Heat visit nation's capital to take on Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting their six-game road trip off to a poor start, the Miami Heat will dust themselves off for tonight's showdown against the lowly Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

The Heat had won three straight and 11 of 13 games before suffering a 102-89 loss at Orlando on Wednesday. Magic All-Star Dwight Howard single-handedly took care of the Heat by racking up 25 points and 24 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade led Miami with a team-high 33 points on 15-of-24 shooting.

"They set the tone of this game right from the get-go," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "We were able to get to a little bit more of an aggressiveness and attack in a little bit more of a disposition in the second quarter, but they were able to sustain it longer and more consistently than we were able to."

LeBron James finished with 17 points, 10 assists and six boards for the Heat, who are 7-5 away from South Beach this season and are in the midst of playing 11 straight games against Eastern Conference foes. The Heat are 14-4 against the East this season and will also visit the Hawks, Bucks, Pacers and Cavs on the current road swing. Miami will play its 11th straight conference game versus Orlando at home on Feb. 19.

Heat guard Mario Chalmers did not play against the Magic because of a sprained left hand and is listed as questionable for Friday. In other team news, Wade has scored 20 or more points in a season-high six straight games and posted the 5,000th field goal of his career in Cleveland on Tuesday for the Heat, who are trying to match the best 27-game start in team history. The previous 20-7 records occurred in both 1996-97 and 2004-05.

Chris Bosh had 12 points and nine boards against the Magic, and was recently named as a reserve for the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

The Wizards will wrap up a three-game homestand this evening before embarking on a five-game road trip and suffered their fifth loss in six tries with Wednesday's 107-93 setback to the New York Knicks.

John Wall netted a game-high 29 points and Trevor Booker added 17 for the Wizards, who shot 45.8 percent and got eight points and nine rebounds from JaVale McGee. Maurice Evans had nine points and Nick Young only scored seven in defeat.

"This game boiled down to containment," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We couldn't contain the basketball basically all night long."

Washington is only 4-16 against Eastern Conference opponents this season and a lowly 5-21 overall. Wall is averaging 22.3 points and 6.0 assists in his last four games for a Washington team that could be without Rashard Lewis for a third straight game. Lewis is bothered by a sore right knee and is just four points shy of reaching the 15,000-point mark in his career. He will eventually join Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history who have scored at least 15,000 points, grabbed 5,000 rebounds and hit 1,500 three- pointers in their careers.

Tonight's game is the first of three meetings between the Wizards and Heat. The two teams will meet on April 21 in Miami and again on April 26 in Washington. The Heat won last season's series, 4-0, and have won five straight and 11 of the past 12 matchups between the teams. Miami has won six in a row at the Verizon Center, where the Wizards are 4-11 this season.

Young averaged 27.0 ppg in three games versus the Heat last season, while James had averages of 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in four matchups with Washington in 2010-11. Wade averaged 30.0 ppg in four games against the Wizards a year ago.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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