The NBA teams are all back to work after the All Star Break and the Friday betting board features a nice looking menu of games. In this writeup we’ll take a look at a contest between the rapidly improving Charlotte Bobcats and the not so rapidly improving New Orleans Pelicans. These teams have something of a star crossed past-the Pelicans were formerly the New Orleans Hornets who were formerly the Charlotte Hornets. They headed down to the ‘Big Easy’ after former owner George Shinn had an ugly and public falling out with the city of Charlotte. The Bobcats were the ‘replacement’ expansion franchise for the city after the Hornets eloped. In the most bizarre twist of fate the Charlotte team is ‘reclaiming’ the Hornets name starting next year. It’s been a number of tough seasons for the Bobcats but things are finally looking up with a talented mix of veterans and rookies that are all playing hard this season.

Tough for long time NBA observers to wrap their head around the fact that the Bobcats are now a legitimate NBA team. They’ve got a very good chance of making the playoffs this season and for the first time in memory the Bobcats were ‘buying’ rather than ‘selling’ at the trade deadline, picking up guards Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour from the Bucks. The Bobcats are 12-5-1 ATS in their last 18 games and based on the valuations of their most recent home games the market hasn’t caught up to the fact that this franchise is finally heading in the right direction. New Orleans has some nice pieces in place-not the least of which is Anthony Davis-but at this point they’re simply not as good of a team as Charlotte. Pelicans enter this contest on a 2-5-1 ATS run and have been a money loser away from the Crescent City this year with a 10-17 SU/10-15-2 ATS road record. This price suggests that these teams are evenly matched on a neutral court and I sure don’t see that-the Bobcats have played nasty team defense all year and with Al Jefferson playing as well as anyone in the league at the moment and Kemba Walker back in the lineup they’ve got offense now too.

BET CHARLOTTE BOBCATS -3′ OVER NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

At one point this was among the biggest ‘marquee matchups’ in the NBA back when giants like Magic Johnson and Karl Malone roamed the hardwood. No more-the Utah Jazz are in serious rebuilding mode with a young and inexperienced nucleus. The hope in Salt Lake City is that the team can ‘get better by getting worse’ and land a top pick in the draft. Despite their lack of ‘A list’ talent the Jazz play hard on most nights and definitely haven’t packed it in. Things are much worse in Los Angeles where an injured group of aging superstars led by Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash have brought little to the team. Head coach Mike D’Antoni is on the hot seat but much of the Lakers’ problems really aren’t his fault-it’s just the ‘worst case scenario’ with a team built around aging superstars.

The Lakers enter this contest with only 5 SU wins in their last 18 games. They have done better against the spread covering 9 of their last 14-more a result of a betting market that wants nothing to do with this team and the resulting high prices rather than anything intrinsically encouraging about their play. Both teams are part of a three way scrum to avoid last place in the Western Conference. The Sacramento Kings are currently in last with Utah 1/2 game out and the Lakers one game out. There is always the hope that professional pride will motivate teams to not want to finish last but in the topsy turvy world of the NBA that’s never the case. Some teams even talk of ‘tanking’ games in hopes to get preferential draft choices.

In this matchup we’re left with two teams that no one really wants to bet on. Utah is a team that you can use in spots on their still tough home floor at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City. We generally like the spunk we’ve seen from Tyrone Corbin’s team and think there’s more enthusiasm and upside with the young Jazz than the aging and banged up Lakers. We’ll take the Jazz plus the points and look for Utah to win outright.

BET UTAH JAZZ +2 OVER LOS ANGELES LAKERS

With the NHL on break until after the Sochi Winter Olympic games it’ll be a steady dose of basketball for the next three weeks. Actually, for this weekend at least it’ll be all college basketball as the NBA is going on All Star Break. Until then, however, we’ll look for some good opportunities to bet NBA action. In this matchup we’ve got a contest between a Dallas Mavericks team that has been playing very good basketball lately and an improving Charlotte Bobcats side.

The Mavericks have won five straight (4-1 ATS) and are currently on a 13-6 ATS run. The Bobcats have covered four of their last five games and recently welcomed Kemba Walker back to the lineup after an injury. Historically the Mavericks have dominated the head to head series with the Bobcats-Dallas is on a 17-1 SU/10-7 ATS run overall and a 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS run at Charlotte. The worm is turning for the Hornets, however, and they’ve covered two straight against Dallas. This is definitely a ‘short sample size’ but significant considering their historical troubles against the Mavericks. Charlotte lost 89-83 at Dallas in early December but covered the pointspread as a +8 road underdog. The previous meeting was in November 2012 with the Bobcats winning outright on their home floor.

Charlotte has been one of the biggest doormats in the NBA for quite some time but this is a different era. New head coach Steve Clifford has emphasized defense and his team has responded-the Bobcats are currently tied for the #4 spot in team scoring defense averaging 97.1 PPG against. Al Jefferson has been a runaway train for Charlotte and his strong inside play is a serious matchup problem for Dallas. Remember that Dirk Nowitski is their ‘big man’ but he plays away from the basket meaning that Jefferson could wreak serious havoc on both ends of the floor. Dallas is a well known quantity but the improvements in Charlotte are still somewhat ‘under the radar’ relative to the mainstream NBA fan. That gives us some good line value playing on the rapidly improving and defensively tenacious Bobcats. Look for a big game from Jefferson and Kemba Walker as the Bobcats win outright.

BET CHARLOTTE BOBCATS +3′ OVER DALLAS MAVERICKS

NBA action on Monday night features an intriguing non conference matchup between the Toronto Raptors and the Utah Jazz. Toronto was expected to go into the toilet after they sent Rudy Gay packing but instead they’ve played very good basketball and are currently in fourth place in the East. Utah was a basket case in the early part of the season but have recovered to play competent, if not impressive, basketball.

Of course there are few more difficult places to play in the NBA than Salt Lake City’s Energy Solutions Arena and the toughness of the Jazz’s home court venue isn’t the only issue the Raptors will have to deal with. The thin air in Salt Lake City’s high altitude is another issue that has always bedeviled visiting teams. Utah could be in something of a letdown mode, however, as they’re coming off a very emotional game on Friday night where legendary Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was honored. They looked very listless over the weekend in a road loss to the LA Clippers and that could continue here.

Toronto has been a great road team this season with a record of 18-7 ATS away from home. They are particularly strong up front and catch the Jazz with a tough injury issue was power forward Derrick Favors is expected to miss this contest with a hip injury. Toronto lost a tough game at Portland on Saturday night but should find the going easier against a Utah team that will be without their biggest frontcourt presence on offense and defense. Toronto has also cleaned up against opponents with losing records this season (17-6 SU/ATS). The Jazz have been playing harder since their miserable start to the season but without ‘all hands on deck’ we expect the Raptors to win and cover here. Utah is a team that we want to be playing on going down the stretch-most bettors gave up on them early but they’ve improved and continue to exert a good effort on most nights. The problem is that without a healthy lineup-and especially one that gives them such a profound tactical liability-they just don’t have the horses.

BET TORONTO RAPTORS -3′ OVER UTAH JAZZ

With pro football done for the year we can turn our full attention to the daily sports of basketball and hockey for the next month until baseball begins. On the docket for Monday night is an Eastern Conference battle in the NBA between the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat. Miami is, of course, the defending NBA Champions and are currently in 2nd place in the East three games back of the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons may be better than they have been in recent years-not that that’s saying much given their struggles of the past few seasons. Detroit is just 1/2 game out of playoff qualification in the weak Eastern Conference and with only the top two teams in the East playing particularly well this season making the postseason is a legitimate possibility for the long suffering Pistons.

Detroit’s biggest problem is defense-they rank in the lower tier of team defense in the NBA. That’s not really the way they want to play basketball but the problem on the offensive end is that they’re still probably a scorer or two away from being able to play the up tempo style of basketball they’d like. Miami can play defense as well as any team in the league when they’re motivated but that’s hard to count on on a game in game out basis-at least until the playoffs begin.

Miami is clearly the better team in this matchup but given the size of this pointspread that’s far from being the most salient consideration in this handicap. The Heat have underachieved against the pointspread at home this season going 8-15 ATS despite a 19-4 SU record. That suggests that they ‘play down’ to their level of opposition on most nights and with Detroit getting a full 10 points here there are plenty of ways in which the Heat can win but not cover this game. This is Miami’s first game back after a road trip and are coming off a fairly high profile game in New York on Saturday night. Hard to see the Heat giving the Pistons their best shot which should allow Detroit to stay inside the number.

BET DETROIT PISTONS +10 OVER MIAMI HEAT

viagra price canada, is viagra prescription only, http://www.topbettingaction.com/can-you-take-azithromycin-while-breastfeeding/, viagra generic review