Knicks-Bulls Line, Celtics-Clippers Line – March 12 NBA Betting
Carrie Stroup here with a look at your NBA betting for March 12, 2012 and the Knicks-Bulls and Celtics-Clippers line. You can find all the latest NBA lines here at Sportsbook.com and be sure to claim up to $250 in FREE CASH here.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Chicago -8.5 & 198
Opening Line & Total: Bulls -8.5 & 197.5
The Knicks’ nightmare March schedule continues as they travel to Chicago on Monday night.
With Sunday’s 12-point home loss to Philadelphia, the Knicks dropped to 0-5 SU and ATS so far in March. They’ve also failed to cover in their past six road games (1-5 SU). The Bulls, meanwhile, have looked sharp since the All-Star break, going 7-1 SU and 5-3 ATS. And even if they’re without SF Luol Deng (questionable with a wrist injury), they have the kind of elite team defense that should frustrate the Knicks’ spread offense all night.
The Knicks haven’t been up to the task since the difficult part of their schedule began. Since getting hammered in Miami in their last game before the All-Star break, their only win has come at home against Cleveland.
Part of it has been their inconsistency on the offensive end. After early success against various NBA bottom-feeders, PG Jeremy Lin (15.0 PPG, 6.3 APG) has averaged 15.6 PPG on 37.4% shooting, 7.4 APG and 4.1 TOPG over his past seven games. And he’s averaging 15.2 PPG on 37.7% shooting, 6.4 APG and 4.4 TOPG over his past five road contests. He’s also been repeatedly exposed defensively by top point guards.
PF Amar’e Stoudemire (17.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG) continues to disappear for stretches, following up a 27-point, 11-rebound night in Milwaukee with a nine-point, five-rebound game against the 76ers on Sunday. The key to a potential upset on Monday could be SF Carmelo Anthony (21.3 PPG on 40.1% FG), especially if Deng is out. Anthony is averaging just 18.8 PPG alongside Lin, but he’s topped 20 in each of his past three games.
Deng’s wrist is the big concern for Chicago, as he’s the best defender on a very good defensive team. He didn’t play in Saturday’s easy home win over Utah, and early reports are that he’ll miss Monday night’s game as well.
With Deng out, the Bulls went with offense by starting SG Kyle Korver (7.9 PPG) in his place. Korver responded by scoring 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field, including 6-for-11 from three. PF Carlos Boozer (15.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG) added 17 on 13-for-17 shooting, and PG Derrick Rose (22.5 PPG, 8.0 APG) had 24 points and 13 assists. Rose has torched the Knicks over the past three seasons, averaging 25.9 PPG on 51.8% shooting and 7.5 APG.
But while they could be missing Deng, Chicago is likely to have C Joakim Noah (9.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG) back in the lineup on Monday. He missed Saturday’s win over Utah because he was running a fever. One of the league’s best pick-and-roll defenders, he’ll be key in stopping Lin.
BOSTON CELTICS (21-19) at LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (23-16)
Sportsbook.com Line: LA -5.5 & 186.5
Opening Line & Total: Clippers -5 & 186
The Celtics spend a second straight game in Los Angeles when they play the Clippers on Monday night.
Boston’s road struggles continued on Sunday, as they blew a five-point lead in the final three minutes of a 97-94 loss to the Lakers. The Celtics have dropped seven of eight road games SU, though they did cover on Sunday, snapping an eight-game ATS road losing streak. But Boston is just 3-8 ATS in the back end of back-to-backs this year and haven’t covered on the road against L.A.’s other team since 2008.
The Celtics looked worn down heading into this past weekend, but they managed to blow out Portland at home and had Sunday’s game against the Lakers in hand until late. Their new starting five (PF Brandon Bass stepping in for the injured C Jermaine O’Neal with Kevin Garnett sliding to center) has started to gel. SG Ray Allen (14.8 PPG, 47.1% shooting from three) has averaged 19.5 PPG on 53.8% shooting and hit 7-for-15 from three over the past two games. PG Rajon Rondo (13.9 PPG, 10.0 APG) bounced back from a disappointing showing in a blowout loss at Philadelphia on Wednesday, averaging 16.0 PPG and 7.5 APG while putting up a combined plus/minus of +20 over the past two contests. Garnett (14.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG) has adjusted well to the five spot, averaging 16.6 PPG on 55.0% FG and 9.8 RPG over nine starts there.
They’ll need to get SF Paul Pierce (18.2 PPG) going after the L.A. native had a disappointing 13-point performance (4-for-14 from the field) against the Lakers on Sunday.
The Clippers are coming off a disappointing home loss to Golden State on Sunday. There’s been no problem with their headliners. Even with a nasal fracture, PG Chris Paul (20.3 PPG, 8.4 APG) followed up a 36-point performance in San Antonio with 23 on 10-for-18 shooting against the Warriors. PF Blake Griffin (21.4 PPG, 11.2 RPG) is averaging 24.0 PPG on 54.5% FG and 12.5 RPG over his past four games, including 27 and 12 against Golden State.
But the rest of the team has struggled, especially on the offensive end. SF Caron Butler (12.7 PPG) missed all six of his field goals and scored one point in the Warriors loss. He’s now averaging 6.9 PPG on 27.8% FG since the All-Star break. Sixth man Mo Williams (13.8 PPG) had 33 points and hit 7-of-9 threes in the Spurs win, but followed it up with three points on 1-for-8 shooting on Sunday night.
The only good news from the Clippers on Sunday was the fact that after sleep-walking through the first 36 minutes, they managed to wake up and outscore Golden State 29-19 in the fourth quarter.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
