Heat, Pacers highlight NBA betting slate for week
As the NBA regular season heads into the final week of February the two-team race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference is starting to really heat up. Miami now trails Indiana by just a game and a half after winning its last five outings both straight-up and against the spread.
The Heat followed up last Thursday’s huge road win over Oklahoma City as 3-point road underdogs on Bovada’s NBA betting odds with Sunday’s 93-79 romp over Chicago as 7.5-point home favorites. This week they continue their four-game homestand with games against New York on Thursday and Orlando on Saturday.
The Pacers have followed up a SU win with a loss in their last seven games heading into this Tuesday night’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers. They are just 1-5-1 ATS during this same stretch after failing to cover as 12-point road favorites in this past Saturday’s 110-100 win over Milwaukee. Indiana will host the Bucks this Thursday in the back-end of that home-and-home series.
Over in the NBA’s Western Conference, the Thunder followed up their loss to Miami with a 125-117 loss to the Clippers this past Sunday. The closing betting odds in that game had Oklahoma City favored by 5.5 points at home. Its lead over San Antonio in the conference standings is now down to 2.5 games. This week the Thunder will host Cleveland on Wednesday and Memphis on Friday.
The college hoops regular season is rapidly coming to a close in anticipation of March Madness. Regular season titles are still on the line as well as favorable seeds for each individual conference tournament that will shape the 68-team field for this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse is sure to fall from its No. 1 ranking after back-to-back losses to Boston College and Duke both SU and ATS last week. The Orange will be back in action on Monday night against Maryland. Bovada’s NBA betting odds for that game has Syracuse favored by 4 points on the road.
No. 2 Florida has a good shot at taking over the No. 1 ranking when the new AP poll is released on Monday afternoon. The Gators will face Vanderbilt on the road on Tuesday before hosting LSU this upcoming Saturday. The undefeated Wichita State Shockers should move to No. 2 after running their SU winning streak to 29 games. They will also be in action on Tuesday with a road game against Bradley. The Shockers then close out their regular season against Missouri State this Saturday at home.