NBA Big Thursday

NBA Big Thursday

1. The Lakers (-2) head into South Beach to take on the Heat. The Lakers have won eight in a row and have everyone healthy for the first time in a while. The return of Matt Barnes has been key. The Lakers have won six straight road games and are 24-11 on the road this season. They have pounded the Spurs and Hawks on the road in the past week. Andrew Bynum is playing his best ball right now and has averaged 17 boards a game in the past three contests. When Bynum plays well, the Lakers are almost unstoppable. On the other side of the spectrum has been the Miami Heat. The Heat have lost five in a row and four of those have been at home. They have been struggling to score and lack toughness inside to make up for it. Chris Bosh has complained this week to the media about his lack of involvement in their offense. The Heat rely on Lebron and D-Wade to penetrate and create offense off of the dribble instead of using a formulated system. When the outside shots don't fall, then the Heat will have a hard time scoring. The Heat will end their losing streak soon, just not against a taller and tougher Laker squad. Go with the Lakers!!!
2. The Suns (-3) host the Nuggets in a crucial game for the western conference playoffs. Phoenix has won seven of their last ten games and are 18-13 at home this season. The Suns just lost F Channing Frye for a week or two, but are coming off a nice come from behind win against the Rockets. Denver has had four days off since they lost to the Clippers in LA last Saturday. They will be missing F Danilo Gallinari and G Aaron Affalo. Denver has played well recently, but are only 11-20 on the road this season. Roll with the Suns!!
3. The last game of the night showcases the NY Knicks at the Dallas Mavericks (-7). The Over/Under is 215. The Knicks just won on a last second shot by Carmelo Anthony in Memphis and Dallas just blew a ten point lead in New Orleans last night. The Mavs have struggled on defense lately, yielding over 100 points a game at home in the last month against some poor teams. Yes, Chandler just came back from his ankle injury but the Mavs will have a hard time stopping Amare and Carmelo in the paint. Dirk has been battling foul trouble in recent games and Dallas is relatively thin up front. The Knicks can flat out score and have averaged 109 points a game since acquiring Carmelo. The Knicks have also been using with a smaller, more athletic lineup since the trade generating a quicker tempo and more shots. It's hard to take the 'Over' with two teams coming off of back-to-back games--but, not these teams. Let's take the Over 215!!