[LLXC]

Andre Gomes

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS +4.5

The Milwaukee Bucks have been a pleasant surprise early on the season and with a 6-3 record, they have the 5th best record in the Eastern Conference right now, so we got to give some credit to their head coach Scott Skiles. However, this is a tough spot for them, as they will receive a hungry team who will want to snap their 6-game losing streak.

The Bucks have been playing without Michael Redd and their offense was basically carried over by two players: center Andrew Bogut and rookie Brandon Jennings. They badly needed these two players to deliver consistent performances and that has been the case. However, for this contest and for the next 2-4 weeks Bogut will be out and the Australian has been having a stellar season by averaging 16.2 points per game, while shooting a whopping mark of 56.5% from the field. He is also grabbing 9.2 rebounds per game and averaging 1.6 blocks per game. His absence will be dramatic for the Bucks, as they will have for this contest Ersan Ilyasova, Hakim Warrick and Dan Gadzuric and these players are far from the level of Bogut. Brandon Jennings had the attention of the media due to his unbelievable performance last week against the Warriors, in which he scored 55 points, while shooting 23-34 from the field. Nevertheless, I want to remember that only a team like the Warriors who doesn’t know what the word “defense” means would allow him to score 55 points. Note that in the Bucks last game, the Nets did a good job in limiting Jennings, as he ended the game with 19 points (6-13 FG), while committing the same numbers of assists and turnovers: 9!

Meanwhile, the Bobcats are 0-6 in their last 6 games and SF Stephen Jackson has already played two games for the Bobcats. Curiously despite not having good performances in those games, the Bobcats were competitive in both contests, as they lost by 6 points in Orlando and in their last game, they lost in Philadelphia by just 2 points, in a game that they were leading by 84-83 with 30 seconds to go. I expect head coach Larry Brown to bring an assertive game plan to stop Jennings and the superior size of the Bobcats will cause some damages in the undernamed Bucks team.

This is a classic case of one team who is playing above their expectations against a hungry team. In my opinion both teams have legit chances to win this ball game and I believe that the Bobcats have a clear shot in here. Since we are able to get 4.5 points in here, I’m gladly taking the Bobcats tonight in this contest.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 515 Charlotte Bobcats

[jscol]

Is he good? I never heard of him.

[LLXC]

He has had some decent NBA runs the last few years, but have not really tracked him lately.

[Voodoo2Child]

Is he good? I never heard of him.

This is his NBA record according to Scamdicappers (Apparently they don't always list every play, so take it however you want to):

Andre Gomes 23-28=45.10% -6.65 Units -8.51% ROI

[Gamblah]

NBA - 507 Houston Rockets @ 508 Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks easily defeated the Heat at home in their last game and if you remember, I had a play with the Under that got burnt, because despite a good defensive performance from Atlanta holding Miami to 90 points, they were able to score 105 points. Note that it wasn’t a particularly good night for them, as they shot only 42.7 % from the field, but their ability to score in transitions was remarkable, as they scored 19 fast break points.
For tonight they will face a similar team in the Houston Rockets and we have the right ingredients to have a high scoring game. Look, we are dealing with two teams who love to score in fast transitions: the Hawks are the second best NBA team averaging 18.0 ppg (only the Warriors have better numbers) and the Rockets aren’t far from them, as they are averaging 17.6 ppg – good for the fourth best mark of the league, so these two teams will push the pace in every opportunity.
Atlanta is the best Eastern Conference team and they have a pretty favorable spot for this game, as they had 1 day off to rest and they are in a span of 4 consecutive home games. There isn’t any reason to not think that the Hawks won’t play at their best in this contest.
Meanwhile, the Rockets have been alternating wins with losses in their last 8 games and they are coming from an easy road win against the Wolves. I’ve already said that this team isn’t comparable of the Rockets from the past, as they are now a much faster paced team – they are the 7th fastest team in the league! Curiously the Under is 3-0 in their last 3 games, but I remember that against the Lakers the game ended with 192 points, but at the break the score was at 52-54, just to watch a huge Lakers letdown in the second half. Then, the game against the Suns ended with 214 points – two points short of the 216 points line and finally in their last game, they faced a lowly Wolves team who are in a streak of 4 consecutive games without reaching the 85-points mark! The Hawks offense is another challenge for them and I expect both teams to trade points since the beginning of the game.
My fair line for this contest is 206/208 points and I see enough edge to pull the trigger in the over as a single dime play in here.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 507/508 Over 203 @1.97 on Pinnacle

[Gamblah]

His NBA record:
Won 33
Lost 41
-12units