NBA Expert Picks – Cleveland Cavaliers (-5) vs. Charlotte Bobcats

Cavaliers (-5) vs. Bobcats (+5)
(O/U) 185
Friday, November 27 7:00 PM ET

The Cleveland Cavaliers (11-4 SU, 7-8 ATS, 7-7-1 O/U) are ‘taking care of business’. LeBron James has led his team to victory in three consecutive games while helping the Cavs win eight of nine overall.

The Cavaliers manhandled the Detroit Pistons 98-88 on Wednesday night as I predicted to cash in for NBA online sports betting enthusiasts as 5-point road favorites as James has another fantastic all-around game with 34 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The Cavs will take on a Charlotte Bobcats (5-9 SU, 9-5 ATS, 8-6 O/U) team that has won two consecutive games including a convincing 116-81 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

After going seven consecutive games without scoring 100 points, the Bobcats have topped the century mark in two straight after acquiring talented forward Stephen Jackson from the Golden State Warriors in a trade last week.

Charlotte covered the NBA moneyline for pro hoops backers as 2.5-point home favorites as Gerald Wallace scored 31 points and hauled down 13 rebounds and Jackson added 23 points.

Key Trends

• Cavaliers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games.
• Cavaliers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. win.
• Bobcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
• Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
• Favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
• Cavaliers are 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings in Charlotte.
• Road team is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings

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Analysis: The Cleveland Cavaliers may be the more accomplished team coming into this contest, but I am going out on a limb to take the Charlotte Bobcats to cover the spread in this game with the team’s improving offense and overwhelming defense, led by taskmaster Larry Brown.

The Bobcats have been playing excellent defense all season long, ranking second in the league in points allowed, holding their opponents to just 88.9 points per contest this season.

Now that the team seems to have cured its previous offensive struggles, I think they may be ready to start turning some heads, by stretching their modest winning streak to three games with a big home win over James and the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers have gone just 1-4 ATS in their last five games following an SU win while the Bobcats have recorded a fine 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.

I know the majority of the remaining key BetUS NBA betting trends for this matchup suggest a Cavaliers’ win and cover, but I’m taking the Bobcats tonight.

NBA Free Picks: Bobcats +5 Points

NBA Thanksgiving Matchup – Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz

Chicago Bulls at Utah Jazz
Thursday, November 26th – 10:30 PM ET
Basketball Betting Spread: Jazz -7.5

The Week That Was: Bulls

Chicago’s long road swing through the West just got a lot longer over the past week. Vinny Del Negro’s club suffered three lopsided defeats in a parade of unending basketball misery. The scores were similar, and the themes were the same, for team that got Bull-rushed in the Pacific and Mountain time zones.

On Nov. 19, Chicago dropped a 108-93 decision to the Los Angeles Lakers. On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Bulls were blitzed at Denver by a 112-93 count. This past Monday, Nov. 23, the outlook didn’t improve at all, as a slumping defensive team lost at Portland, 122-98. It’s hard to find any silver lining for Del Negro’s roster, which was mediocre on offense but horrible at the defensive end of the floor.

Just how much “matador defense” have the Bulls played in the past week? In each of these three losses, Chicago allowed an opponent to shoot at least 46 percent from the floor (Portland shot a whopping 58 percent on Monday). Just as bad is the fact that the Bulls gave up a minimum of 22 free throw attempts in their toothless defensive performances.

The Week That Was: Jazz

Utah began the past week with a pair of gritty performances, but ended its seven-day stretch with a stinker.

The Jazz won for the first time ever at San Antonio’s new arena, the AT&T Center, last Thursday. A 90-83 win was built on the back of 20 points from forward Paul Millsap, combined with 10 assists from star point guard Deron Williams. The Jazz then returned home on Saturday, Nov. 21, to fight past Detroit in overtime, 100-97. A crucial component in the three-point win over the Pistons was Utah’s ability to get to the foul line. The Jazz attempted 19 more foul shots than Detroit (44 to 25) in a closely-contested game.

Riding a four-game winning streak, the Jazz lost their edge on Tuesday, falling at home to Oklahoma City by a score of 104-94. Boozer scored 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, but the Jazz simply – and literally – threw this game away. A total of 24 Utah turnovers gave the Thunder stacks of easy baskets, and on a night when Williams was held to just 10 points, the Jazz didn’t have the scoring punch to compensate for their many mistakes.

Outlook & Pick

The Jazz thrive when their half court offense is humming, but are vulnerable against strong defensive teams, as their loss to Oklahoma City so clearly showed. The Bulls, however, are playing incredibly poor defense right now. Chicago might rally after a series of terrible performances, but it’s hard for a team to immediately and abruptly change its identity.

The Jazz are in the midst of a six-game home stand, and it would be hard to imagine Jerry Sloan’s team losing two straight games to beatable teams at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Pick: Jazz -7.5

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NBA Parlay Picks – Los Angeles Clippers at Indiana Pacers (-5)

(O/U) 202
November 25, 7:00 PM ET

The Los Angeles Clippers (6-9 SU, 5-10 ATS, 5-10 O/U) look like a team that is clearly trying to distance itself from the multitude of atrocious teams that took the court years ago bearing the same franchise logo.

This year’s version of the Clippers is a team that plays hard nearly every time out and one that will undoubtedly get better when two of its most important future stars get back on the court following injuries.

The Indiana Pacers (5-6 SU, 5-6 ATS, 3-7-1 O/U) look like a ballclub that is still mired in mediocrity despite making some solid additions through the draft in each of the last few seasons.

The mostly young Pacers are still going through some growing pains in the early going, but could be a lot better in the near future because of their current struggles.

Here is an inside look at both teams.

L.A. Clippers
The overachieving Clippers have won two straight and three of its last five games overall, beating Denver 106-99 and Minnesota 91-87 the last two times out.

L.A. beat the lowly T-Wolves on Monday night as another one of its best young players, forward Al Thornton, scored a team-high 31 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and Marcus Camby added a fine double-double with 18 rebounds and 12 points.

The Clippers failed to cover the NBA point spread as 5.5-point home favorites in the win and have gone a dismal 2-7 against the spread in its last seven games overall.

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Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have lost four consecutive games coming into tonight’s showdown, including a 123-112 road loss at Toronto on Tuesday night.

Danny Granger’s game-high 36 points and nine boards were not enough for Indiana as the Pacers fell as 5.5-point road underdogs.

Indiana has failed to cover the spread in each of its four straight losses, which follows the team’s encouraging five-game SU and ATS winning streak.

• Clippers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.
• Pacers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 vs. Western Conference.
• Clippers are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
• Under is 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings.
• Under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Indiana.

Analysis: Both teams in this matchup allow just about three more points per game than they are averaging this season, but I like the Pacers to snap their current losing streak with a big win at home tonight.

Prior to losing each of their last two games at home, Indiana had won three straight in the comfy confines of Conseco Fieldhouse and know they need a win in this matchup in the worst way possible.

With Indiana picking up each of its last five wins by an average margin of 13.4 points per contest, I’m going to take the struggling team to narrowly cover the NBA point spread tonight.

I also like the Under in this matchup in a big way with the Pacers playing Under tonight’s set O/U total in seven of their last 10 games and L.A. playing under the O/U total in six of 10.

The Under has also gone 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings between these two ballclubs and 5-1 in the last six meetings between these two franchises when they meet in Indiana.

NBA Free Winning Picks: Under 202 Total Points/Pacers -5 Points