Play - Minnesota Timberwolves (Game 809)
Edges - Timberwolves: 13-2 ATS in this series.  Nets:  1-6 ATS off SU win this season; and 2-5 ATS vs. opp off SU and ATS loss this season.

814 4Star Boston

Ny is 0-8 outright as an underdog this season, while dropping 5 of 6 in back-to-back settings. They have not won in Boston since 2006.

Stan’s plays are rated 3-5 stars, with 10 star releases reserved for Game of the Month or Game of the Year type selections. 4 star grades and up are considered “Best Bets”. Please adjust your bankroll accordingly.

New York has been through a rough and tumultuous season; the Knicks come into tonight’s game at just 8-14. Many believe head coach Mike D’Antoni is hanging on by a thread and that it is only a matter of time before he gets fired. The Knicks lost again last night as the Bulls went into New York and came out with a 105-102 win. That was the first game of a 3 games in 3 nights set for the Knicks as they play this game in Boston tonight and then return home for a game against the Nets tomorrow. This is a terrible scheduling spot, especially for a team that is struggling. New York is just 4-7 on the road this season with all 7 of their road losses coming by 10 points or more which makes them 0-7 ATS versus tonight’s posted line.

Boston opened this season with a 106-104 loss in New York. The Celtics blew an 8-point fourth quarter lead in that game, and they’ve been waiting to get the Knicks back for that game. Boston has played well since losing Rajon Rondo eight games ago; the Celtics are 6-2 in those games winning by an average of 14 points per game. Their defense has been outstanding as they’ve held all eight of those opponents to 94 points or less and to an average of just 80 points per game. Five of the Knicks’ eight wins this season have come when they’ve scored more than 100 points and seven of their eight wins have come when they’ve scored 91 points or more. Boston’s defense is playing too good right now so we expect their stop unit to dictate this game en route to a solid home win tonight.

9* Play CELTICS (-).

Los Angeles is finally playing all-around good basketball right now. The Lakers have won back-to-back games after going just 2-5 over their previous 7 games. The offense has finally come together as the Lakers have scored 106 points in each of their last two games. We expect their offense to continue their scoring ways tonight in Denver as the Lakers will be facing a Denver team that likes to play at a fast pace with little regard to defense. Los Angeles will also be fresh for tonight’s game as they’ve had a full two days to prepare; this is also just their second game over the last five days.

Denver came through for us last night with their easy 112-91 win over the Clippers in Los Angeles. But the Nuggets were in a terrific scheduling spot for that game as they were catching the Clippers on a tough back-to-back set. Denver is the team now playing on back-to-back nights against a rested opponent. This is also the second game of a 3 games in 3 nights set for Denver as they travel to take on the Blazers in Portland tomorrow night. The Nuggets shot the lights out last night as they hit 53.4% (39-73) from the field and 57.1% (12-21) from three-point land; they also nailed 22 of their 25 free throws. The Lakers’ defense has played well against the Nuggets recently as they’ve held them to less than 100 points in the last four meetings. With Los Angeles rested and ready, we’ll take the points with the road underdog in this game tonight.

10* Play LAKERS (+).

It was a promising start to the season for Oklahoma which started out 10-2 in non-conference action but it has been a struggle since the Big XII got going. The Sooners are 3-6 in the conference but to their credit, the losses have come against some steep competition as they have lost to Kansas twice, Missouri, Baylor as well as tough road games at Oklahoma St. and Texas A&M. Oklahoma is coming off two road games including a 22-point thumping at Kansas so a return home here is big.

We had what looked to be a winning ticket in hand with Kansas St. on Tuesday as the Wildcats built a 14-point lead over Iowa St. only to watch it dwindle and eventually lose it when the Cyclones hit the winning shot with just 1.8 seconds remaining. It was the second straight huge home win for Iowa St. as the first came against Kansas last Saturday and that spells major letdown. The Cyclones have exceeded expectations this season but they find themselves in a very difficult spot here.

The Sooners have been solid at home this season with a 9-2 record, losing only to Baylor and Kansas. As mentioned, they have played some very tough teams and six of the first nine games came against ranked competition but the good news going forward is that they can make a late run as only two of the Sooners' final nine conference games are against teams currently ranked in the top 25. This is certainly no easy game here but it sets up well situationally for both sides.

Iowa St. is a dangerous three-point shooting team as it leads the conference in three-pointers made with 8.6 per game. Oklahoma boasts a solid perimeter defense though as it is allowing opponents to shoot just 32.7 percent from long range including 29.4 percent at home. Limiting the long range shots could be the difference here. The Sooners have won five straight meetings in the series and nine of the last 11 as well as taking seven straight in Norman. 9* (610) Oklahoma Sooners

I've had this game circled for a while and we got the wish of Middle Tennessee St. coming into this contest undefeated in the Sun Belt Conference. The Blue Raiders are off to an incredible start at 21-3 including a perfect 10-0 in the SBC which sets up a great spot for Denver on Saturday. Middle Tennessee had won 12 straight games before going into Vanderbilt and losing last Saturday. It bounced back with a win at North Texas on Thursday but it was a narrow two-point victory.

Denver fell to 6-4 in the conference with an overtime loss at Louisiana on Thursday and while that would normally lead to a possible letdown in the next game, that will not be the case here. The Pioneers have played four of their last five games on the road, two of which resulted in one point overtime losses, so the schedule has been a difficult one of late. Denver is 10-2 at home this season with a loss in overtime against Iona and a loss against West Division leader Arkansas-Little Rock.

The Pioneers are off to their best start in nearly 70 years and they have been solid in many aspects. Denver is fifth in the nation in free throw percentage at 77.5 percent, 12th in three-point field goal percentage at 40.3 percent, 20th in field goal percentage at 48.3 percent, 17th in three-pointers per game with 8.5 per game, 21st in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.28 and 24th in assists at 15.9 apg. Middle Tennessee does have edges in some of those numbers but not many and not by much.

This is one of the best home courts in the country over the past few years and the game was switched to 4:00 ET to accommodate an ESPN2 broadcast. It marks the first time ESPN2 will ever broadcast a basketball game from Magness Arena and this is just the second time Denver has ever appeared on an ESPN network. That makes this a very big home game for the Pioneers which are 4-0 ATS in their last four home games against teams with a winning road record. 9* (614) Denver Pioneers