Doc’s Sports

Going to take a shot on Atlanta here in this letdown spot for Golden State. The Warriors had a very hard-fought game last night against the Clippers that went to OT, and this one came with bickering between the teammates at the end of the game. They play Houston next on Thursday, so this out-of-conference opponent will not get much attention tonight sandwiched between games against rivals. The Hawks stink. But Golden State gets most teams’ best shot every night, and we have no doubt the young Hawks will come to play. A win here would be an accomplishment they could hang their hats on all season. We don’t see a straight up win, but we see a competitive game and a distracted home team.

Houston has had a very rough start to the season, no doubt, but this is still the second-best team in the West and they will get it together before long. They are probably not as strong as last season, but they aren’t far off. Denver has had a much stronger start to the season, but you can’t tell me that the Nuggets are more of a championship contender than the Rockets. Houston has been overvalued at home (1-4 ATS) but they have been a bit better on the road and we think there is value in this line tonight. The Nuggets haven’t been in best form the last few games, and Houston we think will come in tonight with something to prove.

We told ourselves we would stay away from Cleveland for the most part since a couple bad early-season losses, but we have to jump when the value is present, and that is certainly the case tonight. The Hornets are coming off a couple big games and they have Philly and Boston on deck, so this is a definite letdown spot. And that doesn’t even take into account that this is an inflated line and it looks like the public keeps betting into this one so there’s a chance it goes up even further. No reason to think that this won’t be a competitive game.

6-Unit Play. #015 Take Toronto vs Los Angeles (Tuesday November 13 @ 10:35p.m.)

Let's put it this way. The Leafs got off to a solid start on Saturday against the Bruins and were undone by a late first-period goal. That sent the team spiraling and the game was lost. However, the Leafs are a solid bet when they've given up 5 goals in their previous game, going 4-0 in those games. Make no mistakes about it, the Leafs are simply the superior team in this game and will have the benefit of having their No.1 goalie rested and in net for this game to get them back in the win column. I've liked the way the team has played since Auston Matthews went down with an injury, so they should have no problem keeping the train rolling and securing two points. The Kings, on the other hand, are a bad team. They are riding a two-game losing streak and have scored just one goal during that span. Not to mention, they will be starting their third-string goalie in Peter Budaj as their No.1 and No.2 goalies are down with injuries. The Kings have no identity and the Leafs should be able to handle them, similar to the way they did back on Oct 15, in a 4-1 win. The Leafs are 4-0 in their last 4 road game vs a team with a losing home record and 6-1 in their last 7 road games and 6-1 in their last 7 games when their opponent scores two or fewer goals in their previous game. The Kings meanwhile are just 1-5 in their last 6 vs at a team with a winning % higher than .600 and just 4-9 in their last 14 home games. Don't overthink this. Take the Leafs.

10 Unit Play. Take #507 Wisconsin over Xavier (6:30p.m., Tuesday, November 13 FS1) Xavier is in a complete rebuilding mode this year and will have a new coach on the end line as well with Chris Mack bolting to Louisville. Wisconsin had a terrible season last year but had a couple of key injuries and everyone is back and they should be able to return to the NCAA Tournament. They have the best player on the floor in Ethan Happ and look for them to return the favor of winning this game on the road (Xavier won in Madison last year). This is an important game for Wisconsin to keep their confidence high and for their unproven coach. Wisconsin has covered the spread in 6 straight road games. Xavier is 0-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 5 home games. Wisconsin opened as a favorite for this game and that lets me believe they are the right side for this play.