NBA Betting – Thursday Picks – New York Knicks vs Dallas Mavs
Before nba betting fans turn their attention to more sports betting events this weekend, we have the NBA doubleheader on Thursday night. It’s time for our weekly hoops picks for NBA gambling action.
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CELTICS vs. SPURS
Time: Thursday 8 ET
Venue: AT&T Center, San Antonio
Spread: NA
Over/Under: NA
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Word out of San Antonio is that Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are all close to returning, and may even get off the bench and into the game tonight against the Celtics. Not a minute too soon. The players may not seem too concerned about a four-game losing streak that has fans reaching for panic buttons, but there is some concern that the Spurs will have to push themselves harder than they would like down the stretch in order to preserve the league’s best record and home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Duncan, of course, is the big enchilada. San Antonio hasn’t won since he went down with a sprained ankle on March 21, and has been outrebounded in three of the four losses. The Spurs gave up 111 points to an OK Memphis team in the third of those four-game losing streak, and managed only 27 team rebounds in that one. Ouch.
The job now is to get Parker (he reportedly is a go tonight), plus Duncan and Ginobili (game-time decisions on both) back in the swing of things and recapture the dynamic which made the Spurs the most dominant team through the first four-plus months of the season. The Spurs would have to continue sliding and go something like 3-5 or 2-6 to relinquish the top playoff seed, but four straight losses give them some momentum in that direction, and the Celtics know only too well what happens when injuries pile up on older teams.
Speaking of the Celtics, there are reports that the mercurial Jermaine O’Neal will play tonight after spending most of the season stealing paychecks. Shaq, though, remains the key to playoff success and anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call the Celtics front office immediately.
Trends:
Under is 10-1 in BOS last 11 overall.
Under is 7-1 in BOS last 8 road games.
BOS are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 road games.
Underdog is 9-0 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
Best bets: No line on Boston-San Antonio as of this morning as oddsmakers and books sort out who is playing and who is not. Strong LEAN on the Celtics tonight though…
Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel expert from Massachusetts.
