2 posts tagged “nba odds”
Dallas +3 1/2 vs. Detroit
In his two seasons coaching the Detroit Pistons, Coach Rick Carlisle made his name with a stingy defense, with his current squad, the Dallas Mavericks—well not so much. Carlisle’s present team will travel to face his former team Friday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Dallas’ defense reached a new low in their last contest, Wednesday night in Milwaukee. They allowed the Bucks to score the most points they have given up in seven years en route to a 133-99 rout. It was also the Mavericks’ (24-18) worst loss since November 2001.
Giving up 99 points per game, Dallas has seen that stat bloom to 109.6 in their last seven contests, of which they have lost five. Dirk Nowitzki is trying his best to keep his teams in these games. Over the past five games, he has averaged 31.4 points and has shot 52 percent.
The Pistons (24-17) are looking for their third straight victory after dropping five in a row from January 10th-January 17th. Wednesday, they defeated Toronto 95-76 in a solid defensive effort which saw Detroit hold the Raptors to 42.5 percent shooting. Tayshaun Prince led the way with 25 points on 11-of-16 from the field.
Detroit has been solid on defense much of the season, ranking fourth in the NBA in field goal defense and fourth fewest points allowed per game with 92.7. Their recent slide has more to do with their offense than their defense as they have struggled to reach 100 points. The Pistons have hit the century mark only once in the last 15 games.
This will be the first meeting of the year between the teams. They have alternated wins and losses in each of their last eight meetings at the Palace of Auburn Hills, with the Pistons taking the most recent game played there 90-67 last February 3rd.
Phoenix -4 vs. Detroit
Two teams that were on different planes a few weeks ago have been streaking in opposite directions. The Phoenix Suns have had trouble winning consistently lately, while the Charlotte Bobcats have been winning more frequently lately. It could possibly be the growing pains for one team has persisted, while the other has grown out of it as these two teams were involved in a six-player swap on December 11th and will meet up for the first time since then Friday night in Charlotte.
Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley were sent to Phoenix in exchange for forward Boris Diaw, guard Raja Bell and guard Sean Singletary. With no clear victor in the trade the result on the court will have to stand as proof and it appears Charlotte (17-25) got the better of the deal as they have won four of their last five.
In their last game, on Wednesday, the Bobcats improved to 10-9 since the trade with a 101-86 home victory over Memphis. Diaw and Bell have been paying off in spades for Charlotte. Diaw is averaging 13.6 points along with Bell’s 12.1 since the trade.
Charlotte looks to continue their momentum, win two straight and defeat Phoenix for the first time in its five year history on Friday. As it stands right now, Charlotte is only 2 ½ games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Suns (23-17) have bested the Bobcats in each of their eight previous games, but have little confidence left after losing four of their last five overall. Phoenix is 10-7 since the trade and is tied with Dallas for the final playoff spot in the West. Many of those 10 victories came early on after the trade. Now the Suns have been struggling as was evidenced in their 114-109 loss to New York on Wednesday.
Jason Richardson, who came over in the trade, did his best to earn his team a victory by posting 27 points against 20 points for Shaquille O’Neal. Richardson has averaged 15.7 points since joining the Suns.
This will be the first matchup of the teams this season. Last year, with a lot of the components of each team’s current squad on the other team, Charlotte lost both games by an average of 23 points.
