Revenge Angle - Feb 11

[DZ]

SA -6.5 (-275) vs DET: Spurs fell 105-104 on Jan 6th in San Antonio on a last second jumper by Brandon Jennings during the Pistons remarkable run immediately after dumping Josh Smith. DET has lost that momentum since, but still remain in playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Spurs look forward to the break as much needed rest for their veterans with only Duncan expected to appear in the ASG in limited minutes. Pistons also facing a touch scheduling situation here having played in CHA last night with this being their 3rd game in 4 nights. Spurs don't strike me as your typical revenge type of team as the players and pop seem to come across as indifferent to seemingly big games in the regular season, but I'd expect they want to go into the break on a high note after losing in Toronto on Sunday then almost dropping their last game in Indy after allowing the Pacers to take a 14 point lead in the 3rd quarter only to fight back for a two point win. This will be the 2nd and last time these two play this season.

WAS +5 (+175) @ TOR: This game, to me, is the ideal scenario for the revenge angle - short dog playing on double revenge with a short deficit in the standings having faced their opponent within the last month. Wiz have lost twice to the Raps already this season with this being the last of a 3 game set. A blowout early in the year on Nov 7th in Toronto 103-84 and a recent 120-116 OT game in Washington on Jan 31st where the Wiz had to rally down big in the 4th quarter to take it to extra time. I really like this revenge spot for the Wizards with this being their last chance to beat TOR in the regular season.


(more games in 2nd post)

 

[DZ]

OKC -4.5 (-200) vs MEM: This is also and excellent scenario for the revenge angle in this game. OKC comes in with two straight losses to the Grizz, one early in the season where they were playing without their big guns Durant and Westbrook and more recently on Jan 31st when they fell 85-74 in a hotly-contested defensive battle where both teams shot poorly. They key to looking back on the last two meetings is to keep in mind the 1st round loss the Grizz suffered 4 games to 3 in the 1st round of the playoffs last year. The first game, which you can point out was a close one (91-89 on Nov 7th), was hardly satisfying from a revenge standpoint without Durant and Westbrook to take their frustrations out on. It was the 2nd match-up 11 days ago that should be thought of as the real revenge for their playoff series loss last year. Now that they've gotten that out of their system, it should be time for the Thunder to get their revenge as they fight to take the last playoff seed in the West.

NO +1.5 (+105) vs IND: Not a strong revenge angle here as this will be the final of two meetings for this east-west match-up. Davis (out tonight) did play in the first game when NO fell 84-96 in Indiana on Dec 23rd. This young Pelicans squad has not played well without their all-star big man and I doubt they'll be thinking too much about their last game against the Pacers, far off in the rear-view mirror now, and the long layoff coming up right after this game. Not a strong one for the revenge angle in New Orleans tonight.

CLE -12 (-1000) vs MIA: LeBron may be looking for revenge against his old Heat team here after having lost in Miami 101-91 on Christmas day, but he won't find his old pal Wade on the court who is out with an injury. Hard to grade this one too strongly with the line this high and All-Star weekend up ahead, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a blowout here with the Cavs new "big 3" sitting on the bench laughing it up in the 4th quarter. LeBron and Co may be looking to put this one out of reach early so they can sit back and discuss their upcoming plans in NYC for the weekend. It is also important for this Cavs squad to keep their momentum and finish the first "half" of the season strong tonight so they don't have to deal with the same old Love-LeBron/Kyrie ball-hogging questions throughout the break.


(more coming in 3rd post)

 

[DZ]

HOU +3 (+130) @ LAC: Rockets got rocked at home 102-85 on Nov 28th. That game was also sans Howard. HOU takes some nice momentum into LA tonight while the Clips seem to be limping into the break after a long road trip where they 2-5, with most of those losses blowouts, before finally halting their skid in Dallas on Monday. That game shouldn't be factored in too heavily in the Clippers favor as both Tyson and Monta departed the blowout early with injuries. This is a nice spot for Houston even with the back to back scenario because I think they will carry some momentum from last night's win in PHX over the Staples which is just a short trip away.

Bonus Game (doesn't fit system exactly)
MIN +9.5 (+420) vs GS: Minny has dropped the first two of four games this season to Golden State in embarrassing fashion, 102-86 on Dec 8th and 110-97 on Dec 27th. But the key here is not so much that the Wolves are playing on double revenge, but two other factors really - Minny has played well over their last 5 games stringing together 3 straight wins sandwiched between two "much-closer-than-the-final-score" loses to Dallas and Atlanta. Meanwhile, GS is playing the last of a four game road trip just looking to go into the break healthy, not needing a blowout here necessarily, but just to pick up a 'W'.