Sports and Betting Insider Info & Statistics at Inspin.com » NBA

Preview Pacers at Hawks

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:55:02 +0000

THE STORY: Now that the Indiana Pacers have finally figured out how to beat the Atlanta Hawks, they'll be looking to buck another trend Wednesday night as the two teams face off at Philips Arena. The Pacers have won the last two meetings with the Hawks after Atlanta had dominated the head-to-head series, winning eight straight encounters. Next on Indiana's list: winning at Philips Arena, where they've dropped eight consecutive games. The Pacers' last victory in Atlanta came back on Dec. 22, 2006. The Pacers come in on a high after hanging on to defeat the visiting Utah Jazz 104-99 Tuesday night. Darren Collison led the way with 25 points while Danny Granger poured in 12 of his 16 points in the pivotal fourth quarter. The Hawks would be more than happy to extend Indiana's misery in Georgia as they look to avoid an 0-4 homestand. Atlanta opened the season 8-1 in its own building, but consecutive losses to Memphis, Philadelphia and Phoenix have the Hawks on the verge of their longest home losing skid since 2007.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Indiana

ABOUT THE PACERS (17-7): Granger remains the lynchpin of the Pacer offense, averaging a team-best 18.1 points, but he's getting plenty of help. All five Indiana starters average at least 11.5 points, while the club's top two bench options – forward Tyler Hansbrough and guard George Hill – are at 9.3 points apiece. While the Pacers sit in the middle of the pack in points, the balanced scoring makes them a more dangerous offensive team than the statistics would indicate.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (16-9): Atlanta head coach Larry Drew believes his players have had problems bouncing back after teams go on scoring runs against them. “This is the NBA,” Drew said. “It's about runs. Teams make runs all the time. It just seems to let the wind out of our sails when a team makes a run against us, particularly when there's a lot of basketball to be played.” The offense has also stagnated of late, averaging just 84.7 points during the three-game skid.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. Granger is averaging 21.8 points in four games so far in February.

2. The Pacers are a perfect 16-0 when they reach the 90-point plateau – and just 1-7 when they don't.

3. Indiana is 4-2 in the second games of back-to-backs, while the Hawks are 10-7 on one day's rest.

Preview Mavericks at Nuggets

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:55:05 +0000

THE STORY: The Denver Nuggets are having trouble keeping players healthy and will be without forward Danilo Gallinari for about a month as they enter Wednesday’s home game with the Dallas Mavericks. Gallinari left Monday’s game against the Houston Rockets after spraining his left ankle and tests done Tuesday discovered that Gallinari has had a chip fracture in his foot that occurred well before Monday’s injury. Gallinari averages a team-leading 17.0 points per game and represents a huge loss to the team-oriented Nuggets. “I don’t want to rush it,” Gallinari said of a timetable for returning. “I want to take care of myself and make sure it heals in the right way, so I don’t have other injuries when I come back.” Denver has lost three straight games and five of six, while Dallas is also struggling. The Mavericks have lost three straight games, including a 91-88 setback against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday to start a three-game road trip. The stretch marks Dallas’ first three-game skid since opening the season with three consecutive losses.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Southwest (Dallas), Altitude (Denver)

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (14-11): Forward Dirk Nowitzki is finally playing well after returning from his conditioning related absence. Nowitzki has averaged 27 points and made 21 of 32 shots in the past two games and had his first 30-point game of the season in last Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers. Nowitzki passed legendary Elgin Baylor on Saturday to move into 22nd place on the NBA’s career scoring list and is 24 points away from surpassing No. 21 Adrian Dantley. Nowitzki has 23,154 career points.

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (15-10): Three starters missed Monday’s loss to the Houston Rockets and then Gallinari left in the third quarter with his injury. Forward Nene (heel) and guard Arron Afflalo (right big toe, left ankle) are both expected to attempt to play against the Mavericks. Center Timofey Mozgov (ankle) will miss third straight game. In addition, reserve guard Rudy Fernandez is dealing with an aching back and backup forward Corey Brewer is away from the team after the death of his father.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. Denver has defeated Dallas four consecutive times.

2. Nowitzki is averaging 22.7 points and 8.4 rebounds in 46 career games against the Nuggets.

3. Denver’s Al Harrington had a season-best 15 rebounds to go with 12 points against Houston for his fourth double-double of the campaign.

Preview Knicks at Wizards

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:55:03 +0000

THE STORY: An unlikely star was born at Madison Square Garden during the past few days. Jeremy Lin has come out of oblivion to lead the New York Knicks to back-to-back victories with a pair of scintillating performances, but the feel-good vibes produced by the undrafted point guard out of Harvard were dimmed by unsettling news involving the team's two superstar players. Forward Carmelo Anthony, New York’s leading scorer, suffered a strained groin early in Monday's home victory over the Utah Jazz and is expected to be sidelined for one to two weeks. In addition, the brother of forward Amar'e Stoudemire was killed in a car crash early Monday in Florida. Stoudemire left the team Monday to be with his family and is not expected back before Wednesday night's road game against the Washington Wizards. Washington snapped a four-game skid by holding off the Toronto Raptors in overtime Monday night.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG, CSW, NBA TV

ABOUT THE KNICKS (10-15): “Lin-sanity” has taken over Manhattan. Lin came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points in Saturday’s win over New Jersey, and provided the perfect Broadway encore with 28 points and a career-high eight assists Saturday in his first career start. Lin’s emergence comes at an opportune time. PG Baron Davis, who has been rehabbing a bulging disk, had to stop his workouts due to an elbow infection and likely will not be back before the All-Star break.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (5-20): Washington has also been receiving a spark at both ends of the court from an unlikely source. Trevor Booker, a first-round pick in 2010, scored a season-high 19 points in the win over Toronto. He also had three steals, three blocks, and four rebounds. It was the fourth time in six games that Booker has scored in double figures. He is shooting a sizzling 67 percent (31 of 46) from the floor during that span.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. New York has beaten the Wizards seven straight times, including a three-point win in Washington last month.

2. The Wizards will be seeking back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

Preview Bucks at Raptors

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:55:01 +0000

THE STORY: If the Toronto Raptors have any hope at all of reaching the NBA playoffs this season, the next stretch of games could go a long way toward getting them there. The Raptors kick off a pivotal seven-game homestand Wednesday night as they entertain the Milwaukee Bucks. Toronto has had one of the unfriendliest schedules in the league to open the season, playing just nine of their first 26 games at the Air Canada Centre. With Wednesday kicking off a stretch that will see Toronto play 11 of its next 13 games at home, there won't be a better time for the Raptors to make up some ground in the Eastern Conference standings. Toronto enters Wednesday's action three games back of the Bucks, who presently occupy the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference. Milwaukee has just three victories in 13 road games so far this season, and has dropped three straight games following a three-game winning streak.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Wisconsin, Rogers Sportsnet

ABOUT THE BUCKS (10-14): With towering center Andrew Bogut expected to be out until mid- to late-March with an ankle injury, the pressure will be on players like Brandon Jennings to pick up the slack. Jennings has been a revelation for Milwaukee so far this season, averaging 19.2 points and 5.3 assists to put himself in contention for a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Jennings averages 18.3 points, 4.5 assists and 2.7 steals in five career games against Toronto.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (8-18): Toronto has won just once in its last five games, but has looked better of late. The Raptors cruised past Washington on Friday night, then gave the Miami Heat all they could handle en route to a six-point loss on Sunday. A rematch with the Wizards yielded a three-point overtime loss, but the Raptors fought gamely despite trailing by 18 points in the first half. The homestand includes games against league powers Boston, the L.A. Lakers and San Antonio.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. Milwaukee has won four straight games in the head-to-head series.

2. Raptors SG DeMar DeRozan is averaging just 14.4 points on 38.3-percent shooting, well below his numbers from a season ago (17.2 ppg, 46.7 percent).

3. Toronto has broken the 100-point barrier just once through its first nine home games.

Preview Pistons at Nets

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:37 +0000

THE STORY: The Detroit Pistons rank last in the NBA in scoring offense and rebounding but managed to do just enough on defense to win back-to-back home games over the weekend. Rookie guard Brandon Knight broke his nose in Saturday’s 89-87 win over the New Orleans Hornets and will be playing with a mask if he takes the court on Wednesday, when the Pistons visit the New Jersey Nets. It was only a week ago that the Nets squeezed out a 99-96 win over Detroit in Newark. Since then, New Jersey has dropped three in a row while surrendering an average of 105 points. The Nets have given up at least 90 points in nine straight and count the Pistons as their lone win in the last six games. The Eastern Conference bottom-dwellers will meet again Friday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSD (Detroit), YES (New Jersey)

ABOUT THE PISTONS (6-20): Detroit has a big chunk of its payroll on the bench in Charlie Villanueva (ankle), Ben Gordon (shoulder) and Will Bynum (foot), who have missed a combined 28 straight games. The absence of those veterans has allowed coach Lawrence Frank to give valuable minutes to players like Knight, Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko, who have each shown flashes of becoming productive players. Greg Monroe has looked like a future building block in averaging 21 points and 13.5 rebounds in the last two wins.

ABOUT THE NETS (8-18): With each loss, the rumors grow louder that New Jersey will try to move Deron Williams if it can’t pry Dwight Howard away from the Orlando Magic. Williams is the lone draw for the Nets at the moment, putting up 25.4 points and 9.1 assists over the last eight games. The biggest difference lately has been the absence of rookie MarShon Brooks, who has missed five straight games with a broken toe. Brooks has already been ruled out for the rest of this week.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. Monroe has seven double-doubles in the last eight games, missing with 21 points and eight boards against New Jersey last week.

2. The Pistons are 1-12 on the road.

3. The home team has taken the last seven in the series.

Preview Bulls at Hornets

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:28 +0000

THE STORY: The New Orleans Hornets will have a tough time snapping their six-game losing streak when they host the Central Division and Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. The Bulls have won three straight and hold a 12-5 road record. The Hornets, 2-12 on their home court, are dead last in the Southwest Division and Western Conference. One thing going for the Hornets – reigning MVP Derrick Rose may see reduced action. The Bulls star is suffering from back spasms that limited him to less than 11 minutes in Chicago’s last outing.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, CST, CSN-Chicago, WMVP, WMTI

ABOUT THE BULLS (21-6): Chicago, which is 7-3 in its last 10 games, is coming off a 108-87 road win over the New Jersey Nets on Monday. The Bulls led 35-14 after the first quarter and led by as many as 32 points in the first half as they dominated the Nets. Carlos Boozer led the offense with 24 points. C.J. Watson, playing in place of Rose, collected 14 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Luol Deng added 19 points.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-21): New Orleans, which has just one win in its last 10 games, is coming off a 100-92 loss at home to the Sacramento Kings on Monday. Despite leading by 18 points at one point in the first half, the Hornets still managed to lose for the 21st time in their last 23 games. “There is nowhere to run. I told the players that. You can’t get out of this. We’ll find out who is committed and who is not because this is a tough time we’re going through,” said coach Monty Williams. Greivis Vasquez led the Hornets offense against the Kings with 20 points and nine assists. Marco Belinelli added 18 points, while Chris Kaman collected 10 points, 12 boards and two blocks.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. The Bulls are 4-2 through the first six games of a nine-game road trip. It is the longest this season for Chicago.

2. Emeka Okafor had a season-high 19 points for the Hornets on Monday.

Preview Clippers at Cavaliers

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:25 +0000

THE STORY: The Clippers will begin life without Chauncey Billups on Wednesday when they’re longest trip of the season continues with a stop in Cleveland. While the acquisition of Chris Paul may have grabbed all the headlines, it was Billups who provided so much heart on and off the floor. He was lost for the season Monday night to a torn Achilles tendon, leaving the Clippers to try and continue surprising the rest of the league without their third leading scorer. The Cavaliers know all about injuries, too. They lost by 16 at Miami on Tuesday in part because they were down three key players and will likely be without them Wednesday, too. The Cavaliers’ top two shooting guards (Anthony Parker and Daniel Gibson) are down with injuries and rookie Tristan Thompson has a sprained ankle. All three are doubtful to play, leaving the Cavaliers’ once-robust bench paper thin and struggling to contribute.

TV: 7 p.m., Fox Sports West, Fox Sports Ohio

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (15-7): Randy Foye will replace Billups in the starting lineup. Mo Williams was another logical candidate, but he is battling his own knee and foot injuries and Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro likes the scoring punch Williams (14.5 ppg, 3.8 apg) provides off the bench. Foye was a starter last season and is averaging 7.3 points in 20 minutes per game this season, but he’s shooting just 39 percent.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (9-14): Wednesday’s game begins a nine-game homestand that will take the Cavs through the All-Star break and to the end of the month. It comes at a great time, since Cleveland is tied with Toronto and Indiana for fewest home games in the league. A number of players are convinced they’re a playoff contender if they can get healthy and get hot at home. The schedule will allow that, now they need bodies to heal. They begin the day a half-game out of the No. 8 seed in the East.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. Williams was traded from the Cavaliers to the Clippers at the trade deadline last season in the deal that ultimately landed Cleveland top overall pick Kyrie Irving.

2. The Clippers are 2-0 on this grueling trip, which includes six games in nine days. They already have wins over Washington and Orlando.

3. Irving has climbed to sixth among point guards in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game.

Preview Rockets at Trail Blazers

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:14 +0000

THE STORY: Upon further review, the NBA agreed with the Portland Trail Blazers, but too late to change a 111-107 overtime loss to Oklahoma City on Monday night. Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge was called for goaltending on Kevin Durant’s attempted layup with six seconds left. That call tied the score at 103 and the Thunder won in overtime. Referees cannot use instant replay on goaltending calls. Aldridge scored a season-high 39 points but it was the one basket he couldn’t prevent that bothered him. “The ref who called it was the furthest one from the basket, so that’s pretty interesting,” he said. The Trail Blazers, who fell to 11-2 at home, have little time to complain, hosting Houston on Wednesday night. The Rockets, who handed Denver a 99-90 loss Monday night, defeated Portland 107-105 in overtime in Houston on Jan. 14. Aldridge sent that game to overtime with an 18-foot jumper with 23 seconds remaining before Kevin Martin took over in the extra period. Houston snapped a four-game losing streak in Portland in its last visit, with a 103-87 victory March 1.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, KTXH (Rockets), CS Northwest (Trail Blazers)

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (14-11): NBA officials should announce Wednesday that Houston will be awarded the 2013 All-Star Game. The game will be played at the Toyota Center next Feb. 17. The Toyota Center also hosted the 2006 All-Star Game. Martin, Houston’s leading scorer, is 2 for 19 in his last two games for just 10 points. That comes on the heels of his best shooting game of the season, as he went 6 of 9 for 16 points against Phoenix.

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (14-11): Despite the wrenching goaltending call against them, the Trail Blazers were just 5 of 20 from 3-point range and also were outrebounded by the Thunder 59-39. “Regardless of the call, we’ve got to rebound,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. Raymond Felton, who sat out Monday with a sprained left foot, is questionable for tonight’s game. Portland center Marcus Camby missed practice Tuesday with bronchitis but is probable for Wednesday’s game.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. The Rockets have defeated the Trail Blazers in 20 of the last 28 games.

2. Aldridge has scored at least 20 points in each of his last eight regular season visits to Houston.

3. According to reports, the Rockets are close to signing center Greg Smith from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League.

Preview Timberwolves at Grizzlies

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:12 +0000

THE STORY: The Minnesota Timberwolves are in unfamiliar territory as they prepare to visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The Timberwolves held on for an 86-84 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night to run their winning streak to three games and put the team above .500 in February for the first time since 2005. Minnesota will be seeking its first four-game winning streak in two years, which came against Memphis on Feb. 6, 2010. Tuesday's victory was impressive in the fact that the Timberwolves prevailed without leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Love, who is serving a two-game suspension for stepping on Houston's Luis Scola on Saturday night. Minnesota went 0-9 least season without Love, who will also miss the matchup with the Grizzlies. Memphis is headed in the opposite direction as the Timberwolves, having lost three straight and seven of the last nine.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSNO

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (13-12): Rookie Derrick Williams, the No. 2 overall pick, started due to Love’s suspension and responded with 14 points and eight rebounds. That’s two fewer points than he scored in his last five games combined. Williams had half his total in the final four minutes, including a 3-pointer with under a minute left to put Minnesota ahead for good. C Nikola Pekovic took advantage of an injury to Darko Milicic to record his third double-double in four games with 23 points and 10 boards.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (12-13): Memphis coach Lionel Hollins regretted playing three of his starters at least 40 minutes in Monday's loss, but some of his players are not giving him much choice. Marreese Speights, acquired from Philadelphia when Zach Randolph was hurt, is in a tailspin, has scored a total of 14 points in the last four games on 6-of-23 shooting. Quincy Pondexter got a start because of an injury to Tony Allen and failed to score for the third straight game.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. The Grizzlies have a five-game winning streak over the Timberwolves, holding them under 90 points four times. Memphis has won eight of the last nine meetings.

2. Memphis is scoring nearly 14 points more per game at home than on the road.

3. The Timberwolves were 13 games under .500 (6-19) through 25 games last season.

Preview Heat at Magic

Dave Johnson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:55:05 +0000

THE STORY: The Orlando Magic are 0-1 on a three-game homstand that was supposed to give the team a clearer picture of where it was headed this season. The Magic made a spirited comeback on Monday but fell short, 107-102, after forcing overtime against the Los Angeles Clippers. Next up is the battle of the Southeast Division, with the first-place Miami Heat visiting on Wednesday and the second-place Atlanta Hawks on tap for Friday. “(The Heat) are one of those teams that we’re gonna have to get through if we’re gonna be successful, “ Magic forward Ryan Anderson told the Orlando Sentinel. “We definitely want to come in and get a win.” Miami enters Wednesday’s contest winners of three straight and eight of nine. The Heat have struggled at times on the road, however, posting a 7-4 mark against 12-2 at home. Orlando represents the first stop on a six-game trip that will take Miami through fellow Eastern Conference contenders Indiana and Atlanta.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, SUN (Miami), FSFL (Orlando)

ABOUT THE HEAT (19-6): Miami will play its next five games in seven nights, making it a total of six in eight days after a 107-91 dismantling of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The Heat are 4-3 on the second night of back-to-back games so far this season. Miami was forced to use LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for over 35 minutes each on Tuesday with the game close until the fourth quarter. James has played at least 35 minutes in 11 of the last 12 games.

ABOUT THE MAGIC (15-10): Dwight Howard continues to hold the organization hostage with his trade request, though Orlando has shown no sign that it is actively shopping its superstar. Howard has not let his discomfort impact his play, averaging 25.5 points and 14 rebounds in the last four games. The first three of those led to wins, but not even 33 and 14 from Howard could overcome the breakdowns in perimeter defense that allowed the Clippers to take over.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. The teams split four meetings last season, with each winning once on the road.

2. Wade has shot 52 percent from the floor over the last five games.

3. Howard averaged 18.5 points and 14.8 rebounds in the four games against Miami in 2010-11.