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7.30pm ET
LA Clippers @ New Jersey Nets
We'll lay the wood and recommend the surging New Jersey Nets when they host the LA Clippers tonight.
The Nets 19-14 record leads the Atlantic Division and tonight they go for their fourth straight win. Following a 7-11 start to the season they have now won 12 of their last 15 games.
Key to their success has been the stellar play of point guard Jason Kidd. He leads the league with six triple-doubles and in his last game scored a season high 35 points. Kidd ranks first in the NBA in assists (9.6 apg) and ninth in steals (1.88 spg).
Following an embarrassing 47 point loss at Memphis back on December 13 the Nets held a fiery but productive team meeting. Jason Kidd laid into Byron Scott and his staff for the way they had been handling the team. The head coach accepted the criticism and incorporated it into a revamped approach to running practices and pregame activities.
"I had been putting too much pressure on these guys," Scott told the New York Times. "I was so regimented, it wasn't fun. The guys got to a point where it was like pulling teeth. I had to say, 'Enjoy it.' "
Scott responded by trying to loosen things up in team workouts and has introduced relay races, back-court versus front-court scrimmages, and jump-shot contests.
Nets shooting guard Lucious Harris believes it's working. "It's definitely changed. We've been having a lot more fun now and the atmosphere has become more relaxed."
Since that meeting they have won five of their six home games. All those victories have been by double-digits and at an average of more than 14 points per game.
The Clippers are in fifth place in the Pacific at 14-16 overall. They last played Sunday when they beat the Lakers 101-98 but the rare win against their cross-town rivals was largely due to the absence of both Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone. The Clippers have been their usual Jekyll-and-Hyde selves this season and have followed each of their previous four SU wins with SU and ATS losses. Coming off of a close win against the Lakers and then traveling across the country we don't expect the Clippers to keep this one close tonight. When things go bad for them on the road they can just mail it in....their eight road losses have been by 21, 14, 10, 19, 12, 13, 8 and 9 points.
The Clippers are just 15-25 ATS the last three seasons against teams that allow 91 or less points per game. They are also just 12-19 against Atlantic Division opponents during the same stretch. Those numbers don't compare well with the Nets 22-17 ATS mark the last three seasons against teams from the Pacific Division. It's also worth noting that New Jersey often use this time of year to make their run and are a dominant 22-8 ATS in January games since 2001.
The Nets are 5-1 recently in this series including a 102-96 win at Staples Center earlier this season.
We'll go with New Jersey to post a comfortable double-digit win tonight.
Recommended Play: Nets -8
LA Clippers @ New Jersey Nets
We'll lay the wood and recommend the surging New Jersey Nets when they host the LA Clippers tonight.
The Nets 19-14 record leads the Atlantic Division and tonight they go for their fourth straight win. Following a 7-11 start to the season they have now won 12 of their last 15 games.
Key to their success has been the stellar play of point guard Jason Kidd. He leads the league with six triple-doubles and in his last game scored a season high 35 points. Kidd ranks first in the NBA in assists (9.6 apg) and ninth in steals (1.88 spg).
Following an embarrassing 47 point loss at Memphis back on December 13 the Nets held a fiery but productive team meeting. Jason Kidd laid into Byron Scott and his staff for the way they had been handling the team. The head coach accepted the criticism and incorporated it into a revamped approach to running practices and pregame activities.
"I had been putting too much pressure on these guys," Scott told the New York Times. "I was so regimented, it wasn't fun. The guys got to a point where it was like pulling teeth. I had to say, 'Enjoy it.' "
Scott responded by trying to loosen things up in team workouts and has introduced relay races, back-court versus front-court scrimmages, and jump-shot contests.
Nets shooting guard Lucious Harris believes it's working. "It's definitely changed. We've been having a lot more fun now and the atmosphere has become more relaxed."
Since that meeting they have won five of their six home games. All those victories have been by double-digits and at an average of more than 14 points per game.
The Clippers are in fifth place in the Pacific at 14-16 overall. They last played Sunday when they beat the Lakers 101-98 but the rare win against their cross-town rivals was largely due to the absence of both Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone. The Clippers have been their usual Jekyll-and-Hyde selves this season and have followed each of their previous four SU wins with SU and ATS losses. Coming off of a close win against the Lakers and then traveling across the country we don't expect the Clippers to keep this one close tonight. When things go bad for them on the road they can just mail it in....their eight road losses have been by 21, 14, 10, 19, 12, 13, 8 and 9 points.
The Clippers are just 15-25 ATS the last three seasons against teams that allow 91 or less points per game. They are also just 12-19 against Atlantic Division opponents during the same stretch. Those numbers don't compare well with the Nets 22-17 ATS mark the last three seasons against teams from the Pacific Division. It's also worth noting that New Jersey often use this time of year to make their run and are a dominant 22-8 ATS in January games since 2001.
The Nets are 5-1 recently in this series including a 102-96 win at Staples Center earlier this season.
We'll go with New Jersey to post a comfortable double-digit win tonight.
Recommended Play: Nets -8