NBA: Eastern Powers Betting Focus
The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have been spending a considerable time on the road of late and on Thursday night's TNT doubleheader, one team gladly returns home while the other has to continue the journey.
Boston welcomes Chicago to town, and plays as a 6.5-point favorite according to Sportsbook.com. Cleveland is in Utah, where oddsmakers have set the line as a pick em'. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Celtics and Cavs are getting heavy backing from bettors, according to the BETTING TRENDS page.
The Celtics (27-10, 17-20 ATS) have played seven of their last nine games on the road, winning and covering just three times. This has quelled their fantastic road record that still stands at sturdy 16-5 (11-10 ATS). Boston has played the majority of its games this season on the road, which means the second half of the season will lead to staying at home, a big benefit according to coach Doc Rivers.
"We've been on the road forever. But we've played pretty well on the road this year, so with the schedule we've had, that's a good thing," Rivers said.
"The second half of the year we'll have far more practice time, and I think that'll make us a better team."
They will welcome the opportunity to host Chicago (16-20, 16-18-2 ATS), though they are just 3-8 ATS at home of late. The Celtics have been battling injuries again, with Kevin Garnett out and Ray Allen missing time. The subject of age has arisen again for this veteran team and they are dismissive of such talk.
"We don't worry about what people say," Allen said. "We do what we're capable of doing. It's not really for other people to discuss us. We're not worried about that. We've got to go out and do our job every single day. We've been doing it for a long time, so we have great experience."
Allen and Boston has covered 15 of previous 22 Thursday assignments and faces a Bulls team really struggling away from the Windy City.
Chicago is 3-13 (6-10 ATS) on the road, losing by 10.2 points per game, with only New Jersey being worse. The Bulls are 16-35-1 ATS vs. the Atlantic Division and hopes their recent play of winning six of last nine (8-1 ATS) is a harbinger of things to come.
Sportsbook.com has Boston favored by 6.5-points, having covered four in a row over Chicago. The C's faced New Jersey Wednesday and are just 1-5 ATS with no rest. The last six meetings between these teams in Beantown have gone OVER. TNT has this contest starting at 8pm ET.
Later on the same station, Cleveland (30-10, 20-20 ATS) plays its fourth consecutive road game on its western swing, this time in Utah. In spite of sluggish start, the Cavs are the first team to 30 wins in the NBA and are 15-3 since Dec. 11, with 10-8 spread mark.
After losing by two points at Denver to open the five game road trip, Cleveland bounced back with wins over Portland and Golden State, though the latter was tougher than expected, a 117-114 triumph over the pesky Warriors as 5.5-point favorites.
The Cavaliers are 13-5 ATS against teams with winning records like Utah (21-17, 22-16 ATS), however not many teams enjoy the home court edge the Jazz do.
Utah at is 14-6 at home, winning by almost eight points per game. After an unusually slow start for them, the Jazz are back in harmony covering 10 of last 13 contests at EnergySolutions Arena.
Utah has won three of four and covered four straight and is 6-1 ATS vs. teams like Cleveland who own a .600 or better record on the road. (Cavs are 16-7 and 14-9 ATS as visitors)
Cleveland has destroyed Utah, winning nine of 11, covering all of them, including six straight in Salt Lake City.
The StatFox Power Lines for tonight's doubleheader show - Boston by 9, Utah by 2.
