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CELTICS AT KNICKS
2/6/09
By
SPORTSBETTING.com
The NBA is heading for their All-Star bash and things have been
looking good for the defending champion Boston Celtics.
Sure they lost 110-109 in OT to Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers last
night, failing to cover as 6.5-point home faves, but despite the
tough loss in that highly entertaining matchup, things are pretty
rosy in Beantown.
The Celtics have only lost 10 games all year (41-10) and sport a
profitable 28-23 ATS mark.
They have a date with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden
tonight.
Boston has played well this year when taking the court in the second
game of back-to-back nights, putting together a 13-4 straight up
mark. However, covering the number hasn’t proven as easy, as they
are only 9-8 ATS.
In tonight’s game, SPORTSBETTING.com has the Celts listed as a
5.5-point road favorite.
However, there does appear to be some real value in taking a closer
look at an “Under” play for this matchup. In the last 17 games where
Boston has played the night before, they have posted a record of 3
overs and 14 unders, including six “Unders” in their last seven in
this situation.
The Total has been set at 208.
The New York Knicks have been amongst the worst teams in the NBA the
last few years but there seems to be a proverbial light at the end
of the tunnel.
The Knicks are two victories away from matching their win total from
last season and it isn’t even the All-Star break yet—New York is
21-27 overall and a sturdy 28-20 ATS.
Boston has had a fairly easy time of it the last 20 trips to MSG,
going 13-7 SU and more importantly to bettors, 15-5 ATS.
SPORTSBETTING.com is reporting early action is all over Boston, with
the favorite grabbing 75% of the betting public’s money so far.
It doesn’t get an easier for the Celtics as they return home after
the game against New York, rest for a day and then play a Sunday
afternoon tilt against the San Antonio Spurs.
While the Spurs have one of the best records in the Western
Conference at 33-15, they are a meager 23-23-2 ATS.
The game against the Celtics will be the Spurs’ first in an Atlantic
division swing and while San Antonio is 14-6 SU in the last 20
against the likes of Boston, New Jersey, New York and Toronto, they
are a paltry 6-13-1 ATS.
However, Boston has been very hospitable when San Antonio visits the
Garden, going 2-12 SU and 4-10 ATS in the last 14 home games against
the Spurs.
As for the team that played the Celtics in the NBA final and beat
them in OT last night, the Los Angeles Lakers have a tilt in
Cleveland against the Cavaliers with tip-off coming about two hours
after the start of the Spurs-Celtics game.
After a game against the Toronto Raptors earlier in the week, Kobe
was quoted in the National Post as saying he didn’t give a rat’s ass
that LeBron James had surpassed him as the youngest player to score
12,000 points by a year.
That quote might be used in the pre-game hype to this potential 2009
NBA final matchup.
The Lakers have been a profitable road team lately going 10-1 SU and
7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games away from the STAPLES Center and
they’ve also been very reliable on the Over going above the Total in
the last eight-straight.
The Cavs are an amazing 23-0 SU and 18-5 ATS at home and have gone
9-6 SU and 9-5 ATS (a game in 1997 didn’t have odds released) the
last 15 times they’ve hosted the Lake Show; they went Under six out
of the last seven home games vs. the Lakers.
Some interesting games featuring the NBA’s marquee teams from Friday
to Sunday so enjoy the games and your weekend.
Be sure to check out the “Mardi Gras Party” at
SPORTSBETTING.com today and
through the weekend. They have a special Pro Bowl bonus, plus
Saturday they have NCAA hoops giveaways, and much more.
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