The final four teams that have yet to play this season, the Bulls, Wizards, Lakers, and Blazers will all be in action on Thursday night in what is a light slate (as it always is on TNT’s night in the Association). The Bulls head to Philadelphia to take on the Sixers still licking their wounds from a thorough beating at the hands of Boston. Washington plays host to Miami on a road back-to-back to start the season, having dropped game 1 to Orlando.
The marquee game is the late game on TNT, with the Lakers visiting Portland to take on the Blazers in LeBron James’ debut as a Laker. Here, we’ll look at the current odds and trends for each of these three games, but first, a look back at yesterday’s winners.
10/17/18 Winners:
Pacers -7, UNDER 205
Hornets +3, OVER 221.5
Magic +2.5, UNDER 209
Nets +5.5, UNDER 212
Knicks -3, OVER 215.5
Cavs +13, OVER 215
Pelicans +8, OVER 232
Spurs -2.5, OVER 210.5
Kings +8.5, OVER 205.5
Suns PK, OVER 214.5
Nuggets -1.5, UNDER 225.5
As always, lines come from Westgate and trends from TeamRankings.com. Let’s get to the Thursday night action.
Chicago Bulls (+12) at Philadelphia 76ers, O/U 220 (OPEN: Sixers -11, O/U 215)
The Sixers got thumped on opening night by Boston in a game that they failed to cover by 13.5 points and that came in well Under the total. Philly returns home where they were the second best team in the NBA against the spread as a home favorite last year, covering 65.8 percent of the time (27-14 ATS). The Bulls were 19-22 ATS last year as a road underdog.
The Bulls figure to be among the league’s worst teams, particularly on the defensive end, which is why this total has moved as much as it has. Last year, Philadelphia stayed Under in 60 percent of games in which they were a home favorite, but the Bulls as a road dog went Over 55 percent of the time.
Miami Heat (+5.5) at Washington Wizards, O/U 214.5 (OPEN: Wizards -4.5, O/U 212)
The Heat failed to cover, lost outright, and came in just Under the total last night in Orlando. Last year, they were the third best road dog ATS, covering 62.5 percent of the time (22-12-2). The Wizards, meanwhile, were one of the worst home favorites in the league, covering just 33.3 percent of the time (11-22-1).
The Wizards were narrowly an Over team as a home favorite (18-16-1 on Overs), while the Heat kept it Under 54.5 percent of the time (15-18-1) as a road dog.
L.A. Lakers (+3.5) at Portland Trail Blazers, O/U 223.5 (OPEN: Blazers -2.5 [as low as -1.5], O/U 222)
Neither of these teams have played yet, and the Lakers trends from last year are especially worthless because LeBron is in town. Still, for your knowledge, L.A. was 19-18 ATS as a road dog last year. Portland was likewise in the middle of the pack as a home favorite, going 18-16-3 ATS.
The Blazers did, however, go Under a lot as a home favorite, holding below the total 62.5 percent of the time they were laying points at home. The Lakers went over in 21 of 37 games as a road underdog a year ago.
