Wednesday was a strange day as we continued to come down from our withdrawals after the end of the football season while also winding up (or is it down?) the NBA schedule as we near the All-Star Break this weekend?
Hump day was one of the wildest days on an NBA card that I can ever remember as it took me 3 Tweets to recap all the point-spread implications (see below).
The old adage in the Association is “everyone makes a run” and we were the beneficiary of that as our best bets on the Nets + 5.5 at the Knicks fell behind by 28 points but then not only rallied to cover but won outright 111-106 as the Knicks blew their third lead of 20-plus points in a month.
We blanked on our secondary play as both of our NHL 1P Over plays fell short, but at least we just lost one parlay bet on those.
Let’s recap the rest of last night’s betting action and then I’ll try to keep the winning ways going with a best bet for Thursday.
Wednesday’s recaps
NBA: Lakers (4-point home dog) rallied to upset Jazz 106-101 late Wednesday (snapping Jazz's 6-game winning streak) in a wild night in the Association. Underdogs went 6-4 SU and 7-2-1 ATS with the Wizards-Pacers game closing pick-'em. Besides the Lakers, the other upsets were by the Pistons (+ 12.5 in 112-111 win vs. the Celtics that snapped the Pistons' 7-game losing streak and the Celtics' 9-game winning streak), Blazers (+ 12.5 at Grizzlies), Nuggets (+ 5 at Warriors), Nets (+ 4.5 at Knicks) and Raptors (+ 1 at Timberwolves). The one dog that covered but didn't win outright was the Rockets (+ 17) in 124-121 loss at the Suns, who won their 7th straight SU and now have NBA’s longest current winning streak after the Celtics (9), Jazz (6) and Grizzlies (6) all lost on the night. The push was the Spurs (-8) beating Thunder 114-106. Overs went 8-3.
CBB: No. 11 Texas Tech beat No. 7 Baylor 83-73 as a 1.5-point home favorite. Rutgers upset No. 12 Illinois 70-59 as a 4-point home underdog and + 155 on the money line. Late Wednesday, No. 1 Gonzaga beat Pepperdine 86-66 as a 30.5-point road favorite, but didn't cover.
NHL: Faves/dogs split 2-2 Wednesday with upsets by the Jets (+ 120 in 6-3 win vs. Wild) and Panthers (-105 in 3-2 win at Hurricanes). Flames (-220 in 6-2 win vs. Ducks) and Avalanche (-135 in 2-0 win at Golden Knights) won as faves and both also covered the -1.5 puck line. Over/Unders also split 2-2.
Thursday’s Takes
76ers (+ 6.5) at Bucks: I believe we had an all-time record of 6 NBA teams having winning or losing streaks of 6 games or snapped on Wednesday night; unfortunately, none of them are in action for our “swagger” or “anti-swagger” plays on Thursday before the Association heading into the All-Star Break. Instead, we’ll rely on one of our other long-time system plays: bet on a team after a blowout loss, generally considered a loss of 20 points or more. The 76ers, who were routed 135-87 by the Celtics on Tuesday night, certainly qualify. James Harden isn’t expected to make his Philly debut until next Friday, Feb, 25, but Joel Embiid and the rest of the 76ers have to be embarrassed and wanting to head into the break on a better note. The Bucks (26-33 ATS on the season, so already struggling to win games by margin) are limping into the break themselves by losing two of the their last three, including a loss to the Blazers on Monday as 11.5-point home favorites and then beating the Pacers on Tuesday but failing to cover as 14-point faves. We’re fading them as well as backing the 76ers in a bounceback spot.
Good luck today (and every day!).