Difficult Match Ups
Face it, no team in the National Basketball Association can be up for all 82 contests but some are much more difficult than others and those are the games that hoop bettors have to pounce on.
Tuesday March 8 could be a nightmare for the Portland Trailblazers. They have to face the Miami Heat just 24 hours after dealing with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
Portland played the Heat tough in Portland in January but fell in OT mainly because they allowed LeBron James and D Wade to combine for 78 points.
Miami will have had a full day off after hosting the Bulls and figure to be able to cover a projected line of 10 or so as they were 5-point favorites in Portland.
Philadelphia will have its collective hands full at home on March 9. They were in the air last night after playing in Indy and now have to face the high-octane Oklahoma Thunder.
Oklahoma has had a day to rest since playing in Memphis, and they handled Philly early in the season at home by 6 despite shooting only 2 for 14 from long range. Take the point and the Thunder in a game they might win outright.
Dallas rolls into the Big Easy on March 9 after having a day off since facing the anemic Timberwolves.
New Orleans is in a tricky spot as this is their first game home since a 5-game road trip and they have only had a day to rest since banging with the Chicago Bulls.
The tendency is for the home team in this spot to be too comfortable about sleeping in their own bed and to come out unfocused.
Dallas figures to be a slight favorite and they should have too much firepower this time.
The Milwaukee Bucks will be laying in wait on March 12 for the visit from the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers.
This is a huge game for the Bucks. They have had 2 full days to prepare after hosting the weak Cavs and they have a look ahead to the Celtics in 24 hours.
The game is pivotal for Milwaukee as they are trying to secure a playoff spot while Philly had the Thunder 3 nights ago and had to fly after hosting Boston the previous night.
Philly has won the first 2 games of the series this season with the Bucks but it was a tough beat in mid-January and could have easily gone in the direction of Milwaukee.
In that game, unlike the normal Bucks, Milwaukee’s defense was very porous allowing the Sixers to shoot 57% from the floor including going 7 for 14 from 3-point land.
The Bucks best player, Andrew Bogut, also had a horrible game only scoring 10 points and nobody on Milwaukee scored more than 16. Look for Coach Scott Skiles to demand his Bucks to buckle down on the defensive end this time.
At this time of the year, hoop bettors have to have a schedule on hand at all times to evaluate when teams might be in a vulnerable spot and these few games could be those times.
Good luck.
