Slipperyslope's best NBA play of the day

For all the reasons mentioned above this game is simply too important for it to be a uptempo shooting contest. It could really have the play-off intensity level, where both teams first and foremost want to make stops at the defensive end and then walk the ball up the court avoiding turnovers and sloppiness. A quick reminder about the scores we saw last year in the play-offs when the importance was really high. In games 4 to 7 in the East finals the scores were 90-79, 77-91, 99-76, 88-92, thats about 20 points under tonight`s line in eac and everyone of them.

Miami Heat define themselves from the defensive end. They struggle lately to find offensive rhythm. Miami has scored below 100 points in last 5 games against the teams playing defense much worse than the Pacers. We all know how Miami can play at the defensive end though. The Pacers have had very low scoring games lately as they struugle to score, but keep themselves in the contest by playing hard nose D. Indiana`s last 5 games have resulted totals of 189, 178, 170, 153 and 168 points. Knowing the mindset both teams will have here it should be a low-scoring game. Take under 190 points with 5/10 units.

GL

Big reason for the Blazers struggles is LeMarcus Aldridge back injury. The good news is that his back is feeling better now and he is expected to play tonight. Portland needs him back in the lineup. They are 45-27 at the moment and have 3 win lead against the 9th seed Phoenix Suns. The Trailblazers have lost 7 of their last 10 games and have 3 game losing streak. Getting Aldrige back will change that trend for sure.

The Hawks are clearly struggling without Kyle Korver. They have lost 4 games in a row and it has looked especially bad in games they have had to play in back-to-back nights. As the season enters its later stages back-to-back fatigue factor obviously grows and missing key player from the starting rotation doesn`t help. The Hawks played last night and lost again. They had an uptempo game against the Timberwolves and never looked like having a chance to win it.

Atlanta will play at home, but Portland will have fresh legs and Aldridge back to help them. The Hawks have struggled playing 2nd night in a row, so expect the Blazers to take advantage. Portland to cover -2 points with 5/10 units.

GL

sorry to say i stayed away from the Miami/Indina UNDER  after getting my behind WHIPPED on Wensday GLAD you Won

Lets look at the scores the Suns have against the teams that usually like to play high-scoring games aswell. For example in March the totals were 250 pts (vs OKC), 220 pts (@GSW), 217 pts (@LAC), 234 pts (@TOR) and 247 pts (@MIN). There are couple of exceptions in what looks to be an obvious trend 200 pts (vs LAC) and 190 pts (vs DET), but in general if the opponents like to play uptempo, open games the Suns will follow and totals end up being ridiculously high.

As for the Knicks, stopping anyone at the defensive end does not look like something they can do at the moment. So their chance is to score more than they concede. During their recent 8-game winning streak scoring a lot of points was their key to success. They scored 109 points during that run, so obviously scorinf is what they want and need to do.

Key factor here is that neither of this teams considers playing defense or slowing the tempo down. Or in other words, both teams feel confident they can score more than their opponent. That means we will see a lot of offense and not a lot defense to be played and final score going way over 200 points. Bet on over 209 points with 5/10 units.

GL

The Hawks have been nothing short of a terrible after Kyle Korver has been sidelined. They have lost 5 games in a row without having a real chance in any of them. Also Pero Antic was sidelined with an ankle injury in their previous game, so things are slowly, but surely starting to look gloomy for the Hawks. Both Korver and Antic are listed as questionable and are likely not to play and even if they do their effectivness will be low.

Washington will be playing back-to-back, but at least it is a back-to-back games at home. Their lead against the Pacers was secure enough to let bench players play and starters other than John Wall to log in less than 35 minutes. So they should be ok. Atlanta`s road record is horrible. They have won 11 and lost 26 games. It`s likely they will have one more road loss added tonight. Bet on the Wizards to cover -4.5 points with 4/10 units.

GL