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Steve Merril's NBA Fullcourt Report (Jan 19)
As we near the midpoint of the NBA regular season, injuries are playing a major role for most teams. This is the case tonight as both TNT national TV games have key players missing. The Knicks will likely be without point guard Stephon Marbury for the second straight night, while the Kings could possibly be without three of their top four scorers. While injuries are important, their effect on the pointspread is often overrated as both the Knicks and Kings covered the spread in their past games, despite playing short-handed. Below is a look at both national TV games this evening. DETROIT at NEW YORK ? 8:05 pm ET (TNT) The Pistons were one win away from winning back-to-back NBA championships last season and they appear to be the team to beat this year. Detroit improved to 31-5 SU with an easy 117-89 win at Atlanta last night. The Pistons were able to rest their starters as they entered the fourth quarter with a 22-point lead. Detroit already beat New York at home, 106-98, as an 11 ½-point favorite on December 2nd. The game was tied 59-59 at halftime and then the Pistons dominated the third quarter, 24-8, to take a 16-point lead heading into the final period. Overall, the Pistons outshot the Knicks 54-45 percent from the field. The Pistons leading scorer that night was Richard Hamilton who poured in 40 points, while the Knicks were led by Jamal Crawford (22 points) and Channing Frye (21 points). Stephon Marbury scored only 11 points, but he did lead the team with 11 assists. Marbury missed his first game in five years when a shoulder injury kept him out of last night?s game at Chicago. The Knicks lost 106-104 in overtime and now must travel home without rest. Marbury is expected to be out again tonight and leads the Knicks in scoring (18.9 ppg), assists (7.0 apg), and steals (1.3 spg). L.A. LAKERS at SACRAMENTO ? 10:35 pm ET (TNT) The Lakers are playing excellent basketball and have gone 6-1 SU (5-2 ATS) the past seven games since Kobe Bryant returned from a two-game suspension. Los Angeles enters tonight?s game off back-to-back SU dog wins after a 110-104 upset at Golden State and then a 100-92 home win versus Miami on Monday. The Lakers won both games outright as 3-point underdogs. The Sacramento Kings played without three of their top four scorers on Tuesday, but still managed to upset the Phoenix Suns, 119-90, as an 8-point home underdog. Sacramento outshot the Suns 51-38 percent overall and led by as many as 33 points in the game. It was the second straight home win for the Kings who improved to 11-11 SU at Arco Arena this season. Leading scorer Mike Bibby was questionable heading into the game, but played 34 minutes and scored 19 points with five assists. The Kings were without their other three top scorers as Peja Stojakovic (16.6 ppg), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (16.5 ppg), and Bonzi Wells (15.1 ppg) were all out with injuries. Stojakovic is questionable tonight, while both Abdur-Rahim and Wells are doubtful. STEVE MERRIL is a professional sports handicapper and a documented member of The Professional Handicappers League. Get his Premium plays here. Steve Merril is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Steve_Merril.htm
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