Doc’s Sports

3 unit Play. Take #854 Brown over Harvard (7p.m., Friday, February 22 ESPN+) This line tells me that Harvard may struggle in this game. This will be the third straight road game for Harvard and with Yale on deck this is a look ahead situation for them. The Bears need to sweep their home games this weekend in order to make the conference tournament next month.

4-Unit Play. #025/026. Take Under in Colorado vs Chicago (Friday, February 22 at 7:35 p.m.) We are going to side with the Under 7 in this spot as we believe both Colorado and Chicago played to the under on December 29th. Yes, I know, since then the Blackhawks are on a tear and seemingly play no defense as evident in their last 15 or so games. However, they are coming off an emotional win over Detroit and we believe they run into a bit of a lull tonight and simply won't be sharp. Their opponent, Colorado has played better of late as well, and a big reason for that is the goaltending play of Semyon Varlamov. Aside from the 7 goals they scored against Winnipeg (fluke), the Avs have played to the under 7 four times in their last 7 games with three pushes. We also like the fact that the head-to-head trends are on our side as the Under is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings in Chicago and 4-0-1 in the last 5 meetings overall. We will gladly take the under on the inflated number and enjoy a nice winner.

New Orleans has been held to 90 or fewer points in two of their last three games before the break. Now they face the best defensive team in the NBA, and we just don’t see this one as being a shootout. The Pacers are really upping their defensive intensity since Oladipo went down, and of course their offense misses his scoring. But this is still a very good team in our eyes, and the oddsmakers keep punishing the Pacers too much for the loss of their best player as we think there is value in this line. And the Pacers covered five of seven before the break. The under is 22-8 in Pacers home games this season, one of the strongest betting trends in the NBA this season and one the oddsmakers haven’t adjusted to because no one is betting unders. But we have been making lots of profits off this trend!

New Orleans has been held to 90 or fewer points in two of their last three games before the break. Now they face the best defensive team in the NBA, and we just don’t see this one as being a shootout. The Pacers are really upping their defensive intensity since Oladipo went down, and of course their offense misses his scoring. But this is still a very good team in our eyes, and the oddsmakers keep punishing the Pacers too much for the loss of their best player as we think there is value in this line. And the Pacers covered five of seven before the break. The under is 22-8 in Pacers home games this season, one of the strongest betting trends in the NBA this season and one the oddsmakers haven’t adjusted to because no one is betting unders. But we have been making lots of profits off this trend!

The Hornets are starting a homestand that will be very important to their playoff hopes. We think they start off with a strong win against a Wizards team that is going nowhere. The Hornets are on a three-game winning streak in this series at home. The home team is 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings. We think the Hornets are a much better team and they have all the motivation here on Friday.