Bet on Basketball

The Phoenix Suns are traveling to the East, visiting New Jersey for a match up with the Nets after they beat the Kings in Arco Arena two nights ago. Scoring is what the Suns do the best in the league, and after Amare Stoudamire’s return from injury, they became a harder team in the paint, so they can defend some “soft” guards with ease. With Steve Nash’s leadership and Shawn Marion’s aggressiveness in the power forward position, the Suns would like to return home with a win against the Nets, who lost to Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night scoring only 75 points. Jason Kidd has slipping form nowadays, and Vince Carter cannot help but concede points. Expected as a hard fight between two victory-seeking teams, the pick for this match is Under 209.5 points for 5 units.

In today’s dogfight, the Mavericks and the Pistons are meeting in a blockbuster. The home team, Dallas Mavericks, have won 14 of their last 15 matches, having lost to Gilbert Arenas’ Washington Wizards three nights ago, ending twelve straight wins. They last managed to beat the Nets at home after careful gameplay. On the other side of the court, the Detroit Pistons are looking for a win after a surprising loss to the Trailblazers in the Palace, when they were able to score only 85 points. Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton constitute one of the best guard couples in the NBA, but that may not be enough to carry the team to the win against opponents with high scoring potential. Tonight, defensive strengths of these two teams are going to be evaluated again, and a hard match up between Rasheed Wallace and Dirk Nowitzki will be paramount. Under 191 is the pick for this match for 4 units.

Miami Heat are turning their route from Los Angeles to Sacramento’s Arco Arena to challenge the Kings after they lost to the Clippers at the Staples Center in a tight game. Missing Shaq, the Heat try to recover by Alonso Mourning’s shot blocking efforts, but it is apparent that a dominant player is really needed for this team to have wide open shots for Dwayne Wade and the others, especially when playing against teams that can dominate the paint. The Kings, after a loss to Phoenix, would like to come back with strict defense and stable offense. Ron Artest’s injury affects this team dramatically when they are fighting to win games. The Heat are one of them, and the home team’s plans to triumph may be very tough. Tonight’s game is going to be a close one, so Miami +5.5 handicap is the pick for 4 units.