Miami - LA Lakers
25 dec. 2006 NBA
Even if it s Christmas , the action is still on in the NBA.
A great bet in my opinion we have tonight for this game. Miaimi doesn t score too much lately and the bookies made some nice odds for their total . I m not gonna say too much , just :
Miami total points under 99,5 @ 1,87 played at 10 BET
Boston Celtics - Denver Nuggets
The hosts , Nuggets are coming after friday s loss against Sacramento 96 - 101. They didn t played bad , but was pretty hard missing so many players . Tonight , again they ll be without C. Anthony ,M. Camby ,K. Martin ,J. Smith .
A. Iverson made his debut for his new team and he scored 22 points in 39 minutes. He will be facing a team he has seen plenty of times from his days in Philadelphia. His 34 regular-season games against Boston are the second-most he has played against any opponent (to 35 against New York). He looks pretty happy at his new team , and i m sure that a win tonight it s the most important thing for him … that s why he s gonna do anything to make a great game. Probably he s gonna score over 30 points … He did not play the Celtics this season, but averaged 35.5 points against them in 2005-06 with the Sixers.
Boston (10-15) will be without leading scorer Paul Pierce, who is out for two to three weeks with a stress reaction - a soft tissue injury - in his left foot.The Celtics expect second-leading scorer Wally Szczerbiak to be back as they start a five-game road trip. Szczerbiak missed the last two games with a sprained right ankle, but is hoping to be ready after the brief break for Christmas . Also , Celtics will miss T. Ratliff and K. Perkins due to injuries.
I m expecting a great show from Iverson and a clear win by the Nuggets. So , today s pick goes to :
Denver Nuggets -6 @ 1,93 played at Canbet
Minnesota at Toronto
Happy holidays in Toronto this year , where the Raptors are on the 1st place of their Atlantic Division. Even though it s a weak division , and their precentege is very low .429. Raptors (12-16) look for their sixth win in seven games at the Air Canada Centre when they meet the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It was a up and down start seson for them , with a horrible 0-6 on a road in the beggining , but with a surprising 5-4 without Chris Bosh, the team leader with 20.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Bosh is recovering from a sore right knee and is expected to resume running this week.
The Raptors have won four straight from the Timberwolves thanks in part to shooting 49.0 percent (47-for-96) from beyond the arc in those contests. Maybe tonight , they ll continue their good streak , and A Bargnani will show some nice basketball , not like in thier last game against the Sonics , wher he scored just 3 points.
This season Toronto is 7-3 at home, where it will play five of its next six, including tough matchups against Chicago and Phoenix.
Minessota will be without Hassell and McCants , but the rookie Randy Foye showed some great skill in the last game against Chicago , when he scored the winner with 2 sec. to go , and Timberwolves won 100-98 after they blew a 25-point lead. Kevin Garnett finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds against Chicago , and in 21 career games against the Raptors, he s averaging 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He’s recorded double-doubles in five straight games against them. On tonight s game Bargnani will have to guard the Minnesota all star , and everybody s expecting to do it at a high level.
Even if the Raptors are a very impredictible team , i m gonna back them up , because they had a 4 day rest and they really play good at home with their crowd support.
So , today s pick goes to :
Toronto -1,5 @ 1,93 played at Canbet
Seattle - Denver
The mission continue for Allen Iverson and his new team . After his first victory with the Nuggets , 116-105 against Boston , 2 days ago ,when he scored 28 points and added 13 assists , Iverson Looks very confident at tonight s game . Tonight , again they ll be without C. Anthony ,M. Camby ,K. Martin ,J. Smith .
The most important thing about tonight s game for the visitors is the fact that they re missing their liders. The Sonics will be without leading scorer Ray Allen, who left the team to attend the birth of his and his fiancee’s second child. The six time All Star has averaged 25.2 points in 20 games, and he scored 21 points in Seattle’s 102-94 win over the New Orleans Hornets on tuesday .eattle - which was 3-6 without Allen - has the additional pressure of trying to replace forward Rashard Lewis, who will miss the next six to eight weeks following surgery to repair tendons in his right hand. The team’s second-leading scorer is averaging 21.9 points and wants to remain in Seattle despite being eligible for free agency at season’s end.
So , we have two incomplete teams , with their best players missing , but with a big advantage and motivation for the hosts. Probably AI , will take care of the show as usual and will see a big performance from him .
Today s pick will be on the hosts to cover the spread :
Denver - 8 @ 1,93 played at Canbet
Chicago at Toronto
Toronto (13-16) is playing really good lately and will look for its fourth straight home win after a 100-97 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. The Raptors improved to 8-3 at the Air Canada Centre, where they have won six of seven. It s surprising how they manage this situation , because their best player C Bosh has missed 10 straight games with a sore left,and maybe could return next week.
While T.J. Ford is leading the Raptors in Bosh’s absence, Anthony Parker provided a much-needed secondary scoring option with 19 points against Minnesota on wednesday. Ford scored more than 20 in three straight games. The Raptors look like a better team this season , all players showing a lot of determination , giving 100% for their very brave objective …the playoffs.
Chicago Bulls (17-12) could be without one of their top scorers on tonight s game , L Deng who sprained his right wrist during Chicago’s 109-103 victory over Miami. Deng has a great season start ,with 17.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. For the Bulls , Ben Gordon is doing the hard work , setting a new career score high scoring 40 points on wednesday.
Last game beteewn those teams was won by the Bulls , 93-90 , in Chicago , on dec. 8. Bulls would like some of their home success to carry over to the road, where they are 4-10 this season , but they re allowing 102.0 points per game on the road, compared to 89.6 at home.
Another important thing : for the Bulls this is their 3rd game in 4 days , and tommorow they ll face Cleveland at home.
I hope that Toronto will continue their good streak , and win the game , so , i m gonna back them again.
Toronto +2,5 @ 1,96 played at Canbet