Drew Gordon
Drew Gordon
Drew Gordon
Tuesday Plays:
1. 200,000♦ Suns
2. 50,000♦ Sonics
1. Suns- True "revenge" games in the NBA are few and far between, thanks in large part to the sheer number of games the pros play. But today's Suns/Lakers showdown is the perfect example of one of these rare situations were one NBA team is out for redemption...
The last time these two teams saw eachother, the Lakers were running the Suns off their home floor, crushing them 119-98 in one of their most bitter defeats this season. The fact Phil Jackson was calling timeouts when up by as many as 33 points was a slap in the face of coach D'Antoni and his players. Make no mistake, Phoenix would like nothing more than to return the favor on Christmas Day in front of the entire country.
Lakers won that match up handily for several reasons, including the fact Amare Stoudemire was non-existant (2 for 10 shooting just 1 rebound). Kwame Brown used his big body to frustrate Stoudemire, but this time around there's no Kwame, and Stoudemire gets to abuse on the youngster Bynum. Also, the Suns usually fluid offense had only 15 fast break points and shot a pedestrian 42% from the field... I expect both of those numbers to improve today.
Finally, let's examine the numbers, as the road team in this series is 7-2 ATS. But more importantly, the Suns have owned the Lakers, going 10-3 SU over their last 13 regular season meetings. While there's no question the Lakers are playing solid basketball, a focused and motivated Suns team is a scary proposition. Suns get their payback and grab the cash in this one!
Take the Suns over the LA Lakers as your top-rated play of the day.
2. Sonics- Look guys, I'm not stupid and neither are oddsmakers. Clearly, the Blazers are playing inspired basketball, winning 10 straight and grabbing the cash in all but one of those games. Brandon Roy has emerged as one of the top young players in the NBA, and his chemistry with Lemarcus Aldridge is a big reason why they've had so much success. However, let's not get carried away and here's why:
In all ten of their SU wins during this current streak, the Blazers were never more than a 4' -point favorite. The only time they were favored by that many was against Denver Friday, whom they beat 99-96, but FAILED to cover against. Herein lies the problem for Portland, despite playing some great basketball, oddsmakers have taken it too far with the bloated spread on this contest... In other words, they're good, but not that good.
But the Sonics are terrible, right? True, Seattle is far from a good team, but the fact they're 6-8 ATS away and have had plenty of time to rest and prepare for this match up cannot be ignored. Defensively, the Sonics are below average, but the Blazers aren't going to light up the score sheet either, winning more on defense than thanks to their offense, which averages only 95 ppg on the year.
Bottom line, while everyone jumps all over the red-hot Blazers, let's keep an even keel and realize that oddsmakers have caught up with the Portland, making the play here squarely on Seattle. While the Blazers most likely keep their win streak going, the Sonics grab the cash in a valiant effort in the national spotlight tonight.
Take the Sonics plus the points over the Trailblazers in this NBA match up.
:toast:
