The NBA regular season is winding down fast and the games are becoming that much more important. Matt Fargo has been 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 few days.
NBA Hot Bets
Tuesday – Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers 7:00 PM ET
We get a marquee matchup on Tuesday and Cleveland can pretty much shut the door on Orlando here. The Magic trail the Cavaliers by four games in the Eastern Conference standings and a loss here will pretty much end their chances of the top seed in the playoffs. Orlando has been playing well with seven wins in its last eight games but the road has not been as kind of late as it is just 6-5 in its last 11 road games (6-5 ATS). It heads to the toughest place in the NBA for visiting teams this season as Cleveland is 29-1 at home this season (22-8 ATS) with the lone loss coming against the Lakers. The Cavaliers will be playing with some revenge as well as it lost in Orlando in the first meeting in January by 11 points. The Magic have been great this season as an underdog (11-2 ATS) and following a loss (12-5 ATS) but they have not played in a venue this difficult in those situations.
Wednesday – Sacramento Kings at Charlotte Bobcats 9:00 PM ET
Charlotte may be considered “cold” right now but this is the time to ride. The Bobcats have lost three straight games heading into Monday’s game against Toronto. A win there will get the Bobcats going again and the schedule sets up for a possible run as the next five games are all against teams that will not be making the playoffs this season. Charlotte had won a season and franchise high six games and it is still in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, trailing Chicago and Milwaukee by only a game and a half for the final spot. Sacramento brings in a 4-29 road record (19-14 ATS) and it has yet to win a game against the Eastern Conference, going 0-26 on the season (8-18 ATS). This will be the third game in four nights as well as the second of a back-to-back set where the Kings are just 3-15 on the year (9-9 ATS). Charlotte won the first meeting this year by seven points in Sacramento and this one should end up a double-digit win.
NBA Cold Bets
Wednesday – Detroit Pistons at Houston Rockets 8:30 PM ET
The Pistons seemed to have picked up some steam as they won four straight games including big victories over Boston and Orlando. However, they have gone just 2-3 since then with one of those wins coming in overtime and two losses coming against the lowly Knicks and Grizzlies. Detroit has been better on the road this season with a 16-15 record (17-14 ATS) but it has struggled against the Western Conference, going 12-14 (11-15 ATS) and this includes a loss to Houston at home in the first meeting. The Pistons will be playing their second game in two nights and they are just 3-8 this season with no rest (4-7 ATS) including a 1-5 record (2-3 ATS) when the first of the two games was on the road. Houston has been up and down and even though it has dropped two straight at home, those losses came against the Spurs and Lakers. The Rockets are 27-8 at home this year (15-19-1 ATS) and while that spread record is not good, they make up for it with a 16-12 record against the Eastern Conference (15-12-1 ATS).
Thursday – Dallas Mavericks at Atlanta Hawks 7:00 PM ET
Dallas was playing really well, going 15-6 through 21 games before losing back-to-back road games against the Lakers and Warriors. The road has not been kind of late, as the Mavericks are just 2-7 in their last nine roadies (3-6 ATS) to drop them under .500 away from home with a 16-19 mark. Dallas has done well against the Eastern Conference, going 18-7 but it is just 13-12 ATS and the Hawks will be looking for some payback following a tough two-point setback in Dallas back in December. Atlanta is 25-7 at home (19-13 ATS) and it has reeled off victories in five of the first seven games of this homestand. The Hawks have Sacramento on Tuesday before this game so they should be going for the homestand sweep here. Victories have been contagious as they are 23-15 following a win (23-14-1 ATS). Atlanta is 2.5 games ahead of Miami for the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference and with a schedule that features Cleveland, San Antonio, Boston twice, Los Angeles and Orlando in the next 16 days, these are the games that need to be won.
