MIAMI vs NEW YORK
When: 3/29/2021 9:30 PM
Where: Madison Square Garden

TV: 9:30 PM
LINE: -200
PREDICTION: Miami Heat, New York Knicks

Oddsmakers currently have Miami listed as 4.5 point favorites versus the New York while the game’s total is sitting at 204.5.

The task of trying to replace Mitchell Robinson begins in earnest Monday night for the New York Knicks — even if his eventual successor might not yet be on the roster by the opening tip.

The Miami Heat, on the other hand, is almost certain to have a high-profile reinforcement in uniform.

A pair of teams beginning playoff pushes in different fashions are scheduled to meet Monday night, when the Knicks will attempt to overcome their latest key injury and extend their winning streak when they host the Heat in a battle of longtime rivals.

Mitchell Robinson’s injury overshadowed the Knicks’ third straight win Saturday when the third-year center suffered a broken right foot in the first quarter of a 102-96 victory over the host Milwaukee Bucks. The visiting Heat suffered a sixth straight loss Friday when Miami fell to the Charlotte Hornets, 110-105.

Robinson was playing in just his fourth game since returning from a 15-game absence due to a broken right hand. The 7-footer was injured after he crashed to the floor while battling for a rebound with the Bucks’ Brook Lopez. Robinson immediately grabbed his foot in pain and needed help getting off the floor.

“It sucks, man,” said Knicks guard Derrick Rose, who returned Saturday after missing the previous 10 games while battling the coronavirus. “But for someone like him, seeing how hard he worked to get back, for this to happen, it just sucks.”

The injury to Robinson will likely have short- and long-term impacts upon the Knicks’ already short-handed rotation. With All-Star power forward Julius Randle (thigh) out Saturday, Robinson was slated for a bigger role before he went down. Nerlens Noel replaced Robinson and pulled down 11 rebounds while playing 31:28, the most he’s played off the bench this season.

Even before Robinson got hurt, the Knicks were linked to four-time NBA rebounding champion Andre Drummond, who was bought out Friday by the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Drummond is expected to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. Other potential veteran options for New York include the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Al Horford.

Whoever replaces Robinson will be tasked with trying to help the Knicks complete a surprising surge into the playoffs. New York (24-22), which hasn’t made the postseason since the spring of 2013, has already won three more games than it did last season and will enter Monday as one of the Eastern Conference’s top six seeds.

The Heat will likely have some help Monday as Miami — which won 11 of 12 before beginning its current skid — tries to snap the losing streak that has left it on the outside looking in on a guaranteed playoff spot.

Guard Victor Oladipo, who was acquired from the Houston Rockets Thursday, is expected to step into the lineup for the Heat, who will enter Monday in eighth place in the East. The seventh- through 10th-place teams in each conference will participate in a play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff berths.

But with Oladipo joining a core that includes All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the Heat feel well-positioned to make another playoff run. Miami reached the NBA Finals as the fifth seed in the East last summer.

“I’d watch out for us,” Heat president Pat Riley said Thursday night.

The post Miami vs. New York Odds, Picks & Preview 3/29/2021 appeared first on IdealCapper.

Cleveland At Atlanta
When: 8:30 PM ET, Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 108, Hawks 99
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Oddsmakers currently have the Hawks listed as 1½-point favorites versus the Cavaliers, while the game’s total is sitting at 197.

In their last action, Atlanta was a 94-91 winner on the road against the Wizards. They covered the +2.5-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (185) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.

Last time out for Cleveland, they were a 94-73 winner as they battled the Bulls on the road. The Cavaliers covered in the match as a +2-point underdog, while 167 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.

Irving’s injuries will be closely watched by Cleveland coach David Blatt, who is aware that Irving reiterated that he doesn’t want to miss any playoff games. Irving has made some progress in recent days but is still nowhere near top form as the knee injury also requires rest that he isn’t afforded with at this time. “I think that’s the biggest thing I get out of it. I don’t want to be on the sideline at all, especially preparing for a big stage like this,” Irving told reporters. “I want to be as close to 100 percent before Wednesday as I can be, so just doing the necessary things in order to do that.”

Team record: 61-31 SU,45-47 ATS
Current Streak: won 3 straight games.
Cleveland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Cleveland is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 9 games
Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road

Starting point guard Jeff Teague overcame a sluggish beginning to the series against Washington to average 20 points over the final three games while speedy backup Dennis Schroder excels at pushing the tempo. Schroder had back-to-back double-digit outings against the Wizards but then ended the series with back-to-back 3-of-12 shooting outings and coach Mike Budenholzer will look for ways to have Teague and Schroder on the court at the same time. “When those two guys play together, it gives you a second player that’s very comfortable, very accustomed, to being in pick-and-rolls with the ball in their hands – trying to get in the paint, attacking the basket and collapsing the defense,” Budenholzer told reporters.

Team record: 68-26 SU,54-39-1 ATS
Current Streak: won 3 straight games.
Atlanta is 5-9-1 ATS in its last 15 games
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Atlanta is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Atlanta is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games at home

The post Cleveland vs. Atlanta Preview appeared first on IdealCapper.

When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, October 26, 2014
Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX.
LINE: Chiefs –7. O/U: 44.
PREDICTION: Chiefs 30, Rams 24
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Oddsmakers currently have the Chiefs listed as 6-point favorites versus the Rams, while the game’s total is sitting at 43.

Jamaal Charles (6,113) passed the franchise’s career rushing-yardage mark held by Priest Holmes (6,070) in the win over San Diego, but remarks he made on Tuesday about a hit he absorbed on a touchdown run prompted Kansas City to begin testing him for a possible concussion. According to Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder, Charles passed all the concussion tests and will be monitored closely the rest of the week leading up to the game. Outside linebacker Justin Houston is having a superb season with seven sacks – tied for second in the NFL – and outside linebacker Tamba Hali has four sacks and three forced fumbles.

The Chiefs were a 23-20 winner in their most recent outing on the road against the Chargers. They covered the +3-point spread as underdogs, while the total score (43) made winners of UNDER bettors.

Team record: 3-3 SU,4-2 ATS
Kansas City is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Kansas City is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 6 games
Kansas City is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games at home

Quarterback Austin Davis threw two touchdowns against Seattle and has tossed nine over his last four games while entrenching himself as the starter. Rookie Tre Mason had 85 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut and gave St. Louis some much-needed, hard-charging running. The Rams had three sacks against Seattle after having just one entering the contest and star defensive end Robert Quinn finally recorded his first of the season after tallying 19 last season.

The Rams were a 28-26 winner in their most recent outing at home against the Seahawks. They covered the +6.5-point spread as underdogs, while the total score (54) made winners of OVER bettors.

Team record: 2-4 SU,2-4 ATS
St. Louis is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
St. Louis is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 5 games
St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

The post Rams vs. Chiefs Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

Those defections forced the Big East to scrap its planned home-and-away opponents, which was announced in December. A new list of opponents was released on Friday.

League members will play eight Big East games, facing every school except one. Big East teams that will not play each other in 2013: UCF and Cincinnati; UConn and Houston; Louisville and SMU; Memphis and Rutgers; and USF and Temple.

Six Big East schools were scheduled to play both Boise State and San Diego State and had both games replaced in the new schedule.

The biggest beneficiary of the new matchups appears to be Louisville, which is expected to be a preseason top-10 team next season. Instead of playing at Boise State and hosting San Diego State, Louisville will play at Temple and host Houston.

Every school’s conference opponents were altered by the new schedule with the exception of USF.

Instead of playing the Broncos and Aztecs, Temple plays Cincinnati and Louisville; SMU plays Rutgers and Cincinnati; Memphis plays UCF and UConn; Houston plays Cincinnati and Louisville; Louisville plays Temple and Houston; and Cincinnati plays SMU and Temple.

Game dates are expected to be announced in a few months, but the team’s home and away opponents are as follows:

UCF:
• Home: UConn, Houston, Rutgers, USF.
• Away: Louisville, Memphis, SMU, Temple.

Cincinnati
• Home: UConn, Louisville, SMU, Temple.
• Away: Houston, Memphis, Rutgers, USF.

UConn
• Home: Louisville, Memphis, Rutgers, USF.
• Away: UCF, Cincinnati, SMU, Temple.

Houston
• Home: Cincinnati, Memphis, SMU, USF.
• Away: UCF, Louisville, Rutgers, Temple.

Louisville
• Home: UCF, Houston, Memphis, Rutgers.
• Away: Cincinnati, UConn, USF, Temple.

Memphis
• Home: UCF, Cincinnati, SMU, Temple.
• Away: UConn, Houston, Louisville, USF.

Rutgers
• Home: Cincinnati, Houston, USF, Temple.
• Away: UCF, UConn, Louisville, SMU.

SMU
• Home: UCF, UConn, Rutgers, Temple.
• Away: Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, USF.

USF
• Home: Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, SMU.
• Away: UCF, UConn, Houston, Rutgers.

Temple
• Home: UCF, UConn, Houston, Louisville.
• Away: Cincinnati, Memphis, Rutgers, SMU.

The post Big East won’t have divisions in ’13 appeared first on IdealCapper.

These teams will get well acquainted with four meetings over the next five weeks, beginning with Sunday’s matchup in Dallas.

Who: Vacouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars
When: 3:00 PM ET, February 26, 2012
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Oddsmakers currently have the Stars listed as 225-moneyline favorites versus the Canucks, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

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Vancouver (40-16-6) has won six straight over Dallas (32-26-4) heading into the season series opener. The Sedin brothers have combined for 23 points in that span, and Henrik has amassed 19 during a 10-game streak against the Stars while Daniel has 14 in an eight-game run.

The clubs also play three times in March, and more matchups could come in the first round of the playoffs considering they’re at opposite ends of the West playoff picture. Vancouver is in a tight chase with Detroit for the top spot and Dallas is part of a close race for eighth place.

The Canucks are 12-1-3 in their last 16, including 3-1-0 to start this six-game trip. The Stars, meanwhile, are seeking their first four-game win streak since Oct. 29-Nov. 8.

Kari Lehtonen is 1-5-0 with a 4.16 goals-against average in six career starts against Vancouver but has played well lately. He’s allowed one goal over his last two starts and won both, making 28 saves in Friday’s 4-1 home victory over Minnesota.

“We’ve been talking about that for a month now, wanting to get some wins put together and now we’re finally doing it,” said Lehtonen, 3-1-1 with a 1.59 GAA in his past five games. “It’s just an interesting time of the year, with every game so important and we’re having fun, so hopefully, we can keep it going.”

The Stars will play again without All-Star winger Jamie Benn, who has missed the last five games with a leg injury. Loui Eriksson has five points in that span to pass Benn for the team lead with 53.

“It’s always good to have everyone going and I thought every line has been playing really well the last couple of games here, so we just have to keep going,” Eriksson said after scoring his 20th goal Friday.

Vancouver no doubt welcomed Saturday as an off day after grueling wins the previous two nights. After ending Detroit’s NHL-record 23-game home win streak with a 4-3 shootout victory Thursday, the Canucks were outshot 31-16 in Friday’s 2-1 road victory over a New Jersey team which had won nine of 11.

“This was five games in seven nights, and it was not easy to say the least,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “We have nothing left in the tank, and we left it all on the ice.”

Vancouver continues to own one of the league’s best power plays at 21.6 percent, although the unit is 4 for 37 over the last 15 games. The Canucks are 9 for 22 in the six-game streak over the Stars.

Vigneault used Roberto Luongo in goal Thursday and Cory Schneider on Friday.

Luongo has won his last eight starts versus the Stars and is 13-4-2 with a 2.00 GAA lifetime against them. Schneider is 2-1-0 with a 1.35 GAA in three starts versus Dallas.

Luongo is 8-1-3 in his last 12 overall with eight of those games going to shootouts — he’s won five. Schneider has won a career-high seven consecutive starts, including six on the road.

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