THAT WAS NICE DAY. OF 6 SUGGESTIONS 4 WIN AND 2 LOST . LIKE AND SOON I POST NEW NBA SUGGESTIONS WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN Dallas vs Philadelphia The Philadelphia 76ers are on the verge of setting a record they have no desire of owning when the Dallas Mavericks visit Saturday. With their 99-91 loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday, the 76ers tied the franchise record for consecutive losses to start a season with 15 — along with the 1972-73 squad — and are just three shy of the NBA record set by the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets. All but five of Philadelphias losses have been by double-digits, including a 123-70 defeat in Dallas on Nov. 13. Dallas posted its largest victory margin in franchise history in that first Philadelphia game, leading 73-29 at the half. The Mavericks enter this one after an impressive 106-102 win at Eastern Conference-leading Toronto on Friday. Dallas is the highest-scoring team in the league (109.1) and ranks second in field-goal percentage (48.2), while Philadelphia is last in scoring (89.9) and shooting (41.3). I bleed for these guys, Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. The effort isnt getting rewarded with any wins right now. I think it will take time and perseverance. ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (12-5): Monta Ellis scored 24 of his 30 points in the second half, including 10 straight in the fourth quarter, as Dallas beat Toronto 106-102 on Friday in a battle of the two-highest scoring teams in the league. Dallas was outrebounded 55-37, but held Toronto to 43 points in the first half and committed just eight turnovers to the Raptors 17. Tyson Chandler followed his 17-point, NBA season-high 25 rebound performance Wednesday against New York with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. ABOUT THE 76ERS (0-15): Not only does Philadelphia struggle scoring and shooting from the field, but Philadelphias 65.7 free-throw percentage is on pace for the worst in league history since the 1967-68 squad shot 63.5 percent. One area the young Sixers excel is forcing turnovers, as their 18.7 per game leads the league. Reigning rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams is struggling with his shot, hitting only 34.4 percent from the floor, and his average of four turnovers per game is second-worst in the league to teammate Tony Wrotens 4.2. BUZZER BEATERS 1. The Sixers have lost five games by 50-plus points all-time, most in the NBA and two more than the Cavaliers, Kings and Trail Blazers. 2. The Mavericks have won four straight in the series and seven of eight. 3. Wroten, who leads the team in scoring (17.9), is expected to miss at least one week with a sprained knee. PREDICTION: Dallas Mavericks will be winner on this match. LOST New Orleans vs Washington The Washington Wizards aim for their sixth straight win over New Orleans when the Pelicans visit the nations capital Saturday. The Wizards were beginning to look like a serious contender in the East before losing two straight, and they hope to get back on track against a New Orleans team they havent lost to since Feb. 1, 2011. The Pelicans have dropped two straight and four of six to slip to 10th in the West. The Wizards have been one of the top defensive teams in the league for most of the season, but theyve surrendered 219 points during their two-game losing streak. Our defensive pressure the last two games has been gone for whatever reason, Washington coach Randy Wittman told reporters. Weve got to find that back. New Orleans has had trouble at the other end, averaging just 90 points during its two-game skid and failing to break 100 in its last four losses. ABOUT THE PELICANS (7-7): New Orleans shook up the lineup against Atlanta, starting Austin Rivers at shooting guard and moving Tyreke Evans (15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists) to small forward, but Rivers went 0-for-8 and was held scoreless. Thats only the start of the Pelicans offensive woes, as star big man Anthony Davis (24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds) has been limited to 14 points in each of the past two games, matching his season low. Three-point bomber Ryan Anderson has been the most consistent threat the past two games, scoring 20 points in each despite going just 5-for-15 from 3-point range. ABOUT THE WIZARDS (9-5): Washington needs to get the backcourt duo of John Wall (18.6 points, 9.2 assists) and Bradley Beal (14.6 points) back on track after they combined for only 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting in Wednesdays 113-87 loss at Cleveland. The Wizards also have been shorthanded in the frontcourt with forward Nene (10.6 points) missing the past two games with plantar fasciitis. Veteran Paul Pierce (13.3 points) has had the hot hand lately, averaging 16 points over the past five games, including a season-high 25 in Saturdays win over Milwaukee. BUZZER BEATERS 1. New Orleans has averaged 90.5 points while going 0-4 in the first game of back-to-backs but has put up 104 points per contest while going 3-0 in the second game. 2. The Pelicans are 7-0 when they shoot for a higher percentage than the opposition. 3. The Wizards are 8-0 when they commit fewer turnovers than their opponent. PREDICTION: New Orleans Pelicans will be winner on this match. WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN Charlotte vs Atlanta The Charlotte Hornets are putting together some impressive individual performances; they just haven’t translated to wins. The Hornets will try to snap an eight-game slide when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The Hawks have won three of their last four and showcased their potential on the defensive end by holding the New Orleans Pelicans to 28 first-half points in a 100-91 victory Friday. Charlotte center Cody Zeller is getting a chance to play more minutes due to injuries along the front line and has scored in double figures in three of the last four games. The second-year Indiana product recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a 106-101 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday. Zeller will have his hands full with the Hawks pair of Paul Millsap and Al Horford, who combined for 23 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks in the win over the Pelicans. ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-13): Backup guard Brian Roberts is carving out more time for himself on the top unit and followed up a career-high 24 points in a loss to Portland on Wednesday with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting against Golden State. Roberts is 23-of-38 from the field in the last three games while averaging 29.7 minutes and taking some of the pressure off Kemba Walker. Four of Charlotte’s losses during the streak have come by five points or fewer, and the Hornets held the lead in the fourth quarter Friday before coming up short. ABOUT THE HAWKS (8-6): Atlanta has allowed an average of 94 points in its last three wins but surrendered 122.3 in the last three setbacks. After letting the Toronto Raptors shoot 51.2 percent in a 126-115 loss Wednesday, the Hawks came out strong against the Pelicans and ended up holding them to 40.4 percent even after letting up in the fourth quarter. Holding things down on the offensive end is Jeff Teague, who is averaging 25.8 points on 53.8 percent shooting over the last five games – scoring more than 20 points in each contest. BUZZER BEATERS 1. Hawks G Kyle Korver has made 28 consecutive free throws. 2. Charlotte took the first meeting of the season, 122-119 in overtime on Nov. 7, behind 34 points from C Al Jefferson. 3. Atlanta G Thabo Sefolosha (illness) sat out Friday and is day-to-day. PREDICTION: Atlanta Hawks will be winner on this match. WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN Indiana vs Cleveland When the Cleveland Cavaliers signed LeBron James and Kevin Love last summer, they figured to battle the Indiana Pacers for Eastern Conference superiority. Instead, just getting to .500 has been a struggle for the Cavaliers and Pacers, who head into their first meeting of the season Saturday night in Cleveland. Indiana is playing better following its 1-6 start and welcomed back two injured players Friday, and the Cavaliers have won two in a row following their four-game losing streak last week. David West, the second-leading scorer for the Pacers the past two seasons, made his season debut in Friday’s victory against the Orlando Magic and posted 18 points, six rebounds and four assists in the 98-83 victory that improved Indiana’s record to 7-9. C.J. Watson also played for the first time this season, and the backup guard made all four of his field-goal attempts and finished with nine points and four assists in 18 minutes. Roy Hibbert, the 7-2 center for the Pacers, could return against Cleveland after missing three games with an ankle injury. ABOUT THE PACERS (7-9): Rodney Stuckey has been Indiana’s best player the last two games, scoring a season-high 22 points in Wednesday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs and bettering that with 24 against the Magic. West’s return has sent Luis Scola back to the bench, which will give the coaching staff more options, including playing West and Scola together down the stretch. Donald Sloan scored 29 points Monday against the Dallas Mavericks but combined for nine the last two games on 4-for-16 shooting. ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (7-7): Love still isn’t rebounding the way he is used to, but he’s starting to score at his regular pace. He’s averaging 18.7 points over the past three games, just under his 19.1 career average, but has had fewer than nine rebounds in each of the last four games — a bar he didn’t reach just 10 times all of last season. He’s not the only Cleveland player whose rebounds are down this year, as Anderson Varejao is averaging 6.9 boards this season after averaging no less than 9.7 the previous four seasons. BUZZER BEATERS 1. Cleveland is 6-1 this season when James scores at least 25 points. 2. Varejao is questionable to play after sitting out Friday’s practice with a rib contusion. 3. A.J. Price, the sixth-leading scorer for the Pacers, was waived Friday to make room for Watson and West. PREDICTION: Cleveland Cavaliers will be winner on this match. WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN L.A. Clippers vs Utah The Los Angeles Clippers look for their 11th consecutive victory over Utah when they visit the Jazz on Saturday. The home floor has been anything but an advantage for Utah as Los Angeles has won in each of its last five visits to Salt Lake City. The Clippers are 5-1 on a seven-game road trip after posting a 102-85 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday, while the Jazz have been off since losing 97-82 to Oklahoma City on Wednesday. The Clippers defeated Utah 107-101 on Nov. 3 when point guard Chris Paul had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 12th career triple-double. The Jazz have lost four consecutive games as they open a four-game homestand, and coach Quin Snyder feels he knows why his team is struggling. “It’s just the little things,” Snyder told reporters. “It is missing free throws, turnovers and negative plays that we have talked about the whole year.” ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (10-5): Power forward Blake Griffin had 30 points and 10 rebounds in the romp over the Rockets. “I tried to be more aggressive early – getting to the lane,” Griffin told reporters. “We just did a good job of moving the ball early. Even though they were banged up, I thought it was a good test for us.” Griffin made 11-of-20 shots to break out of a three-game slump in which he was just 21-of-57 from the field. ABOUT THE JAZZ (5-11): Snyder is frustrated that the miscues continue, and he has considered shaking up the starting lineup to see if that has an effect. “Those things are always a consideration. I think we’ve thought about a lot of things,” Snyder told reporters. “It may have something to do with it. I’m not ruling that out, but I think there are other factors that have contributed more, no matter who we would start.” The Jazz committed 19 turnovers and went 17-of-28 from the free-throw line against the Thunder, with high-priced Gordon Hayward going 7-of-14 from the line and committing eight turnovers. BUZZER BEATERS 1. The Clippers are 6-2 on the road after easily handling the Rockets. 2. Jazz rookie G Dante Exum has scored seven points on 3-of-15 shooting over the past four games. 3. Los Angeles SF Matt Barnes (calf) played 20 minutes against Houston after a two-game absence. PREDICTION: L.A.Clippers will be winner on this match. LOST Houston vs Milwaukee While Milwaukees turnaround under head coach Jason Kidd is one of the NBAs top early storylines, it has thrived through a soft portion of the schedule. A meeting with Houston would normally end that trend, but the Bucks might be getting the Rockets at a good time when the teams meet Saturday in Milwaukee. Houston missed center Dwight Howard (knee) for the fifth game in a row and lost point guard Isaiah Canaan to a sprained ankle in a 102-85 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Along with Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones, Howard is one of three sidelined starters for the Rockets — and Canaan had been the fill-in for Beverley. While Houstons starting ranks is decimated, the Bucks have leaned heavily on their bench, which produced a 69-13 scoring advantage in a 104-88 win at Detroit on Friday, the squads third straight and eighth in 11 games overall. Six of those eight victories came against teams that enter Saturday with a combined record of 21-56. ABOUT THE ROCKETS (12-4): Canaan and Beverley will not even travel to Milwaukee but Howard will be there, although he remains doubtful to play. After the meeting with the Bucks, Houston has three full days off before hosting Memphis, which could give Howard the extra time he needs to return. In the meantime, the Rockets will want a bit more from James Harden, who missed each of his four 3-point attempts and committed five turnovers in a 16-point effort against the Clippers. ABOUT THE BUCKS (10-7): Ersan Ilyasova led the bench barrage with 22 points, eight rebounds and two steals in the rout of the Pistons, continuing an impressive surge. The veteran forward is averaging 15.4 points on 55.8 percent shooting over his last eight games while playing 21 minutes or fewer in seven of those affairs. Ilyasova played a season-high 31 minutes Friday and will continue to see an uptick in playing time as the Bucks wait on the returns of centers John Henson (foot) and Zaza Pachulia (personal). BUZZER BEATERS 1. Harden is 2-of-13 from beyond the arc since a 7-for-12 effort Monday against the New York Knicks. 2. Milwaukee PG Brandon Knight was held to single digits in scoring (six points) Friday for the first time since March 24. 3. Houston has won three straight in the series. PREDICTION: Milwaukee Bucks will be winner on this match.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 09:15:47 +0000
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