Bet On NBA – Heat, Lakers, Knicks, Teams to Back vs. Spread in Late Friday Action

Friday night figures to be hopping in the NBA sportsbook as 3 of the most exciting teams in the league take to the hardwood!

Miami’s Big 3 travels to Milwaukee to battle the Bucks while the Los Angeles Lakers take on the New Orleans Hornets.  Both of those games figure to get NBA fans excited, but the big game on Friday is between the New York Knicks and the Phoenix Suns.

Amare Stoudemire returns to the Valley of the Sun as an opposing player.  Can it get any more interesting?

Check out a preview for all 3 games below!

Jan. 7th – NBA Games – Late

Miami Heat (28-9) at Milwaukee Bucks (13-20)

Where:  Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
When:  8:30 pm EST

NBA Odds:  Miami -6 ½   

Analysis:  Miami can stub their toe versus the sports betting line once in a while, but it’s doubtful that they will against the Bucks on Friday night.  Miami just beat Milwaukee 101 to 89 as 9 ½ point home favorites in their last game.  What will change this time around? Not much except for the fact that Miami is 12 and 6 ATS on the road this season and has covered the spread in 4 out of its last 5 games vs. the Bucks in Milwaukee.  The Heat is also 10 and 2 ATS in their last 12 games as a fave of 5 to 10 ½ points. 

New Orleans Hornets (21-15) at L.A. Lakers (25-11)

Where:  Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
When:  10:30 pm EST

NBA Odds:  Lakers -7 ½ 

Analysis:  Since Phil Jackson called out Kobe Bryant after the Lakers stunning 85 to 104 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies as -9 ½ point online sports betting favorites, L.A. has gone 2 and 0 straight up and 1-0-1 against the spared.  I do feel that L.A. is better than New Orleans and should come out and thump the Hornets on Jan. 7th the way they did on Dec. 29th when they beat New Orleans 103 to 88.  N.O. only averages 93.8 points per game. They shoot 45.5% from the field as a team.  They just don’t match up well with L.A.’s big frontline.  The Lakers should be on the verge of a streak now that they’ve taken down Detroit and Phoenix.  New Orleans is 6 and 1 ATS in the last 7 meetings between these 2 in L.A. but I can’t let that trend sway me.  I have to give the Lakers the benefit of the doubt in this Friday night contest.

New York Knicks (20-14) at Phoenix Suns (14-19)

Where:  US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
When:  10:30 pm EST

NBA Odds:  New York +2

Analysis:  Amare Stoudemire is averaging 26.4 points and 9 boards per game.  He’s easily one of the best players in the league right now and the reason that the New York Knicks should absolutely destroy the Phoenix Suns on January 7th.  I believe that the basketball betting lines should be NYK -2, not Phoenix -2.  The problem for Phoenix is that their best player, Steve Nash, wants to run up and down the court, but their team is made up of a bunch of slow half-court dudes like Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat.  So, Nash scores much less than he’s capable of doing because he has to wait for the rest of his team to set up on the offensive side.  The Knicks don’t care.  They’re going to run the Suns out of their own building on Friday night.

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Sources:  espn.com, covers.com