NBA Betting Preview: Philadelphia 76ers vs. New Orleans Hornets

Philadelphia 76ers at New Orleans Hornets
Wednesday, 1/4/12, 8:00 PM EST, TV: CST
Opening Point Spread: Philadelphia -3.5
Current Betting Line: Philadelphia -5
Opening Total: 182
Current Total: 182
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

The Philadelphia 76ers will close out their season-opening five-game road trip Wednesday night

Philadelphia will close out its five-game road trip to start the 2011-12 season tonight, coming off a 107-79 victory over the Golden State Warriors as two-point favorites. The 76ers have been very impressive shooting the ball in the early going, making 48.3 percent of their shots, including 43.5 percent from the three-point area. The team has won three of the past four meetings in this series after dropping four straight. Both squads have scored below 100 points in seven of the past nine games in the series. Philadelphia is 3-5 ATS when playing with three or more days of rest the past two-plus seasons.

The Sixers were 6-9 on the road against Western Conference opponents a year ago, as they’ve split the first four such contests this season. Philadelphia is averaging 103.0 points per game this season and have not scored below 99 points. That’s an important number when the team tallied a 27-14 mark when hitting or going over the century mark last season. Lou Williams is leading the squad offensively, scoring 20-plus points in three of four games this season.

New Orleans will look to snap a three-game losing streak in tonight’s contest, coming off a hard-fought 94-90 defeat to the Utah Jazz that closed out a two-game road trip. The Hornets have been hurt by injuries early on, as guard Eric Gordon has missed the last four games and small forward Trevor Ariza is day-to-day with a groin injury. “Losing Trevor, not having Eric has been tough,” stated Hornets head coach Monty Williams. He has tallied a 1-1 record all-time against tonight’s opponent. New Orleans is 10-5 ATS after three or more consecutive losses.

The Hornets have really struggled offensively in the early portion of the 2011-12 season, shooting just 41.4 percent from the floor overall, including just 17.9 percent from beyond the arc. Point guard Jarrett Jack will need to play at a high level in order to pull off a slight upset at home, averaging 16.5 points and 8.0 assists per game. It’s still important to note that the franchise has won seven of the last 10 games in this series when hosting.