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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: Thunder at Lakers – 10:35 PM EST

For the first time this season, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles are hooking up. Even though LeBron James is still sidelined due to a groin strain, the Lakers (21-16 SU, 16-20-1 ATS) remain in the top eight of the Western Conference. The Lakers lost their first two games with James sidelined, but rebounded on Sunday night by rallying past the Kings, 121-114 as 1 ½-point favorites. Los Angeles outscored Sacramento, 29-18 in the fourth quarter, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pumped in 26 points off the bench for the Lakers.

The Thunder (23-13 SU, 20-16 ATS) rebounded from a two-point setback to the Mavericks on Sunday as OKC routed Dallas on the second end of a back-to-back on Monday, 122-102 as seven-point favorites. OKC jumped out to a 17-point halftime advantage, led by Russell Westbrook’s 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists on 13-of-24 shooting. Westbrook rebounded from a 4-of-22 shooting effort in Sunday’s loss to produce his 10th triple-double of the season, while the Thunder improved to 13-4 at home.

Last season, the Lakers and Thunder split four matchups, but one win by Los Angeles came with Westbrook out of the lineup for Oklahoma City. The Lakers have dropped four consecutive games off a victory, while cashing the UNDER in nine of the past 11 games at Staples Center. The Thunder have struggled to cover numbers as a road favorite of late by compiling a 2-6 ATS mark as chalk in their last eight games away from Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Over Easy

The two teams that own the longest OVER streaks in the league meet up in Boston. The Timberwolves (17-20 SU, 19-18 ATS) have cashed the OVER in eight consecutive games, while the Celtics (21-15 SU, 18-18 ATS) are riding a six-game OVER streak. Boston won at Minnesota on December 1 as two-point underdogs, 118-109, while the contest easily drilled the OVER of 216 ½ thanks to a 66-point fourth quarter.

Minnesota has been one of the weaker road teams in the league at 5-14, but were riding a three-game away hot streak prior to Monday’s 123-114 setback at New Orleans. Granted, the Wolves were playing on a back-to-back following Sunday’s victory at Miami, but Minnesota allowed New Orleans to shoot 52% from the floor without Anthony Davis in the lineup, while the Pelicans drilled 14 three-pointers.

Boston wrapped up a three-game road trip by falling at San Antonio on Monday, 120-111 to finish 1-2 SU/ATS. The Celtics led the Spurs by six points at halftime, but San Antonio outscored Boston, 46-30 in the third quarter to drop their seventh consecutive visit to AT&T Center. Boston has won and covered six of its past seven games in the home favorite role, while posting a 5-0 SU/ATS record in its previous five matchups with Minnesota.

Highway to Hive

The Mavericks (17-19 SU, 22-14 ATS) continue their four-game road trip tonight in Charlotte as Dallas tries to repair a broken 2-16 record away from American Airlines Center. The latest setback came in Monday’s 20-point defeat at Oklahoma City, as Dallas posted an 0-8 road record in December. The loss to the Thunder also snapped a five-game ATS hot streak, which included three highway covers in that stretch.

The Hornets (18-18 SU, 19-17 ATS) have also had road issues this season (4-11), but have thrived at Spectrum Center by posting a 14-7 home ledger. Charlotte is fresh of a 125-100 blowout of Orlando on Monday, the fourth consecutive home win for the Hornets, all coming by double-digits. The Hornets have lost three of their past four home matchups with the Mavericks since 2014, as Dallas owns a perfect 4-0 ATS mark in its last four trips to North Carolina.

End of the Road

It’s been a rough trip for Detroit as the Pistons (16-19 SU, 16-18-1 ATS) are coming off three consecutive losses to the Pacers, Magic, and Bucks. The latest setback came in Tuesday’s 121-98 blowout defeat at Milwaukee as 10-point underdogs, marking the third loss to the Central division leaders this season. Since shocking Toronto at the buzzer in mid-November, the Pistons have compiled a dreadful 1-8 SU and 3-6 ATS mark in the last nine contests away from Little Caesars Arena.

The final stop on this away swing takes place in Memphis to face the struggling Grizzlies (18-18 SU, 17-19 ATS). Memphis has dropped seven of its past nine games, including Monday’s 113-101 defeat at Houston after falling behind by 23 points at halftime. The Grizzlies own a miserable 2-10 ATS record in the last 12 games, including a 1-5 ATS mark in this stretch at FedEx Forum.

Staring in a Mirror

Both the Pelicans and Nets own identical records heading into their first contest of 2019 as the two teams hook up at Barclays Center. New Orleans (17-21 SU, 16-22 ATS) picked up only its third win in the last nine games in Monday’s 123-114 triumph over Minnesota to cash as 5 ½-point favorites. The Pelicans won in spite of Anthony Davis not suiting up, but the All-Star is expected to play tonight in Brooklyn as New Orleans goes for the season sweep after defeating the Nets at home in late October.

The Nets (17-21 SU, 19-19 ATS) posted an impressive eight-game ATS hot streak in December, but Brooklyn limped towards the end of 2018 by covering once in its final five games. The latest two losses came on the highway in double-digit defeats at Charlotte and Milwaukee to suffer back-to-back setbacks for the first time since early December. The Nets have had their issues against Western Conference foes at home this season by losing seven of nine times, while dropping a double-overtime thriller to the Pelicans at Barclays Center last season.

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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