Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Thursday 4/4/19
Milwaukee won five of its last six games; they’re 5-4 vs spread in last nine road games. Four of their last five games went over. Philly lost four of its last six games; they’re 3-1-2 vs spread in last six home games. Seven of their last ten games went over. Bucks/76ers split their last ten meetings; Milwaukee is 2-2 vs spread in its last four visits to Philly. Last four series games went over the total.
Cavaliers lost five of their last six games; they’re 6-4 vs spread in last 10 road games. Eight of their last nine games went over. Sacramento lost three of its last four games; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five games as a favorite. Under is 5-3 in their last eight games. Kings won three of last four games with Cleveland; five of last seven series games went over the total. Cavaliers are 2-2 vs spread in their last four visits to Sacramento.
Golden State won six of its last eight games; they’re 4-2 vs spread in last six road games. Under is 15-4 in their last 19 games. Lakers won four of their last six games; they covered their last three home games. Six of their last eight games stayed under. Warriors won nine of last ten games with the Lakers, but LA covered five of last seven; Warriors are 2-2 vs spread in last four series games played here.
Just six teams will take the floor in the Association on Thursday, April 4, 2019, as Milwaukee heads to Philadelphia, Cleveland visits Sacramento, and the Lakers welcome Golden State. We bring you all must-read betting trends and notes for tonight’s game to help you make the best bets.
Featured game: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Philadelphia 76ers
The Milwaukee Bucks (58-20; 46-28-4 ATS) and the Philadelphia 76ers (49-29; 36-42 ATS) will lock horns for the third time this season, and the series is tied after a couple of games in Wisconsin. The Bucks are 14-5 straight up and 12-7 ATS in their last 19 meetings with the Sixers, and the over is 13-6 during that span. Also, the Bucks are 6-2 straight up and 5-3 ATS in the previous eight head-to-head duels in Philadelphia, and the over is 5-3 in that stretch.
Milwaukee is coming off a 131-121 victory at Brooklyn on Monday, and the Bucks are 5-1 straight up and 4-1-1 ATS in their last six outings. They are 13-5 straight up and ATS in the previous 18 showings on the road, while the Bucks are 6-0 straight up and ATS in their last six road matchups with the Atlantic Division. Milwaukee is leading the league three games ahead of Toronto, and the Bucks have already clinched the Central Division title.
Philadelphia dropped its second game in a row last night, losing at Atlanta 130-122, but the Sixers are still 2.5 games ahead of Boston and Indiana, firmly holding the No. 3 seed in the East. Phila is 2-4 straight up and ATS in its last six outings, while the Sixers are 4-7 straight up and 3-8 ATS on the second day of their 11 back-to-back sets this season. The Sixers are 6-0 straight up and 3-3 ATS in their last six games at home, and they are 6-2 straight up and 5-3 ATS in the previous eight home meetings with the Central Division.
Golden State vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The Golden State Warriors (53-24; 33-43-1 ATS) will meet the Los Angeles Lakers (35-43; 32-45-1 ATS) for the fourth time this season, and the reigning champions lead the series 2-1, while the Lakers covered the spread on two occasions. The Warriors opened as massive 13-point favorites with the total at 227.0 points and the Lakers at +670 money line odds. Golden State is 9-1 straight up and 5-5 ATS in its last ten meetings with the Lakers who are 3-7 SU and 5-5 ATS in the previous ten H2H duels at Staples Center.
The Warriors are coming off a 116-102 victory to Denver this past Tuesday, recording their fourth win over the last five outings. They are topping the Western Conference two games ahead of the Nuggets. The Warriors are 8-3 straight up and 7-4 ATS in their last 11 games overall and 4-2 straight up and ATS in the previous six contests on the road, while they are 11-1 straight up and 8-4 ATS in the last 12 road encounters with the Pacific Division.
The Lakers are coming off a 119-103 defeat at Oklahoma City on Tuesday that snapped their two-game winning streak, while the Lakers are 4-2 straight up and 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall. They are 3-0 straight up and ATS in the last three outings at Staples Center following five consecutive straight-up and ATS losses. Also, the Lakers are 4-3 straight up and ATS in their seven home meetings with the Pacific Division this season.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings (38-40; 44-32-2 ATS) thrashed off the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-59; 37-40-1 ATS) 129-110 as 3-point road favorites in their first H2H matchup of the season on December 7, 2018. The Kings are 3-1 straight up and 4-0 ATS in their last four meetings with the Cavaliers and 4-2 straight up and 3-3 ATS in the last six duels in California. Sacramento opened as a 9.5-point fave on this one with the total at 228.5 points, and the over is 5-2 in the previous seven meetings between Sacramento and Cleveland.
The Cavaliers are riding a six-game losing streak following a 122-113 defeat at Phoenix this past Monday, covering the spread two times in that span, while the over is 5-1. The Cavs are on a nine-game slide on the road, covering the spread four times in the process, and the over is 6-3. Cleveland is 1-12 straight up and 5-7-1 ATS in its 13 road meetings with the Western Conference this season.
The Kings have dropped three of their last four games overall and are 5-5 straight up and 4-6 ATS in their last ten outings. They are 13-7 straight up and 13-6-1 ATS in the last 20 showings on the home court, while the Kings are 10-4 straight up and 10-2-2 ATS in their 14 encounters with the Eastern Conference this term.
Chris David
The NBA slows down the pace on Thursday with just three games and the grind of the regular season has turned anticipated matchups into afterthoughts due to injuries and rest.
Let’s break down the card!
Milwaukee (58-20 SU, 46-29-3 ATS) at Philadelphia (49-30 SU, 36-42 ATS)
Unfortunately for fans and bettors, this possible playoff preview will be lacking plenty of luster on Thursday as the game will be filled with a lot of backup players. The injury report for the Bucks has seven players listed as ‘out’ or ‘questionable’ while the 76ers will likely be without Joel Embiid and possibly Jimmy Butler as well.
Follow our Injuries or for faster updates, check out our Lineups feature within our Live Odds.
These teams just played to a classic battle in Milwaukee on Mar. 17 and the 76ers captured a 130-125 win over the Bucks as 5 ½-point road underdogs. Embiid scored 40 points for Philadelphia while Butler added 27 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 52 points and posted 16 rebounds in a losing effort for the Bucks, but the team just couldn’t connect from 3-point land (16-of-50) in the loss.
Milwaukee is ranked second in attempted 3-pointers per game with 38.2 and that ‘make-or-miss’ approach from distance has made the Bucks the top scoring team in the league at 117.9 points per game. Philadelphia isn’t far behind (115.2 PPG) them but the difference for the Bucks is their defense (108.6 PPG) and that production has led to the best point differential (9.3) in the NBA. To put things in perspective, Milwaukee has won 45 of its 58 games this season by 10 points or more.
Thursday’s encounter will be the third and final meeting of the regular season between the pair. The first meeting took place in late October and Milwaukee defeated Philadelphia 123-108 as a five-point home favorite. The Bucks have lost their last two trips to Philadelphia, which both occurred last season, and both decisions were by double digits as they were held to 94 and 95 points.
The 76ers will be playing on no rest after losing at Atlanta 130-122 on Tuesday as 4 ½-point road favorites. Including that setback, Philadelphia has dropped two straight games and four of its last six but the team hasn’t pushed out a full-strength roster in weeks since it’s all but locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. When facing back-to-back spots this season, Philadelphia has gone 4-7 SU and 3-8 ATS while the ‘over’ has gone 8-3.
While Philadelphia has been on cruise control lately, the Bucks continue to rack up wins despite shuffling players in and out of the roster. Antetokounmpo played for Milwaukee on Monday as the team diced up Brooklyn 131-121 as one-point road underdogs and most reports have him expected to play in this game.
Since the loss to Philadelphia in mid-March, the Bucks have gone 6-2 SU and 5-2-1 ATS. The two losses came on the road and to a pair of losing clubs (Hawks, Cavaliers) but despite those setbacks, Milwaukee owns the best road mark (26-14 SU, 23-15-2 ATS) in the league. This will be their final road game of the regular season.
TNT will provide national coverage of this game at 8:05 p.m. ET.
Cleveland (19-59 SU, 37-40-1 ATS) at Sacramento (38-40 SU, 44-32-2 ATS)
The Kings opened as 10-point home favorites over the Cavaliers and the number was pushed down to 9 ½ as of Thursday morning. I don’t expect Sacramento to lose this game but we did see Chicago (+9 ½) surprise Washington last night as a heavy road underdog in a meaningless game. While that outcome was an upset, three other heavy double-digit favorites on Wednesday went 3-0 both SU and ATS for ‘chalk’ bettors.
Sacramento blasted Cleveland 129-110 on Dec. 7 as a three-point road favorite and that was the fourth straight cover for the Kings in this series. The Cavaliers own the worst road record (6-33 SU, 18-20-1 ATS) in the league and they’ve gone 1-9 (5-5 ATS) since the All-Star break as visitors and the defense has allowed 120.1 PPG during this span, which has led to a 7-3 ‘over’ mark.
The high side (228 ½) could be the lean in this spot or a better look could be the Sacramento Team Total ‘over’ (119). Sacramento has gone 4-5 at home in the second-half of the season but all five losses came against teams with winning records while the victories were against clubs below .500. In those wins, the Kings averaged 118 PPG while winning by an average of 13.5 PPG.
Golden State (53-24 SU, 33-43-1 ATS) at L.A. Lakers (35-43 SU, 31-45-2 ATS)
The second-half of Thursday’s TNT (10:35 p.m. ET) double-header takes place at the Staples Center when the Warriors (-13) face the Lakers as heavy road favorites. After losing to Los Angeles 127-101 on Christmas Day as nine-point home favorites, the Warriors have avenged that setback with two straight wins (1-1 ATS) against the Lakers and both results came by double digits.
The holiday upset of Golden State happened to be the turning point of the season for Los Angeles, who lost LeBron James to a groin injury in that win. The club was 20-14 at the time and expected to be a playoff team, possibly a contender. His absence, other key injuries, trade rumors and off-the-court drama watched the team go 15-29 since the X-Mas day win. The Lakers recently shut James down for the season and practically every other viable offensive weapon as well.
The lack of firepower was evident on Tuesday as Los Angeles was blasted 119-103 at Oklahoma City as a 12 ½-point road underdog. Prior to that loss, the Lakers had gone 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS in their previous five games. They have won three straight games at home entering this matchup but it would be shocking to see that streak extended tonight.
Golden State’s magic number to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is “3” and it will likely drop to “2” after beating Los Angeles this evening. Golden State has won four of its last five games and has managed to go 3-2 ATS for bettors despite laying some healthy numbers. The Warriors are no strangers to laying big prices, even on the road.
Last Friday, the club dropped a 131-130 overtime decision at Minnesota as a 10-point road favorite and that was the first time this season that Golden State lost as a double-digit road favorite. Prior to that decision, the Warriors were 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS when laying 10-plus points away from the Bay Area. The ‘over’ has gone 7-1 in these situations and tonight’s total is listed at 227.
__________________
NBA
Long Sheet
Thursday, April 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MILWAUKEE (58 - 20) at PHILADELPHIA (49 - 29) - 4/4/2019, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 5-5 against the spread versus MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 5-5 straight up against MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND (19 - 59) at SACRAMENTO (38 - 40) - 4/4/2019, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CLEVELAND is 77-101 ATS (-34.1 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 12-25 ATS (-15.5 Units) against Pacific division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 21-37 ATS (-19.7 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 21-38 ATS (-20.8 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 46-66 ATS (-26.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 42-60 ATS (-24.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 26-35 ATS (-12.5 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
SACRAMENTO is 44-33 ATS (+7.7 Units) in all games this season.
SACRAMENTO is 41-30 ATS (+8.0 Units) when the total is greater than or equal to 220 this season.
SACRAMENTO is 17-7 ATS (+9.3 Units) as a favorite this season.
SACRAMENTO is 24-14 ATS (+8.6 Units) in home games this season.
SACRAMENTO is 22-13 ATS (+7.7 Units) in a home game where the total is greater than or equal to 220 this season.
SACRAMENTO is 19-9 ATS (+9.1 Units) in non-conference games this season.
SACRAMENTO is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more this season.
SACRAMENTO is 23-11 ATS (+10.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
SACRAMENTO is 35-25 ATS (+7.5 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
SACRAMENTO is 4-1 against the spread versus CLEVELAND over the last 3 seasons
SACRAMENTO is 3-2 straight up against CLEVELAND over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOLDEN STATE (53 - 24) at LA LAKERS (35 - 43) - 4/4/2019, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 33-43 ATS (-14.3 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 29-40 ATS (-15.0 Units) as a favorite this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 25-38 ATS (-16.8 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 134-97 ATS (+27.3 Units) in April games since 1996.
GOLDEN STATE is 84-57 ATS (+21.3 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
LA LAKERS are 31-45 ATS (-18.5 Units) in all games this season.
LA LAKERS are 27-39 ATS (-15.9 Units) when the total is greater than or equal to 220 this season.
LA LAKERS are 187-230 ATS (-66.0 Units) in home games in the second half of the season since 1996.
LA LAKERS are 27-36 ATS (-12.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
LA LAKERS are 26-35 ATS (-12.5 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA LAKERS is 6-5 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 9-2 straight up against LA LAKERS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
__________________