Revenge Angle - Feb 7th

[DZ]

Real quick so I can get this up before the first game tips off...

NO +2 (+110) vs CHI: Bulls took the 1st matchup 100-107 on 12/27 and this will be the final meeting of these two this season. From mid way through the 3rd qtr the Pelicans were never really in reach in the late December matchup, but they did rally back late to cover the 10 point spread at the end. One consideration from the prior meeting was the Pelicans were playing on the 2nd game of a back to back having beaten the Spurs on 12/26. Jrue holiday and Mike Dunlevey will be missing from this game, unlike the first game between these two, but otherwise they'll both be at full strength. These teams seem to be trending in opposite directions in their last three games with the Pelicans rebounding nicely from their loss earlier in the week to the Thunder while also having notched big wins against ATL and LAC in the last week. Meanwhile, the Bulls have lost three straight and are playing their 5th game on the road with the trip ending tomorrow in Orlando. With the way they've been playing over the last month (5-10 since Jan 7th) it seems like they can't get back to Chicago soon enough to right the ship. The last meeting of these squads may be too far off to weigh the revenge situation too heavily and I may consider refining the parameters of the revenge angle to inter-conference match-ups only if these east/west revenge games don't trend well long term. Again, just monitoring this one, but the revenge angle and recent trends of these two definitely warrant a lean on NO.



(analysis of DAL/POR coming in a 2nd post)

 

[DZ]

DAL -2.5 (-140) vs POR: Portland won and covered handily in the first meeting of two west foes on Nov 6th with a score of 108-87 in just the 5th game of the season for each squad. Both teams pulled their starters early with nobody playing more than 32 minutes as the game was out of reach after the 4th quarter. It should be noted that they are currently in the 4/5 spots in the West with the DAL sitting one game behind POR in the standings. If the Mavs have any motivation to host a 1st round series at home in the playoffs, then this is an important one for them, but it should be noted that these two are scheduled to meet again twice more this season, so the revenge angle doesn't factor in as heavily with the added consideration that the last matchup was just 5 games into the season. Rondo will be out for the Mavs tonight, but he obviously wasn't a factor back in November pre-trade. The 2.5 point line does seem pretty low and the situation of three games in four nights may be a factor against DAL, but they may be catching POR looking ahead to a potentially bigger matchup against HOU tomorrow who they've lost to once already this season and, of course, had that memorable first round playoff series against last year. We'll be seeing the Blazers on this list tomorrow and my opinion is it would help their chances against the Rockets if they stumbled in Dallas tonight.