Betting Odds Blog

The MLB regular season is only weeks away and I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for Tuesday afternoon Pirates vs. Brewers games with Tom Gorzelanny -125 vs. Chris Capuano (I’d be all over the Bucs in that one by the way). But until opening day comes, we’re stuck with late season NBA action. With that, here are a couple picks for St. Patrick’s Day.

New Orleans -4 vs.     Chicago o/u 203.5
Notes: line is at -4.5 at Bodog, Pinnacle and Sportsinteraction

Pick: Hornets -4. One of these days I’m going to get off taking teams on the back end of back-to-backs, but today is not that day. New Orleans was embarrassed by Detroit on Sunday and I think they’re going to take it out on Chicago as they return home. David West is still gimpy and didn’t play against the Pistons, but I believe there is a chance he’ll play tonight. If he doesn’t play, Melvin Eli and Julian Wright aren’t total stiffs and should be able to help some on the boards. Duhon is out for the Bulls per his suspension for running his mouth. I actually think his absence is pretty significant as there is no way Thabo Sefolosha will be able to stay in front of Paul. The Hornets have Houston and Boston coming up on this brief, three-game homestand and that makes this game a must-win. No team in the West playoff hunt can afford a three-game losing streak, especially at home, and New Orleans will want to put this one in their pocket before taking on the Rockets.

Minnesota -6.5 vs LA Clippers o/u 197
Notes: -6 available at Oddsmaker. -7 available at betED, BetJamaica, 5Dimes

Pick: Clippers +6.5. Two horrible teams with nothing to play for. Nothing like late March NBA action. This is pretty much a toss-up. If the Wolves’ youngsters have a good game, they could easily win this one by 10-15. But I see the Clippers keeping it close and losing by a basket or maybe 4 points. Chris Kaman is listed as Questionable, but I’m guessing he’ll be kept out of this one. Bad backs are never a good sign, especially for big men and I’m guessing they’ll be cautious with their only decent frontcourt option. If he does play, the Clippers could win this one outright. But that’s a longshot. Telfair is out for the Wolves, which is somewhat significant as he was playing better over the past few weeks before the injury. But really, is a Foye/Jaric backcourt much worse than Telfair/Jaric? It’s all about Gomes and Jaric. If they are on, and go for 18-23 each, the Clippers are in trouble. If they are tired from playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the Wii for $10K a game all night last night (full disclosure: in my mind, this is what all NBA players do. Guaranteed contracts = Wii and strippers. Look it up), then L.A. should be able to keep it close.