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Wednesday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
ATS Rankings | Totals Report | Injuries

Game of the Night: 76ers at Raptors – 8:05 PM EST

The top two teams in the Atlantic division hook up in Toronto as the Raptors (20-5 SU, 12-13 ATS) had their eight-game winning streak halted by the Nuggets on Monday. Denver edged Toronto, 106-103 as seven-point underdogs, while the Raptors’ rally from a 13-point halftime deficit fell short. Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 27 points, but Toronto misfired on 30 three-point attempts, including a 2-of-13 effort by Leonard and Kyle Lowry from downtown.

The 76ers (17-8 SU, 11-14 ATS) have won 13 of 14 games at Wells Fargo Center, but the team has slipped to 4-7 on the highway. Philadelphia finished off a perfect 3-0 homestand on Sunday with a 103-95 victory over Memphis to cash as 6 ½-point favorites. The defense has yielded 98 points or less in each of the past three games, while finishing UNDER the total in all three wins. J.J. Redick and Jimmy Butler combined to score 45 points against Memphis, while Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid each recorded double-doubles.

Toronto destroyed Philadelphia in the first matchup this season at Scotiabank Arena, 129-112 as six-point favorites on October 30. The Raptors scorched the 76ers by hitting 51% of its field goal attempts, led by Leonard’s 31 points. This contest came prior to Philadelphia’s acquistion of Butler from Minnesota, as Embiid paced the 76ers with 31 points and 11 rebounds.

Finals Rematch

If LeBron James was still in Cleveland, there would be plenty of intrigue regarding tonight’s matchup between the Warriors and Cavaliers. These two teams have met in the NBA Finals in each of the past four seasons, but won’t happen again with James in Los Angeles. The Cavaliers (5-18 SU, 12-11 ATS) have expectedly taken a huge step back, but gone 3-4 the last seven games since a 2-14 start, while coming off a 99-97 victory at Brooklyn on Monday.

The Warriors (16-9 SU, 11-14 ATS) are getting healthy as Stephen Curry scored 30 points in his second game back from injury to lead Golden State to a 128-111 blowout of Atlanta as 10 ½-point road favorites. The loss snapped a six-game road losing streak for the defending champions, but the Warriors own a 5-2 mark away from Oracle Arena with Curry in the lineup, compared to an 0-5 ledger without him in away contests.

Cleveland has put together a nice run as an underdog at Quicken Loans Arena recently by covering in four of the last five opportunities. The Cavaliers have knocked off the Rockets and Hornets during this stretch, while hanging with the Lakers and Raptors in losses. Golden State captured all six matchups with Cleveland last season, while covering five times, as the Warriors were never listed a double-digit favorite at Quicken Loans Arena.

Speaking of LeBron

The Lakers (14-9 SU, 10-13 ATS) finish off their four-game homestand as they look to go 4-0 with a victory over the Spurs (11-13 SU, 11-13 ATS). Los Angeles won and covered in the first three wins over Indiana, Dallas, and Phoenix, while cashing the UNDER all three times. In Sunday’s 120-96 rout of the Suns, the Lakers erased an early 10-point deficit by blitzing Phoenix in the second quarter, 40-15, as Kyle Kuzma led L.A. with 23 points.

The Spurs travel to Staples Center with no rest after getting blasted at Utah last night, 139-105 as eight-point underdogs. San Antonio has lost three of its past four games by insane margins (39, 31, and 34), while Gregg Popovich’s squad is currently on an 8-1 run to the OVER. The Spurs have lost seven of nine times this season in the road underdog role, but one of those victories came at Staples Center against the Lakers in overtime back in late October, 143-142.

Back-to-Buck Losses?

Milwaukee (15-7 SU, 11-10-1 ATS) is the only team in the NBA that has yet to drop consecutive games this season. The Bucks fell in overtime to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday in a 136-134 thriller as eight-point favorites. Milwaukee has failed to cover five straight contests, including four of those games as a favorite of eight or more. The Bucks own a perfect 6-0 record off a defeat, but the last two wins in this situation have come by six and three points.

The Pistons (13-8 SU, 12-9 ATS) invade Fiserv Forum for the first time as Detroit is coming off a solid 5-1 homestand, although it has was trounced in the final game, 110-83 to Oklahoma City on Monday. Out of the five wins, only two came against quality opponents (Golden State and Houston), while Detroit put together a 4-2 ATS mark. The Pistons have won three of the past four games away from Little Caesars Arena, while compiling a solid 6-1 ATS ledger in their last seven road contests. However, Detroit has dropped each of its past four meetings in Milwaukee, including a pair of four-point defeats last season.

Best in the West?

We all know the Warriors are still the team to beat in the Western Conference (and the NBA). However, the Clippers (16-7 SU, 15-8 ATS) are the current leaders of the Pacific division so far as Los Angeles faces another division leader tonight in Memphis. The Clippers finish a four-game road trip after holding off the Pelicans on Monday, 129-126 as Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari combined to score 51 points for Los Angeles.

The Grizzlies (13-9 SU, 13-9 ATS) have stumbled of late following a solid start by losing four of the past five games after winning consecutive contests. The most recent setback came at Philadelphia on Sunday, 103-95 as 6 ½-point underdogs, as the Grizzlies should be focused for tonight’s matchup. Memphis blew a late lead at Staples Center against the Clippers on November 23 as L.A. rallied for a 112-107 overtime triumph to barely cash as 4 ½-point favorites and hit the OVER of 210. The Clippers dropped the first two meetings with the Grizzlies last season, but have won each of the past three matchups.

You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.

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