What a tough night last night in the NBA.  The betting public got crushed by the bookmaker across the board.  It is going to happen eventually.  Today we are giving our members the ATS winners in five (5) basketball games, but the focus of this preview is tonight’s late NBA game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Cavaliers as 10-point road favorites with the total set at 192. 

Cleveland (49-13 SU, 41-21 ATS) attempting to win its sixth straight over the Clippers (15-48 SU, 25-38 ATS) after losing in Boston, 105-94, as 1 ½-point road dogs.  The Cavaliers bounced back with a win at home against Miami on Saturday, 99-89, as 9-point favorites.  Cleveland is 7-3 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 games on the road and 20-10 ATS versus teams with a losing record.  The Cavs last played L.A. on January 30th and won 112-95…covering the enormous 15-point spread.

The Clippers are on a five-game losing streak and have dropped 15 of their last 20 games.   If we try and find a positive it’s that the Clippers are 5-3 ATS when coming into a game off of two days rest and a 6-1-1 ATS against the Central division this season. But that’s stretching it pretty thin.  The Clips are a dismal 19-28 ATS after a SU loss (106-105 loss against Indiana on Saturday) and a 12-16 ATS as the home underdog.

What does all this mean?  Who covers the spread in tonight’s game?  Try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking NBA Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 3300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

USA TODAY – After an amazing showdown earlier this week, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James didn’t have to wait long for a rematch.

Wade and the Miami Heat try to hand James and the Cleveland Cavaliers just their second loss at Quicken Loans Arena this season on Saturday in the final regular season meeting between two of the league’s top scorers.

Cleveland (48-13) has won two of three against the Heat (33-28) this season, with all three games decided by fewer than 10 points. Monday’s meeting in Miami was the most competitive. Wade had 41 points, but James scored 42 as the Cavs rallied from a 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 107-100.

“We don’t want each other to have bragging rights,” said James, who is averaging 37.7 points against the Heat this season. “We definitely go at it when we play each other.”

Wade, the NBA’s leading scorer at 29.5 points per game, is eager for the rematch. He’s averaging 30.3 points against Cleveland this season, and has reached the 40-point plateau in three of Miami’s last four games and four of the last seven.

“I enjoyed the battle that we had,” Wade said Friday night after scoring 42 points in his team’s 108-102 win in Toronto. “You all saw it on ESPN, right? It was a good show.”

Wade, who was 17-for-23 from the floor Friday, is averaging 36.4 points since the All-Star break.

“Right now I’m just in a groove and when my jump shot is going like it is, I get more confident,” he said. “Hopefully I can keep it up.”

Keeping it up Saturday night could prove a daunting task.

The Cavaliers are 27-1 at home this season, with the only loss coming against the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 8. Since then, they’ve won four straight by an average of 17.8 points at Quicken Loans Arena, where they’re allowing an average of just 88.2 points.

Cleveland has also won nine of 11 overall, but lost 105-94 loss at Boston on Friday. James struggled, shooting 5 of 15 and finishing with 21 points. He spent the final minutes on the bench with the Cavs unable to cut into the double-digit deficit.

The Celtics moved within percentage points of Cleveland for the top spot in the East and home-court advantage in the playoffs. The home team has won all three meetings in the season series.

“Both teams know it takes on a different meaning because we may face each other late in the season,” James said. “At one point, somebody’s going to have to get a win on the other’s home court.”

Cleveland has lost consecutive games only once this season, falling at home to the Lakers and at Indiana on Feb. 8 and 10. The Cavs have won eight of their last 10 home games against the Heat, including a 93-86 victory Dec. 28, when James’ 33 points led the way.

FiveStarPick.com has a full plate of action as we give our members ATS winners in 4 games today.  The focus of this preview is today’s NBA matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks have listed the Cavs as 4.5-point home favorites with the total settling in at around 204.

L.A. is coming off a big Thursday night win in Boston and Laker bettors have taken advantage of a 7-1 ATS record.  In those last eight games, the Lakers have averaged 119.6 PPG versus giving up 110 PPG.  Other than their overtime win against the Celtics, L.A. has maintained an average win margin of 11.8 PPG.  Bettors on LA Overs are sporting an 8-1 record the last nine games including a 6 in-a-row stretch.  In addition, taking the Over in LA’s last 8 road games has gone a perfect 8-0 for bettors.

Everyone knows that Andrew Bynum is a major force in the paint, but after he left the floor (torn MCL) last Saturday, the Laker front line has stepped it up.  Pau Gasol (18.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG) and Lamar Odom (9.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG) have combined for 38.6 PPG, with 19 RPG in their last five since Bynum’s injury.

Cleveland is no slouch averaging 105.1 PPG (allowing just 90.7 PPG).  In addition, the Cavs are crushing the boards with an average of 42.1 RPG.  Great things happen for the Cavs in their own building.  They are 49 percent from the perimiter and 79.1 percent from the line.  The Cavaliers are 18-5 ATS at home versus 14-11 ATS when traveling.

In their last 9 outings, Cleveland has maintained a 47 percent shooting average from the hard wood and is 8-1 SU.  But amazingly Cleveland is only 5-3 ATS in those outings.  The Cav’s last ATS defeat was a 107-102 victory over the Knicks on Wednesday as a 5 ½-point road favorite.  Before you bet this game, consider two important trends.  First, Cleveland has a perfect 4-0 ATS record when coming off three or more days rest.  And Second…The Cavaliers are a perfect 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS since Ilgauskas returned to the lineup on Jan. 30.  The seven-footer has averaged 13.5 PPG, with 8.8 RPG in his last four games back in uniform.

Who covers the spread in tonight’s game?  Step up your game, become a member of our family and find out.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking NBA Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com