GOING FOR 28 STRAIGHT WINS: HEAT VS. BULLS

by DAVID THE MAVEN CHICOTSKY

All eyes are on the Heat as they need 6 more wins to break the longest winning streak in NBA history; they look to take down the Bulls on Wednesday 8:05 PM EDT on ESPN.

During their 27 game winning streak the Heat have gone 16-11 against the spread, putting extra coin in the pocket of bettors. They’re coming off back-to-back games in which they covered. The Heat face a Bulls team that has gone 3-4 straight up and 3-3-1 against the spread in their last 7 games.

The Oddsfather’s Injury Report

Even if the Bulls had their star Derrick Rose on the court, they still would be big dogs against a Heat team with momentum in their sails.

Keep in mind that Dwyane Wade has sat out the past two games, which didn’t stop the Heat from wiping the floor with the Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic.

During the 27 game win-streak LeBron James has been the stone-cold nuts, putting up 27 points (57.5% from the field and 37.4% from 3-pointland), 8.1 rebounds, 8 assists, 1.9 steals and 1 block per game. Go ahead and make room on the mantle for his second straight NBA MVP award.

Track Line Movement for this game.

The Bulls are definitely rivals with the Heat, as they’ve been a thorn in their side in the past. Two of the biggest market teams will clash in what will be a display of defensive intensity (Bulls) and all-around basketball excellence (Heat).

In the first time these two teams met this year the Bulls won and covered on the road in Miami, 96-89 – in a game where the Heat were favored by 7 points and the total was set at 189 points. The second matchup had the Heat winning and covering in Chicago 86-67 – the Heat were favored by 3 points and the total was 186 points.

Betting Information

The Heat are 56-14 straight up, 37-33 against the spread and 34-34-2 against the total. They’re 24-11 SU, 19-16 ATS and 19-15-1 Under on the road. The Over has hit in 3 out of the last 4 Heat road games.

The Bulls are 38-30 SU, 28-37-3 ATS and 39-29 Under on the year. At home they’re 19-16 SU, 10-24-1 ATS and 24-11 Under. The Under has hit in 3 out of the last 4 Bulls home games.

Source: Bleacher Report

NBA: CLIPPERS (35-16) AT MIAMI (32-14)

by LUCAS COMBS

Last Meeting: 11/14 – The Clippers defeated the Heat in LA, 107-100.

Line Movement

When: Friday, February 8^th at 5PM PT

Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

The Match-Up

Lebron James and Dwayne Wade combined for 63 points Wednesday as the Heat held off a streaking Houston Rockets squad 114-106. Chris Paul (knee bruise), Chauncey Billups (ACL), Jamal Crawford (sore shoulder) and Blake Griffin (hamstring) are all listed as questionable for the Clippers Friday. That means the “other” LA basketball team could be without (what looks like) their four best players against arguably the best team in the league. The Clippers snapped a 3 game losing skid Wednesday in Orlando, winning 86-76.

Betting Information

Against the spread, Miami is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games and has only lost two games in nearly a month. The Heat are 5-2 ATS against Pacific division opponents, but 22-24 ATS overall (12-11 ATS at home). The LA Clippers are 12-7 ATS versus teams with winning records but 12-14 ATS on the road (28-23 ATS overall). LA is 1-3 ATS in their last 4 games.

Concerning the total, Miami is 24-22 Under (12-11 Over at home) and the Clippers are 26-24 Over (14-12 Under on the road). LA is 10-3 Over versus teams that score 99 points or more.

“We’ve got to get healthy”

Chris Paul expects this year’s Clippers squad to win a championship. But the Clippers won’t sniff a championship, unless the Clippers get healthy.

Injury Report

Source: Sports Illustrated