<TABLE style="TABLE-LAYOUT: fixed" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="85%" height="100%">THE SPORTS ADVISORS
Green Bay (5-5, 7-3 ATS) at New Orleans (5-5, 6-4 ATS)
Drew Brees and the explosive Saints welcome the Packers to the Superdome in New Orleans for a crucial NFC showdown between teams in the midst of the playoff hunt.
Brees has thrown for 3,251 yards, 18 TDs and 11 INTs this season, but New Orleans has alternated wins and losses in its last eight games (5-3 ATS). The Saints went to Kansas City last week and rolled 30-20 as six-point road favorites as Brees threw for 266 yards, one TD and an INT, with Lance Moore doing the bulk of the damage with eight catches for 102 yards and a TD.
Green Bay has cashed in five straight games, including last week when the Packers crushed the Bears 37-3 as a 3½-point home favorite. The defense got yet another touchdown, its NFL-leading seventh this season, as the Packers held Chicago to 234 total yards and a season-low in points. QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 227 yards and two TDs against the Bears, and he’s averaging 235.1 yards per contest in his first season as a starter.
Green Bay is in a three-way tie atop the NFC North with the Bears and Vikings.
The Packers and Saints have only met three times this decade, with New Orleans holding a 2-1 SU and ATS advantage. In 2006, the Saints went to Green Bay and won 34-27 win as a one-point road chalk.
The Packers are 26-25-1 SU (28-23-1 ATS) on Mondays, including 1-0 SU and ATS this year, while the Saints are 9-16 SU and ATS under the Monday night spotlight (0-1 SU and ATS this season).
Underdogs are on a 6-2 ATS run on Monday nights, with the pup winning four of those six outright.
Green Bay is riding ATS streaks of 21-7-1 overall, 13-3-1 on the road, 7-1 in November, 19-8-2 against NFC competition, 6-2-1 in Week 12 games, 14-5 after a straight-up win and 14-6-1 on Mondays. New Orleans is on ATS slides of 1-4 against the NFC, 2-5 on Mondays, 1-5 after a spread-cover and 0-5 after a straight-up win, but the Saints are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games and 4-0 ATS in their last four Week 12 outings.
The Packers carry a bunch of “over” trends, including 20-6-1 overall, 8-1-1 on the road, 16-5-1 against NFC competition, 16-5 after an ATS win and 9-2 coming off a straight-up victory. The Saints have been an over machine, too, including 11-3-1 overall, 20-8-1 against NFC teams, 8-1-1 at home, 8-1-1 after a spread-cover and 9-1 after a straight-up win. Also, the over is 4-0 in the last four meetings between these teams.
Finally, the over is 10-2 on Monday nights this season.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
NBA
Chicago (6-8, 8-6 ATS) at Utah (9-5, 7-7 ATS)
The Jazz will try to stay perfect at home when they welcome the Bulls to EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.
Utah is 6-0 (4-2 ATS) in front of the home fans, outscoring visitors by an average of 10 points per contest (103-93) and outshooting them by five percentage points (49.4 to 44.4). The Jazz come into this contest having won and covered three of their last four, including Saturday’s 103-94 victory in Memphis, cashing as 3½-point favorites.
Chicago comes in on the second night of back-to-back games after falling in Denver on Sunday 114-101, failing to cash as an 8½-point underdog. The Bulls have lost three of four (2-2 ATS) on their current seven-game road trip that will make stops in San Antonio and Philadelphia after tonight. Chicago is 1-5 (3-3 ATS) on the road this season, as defense has gotten torched for 106.8 ppg and 46.3 percent shooting.
The SU winner has cashed in each of Utah’s last nine contests, and the winner is 12-2 ATS in Chicago’s 14 games this year.
The home team has won six of the last seven meetings between these two (3-4 ATS) including both games last season. The Bulls cashed in both outings, though, including as 12-point ‘dogs in last February’s 97-87 setback in Salt Lake City. The Bulls are 6-3 ATS in the last nine meetings and the road team is 7-3 ATS in the last 10.
Chicago is 5-2 ATS in its last seven against the Western Conference and 4-1 ATS in its last five Monday games, but they are on ATS slides of 2-5 on the second night of a back-to-back and 1-5 on the road against teams with a winning home record. The Jazz are on ATS runs of 43-18-2 at home and 16-5-1 on Mondays.
For the Bulls, the over is on stretches of 16-8-2 on the road, 7-3-1 on the second night of a back-to-back and 6-2-2 on Mondays. Utah is on over streaks of 6-0 overall, 4-0 at home, 4-1 against the Central Division and 4-0 when the Jazz get a day of rest.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UTAH and OVER
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