SPORTS ADVISORS
Pittsburgh (5-2, 3-4 ATS) at Washington (6-2, 5-3 ATS)
The Steelers head into FedEx Field in the nation’s capital for a matchup with the Redskins, hoping to avoid a third loss this season to an NFC East opponent.
Pittsburgh fell 21-14 at home a week ago to the Giants as a three-point home favorite, squandering a 14-9 second-half lead. The Steelers only two losses this season are to NFC East squads as they also fell in Philadelphia 15-6 as a 3½-point underdog in September. The Pittsburgh defense has been doing the job all season, ranking third in the NFL in points allowed (15.7 per game), first in total yards allowed (236 per game) and third in rushing yards allowed (71.6 per game).
Washington’s defense comes in ranked sixth overall, yielding 278.1 yards per contest. Last week the Redskins held the Lions to just 274 total yards (57 rushing) in a 25-17 victory in Detroit, covering as 7½-point favorites. Jim Zorn’s squad has outgained the opposition in its last seven games and his offense is fourth in the NFL in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 32:31 per contest. A big part of that ball control comes courtesy of QB Jason Campbell, who has compiled 1,754 yards passing and eight TDs without an interception, and RB Clinton Portis, who leads the NFL in rushing with 944 yards
These teams haven’t met in a regular season game since 2004 when Pittsburgh got a 16-7 home win, coming up just short as a 10-point chalk. The last time these storied franchise met in a regular-season game in Washington was more than 20 years ago when the Redskins scored a 30-29 win.
The Steelers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games after a straight-up loss, but otherwise they’re on ATS skids of 7-12-1 on the road, 1-5 on Mondays, 1-5 against teams with a winning record, 1-4 in November contests and 3-7 on the road against teams with a winning home mark. Meanwhile, the Redskins are on ATS slides of 3-7-1 in November games and 5-12 at home against teams with a winning road record, but they are on positive pointspread streaks of 5-2 overall and 22-8-1 against teams with a winning record.
For Pittsburgh, the over is on streaks of 8-3 overall, 5-2 against teams with a winning record, 6-1 following an ATS loss and 4-0 after a straight-up loss. Meanwhile, Washington is on a plethora of under streaks, including 4-1-1 overall, 4-1 at home (3-0 last three), 11-4 following a spread-cover and 6-1-1 on Mondays.
Finally, the over is 8-0-1 this season in Monday night games.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
NBA
Chicago (2-1 SU and ATS) at Orlando (1-2 SU and ATS)
The Magic will try to make it five straight wins over the Bulls when they welcome them to AmWay Arena in Orlando.
Orlando got its first win of the young season Saturday, blowing out Sacramento 121-103 as a 10½-point home favorite, with the dynamic duo of Dwight Howard (29 points and 14 rebounds) and Rashard Lewis (26 points and seven rebounds) doing the majority of the damage.
Chicago squad is coming off Saturday’s 96-86 win over Memphis, covering as an eight-point home chalk. No. 1 overall draft pick Derrick Rose poured in 26 points and Drew Gooden pulled down 20 rebounds to lead the Bulls. In their lone road game to this point, the Bulls fell 96-80 in Boston on Friday as 10-point road ‘dogs.
Orlando swept the season series against Chicago last season, going 4-0 SU (3-1 ATS). At home against the Bulls a year ago, the Magic scored wins of 102-88 as a 6½-point favorite and 115-83 as a 9½-point chalk. Orlando is 7-2 SU (6-3 ATS) in its last nine against Chicago and 3-1 ATS in the last four at home.
Chicago is on ATS slides of 1-7 following a spread-cover and 6-22 after a straight-up win, but otherwise the Bulls are on positive ATS streaks of 4-1 overall and 15-7 when playing with a day of rest. Orlando carries strong pointspread streaks of 15-7-2 at home and 8-3-1 against teams from the Central Division.
For the Bulls, the over is 13-5-2 in their last 20 road games, but the under is on runs of 8-2 overall, 4-0 after a spread-cover, 4-0 against teams from the Southeast Division and 5-0 after a straight-up win. For Orlando it’s been a plethora of unders, including 4-1 overall, 8-2 against the Central Division, 7-2 against the Eastern Conference, 17-5 after a spread-cover and 19-7 after a straight-up win.
In this series, the under is 5-1 in the last six overall, but the over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in Orlando.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
Cleveland (1-2 SU, 2-1 ATS) at Dallas (1-1 SU and ATS)
The Cavaliers will be looking for their first road win this season when they visit American Airlines Center in Dallas to take on the Mavericks.
Cleveland opened the season with Tuesday’s 90-85 loss in Boston but covered as a six-point underdog, and after a blowout home victory over Charlotte, the Cavs went back on the road Saturday and fell 104-92 in New Orleans as a three-point pup. Dating back to last season’s Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series, the Cavs have dropped six straight road games, but they’re 4-2 ATS.
Dallas went to Minnesota on Saturday and got a 95-85 win as a six-point favorite with Dirk Nowitzki getting 21 points and point guard Jason Kidd contributing nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists. However, in their home opener against the Rockets on Thursday, the Mavericks lost 112-102 as a four-point chalk.
These teams split two meetings last year with the home team winning each contest, including the Cavaliers’ 88-81 victory as a seven-point pup in Dallas in December. The host has won three straight (3-0 ATS) in this matchup after the road team had rattled off six straight wins from 2004 to 2007 (4-2 ATS). Dallas is 7-3 SU in the last 10 meetings, but Cleveland has gotten the cash lately, going 5-2 ATS in the last seven (3-0 ATS in Dallas).
The Cavs are just 1-5 ATS in their last six against the Southwest Division and 2-7 ATS in their last nine against the Western Conference, but otherwise they’re on positive ATS streaks of 7-1 overall, 6-2 on the road, 6-1 after a day of rest, 5-0 after an non-cover and 6-1 after a straight-up loss. Meanwhile, the Mavs are 5-1 ATS in their last six against the Eastern Conference, but going back to last year, they’re 3-8 ATS in their last 11 at home, 6-17-1 in their last 24 against Central Division teams and 0-5 ATS in their last five after a straight-up win.
For Cleveland, the under is on runs of 15-7 overall, 16-7-1 against Western Conference teams and 15-5-1 after a straight-up loss. For Dallas, the under is on streaks of 4-1 overall, 8-3 at home, 5-2-2 against the Eastern Conference and 6-1 when coming in off a day of rest. Lastly, the under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings in this series.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
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