The NBA is in its final week before the All-Star break and these next two days are critical for some teams to head into the break on a high note. Matt Fargo will be looking into Hot and Cold NBA bets throughout the season and he takes a look at four games that you will want to pay attention to coming up over the next two days before the layoff.
NBA Hot Bets
Tuesday – Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat 7:35 PM ET
Denver was on a roll with four straight wins and victories in seven of eight games (5-3 ATS) until playing at New Jersey on Saturday and getting throttled by 44 points. It was a horrible display on both ends of the floor and you can expect the Nuggets to put forth a full effort before traveling to Orlando on Wednesday. The Nuggets had been 4-0 since the return of Carmelo Anthony before that shellacking. Miami is playing some pretty below average basketball right now, going 2-4 in its last six games (2-4 ATS) with those wins coming against the lowly Bobcats and Clippers. Denver is 9-6 ATS with a line +3.5 to -3.5 this season while Miami is 6-15 ATS within the same parameters. The Heat have also struggled against the elite in the NBA, going 4-12 against the top ten (6-9-1 ATS) while Denver is 23-6 against teams outside the top ten (18-11 ATS). Denver has owned this series of late, winning seven straight and cashing in five those.
Wednesday – Phoenix Suns at Cleveland Cavaliers 7:00 PM ET
Cleveland is coming off its first home loss of the season on Sunday against the Lakers so the Suns could be in some serious trouble. The Cavaliers are now 23-1 at home which is still the best record in the league and their 18-6 ATS mark is tops in the NBA as well. Cleveland plays on Tuesday at Indiana and while it will be looking to bounce back there, it will be also looking to bounce back on its home floor against another Western Conference foe. In the second of back-to-back games, Cleveland is 9-2 on the season (8-3 ATS) so there is no worry about playing a game Tuesday. Phoenix is struggling right now especially when it travels. Overall, the Suns have been one of the bigger disappointments for backers as they are just 18-30-1 against the number including a 10-14-1 ATS mark on the road. Phoenix started the season 5-2 ATS but it has been a flop ever since and it a paltry 4-10-2 ATS in its last 16 games and 6-14-2 ATS in its last 22 games.
NBA Cold Bets
Tuesday – Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls 8:30 PM ET
Detroit cannot get anything going right now. After winning seven straight games at the end of December and the start of January, it has gone 6-11 in its last 17 games (6-11 ATS) since then although it has posted a 4-4 road record (5-3 ATS) in that span. The Pistons ran off two straight wins but then scored a clunker on Sunday at home against the Suns. They are 7-14 ATS on the season following a loss and 9-17 ATS following a loss against the number. Detroit won the lone meeting with the Bulls this season but it came by only six points at home as Chicago improved its run to 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings including five straight cashed tickets. The Bulls are home following a rugged seven-game roadtrip. Chicago went a very respectable 4-3 in those games including an almost perfect 6-0-1 ATS record. The Bulls will have had three days to get ready for this rivalry and revenge game and this season they are 2-0 ATS with extended time off.
Wednesday – Boston Celtics at New Orleans Hornets 8:05 PM ET
We have seen this from Boston before haven’t we? The Celtics put together a monster run and then the wheels start coming off. Those wheels aren’t off all the way yet but they had better be careful. After 19 straight wins, Boston went 2-7 in its next nine games. Now after 12 straight wins, the Celtics are 1-2 in their last three games. Those games came against heavyweights Los Angeles and San Antonio but sandwiched in there was a win at New York that took a big fourth quarter to get it done. This game and a game at Dallas close out the schedule before the break and a split or worse is likely. New Orleans closed out its four-game homestand with a come-from-behind win against Minnesota and is at Memphis on Monday before hosting the Celtics. Chris Paul will not play Monday and will be questionable Wednesday. The good news is that the Hornets will be a great value play as they will likely be getting points and they have yet to be a home dog this year.
