NBA Season Approaches the All-Star Break
The NBA cuts its schedule short this week with no games scheduled for Friday through next Monday for its annual All-Star Break, and the NHL has suspended play in its regular season for the next two weeks as players head to Sochi to play hockey for their countries in the Winter Olympics.
Monday’s slate in the NBA features San Antonio on the road against Detroit as a 3.5-point road favorite on the 5Dimes betting line for this game. The Spurs are in the midst of an extended nine-game road trip and they will face a Pistons team that has won its last two games but still decided to fire head coach Maurice Cheeks this past Sunday.
The top matchup on Tuesday’s schedule sends Oklahoma City on the road to Portland to face the Trail Blazers in a Northwest Division tilt. The Thunder have the best record in the NBA as of Sunday’s games at 41-12 and Kevin Durant will be coming off a 41-point explosion in a 12-point win over New York this past Sunday.
Thursday night’s TNT doubleheader will be the final two games before the NBA All-Star Break. The opener features Brooklyn on the road against Chicago in a battle between two Eastern Conference teams just trying to string together a few wins. The nightcap has the Thunder on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have a grand total of just five straight-up wins against 14 losses since January 1.
The quest for hockey gold in the Winter Olympics has Canada listed as a +160 favorite to win it all on the current 5Dimes board. Russia is second at +225 followed by Sweden at +440 and the United States at +500. Finland rounds out the top five in a field of 12 teams with +1100 odds to win the gold.
The men’s college basketball season continues its march towards tournament time with a couple of big showdowns on this week’s schedule. This Tuesday, Oklahoma State will battle it out against Texas in a matchup of ranked teams in the Big 12. The Cowboys will not have Marcus Smart for this game after he was suspended for recently shoving a fan.
No. 1 Syracuse will be back in action this Thursday against Pittsburgh after running its record to 23-0 with a 57-44 victory over Clemson this past Sunday as a 12.5-point home favorite on the 5Dimes closing betting line.