Friday, October 31

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NBA

Golden State (0-1, 1-0 ATS) at Toronto (1-0 SU and ATS)

The Raptors opened the season with an impressive 95-84 upset victory over the Sixers on Wednesday, cashing as a five-point road underdog. Chris Bosh (27 points, 11 rebounds) led four Toronto players in double figures against Philadelphia.

The Warriors got 27 points from newcomer Corey Maggette and 26 from Stephen Jackson in Wednesday’s opener against the Hornets, but it wasn’t enough as Golden State fell 108-103, but covered as a seven-point home underdog. The Warriors have lost three in a row and seven of 10 dating to last year (2-8 ATS).

Golden State is on a 5-1 SU and ATS run against the Raptors, including a 106-100 win as a 6½-point underdog in their lone trip to Canada last year. The host is 6-2 ATS in the last eight series clashes, all as a favorite, and the SU winner has covered the spread in each of the last 10 head-to-head battles.

Despite Wednesday’s upset win, Toronto is still just 10-22 ATS in its last 33 games overall. The Raptors are on additional ATS slide of 0-6 against the Western Conference, 2-8 versus the Pacific Division, 1-7 after a SU win, 1-9 on Fridays and 5-17 when playing on one day of rest. Meanwhile, going back to last season, the Warriors are 1-4 ATS in their last five on the highway and 8-21 ATS in their last 29 when playing on one day of rest. On the bright side, Golden State is on positive pointspread runs of 6-2 on Fridays and 5-1 against the East.

The Warriors are in the midst of “over” streaks of 4-0 overall, 12-3-1 against the Eastern Conference and 5-1-1 on Fridays, but the under is 7-2 in their last nine on the road and 8-2-1 in their last 11 against the Atlantic Division. Also, the under is 4-0 in Toronto’s last four overall and 5-0-1 in its last six at the Air Canada Centre.

ATS ADVANTAGE: GOLDEN STATE

Chicago (1-0 SU and ATS) at Boston (1-0, 0-1 ATS)

The Bulls head to Beantown to take on the defending NBA champs on the heels of Tuesday’s 108-95 season-opening rout of the Bucks, cashing as a six-point home favorite. Chicago, which has won and covered three in a row dating to the end of last season, spread the wealth around in the win over Milwaukee with six players scoring in double figures. That included rookie point guard Derrick Rose, who had 11 points, nine assists and four rebounds in his debut.

Boston raised its 17th championship banner to the rafters Tuesday, then needed to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to top Cleveland 90-85. Paul Pierce (27 points) was one of five players to score in double digits for the Celtics, who failed to cover as a 6½-point home chalk, ending a 7-0 ATS run going back to last year’s Eastern Conference finals.

The Celtics swept a four-game season series from Chicago last year, winning all four games by double digits, with the average margin of victory being 18.3 points per game. Not only did Boston easily cover the number in all four contests, but it is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings. Prior to last year, Chicago had been on a 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS tear against the Celtics.

The SU winner is 10-0 ATS in the Bulls’ last 10 games overall and 9-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings between these teams.

Even though it has cashed in three straight games, Chicago is still in ATS slides of 7-21 against the Atlantic Division, 6-21 after a SU victory, 2-9 after a double-digit victory, 1-6 after a spread cover and 1-5 when playing on two days’ rest. Boston is on ATS runs of 15-6 at home and 6-2 when going on two days’ rest, but Doc Rivers’ club is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 versus the NBA Central.

The under is 6-2 in the Bulls’ last eight games overall, but the over is 13-4-2 in their last 19 on the highway, 10-3 in their last 13 on Friday and 7-2 in their last nine against the Atlantic Division. For the Celtics, the under is on runs of 4-1 against the Eastern Conference and 4-1 versus the Central Division. The under is also 6-2 in the last eight Boston-Chicago matchups, but four of the last five meetings in Boston have hurdled the total.

ATS ADVANTAGE: BOSTON

San Antonio (0-1 SU and ATS) at Portland (0-1 SU and ATS)

The Spurs came up short in Wednesday’s season opener against the Suns, falling 103-98 as a 1½-point home favorite despite 32 points each from superstars Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. San Antonio has dropped three in a row and five of its last six going back to last spring’s Western Conference Finals series against the Lakers. However, Gregg Popovich’s squad is still 12-4 (9-7 ATS) in its last 16 regular-season contests.

Portland not only got humiliated in its opener – a 96-76 loss at the Lakers as an eight-point underdog – but it lost center Greg Oden to a foot injury early in the game. Oden, who didn’t score in 13 minutes in his NBA debut, is expected to miss at least two to four weeks. The Blazers shot a dismal 34.5 percent from the field against Los Angeles, while allowing the Lakers to make 46.8 percent of their attempts.

The Spurs enter tonight’s contest on a 12-game winning streak against Portland, and they’re 20-9 ATS in the last 29 battles. However, the Blazers went 2-1 ATS in last year’s three meetings, and the teams have alternated spread-covers in the last six head-to-head clashes. Finally, the host is on a 5-1 ATS roll in this rivalry.

San Antonio failed to cover in 10 of its final 13 road games last season (playoffs included) while also going 3-7 ATS in its last 10 against the Northwest Division. On the other hand, the Blazers are on positive pointspread streaks of 5-2 overall, 4-0 at home and 4-1 after a SU defeat.

The Spurs’ game against Phoenix on Wednesday easily eclipsed the posted total, ending a nine-game “under” streak going back to last year’s playoffs. The under is still on runs for San Antonio of 5-0 on the road, 6-1 on Fridays and 4-1 against the Northwest. Also, Portland sports under streaks of 4-1 overall, 12-4 on Fridays, 37-14 against Western Conference foes and 44-21-1 versus Southwest Division opponents.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER

Al DeMarco, General Manager of PickNation.com, is a 25-year veteran of the handicapping industry who is also the featured handicapping analyst on Comcast Sports TV in New York and Chicago and a regular contributor on Fox Sports, MSNBC and The Sporting News. Read his Daily Blog for his gambling insight, tips and observations at PickNation.com