NBA: Top NBA Weekend Power Trends 1/1-1/3

The NBA rings in the New Year with three Friday games, 12 Saturday games, and five Sunday games to make up the first full weekend of 2010. Things are starting to sort themselves out as expected in the league, with the projected frontrunners assuming their

2010-01-04

The NBA rings in the New Year with three Friday games, 12 Saturday games, and five Sunday games to make up the first full weekend of 2010. Things are starting to sort themselves out as expected in the league, with the projected frontrunners assuming their positions. The Lakers have control in the Western Conference and will be hosting two games this weekend, while in the East, Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando are all within striking distance of one another for the conference’s top spot. Each of those clubs play over the next three days with the Cavs & Magic in action twice. Read on as we take a look at the top games plus reveal this weekend’s Top StatFox Power Trends for you to consider in your wagering.

On Friday, there are just three games, with Atlanta hosting New York, Orlando visiting Minnesota, and the Lakers closing out the calendar year by welcoming the Kings to L.A. The Hawks remain the league’s best spread covering team at over 70%, 22-9 ATS. They come off a disappointing loss in Cleveland in a game that went under protest due to a late shot clock problem on a key possession for them. The Knicks have been horrible against Southeast Division teams this year, going 2-7 SU & 1-8 ATS. The Magic will be in the first of a back-to-back road scenario and haven’t been out of the state of Florida since December 11th. Minnesota of course, is one of the worst home dogs in the NBA typically, but does boast an 8-7 ATS record in that scenario in ’09. The game in Los Angeles on Friday night will be the 2nd of four straight home contests for the Lakers, as they host the Kings. Sacramento nearly turned back L.A. a couple of weeks ago at home, falling in OT. They have been much better at home than on the road though, going 3-11 in their first 14 away.

The Saturday lineup is the biggest of the weekend but there isn’t a whole lot of compelling action where playoff contenders are concerned. In fact, there figures to be large number of heavy pointspreads on the wagering card. None of those will be bigger than Cleveland at New Jersey. The Cavs have won 11 of their L12 games to take control of the Central Division. The Nets just won their third game of the entire campaign on Wednesday vs. New York. Cleveland boasts an impressive 13-6 SU & ATS mark on the road. Elsewhere, the Magic play their second road game in as many days when they take on the floundering Bulls in Chicago. The East’s top team Boston will be playing host to Toronto, as the Celtics return home for the first time following an unsuccessful West Coast road trip minus Paul Pierce. Finally, the lone game matching quality foes comes from Utah, where the Nuggets and Jazz will square off.

On Sunday, the five NBA games are all evening affairs. San Antonio will visit Toronto for the only time this season, while Philly will be doing the same thing in Denver. The best matchup pits Dallas and the Lakers however. Though separated by 3-games in the standings at presstime, these were the top two clubs in the Western Conference. These teams have played a very competitive series in L.A. over the last three seasons, with the Lakers holding a 4-1 SU edge but Dallas having swept the five games against the spread. The Mavericks have been very effective on the road in the early going this season overall.

Here are those Top StatFox Power Trends you’ve been waiting for. Best wishes for the New Year’s holiday!

Friday, 1/1/2010
(701) NEW YORK vs. (702) ATLANTA
NEW YORK is 18-5 ATS (+12.5 Units) in road games vs. good offensive teams scoring 99+ PPG over the L2 seasons. The average score was NEW YORK 107.3, OPPONENT 111 - (Rating = 2*)

(703) ORLANDO vs. (704) MINNESOTA
ORLANDO is 15-3 ATS (+11.7 Units) when playing against a terrible team (Win Pct. <=25%) over the last 2 seasons. The average score was ORLANDO 106.6, OPPONENT 92.3 - (Rating = 2*)

(705) SACRAMENTO vs. (706) LA LAKERS
SACRAMENTO is 10-1 OVER (+8.9 Units) vs. very good teams outscoring opponents by 6+ PPG over the L2 seasons. The average score was SACRAMENTO 103.3, OPPONENT 116.2 - (Rating = 1*)

Saturday, 1/2/2010
(511) HOUSTON vs. (512) NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS is 1-10 ATS (-10 Units) vs. poor defensive teams - shooting pct defense of >=46% this season. The average score was NEW ORLEANS 100.5, OPPONENT 106.3 - (Rating = 2*)

(517) DENVER vs. (518) UTAH
UTAH is 25-9 ATS (+15.1 Units) in home games vs. good teams outscoring opponents by 3+ PPG over the L3 seasons. The average score was UTAH 104.6, OPPONENT 95.4 - (Rating = 2*)

(519) MEMPHIS vs. (520) PHOENIX
MEMPHIS was 1-13 ATS (-13.3 Units) in January games over last season. The average score was MEMPHIS 88.9, OPPONENT 99.8 - (Rating = 3*)

(521) GOLDEN STATE vs. (522) PORTLAND
PORTLAND is 37-13 UNDER (+22.7 Units) vs. terrible defensive teams - allowing 103+ PPG over the last 3 seasons. The average score was PORTLAND 99, OPPONENT 94.8 - (Rating = 3*)

Sunday, 1/3/2010
(703) SAN ANTONIO vs. (704) TORONTO
TORONTO is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) vs. very good shooting teams making >=48% of their shots over the L3 seasons. The average score was TORONTO 98.5, OPPONENT 112.2 - (Rating = 2*)

(705) CHARLOTTE vs. (706) CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND is 15-2 UNDER (+12.8 Units) on Sunday games over the last 2 seasons. The average score was CLEVELAND 95.9, OPPONENT 86.4 - (Rating = 3*)

(707) PHILADELPHIA vs. (708) DENVER
DENVER is 20-9 ATS (+10.1 Units) in home games vs. poor defensive teams allowing 99+ PPG over the last 2 seasons. The average score was DENVER 116.7, OPPONENT 102.9 - (Rating = 1*)

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