Greg Shaker
<!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->NBA: New York Knicks at Charlotte Bobcats - Knicks +7 -110
Game Date: 3/28/2009
Note: The Bobcats are playing some of the best basketball of the their season right now and once again get the cover and outright win at Philly last night. That followed two snafus from this team and had to have given them much pleasure with the road win. New York is in town tonight and both are playing back to back. that usually means fatigue factors and that is not a good scenerio for these Bobcats. The Knicks not only love to play away from the Garden at 21-12-1 ATS this year, they thrive on ZERO DAYS REST, at 10-4 ATS. The reason is a simple one. They do throw a lot of people at you and they do have a much better bench than what Charlotte will bring to the table. In addition, these Knicks can hang tight with anyone because of their scoring spurts that we all know about. They have covered their last 3 of 4 and they have not lost by more than 7 in their last 7 tries on the road. That does include games with Orlando, Cleveland, and Detroit. Considering the dynamics of this one, an outright win is very possible, and certainly these points look very spiffy indeed. I am still waiting for the status on Nate Robinson with a possible suspension but I do not think that is going to be a big factor one way or another. It certainly was not last night in the Knicks win verses the Hornets, playing just 19 minutes of that contest. Let's get these points.
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<!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->NBA: New York Knicks at Charlotte Bobcats - Knicks +7 -110
Game Date: 3/28/2009
Note: The Bobcats are playing some of the best basketball of the their season right now and once again get the cover and outright win at Philly last night. That followed two snafus from this team and had to have given them much pleasure with the road win. New York is in town tonight and both are playing back to back. that usually means fatigue factors and that is not a good scenerio for these Bobcats. The Knicks not only love to play away from the Garden at 21-12-1 ATS this year, they thrive on ZERO DAYS REST, at 10-4 ATS. The reason is a simple one. They do throw a lot of people at you and they do have a much better bench than what Charlotte will bring to the table. In addition, these Knicks can hang tight with anyone because of their scoring spurts that we all know about. They have covered their last 3 of 4 and they have not lost by more than 7 in their last 7 tries on the road. That does include games with Orlando, Cleveland, and Detroit. Considering the dynamics of this one, an outright win is very possible, and certainly these points look very spiffy indeed. I am still waiting for the status on Nate Robinson with a possible suspension but I do not think that is going to be a big factor one way or another. It certainly was not last night in the Knicks win verses the Hornets, playing just 19 minutes of that contest. Let's get these points.
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Regarding the Teddy Covers 20* NCAA Tournament GOY. That selection actually may not be for today. That play is posted on his Covers Experts page but doesn't specify when it is and it also hasn't been put up yet on the Sportsmemo website. So Teddy's big 20* Tournament GOY may be Saturday or Sunday at this point.
hno:
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Dave Malinsky
4* #520 CONNECTICUT over MISSOURI
Few teams have been as big of a meal ticket in any sports season as
Missouri was for us down the stretch ? since January 31st the Tigers
produced a perfect 6-0 when we backed them, including three 6* plays
and a 5*. But this is where the run ends for Mike Anderson and his
team. While their ability to pressure opponents into mistakes, and
take advantage of them with outstanding precisions, has been special,
what it has also hidden is that their talent is only good, not great.
Now they run into an opponent that will force a different pace into
the game and will rarely turn the ball over, and this game flow will
show how great of a job that Anderson did with the pieces at hand
this season.
Connecticut is not going to be bothered by a press. While Hasheem
Thabeet gets those deserved accolades for the impact that he has only
games, it is point guard A. J. Price that has been the heart of this
team, and Price has only turned the ball over 88 times in 1,047 floor
minutes this season, despite the fact that many of those minutes came
against tough Big East defenses. He has set the tone for a team that
has only 425 turnovers in 34 games, and one that can use their size
as an advantage against the press ? with Thabeet, Jeff Adrien and
Stanley Robinson on the court, they can throw the ball right over the
top of traps. And Price?s back-court mate Craig Austrie has been as
strong with the ball as just about any guard around, with 80 assists
vs. only 28 turnovers in 845 minutes. The latter count is special.
So what happens when the Missouri presses are broken? A team that
lacks size around the basket not only has a huge matchup headache
with Thabeet, literally, but both Robinson (15.3 points and 7.7
rebounds per tourney game) and Adrien (14.7 and 10.0 in the Dance)
have been dominating as well down low. That exploits a weakness that
both Marquette and Memphis were able to find, with each of those
teams slashing to the basket through large openings. And it is not
just the half-court defense for Missouri that can be exploited, but
the fact that when they are not getting easy opportunities off of
turnovers the Tiger half-court offense is also nothing special.
Missouri gets a lot of assists from attacking the basket and
unselfishly dishing the ball. But there is nothing to attack against
Connecticut ? the Huskies allowed only 37.4 percent shooting,
including 30.5 from 3-point range, blocking 265 shots along the way.
It is a matchup that will eventually see the Tiger offense bog down,
and they get forced to play a grinder of a game that takes their
strentghs away, and exposes all weaknesses.
4* #514 UTAH over PHOENIX
When Jerry Sloan looks at films of Utah?s loss at Phoenix on
Wednesday night he sees a perfect storm of disasters by his team. The
Jazz allowed the Suns to shoot 54.9 percent from the field; grab more
rebounds; get 31 fast break points vs. only 14; and win the points in
the paint battle by a major 68-38. All the while Utah was making only
16-27 free throws. So it is no secret that it disturbed the veteran
coach, who has had his team at home since that debacle to study the
films and go over the glaring mistakes. But here is the subtle key
for our purposes tonight ? even with all of that happening, it was a
tie game in the final minute. On a night in which the pendulums were
swinging in the Phoenix direction in a major way, the Suns could
barely escape. They will not be so lucky here.
On Thursday we cashed an easy 4* ticket with Portland over Phoenix in
the first road outing since losing Leandro Barbosa, and the Suns had
little say in the outcome ? once again they were just awful
defensively, allowing 60.2 percent shooting, and the legs and depth
were not there to chase from behind. Now in a key back-to-back
sequence Alvin Gentry must remain aware of the issues that his team
has, knowing that burning out those legs in a game that may not be
able to win tonight anyway only makes matters more difficult when
they play at Sacramento tomorrow, one that absolutely must put into
the win column to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. And on a
court on which the Jazz are on a current run of 13-0 SU and 10-3 ATS,
with the three spread failures coming by a combined 5.5 points, it is
an uphill battle from the opening tipoff.
Note that the recent home surge by Utah had little to do with
scheduling ? the Jazz beat the Celtics, Hornets, Hawks, Lakers,
Nuggets and Rockets (twice) in that span. They deliver another
knockout punch here, as fresh legs propel a bitter revenge motive
into a blowout.
Dave Malinsky
4* #520 CONNECTICUT over MISSOURI
Few teams have been as big of a meal ticket in any sports season as
Missouri was for us down the stretch ? since January 31st the Tigers
produced a perfect 6-0 when we backed them, including three 6* plays
and a 5*. But this is where the run ends for Mike Anderson and his
team. While their ability to pressure opponents into mistakes, and
take advantage of them with outstanding precisions, has been special,
what it has also hidden is that their talent is only good, not great.
Now they run into an opponent that will force a different pace into
the game and will rarely turn the ball over, and this game flow will
show how great of a job that Anderson did with the pieces at hand
this season.
Connecticut is not going to be bothered by a press. While Hasheem
Thabeet gets those deserved accolades for the impact that he has only
games, it is point guard A. J. Price that has been the heart of this
team, and Price has only turned the ball over 88 times in 1,047 floor
minutes this season, despite the fact that many of those minutes came
against tough Big East defenses. He has set the tone for a team that
has only 425 turnovers in 34 games, and one that can use their size
as an advantage against the press ? with Thabeet, Jeff Adrien and
Stanley Robinson on the court, they can throw the ball right over the
top of traps. And Price?s back-court mate Craig Austrie has been as
strong with the ball as just about any guard around, with 80 assists
vs. only 28 turnovers in 845 minutes. The latter count is special.
So what happens when the Missouri presses are broken? A team that
lacks size around the basket not only has a huge matchup headache
with Thabeet, literally, but both Robinson (15.3 points and 7.7
rebounds per tourney game) and Adrien (14.7 and 10.0 in the Dance)
have been dominating as well down low. That exploits a weakness that
both Marquette and Memphis were able to find, with each of those
teams slashing to the basket through large openings. And it is not
just the half-court defense for Missouri that can be exploited, but
the fact that when they are not getting easy opportunities off of
turnovers the Tiger half-court offense is also nothing special.
Missouri gets a lot of assists from attacking the basket and
unselfishly dishing the ball. But there is nothing to attack against
Connecticut ? the Huskies allowed only 37.4 percent shooting,
including 30.5 from 3-point range, blocking 265 shots along the way.
It is a matchup that will eventually see the Tiger offense bog down,
and they get forced to play a grinder of a game that takes their
strentghs away, and exposes all weaknesses.
4* #514 UTAH over PHOENIX
When Jerry Sloan looks at films of Utah?s loss at Phoenix on
Wednesday night he sees a perfect storm of disasters by his team. The
Jazz allowed the Suns to shoot 54.9 percent from the field; grab more
rebounds; get 31 fast break points vs. only 14; and win the points in
the paint battle by a major 68-38. All the while Utah was making only
16-27 free throws. So it is no secret that it disturbed the veteran
coach, who has had his team at home since that debacle to study the
films and go over the glaring mistakes. But here is the subtle key
for our purposes tonight ? even with all of that happening, it was a
tie game in the final minute. On a night in which the pendulums were
swinging in the Phoenix direction in a major way, the Suns could
barely escape. They will not be so lucky here.
On Thursday we cashed an easy 4* ticket with Portland over Phoenix in
the first road outing since losing Leandro Barbosa, and the Suns had
little say in the outcome ? once again they were just awful
defensively, allowing 60.2 percent shooting, and the legs and depth
were not there to chase from behind. Now in a key back-to-back
sequence Alvin Gentry must remain aware of the issues that his team
has, knowing that burning out those legs in a game that may not be
able to win tonight anyway only makes matters more difficult when
they play at Sacramento tomorrow, one that absolutely must put into
the win column to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. And on a
court on which the Jazz are on a current run of 13-0 SU and 10-3 ATS,
with the three spread failures coming by a combined 5.5 points, it is
an uphill battle from the opening tipoff.
Note that the recent home surge by Utah had little to do with
scheduling ? the Jazz beat the Celtics, Hornets, Hawks, Lakers,
Nuggets and Rockets (twice) in that span. They deliver another
knockout punch here, as fresh legs propel a bitter revenge motive
into a blowout.
