Professor MJ's Daily Pregame NBA Projections: 2017-03-15

NBA DAILY PROJECTIONS

BY PROFESSOR MJ

University Professor. PhD in stats. Proud dad of 2 boys.

 

 

March 15th, 2017

 

Things have gone in a strange way over the last 4 days. Since I started posting my NBA picks on the web, I had been much more successful with my bets rated 3-4-5 stars as opposed to 1-2 stars: 13-6-1 in the former case versus 15-18 in the latter. That was up to March 10th. Since then, I have gone 1-2 on 3+ stars versus 5-1 on 1-2 stars. Weird! The overall record now sits at 34-27-1 (55.7%).

Today I’ve got a 4-star bet for you, along with three 1-star bets. Should you trust the last three picks? Who knows? As usual you are the final decision-maker; I am only here to provide as much additional insight as I can. The projections on all games (except Lakers-Rockets because I hate games where the spread is huge) are shown below:

MARCH 15, 2017

 

SPREAD

MONEY LINE

 

 

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Mavericks

+7

+9,2

+273

+441

3,73

5,41

X

-20,4%

Wizards

-7

-9,2

-310

-441

1,32

1,23

 

15,7%

Tip: Bet the Wizards.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Hornets

+3

+2,2

+129

+121

2,29

2,21

 

4,2%

Pacers

-3

-2,2

-143

-121

1,70

1,83

 

-8,9%

Tip: No value bet.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Twolves

+6

+6,9

+222

+279

3,22

3,79

 

-9,8%

Celtics

-6

-6,9

-250

-279

1,40

1,36

 

5,0%

Tip: No value bet.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Pelicans

+6,5

+5,5

+222

+217

3,22

3,17

X

5,8%

Heat

-6,5

-5,5

-250

-217

1,40

1,46

 

-10,6%

Tip: Bet the Pelicans.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Jazz

-2,5

-3,1

-140

-143

1,71

1,70

 

2,5%

Pistons

+2,5

+3,1

+127

+143

2,27

2,43

 

-7,3%

Tip: No value bet.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

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PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Grizzlies

-2,5

-2,4

-136

-127

1,74

1,79

 

-3,2%

Bulls

+2,5

+2,4

+123

+127

2,23

2,27

 

-1,6%

Tip: No value bet.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

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PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Blazers

+11,5

+12,8

+598

+974

6,98

10,74

 

-13,9%

Spurs

-11,5

-12,8

-741

-974

1,13

1,10

X

9,1%

Tip: Bet the Spurs.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Kings

+5,5

+5,2

+199

+204

2,99

3,04

 

0,1%

Suns

-5,5

-5,2

-222

-204

1,45

1,49

 

-4,8%

Tip: No value bet.

 

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

Pinnacle

PROF. MJ

PICK

ROI

Bucks

+7,5

+6,4

+285

+252

3,85

3,52

 

6,6%

Clippers

-7,5

-6,4

-325

-252

1,31

1,40

 

-11,4%

Tip: Bet the Bucks.

 

“GREAT” BET (4 stars / 5):

I recommend betting the Wizards -7 versus Dallas. The Mavs second-highest scorer, Wesley Matthews, will be a game-time decision because of a calf injury. This morning he said “You guys will never know how much pain I’m in”. If I’m a Mavericks fan, I don’t like the sound of it. Even though he will be playing tonight, it looks like he won’t be near 100%. The Mavs went on a nice 7-game stretch where they won 6 of them. However, the followed that up by losing at home to the lowly Suns and losing decisively 100-78 in Toronto against a minus-Lowry Raptors team. To me, that’s a red flag that they might be headed in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the Wizards had won 7 of their last 8 games before dropping their last game in Minnesota. They are a much superior team than Dallas and I expect them to rebound tonight. The only thing I don’t like about this matchup is Dallas beating the Wizards in 9 of the last 10 meetings.

 

“PROCEED WITH CAUTION” BETS (1 star / 5):

For a second straight game, I’m going with the Pelicans +6.5 in Miami. New Orleans is playing the second of back-to-back games, but they benefited from two days’ rest before that so it’s not as bad. As I said yesterday, the Pelicans are finally showing signs of a team that’s jelling since the acquisition of Cousins. They have won 4 of their last 7 games and if you take a closer look at their losses, they weren’t bad at all: 94-87 versus Toronto, 88-83 in Utah and 101-98 in overtime against a great Spurs team. So basically over the last 7 games their worst outing was a 7-point loss. The Heat had won 8 of 10 before dropping their last match in Indiana. Miami won 6 of the last 7 home games against New Orleans, but the last two games weren’t bad performances by the Pelicans: a loss in overtime, and a 105-91 win.

I like the Spurs -11.5 versus the Blazers. Wow, you don’t get to see me pick such a big favorite very often, but it’s the case tonight. There are two main reasons: 1) the Spurs’ second-highest scorer, LaMarcus Aldridge, won’t have any restrictions tonight after undergoing some testing of his heart; 2) the Blazers will be dog-tired, and it’s not good news whenever you are playing such a great team like the Spurs. Not only is it a second game in as many nights for Portland, but tonight’s game will be their 4th in 5 days!!! You don’t see that very often in the NBA. San Antonio has won 11 of their last 12 games overall, and has also beaten Portland in the last 5 meetings.

It seems like these days I’m always involved in the Milwaukee Bucks’ games, either betting on them or against them. Tonight I’m picking the Bucks +7.5 at the Clippers. Both teams faced each other 12 days ago, where Milwaukee took it 112-101 at home. The Bucks saw their 6-game winning streak snapped two days ago in Memphis. The Clippers are also coming off a loss after getting some success (they had won 4 of 5). Khris Middleton is slowly finding his groove back after missing the first 3 months of the season, and it has shown some results in the wins column for Milwaukee.

Cheers!

Professor MJ

www.professormj.com

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