NBA: NBA Thursday Thunder (8:05 PM ET, TNT)

The NBA has just three games on tap for Thursday

2008-02-21

The NBA has just three games on tap for Thursday, including the usual TNT doubleheader. In the early game, Houston hosts Miami, while in the nightcap, struggling Portland welcomes Seattle. Amazingly, over 90% of early action backs the Blazers.

The Western Conference of the NBA resembles one of those WWE “Last man standing” events, when 25-30 wrestlers are in the ring and they end up outside the ropes one by one. That will be what eventually happens in the West, however just getting to postseason is part of the problem. Houston has done what they could to enhance there position, with nine straight wins to raise record to 33-20, yet they are still in fourth place – IN THERE OWN DIVISION. Portland is still in the conversation out West, yet this young team can ill-afford many more missteps.

The Rockets (27-25-1 ATS) have not won 10 in a row since Hakeem Olajuwon was patrolling the middle and coach Rudy Tomjonovich was roaming the sidelines. It was wondered if Houston could continue the momentum after the break. The Rockets proved they could by going to Cleveland and winning handily 93-85. We don’t want to get tired of winning,” said Tracy McGrady. “A lot of people probably thought the break would be bad for us because we had so much momentum, so much swagger. But everybody came back and we said, ‘Let’s start it off right.” The rising Rockets are 6-1 ATS in last seven off a straight up win.

Miami (9-43, 25-25-2 ATS) is in full rebuilding mode even with two All-Stars in the starting lineup. Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion will have to carry the load, receiving little support from the rest of the roster. At least Wade has responded to having another running mate, as he has scored 26 points a game and dished out eight assists since Marion’s arrival. The former Sun has brought energy and skill, to what is otherwise a bad basketball team. The Heat is the polar opposite of Houston, with nine straight losses and are 6-15 ATS off a road loss this season.

Sportsbook.com has Houston as 10.5-point favorites, with a total of 188.5. The Rockets are just 1-11 ATS in home games after covering four of their last five against the spread and fall into a nasty Play Against system, that reads this way: Go against favorites with average defensive team (92-98 PPG) against a poor defensive team (98-102 PPG), after three straight games where both teams scored 95 points or less. This system is 16-2, 88.8 percent the last three years.

TNT will have this as opening game just after 8 Eastern, followed by the battle of Portland hosting Seattle.

The Blazers (28-25, 22-31 ATS) own NBA’s longest winning streak at 13 this season and could use another double digit streak to race back into contention in the West. Portland is currently positioned 10th in the West, five games behind Denver and Houston. Since the long stretch of winning, which included 17-1 record, they are 6-12 and 5-13 ATS. Confidence and youthful exuberance has given way to playing uncertainness and making miscues more experienced teams would not. “We’ve got less than 30 games to go and we’ve got to get back on one of those streaks and get our confidence back,” Portland center Joel Przybilla said. The Blazers opened the second half with 11-point home loss to Sacramento and are 6-2 ATS off a double digit home loss.
Seattle (14-38, 25-27 ATS) had a miserable first half and with the apparent departure of the Sonics from the Emerald City, the general consensus is things will only get worse. Last week, owner Clay Bennett, who has made clear he wants to move team to Oklahoma City, offered to buy out the Sonics’ lease with the city of Seattle, but the $26.5 million proposal was rejected. “There are a lot of things going on that are affecting our chances to win,” Wally Szczerbiak said. “We just need to faze out the distractions.” The Sonics need to find something to get them to play better on the road, as they are just 5-20 and 10-15 ATS. To there credit, they have won five of eight and are 8-4 ATS in last dozen outings.

Oddly, this will be just the second meeting of these division rivals this season, with Portland having won and covered Christmas evening. Because of the uncertain status rookie Kevin Durant, no lines have yet been made available. Nonetheless, Portland will be favored and the favorite is 5-2 ATS the last seven times they have met.
StatFox Power Line – Houston by 16, Portland by 6

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