Golden State at TORONTO (-8)
By Karl Garrett, Featured Handicapper
G-Man on an overall comp play run of 69-53-4.
Tonight I am eating the chalk with the Toronto Raptors, as Toronto plays their home opener fresh off a Wednesday night outright double-digit win at Philadelphia.
The Raptors looked strong to the G-Man in that one, I expect them to look strong again tonight against a Golden State team that is going to miss Baron Davis running the show.
The Warriors did stay inside of the number in a home loss to New Orleans on Wednesday, but now they must make the cross-country trek into the Great White North, and I don't think it is going to be a successful one.
The Raptors will look to avenge a season series sweep by Golden State last season, and it is all systems go if you ask the G-Man.
Toronto the call minus the number in their home opener!
2? TORONTO
New York at PHILADELPHIA (-7')
By Michael Cannon, Featured Handicapper
I’m 9-4 with my last 13 overall Bonus Plays.
Take the 76ers as the home chalk tonight over the Knicks.
New York looked good in new coach Mike D’Antoni’s debut on Wednesday, knocking off the Heat 120-115.
But the Heat are pitiful, and the 76ers are a team that has the potential to make some noise this year in the East.
The addition of Elton Brand will only help to solidify this team on the post and Philly should be able to carve up the Knicks in the paint, both offensively and on the boards.
I expect Philadelphia to bounce back from its pitiful shooting performance in their season-opening 95-84 loss at home to the Raptors. The 76ers only shot 34.5 percent from the field, but Toronto is a much better defensive team than New York is.
Lay the points as the 76ers grab the home win and cover.
2? PHILADELPHIA
New York (+8') at PHILADELPHIA
By Sports Gambling Hotline, Featured Handicapper
Outright NBA winner on Houston last night!
Tonight we are not calling for an outright, but we are calling for the underdog Knicks to stay close to the 76ers in the City of Brotherly Love.
New York pushed the tempo on Wednesday under new coach Mike D'Antoni, and they were rewarded with a 120-115 win over Miami in a game that wasn't as close as the final score - the Knicks leading by double-digits pretty much all the way.
Philadelphia broke out of the gate a little slow, as they have been written about in all the preseason publications as one of the teams in the East that is expected to be there come playoff time, but the Sixers dropped a 95-84 decision to the Raptors on their home hardwood Wednesday.
We expect Philly to have better success tonight, as they are stepping down in competition, but with the "new look" Knicks pushing the ball under D'Antoni, we will not be surprised at all to see New York keep this one closer than expected.
Play on the Knicks plus the points.
4? NEW YORK
San Antonio at PORTLAND (+1')
By Bobby Maxwell, Featured Handicapper
We hit our Bonus Play winner Thursday as New Orleans went to Phoenix and got the outright victory. Today we've got another comp winner coming on the Blazers as they host the Spurs.
Both these teams opened the season with losses with the Blazers coming up short in Los Angeles against the Lakers and the Spurs falling at home to the Suns on Wednesday. Now San Antonio travels to Portland and we think the home crowd will have the team ready to go and they'll beat the Spurs tonight.
San Antonio is without Manu Ginobili until at least December and it will make them an average team at best. They got 32 points from both Tony Parker and Tim Duncan against the Suns Wednesday but basically nothing from anybody else. The other three starters totaled just 10 points.
Portland has got a good young nucleus in Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw and we know Greg Oden is out but they played all last season without him and they'll come out strong in the home opener.
San Antonio finished last year just 3-10 ATS in its last 13 road games and without Ginobili, it won't be easy anywhere they visit. The home team is 5-1 ATS in the last six matchups between these two squard.
Let's look at Portland to come out strong, get the up-tempo game going and cash our ticket tonight against the Spurs.
2? PORTLAND
San Antonio (-2) at PORTLAND
By Chris Jordan, Featured Handicapper
We're on a 9-4 run with complimentary selections, including five of six since Sunday and tonight we're taking the Spurs up in Portland, as the Blazers are back to playing sans Greg Oden.
The Spurs lost outright on their own floor two nights back to Phoenix, so avenging a loss is certainly on the agenda today. And even though the home team is 5-1 against the number the last six times these two have danced, San Antonio is on a 20-9 run overall in this series.
And forget about the point spread for a minute ... it's irrelevant in this game - the Spurs have beaten the Blazers 12 straight times and 19 of the last 20 meetings.
San Antonio swept the season series, 3-0, last season, including a 72-65 win in Portland, where the Blazer were held to a season low in points.
Take the Spurs in this one.
4? SPURS
Denver at LA CLIPPERS (+2)
By Drew Gordon, Featured Handicapper
Easy Bonus Play winner with the Hornets outright over the Suns 108-95, part of my 2-0 Sweep (incl. Freebie) across the board Thursday! More winners this NBA Friday...
I freely admit the Nuggets are a better team than the Clippers - when and only when - they have Carmelo Anthony in the lineup. However, with Carmelo still sitting out suspended, this game becomes a hell of a lot more winnable for the Clippers.
First of all, after getting embarassed by the rival Lakers 117-79 Wednesday, I fully expect the Clips to bounce back strongly tonight. They'll not only be highly motivated, but the absence of 'Melo also makes for a much more favorable match up at the small forward position with Thornton going against Kleiza.
Second, don't make the mistake of fading a team like the Clippers too early in the season. Did they struggle against a powerhouse Lakers team? Yes, but there's things you can count on tonight: A. The Nuggets defense, especially on the road, will be terrible. And B. Baron Davis and Chris Kaman are going to play much better than they did Wednesday (much better match ups), which is the key for this Clippers team.
Bottom line, Denver's "strong" defensive effort at Utah doesn't fool me, this is the same group of lackadasical defenders that got crushed in road game after road game last season (and now without Camby). Look for the Clippers and especially Davis to bounce back strong tonight at home, as they grab the cash with ease late Friday!
Take the LA Clippers plus the points over Denver in this NBA match up.
2? LA CLIPPERS