Doc’s Sports

Even with the troubles this Houston team has gone through so far this season, this is still a better team than the Bulls, and we think the Rockets have their best chance for success this season by getting rid of Harden as he was holding the team back. Of course they will miss his talent, but this is still a capable team, and we think they are underrated by the oddsmakers right now. We think this will be a close game but that Houston will pull away in the fourth quarter.

Dallas has gone under in four straight games. The league as a whole is trending to some lower scoring games and the bookies have been late to adjust. We think this is another total that is too high. Toronto struggled to start the season defensively, but they have been much better of late. Dallas hasn’t done much great offensively lately, and we don’t see them having a breakout game on the offensive end tonight. The under is 9-4 in the last 13 meetings, and we see that trend continuing on Monday.

Both of these teams have been strong to the under this season, and they have a combined 15-8 record for the under. We think this total has once again been inflated. The Suns play at one of the slowest paces in the NBA with Chris Paul running the show. These are two Top 7 defenses and neither offense lights up the scoreboard on a regular basis. We will take advantage of this high total as we think this one could come in under 210.

We think the wrong team is favored here. We had the Blazers as a slight favorite in this matchup, and we expect them to win a close one. The points are just the icing on the cake here. Both teams are dealing with some injury issues, but we think the Blazers will be fine. They are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings in this series, and we think they match up well again here in this game.

Atlanta was hot to start off the season and their hot start culminated with a win over Brooklyn on New Year’s Day. But then things went downhill, and they have lost six of their last seven. But they have had a pretty difficult schedule, and we think this is a Get Right game for them and one they should use to turn the momentum around. We think there’s a great chance for a double digit win here by the home team.

3-Unit Play. No. 54. Take Calgary -145 over Vancouver (Monday at 9 pm)

As per your selection on Calgary, we had a feeling Markstrom would come out focused wanting to beat his old club. The Flames won that contest 3-0 and we expect more of the same in this game. The Flames are the better defensive team and we just don't trust Holtby in net for Vancouver. Calgary has won 12 of the last 16 games when hosting Vancouver and are 8-2 in their last 10 games as a favorite.

3-Unit Play. No.56. Take Anaheim +115 over Minnesota (Monday at 9 pm)

As per your selection on Anaheim, they have a little bit to build off from their last game as they took Vegas to OT and secured a point. They played much better that game than they did in the first meeting with Vegas, so we see them coming home and performing well. As for the Wild, they beat the Kings twice including a 3-1 comeback in the second game. We see a little bit of a flat spot here for them against a team they may very well take lightly. The Ducks are 17-8 against the Wild in the last 25 meetings.

3-Unit Play. No.48. Take St.Louis -180 over San Jose (Monday at 8 pm)

As per your selection on St. Louis, this will be their home opener after splitting a pair against Colorado. The Blues lost the second game 8-0 and we expect a major bounce-back performance from them here today. On paper, the Blues are a much better and more complete team than the Sharks and we see them dominating this game. The Sharks split two games in the desert against Arizona but were lucky to grab a win in the first game. The Sharks are 3-9 in their last 12 while playing on 1 days rest, 1-6 in their last 7 road games. And 1-5 in their last 6 trips to St. Louis.

4 Unit Play. Take #879 Kansas over Baylor (9p.m., Monday, January 18 ESPN2) We have used Kansas in this spot over the years and had success and will do it again on Monday. The talent may favor Baylor in this game, but Scott Drew seems to have issues winning the Big 12 and this year may be no different. The underdog is 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings between Kansas and Baylor. The road team is 23-8 ATS (1 push) in the last 32 meetings as well.