NBA Full Court Report-Jan. 25, 2007
A pair of inter-conference battles Thursday night in the NBA. The Mavericks look to extend their red-hot 21-1 SU streak when they visit Chicago’s solid home court, where the Bulls are 18-6 SU this season, while the Nets look to continue their 11-2 ATS streak when they visit a Clippers team. we have a current 3 game winning streak.
Below is a look at both national television matchups on TNT tonight.
DALLAS (-4½, 191) at CHICAGO (TNT)
The Mavericks and Suns are clearly the two best teams in the league. Phoenix became the first team in NBA history to post two 15-game winning streaks before the All-Star break with their win at New York last night. Dallas is also red hot and the Mavericks have been 21-1 SU in their last twenty-two games and are 34-4 SU since their 0-4 SU start in early November.
The Mavericks have gone 16-5 SU on the road this season but are just 11-8 ATS as they often face inflated point differentials and have won all twenty of their road games by an average margin of just +2.1 points per match.
Chicago enters tonight’s game riding a 5-7 SU streak and is just 3-6 ATS over their last nine games. The Bulls have been a much stronger team at home this season where they are 18-6 SU (15-9 ATS) compared to just 6-13 SU (5-14 ATS) on the road.
Dallas has dominated this series, going 16-1 SU against Chicago in the last seventeen meetings, including 12-5 ATS in those games. Oddsmakers have started to draw the line as the Mavericks are just 2-3 ATS in the last five meetings, despite going 4-1 SU.
The Mavericks won the previous meeting this season 111-99 as a surprisingly cheap 4-point home favorite. Dallas was led by Dirk Nowitzki who had 31 points and 10 rebounds, while the Bulls’ top scorer was Kirk Hinrich (25 points) followed closely by Lou Deng (24 points, 10 rebounds).
NEW JERSEY at THE CLIPPERS (-6½, 191) (TNT)
The Nets may not have much energy left tonight after two straight heartbreaking losses this week. New Jersey blew a 20-point lead in its 88-87 loss at Sacramento on Monday and then blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead last night at Golden State in a 110-109 setback.
The Nets now must travel relentlessly and play their third road game in four nights against a Clipper team in solid current form. Los Angeles has won three straight at home and has scored at least 112-plus points in each win. The offense has been incredibly strong over the past two weeks, as the Clippers have shot at least 46% or more from the field in five of their last six games.
New Jersey remains without two starters, as center Nenad Krstic will be out for the season with a knee injury, while forward Richard Jefferson will be out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Krstic is second on the team in scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg), while Jefferson is third on the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and assists (2.9 apg).
The Nets have played surprisingly well with their shortened lineup and are 2-0 ATS in the last two games without Jefferson and 11-2 ATS in the last 13 games without Krstic.
This is the first meeting of the season between these two clubs. The home team won every meeting by double digits last season, and overall the home team is 8-1 SU/ATS in the last nine meetings.
STEVE MERRIL is a professional sports handicapper and a documented member of The Professional Handicappers League. Get your Premium plays here.