Philadelphia 76ers at Atlanta Hawks u201.5
The computers point to the 76ers at the Hawks being a relatively low scoring affair, predicting a combined final score in the 192-196.5 range. We are looking for Philly to bog down performance, as we expect the Sixers shoot worse than 40% from the field overall, including sub-30% beyond the arc.
This 192-196.5 estimate more-or-less jibes with the median and average scores posted by these teams through the first 20 games of the season, which point to a range of 188-196.
New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks o209
We are also playing the OVER when Mavs host the Pelicans this evening. One computer program anticaptes 82 made field goals between these teams, including 24 three-pointers, and 35 made free throws. At the end of the night, we are looking for a total score of 215-216.
History mostly supports our call. While the median scores based on all 20 of each teams games point to a total of 208 (1 point below the O/U line), as is shown below, Dallas tends to be meaningfully more productive on offense when playing at American Airlines Center. Accordingly, we expect the aggregated score to end closer to the adjusted range of 213-217.
Los Angeles Clippers -6 at Indiana Pacers
Though only 7-14 straight up, the Pacers are an impressive 12-8-1 against the apread (fourth best in the league). Conversely, the Clippers are 15-5 straight up, but at a disappointing 9-11 versus the number, they fall to the bottom tercile when ranking NBA teams based on performance against the betting line. Thus, generally speaking, betting the Los Angeles to cover versus Indiana is no gimme. We take comfort though from the strength of our computer-generated signal and are thus looking for the Clips to deliver the cover tonight with 4-7 points to spare.
Additional picks may come later in the afternoon. Be sure to follow us on twitter to stay apprised of all of our wagers.
Happy betting!!