SPORTS WAGERS-RANDALL THE HANDLE
PHILADELPHIA –3½ over Memphis
The Sixers are warming up again with three wins in a row and their last two home games against Utah and Phoenix were by double digits. The 76ers remain the most undervalued team in the NBA because of a 20-25 record but let’s not forget they started the year out with a 2-10 record. Philadelphia is 22-8 over its last 30 games and they’re doing it rather quietly. Philly is deep, they’re balanced, they play sound defense and they’re getting better with each passing week. They’re going to the playoffs and they’re very capable of knocking off a higher seed like Orlando, Chicago or Atlanta. The Grizz are just 9-17 on the road and their last three games were against Milwaukee, Toronto and New Jersey. They have some very ugly road losses already, they’ve never had success at this venue and that’s when the 76ers were complete dregs. Those days are now over for the 76ers and with the confidence and roll that they’re presently enjoying, beating this soft traveler should not be that difficult. This is a cheap lay on the surging 76ers at home. Play: Philadelphia –3 (Risking 2.2 units to win 2).
TORONTO +129 over Milwaukee
The Bucks are coming off a win over Atlanta and that’s nice but the fact is this is a team as bad as the Raps and offer up nothing but grief as road chalk. Prior to Milwaukee’s win over the Hawks, their last three wins were against Cleveland, Washington and New Jersey. The Bucks have just five wins over its last 15 games and overall they own just seven road wins in 23 games. The Raps are in the midst of an ugly nine-game losing streak and they have to know they can snap it here. They still have one of the best fan bases in the league, as they play to a sold out house just about every night despite its struggles. That’s inspiring and it makes the players want to win badly. What this team lacks in direction they make up for in effort and they’re on the verge of breaking out. Toronto has too many good shooters to keep losing at this pace and one really has to like their chances of snapping out of this thing against the poor shooting Bucks. Play: Toronto +129 (Risking 2 units).
CLEVELAND +10 over Denver
The Cav’s winless streak has hit 18 games and what that does is create an overly inflated line on the favorite. Nobody is wagering on the Cav’s these days and the books are over-compensating for their ineptitude. That gives us a pretty sweet number on this home dog against a Nuggets team that is really good but that is also prone to a whole bunch of no-shows. Denver is coming off three wins in a row and the latter two were by 14 and 11 points respectively. They also won in Detroit by nine in its last game and surely could figure that all they have to do is show up to win. So, there’s no point in breaking down the matchup. What we have here is a Cleveland team whose stock has hit rock bottom and that’s the best time to play on any team because of the aforementioned over-compensation in the number. Play: Cleveland +10 (Risking 2.1 units to win 2).