Battling for Home Court – San Antonio at Golden State

BetOnline NBA Basketball Odds:  SAN ANTONIO -4, Total 209.5

Here are some of the NBA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* SA has covered five of its last 15 games

* SA has won four of its last six games SU

* SA has won four of its last six home games SU

* GS has covered four of its last five games

* GS has won four of its last six games SU

* GS has played 12 of its last 18 games OVER the total

* GS has played eight of its last ten home games OVER the total

Also…

* SA has won 14 of the last 17 meetings SU

* Eight of the last 11 meetings have gone OVER the total

* GS is 4-1-1 ATS in the last six meetings as the home team

* SA has won 14 of the last 20 meetings SU as the road team

* Eleven of the last 13 meetings in San Antonio have gone OVER the total

* SA has had the shooting edge in three of the last four meetings

* SA has had the rebounding edge in nine of the last ten meetings

San Antonio is all tied up with the Houston Rockets for first place in the Southwest Division, with twin 52-28 records. One of them will be hosting a first-round playoff series, while the other will have to relinquish that edge in the opening playoff round. None of it has been completely determined as of yet.

The Spurs have lost Manu Ginobili for the season, and Tim Duncan has taken occasional rest period to keep him relatively fresh for the post-season, but the Spurs have rallied a bit, with consecutive victories over Utah and Sacramento to get into the tie with Houston. Coach Gregg Popovich wisely decided to give Duncan a rest for the game against last-place Sacramento, and his team did just enough to bang out a 95-92 win. You can expect that he will be available for this game, which has some meaning in terms of playoff positioning.

Golden State is obviously way out of the playoff race, but do not look of the Warriors to roll over. Don Nelson’s team has covered four of its last five games, and included in that was a home win over New Orleans as well as a victory in Salt Lake City against the Jazz. C.J. Watson had 38 points, a career high, against Utah, and the Warriors won the game despite having only seven healthy players. Sitting for Golden State was Jamal Crawford, Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette, and Stephen Jackson was lost for the season earlier, but obviously others have picked up the slack. Anthony Randolph has been hitting the boards, with six double-digit rebound games in his last eight, and center Andres Biedrins, a high percentage shooter  (60% for his career) is going to be back for his second game in the lineup after his ankle injury.

San Antonio, even without Ginobili, would seem to have the deeper club right now, but Golden State has held the fort nicely in Oakland, chalking up a 24-15-1 ATS record in the Oracle Arena, which is behind only Cleveland and Portland. They’re also 15-5 ATS as a home dog. We’re going to take the points with the Warriors, the four-poitn underdog in the BetOnline NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY:  GOLDEN STATE +4 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)