Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs
Wednesday, 1/4/12, 8:30 PM EST, TV: FSSW
Opening Point Spread: San Antonio -8
Current Betting Line: San Antonio -7.5
Opening Total: 191
Current Total: 193
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Golden State has dropped and failed to cover its last two contests, while going ‘under’ the total in all five games this season. The Warriors have lost 26 consecutive road games in this series, getting outscored by 17.8 points on average. First-year head coach Mark Jackson just watched his squad dropped its 13th straight game against the Phoenix Suns inside US Airways Center. “I understand this process, but this is a 66-game season and we need to speed up the process,” Jackson commented about his team’s growing pains early on this year. Golden State is 19-12 ATS in January the last two-plus seasons.
The Warriors are in the midst of a three-game road trip that immediately followed a four-game homestand. Golden State was 26-15 at home during the 2010-11 season, while going 10-31 on the road. Jackson has tinkered with the starting lineup in his first season on the sidelines, using four different lineups in the first five games. Shooting guard Monta Ellis made a nice return from missing a game due to a death in the family, scoring 18 points and dishing off a season-high 11 assists.
San Antonio has alternated wins and losses over its last four games, coming off a 106-96 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves as five-point road favorites. The Spurs suffered an even bigger loss in that particular contest with Manu Ginobili fracturing the fifth metacarpal on his shooting hand, as he’s expected to be out awhile. “It’s going to be tough for us because he was playing at an All-Star level,” stated Spurs guard Tony Parker. He will need to pick up his production, averaging 13.2 points in 29.2 points per game this season. San Antonio is 19-15 ATS off an upset loss as a favorite.
The Spurs are also hoping that center DeJuan Blair can continue his recent scoring spree, netting over 20 points in two of the past five games this season. He posted just three such games a year ago. San Antonio definitely has a younger roster than year’s past, possessing seven of 13 players that have less than three years of NBA experience. Veteran Tim Duncan is playing limited minutes to start off the year, scoring 10.4 points per game in averaging just 23.4 minutes of floor time per night.
Bettors will likely back the Warriors due to their 4-1 ATS mark following a straight-up loss of more than 10 points, while the Spurs are 3-10-1 ATS versus Western Conference opponents.
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