doing that, he's been trending that way recently. The 13 rebounds were notable and defensively he was in the right spots in the second half." After averaging no more than 7.3 points in any month October through February, Winslow is posting 13 points per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 55 percent from 3-point range in seven games this month.
ABOUT THE KINGS (21-47): Rookie De'Aaron Fox has exhibited some solid point guard play in two games since returning from a back ailment, collecting 19 assists against only two turnovers while averaging 11.5 points against the quality backcourts of Denver and Oklahoma City. Fellow rookie Bogdan Bogdanovic snapped out of a three-game funk in which he shot 5-for-28 to make 6-of-11 shots versus the Thunder. Skal Labissiere (hip), who averaged 12.8 points in six contests prior to Friday's win over Orlando in which he injured his hip, missed both games on the road trip and is day-to-day.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Kings SG Buddy Hield scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the earlier win at Miami.
2. Heat C Bam Adebayo started in place of Whiteside at Portland and finished 1-for-10 from the floor with a season high-tying three turnovers.
3. Miami is 10-11 without Whiteside this season.
PREDICTION: Heat 104, Kings 102
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Preview: Lakers at Warriors
Gracenote
Mar 14, 2018
The Golden State Warriors lost their first two games without All-Star point guard Stephen Curry and look to overcome his absence Wednesday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers. Curry sprained his right ankle Thursday and will miss at least six contests in total with a re-evaluation slated for March 20.
The Warriors were routed by the Portland Trail Blazers and lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the games without Curry but All-Star small forward Kevin Durant was quick to point out there is a bigger picture in play. "The season's always a tune-up for the playoffs," Durant told reporters. "And if we had won this game (against Minnesota), we wasn't going to spray champagne in the locker room and be excited on the way back to the Bay (Area). So in a loss we can't hang our heads. We just got to keep playing, keep working, keep figuring things out, and we'll be fine." The Lakers are soaring with eight victories in their past 10 games after posting a 112-103 home victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Second-year small forward Brandon Ingram, who scored a career-best 32 against the Warriors earlier this season, will miss his seventh straight game because of a groin injury.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Spectrum Sports Net (Los Angeles), NBCS Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (31-36): Rookie forward Kyle Kuzma injured his right ankle in the first half and later exploded by scoring 24 of his 26 points in the second half while also collecting 13 rebounds. "I thought his competitive spirit was great," Los Angeles coach Luke Walton said after the contest. "He gave everything he had to the game. Kept telling me 'Coach, I'm ready to go' after he hurt the ankle." Power forward Julius Randle also had 26 points and 13 rebounds and guard Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points as the Lakers reached at least 100 points for the 22nd consecutive game.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (51-16): Curry isn't the only ailing player as small forward Andre Iguodala (three games with a wrist injury), power forward David West (four due to a cyst on his right arm) and rookie power forward Jordan Bell (three, ankle) also have been sidelined. Coach Steve Kerr is pleased with his club's effort despite what he terms "a little bit of a tough stretch" and All-Star power forward Draymond Green believes the discouragement will be overcome with a victory or two. "It's tough when you're missing that many key guys," Green told reporters, "but I think those guys will get back in time enough for us to find a rhythm that we need."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors are averaging 118.7 points in three wins over the Lakers this season and have won the last six meetings.
2. Los Angeles rookie PG Lonzo Ball is averaging five points on 4-of-22 shooting over the past two contests.
3. Golden State All-Star SG Klay Thompson was only 3-of-12 from 3-point range during Sunday's loss while dealing with a sprained right thumb but is probable to play against the Lakers.
PREDICTION: Warriors 124, Lakers 121
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