Kyle Bales 3/9
Both of these teams are on winning streaks but the competition hasn't
been that great. Milwaukee is hot going on a 15-4 run, but of the
Bucks first 14 victories in that stretch, 13 came against the bottom
nine teams in the East. The Celtics streak has been built against the
teams currently occupying then 9th-12th spots in the East. The Celtics
have not impressed me at all during this stretch. They play down to
their opponents level; losing to the Nets at home and having to battle
back to beat Washington at home Sunday night. Boston trailed 79-66
with 6:11 remaining before a 20-4 closing run to secure an 86-83 win.
The Bucks however are hungry for that playoff spot. Brandon Jennings
said after a 25 point breakout performance against Cleveland, "Main
thing is get to playoffs, having the city start believing in us and
keep going on from there." Jennings was one of five Bucks starters to
score in double figures in that game. Bucks are 20-9 at home and have
covered the spread in 11 straight games. This team is out to prove
something.
Play On: 15* Milwaukee Bucks -1
Charlotte looks to win its third straight over the visiting Heat who
turned in one of their worst performances ever in their last game at
Time Warner Cable Arena. The Heat managed to score 65 points missing
21 of 23 from 3-point range and shot 28.9 percent overall. But I'm not
big on past results and I love how this team is playing right now.
Wade is averaging 33.3 points, 12.0 assists and 5.0 boards during the
Heat's three-game winning streak. Michael Beasley has stepped up after
some encouragement from Wade scoring 14 of 22 points in the fourth
quarter of last Saturday's home win and this team is clicking right
now. The truth is, is that the Bobcats are not that good of a team.
Besides an impressive home win against the Lakers they haven't done
much lately and I will ride the hotter team today.
Play On: 10* Miami Heat +3.5
St. Bonaventure, winners of 4 of their last 5 games, take on a
Duquesne team they just beat at home last Wednesday by 12 points. They
are once again favored by -1.5 which seems like a very fishy line to
me. The Bonnies had a great performance shooting 56% from the field,
nine 3-pointers and 73% from the line but don't expect the same
performance today. The Dukes are ranked among Division I's leaders in
scoring offense while playing a hectic pace in coach Ron Everhart's
first three seasons and responded to the loss by getting it's second
100 point game in less than a month. in Wednesday's matchup, Duquesne
and St. Bonaventure committed 20 turnovers apiece and it was just a
sloppy game that saw both teams trading fast-break baskets. It also
featured the first technical foul of the season on Dukes coach Ron
Everhart, as well as junior Damian Saunders shooting two air-balls on
free-throw attempts. I think this team will step up today to get the
victory.
Play On: 5* Duquesne +2