NBA Three Pack – Hope you Like Offense

The up-and-down Dallas Mavericks (27-19 SU) travel to Orlando tonight to face the Magic (36-10 SU). The Magic have an outstanding home record (18-4 SU) and have won 14 of their last 15 games inside of Amway Arena. The biggest reason is man-child Dwight Howard, AKA Superman. The All-Star top vote getter is a beast on both ends of the court. He has 36 double-doubles this season, most in the NBA. He is a rebounding machine and can punish the rack like no other right now. Averaging 20.3 points per game, 13.9 rebounds and an amazing 3.1 blocks per contest, Howard is a formidable opponent to guard, and will be a nightmare match-up for the Dallas Mavericks tonight. Dirk Nowitzki will have a tough time scoring inside against the Magic, and will have to rely on his outside shooting. Although Dirk is a good outside shooter, if he becomes one-dimensional then his scoring will suffer, and with Dirk averaging 25.8 points of the 100.5 points the team averages, he is the essential shut-down for the Magic. Dallas doesn’t travel all that well, holding a 13-12 road record SU.

NBA free pick: Magic (-7.5 points)

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the city that never sleeps tonight in a match-up against the New York Knicks. The Lakers will be without big man Andrew Bynum who tore his MCL and will be sidelined for up to 3 months. The 21 year-old is looking injury-prone after missing the second half of last season and the playoffs, and now this latest devastating set-back. The Lakers have showed they can play without Bynum, making it to the NBA Finals last season without him before losing to the Boston Celtics. Both teams have won 4 of their last 5 games and both are 7-3 in the last 10 games. This will be a high-scoring affair no doubt about it. The BetOnline Sportsbook has the over/under at 223.5 points, a number that was easily surpassed in their last head-to-head meeting when the Lakers defeated the Knicks 116-114 just before Christmas. The Lakers average 108.3 points per contest and give up 99.6 points. The Knicks are no stranger to scoring points averaging 104.1 per game, and are even more familiar with allowing points, giving up a whopping 106.1 points on average. Big man Zach Randolph of the Knicks will have an easier time in the paint without Bynum on the floor. Kobe Bryant will do what he always does, elevate his game when necessary and make up for the loss of Bynum. Look for Kobe to have a monster game in the limelight of the Big Apple.

NBA free pick: Total points OVER 223.5 points

Another high-scoring affair will take place tonight in Phoenix as the Suns host the Sacramento Kings. The 2 teams combine to allow over 211 points on average, and that’s against teams looking to slow down the tempo and try to keep it low-scoring. Sacramento has given up at least 109 points in 5 straight and the Suns look to keep that train rolling. The lack of defence by Sacramento will be evident tonight, as the Suns will look to push tempo. They have made an effort to play a half-court game with Shaq, but it is not working, and with every point crucial at this stage, the Suns will do what they do best against a team’s weakness and that is core at will. The Suns will allow a great deal of points against, but try to outscore their opponent tonight for the win.

NBA free pick: Total points over 222.5 points