The point spread says 3.5 points, the NBA scores prediction computer says 1 point.
If that holds up, the Lakers will win the Battle of Los Angeles tonight in NBA action but the Clippers will send their backers home happy by covering the spread in a 96-95 final.
The Lakers will be out for revenge on Wednesday night against the Clippers, who knocked them off 102-94 when those teams last met on January 14, winning as a 3-point favorite on the NBA odds in that contest. The combined score turned into an OVER result.
Kobe's group are tops in the Odds Shark NBA power rankings this week, a controversial placement that stemmed mainly from strength-of-schedule weighting.
They are only middle of the NBA pack based on raw power - but their strength of schedule is the toughest in the league so far, vaulting them ahead of the surprising 76ers.
View LA Clippers vs LA Lakers Odds and Matchup Stats
Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Power Rankings at Odds Shark have the No. 18-rated Clippers taking on the No. 1-rated Lakers in this contest. Computer models indicate a possible 96-95 win for the Lakers on Wednesday.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Los Angeles's No. 20-ranked offense, averaging 92.3 PPG, against a Clippers defense that ranks No. 20 at 96.1 PPG. The Lakers field goal percentage has averaged 44.9% so far, less than the Clippers shooters have achieved on the year, 45.2% per game.
The Clippers were a 103-91 winner in their most recent outing at home against the Raptors. They covered the 8.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score (194) made winners of OVER bettors.
Mo Williams went off for 26 points and added 0 rebounds leading Los Angeles over Toronto, 103-91, on Sunday at STAPLES Center.
Los Angeles was a 98-96 loser in its last match at home against the Pacers. They failed to cover the 5-point spread as favorites, while the total score of 194 sent OVER bettors to the payout window.
Los Angeles got 33 points from Kobe Bryant en route to a 98-96 loss at the hands of Los Angeles on Sunday at STAPLES Center.
Los Angeles Clippers Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 4-6
Before playing Memphis are 5-5
After playing Toronto are 1-9
After a win are 5-5
Los Angeles Lakers Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
Before playing Milwaukee are 6-4
After playing Indiana are 6-4
After a loss are 4-6
A few Clippers vs Lakers trends to consider:
LA Clippers are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the LA Clippers last 7 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Clippers are 4-13 SU in their last 17 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Lakers are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games at home
The last time these teams met in the Super Bowl, it was a massive payday for bettors and sportsbooks got slaughtered.
It was Super XLII and New England's perfect season was intact against the New York Giants. But those nasty Giants, who had opened that year as 15-point underdogs before closing at +12 on the Super Bowl spread, had other plans.
A David Tyree hand-against-the-helmet catch, Plaxico Burress in the endzone and the Giants won outright. In Las Vegas, it was a bloodbath because many bettors had backed the Giants at +12 and they all won their bets.
It was worse because many big wagers came in on the moneyline for the Giants, meaning a 4/1 and 5/1 payout when they won the game straight up. Bettors who wagered $100 on the Giants to win at +450 profited $450. [ NFL Moneyline Explained ]
This time, the Giants and Patriots meet in Indianapolis and the point spread is just three points. New England failed to cover in the AFC title game (23-20 as 7-point chalk) and many experts believe they are in trouble here again vs the surging Big Blue.
"The Giants are now 5-0 ATS in their past 5 games as an underdog, and they won outright the past four times," said Mike Pickett, NFL handicapping expert at OddsShark.com.
"They have also covered the spread three straight against the Pats, winning twice as a double-digit underdog and they're 6-2 ATS against them since 1997."
Indeed the Giants have packed a mean bite as an underdog, as they are 7-2 ATS in nine games in that role. They are also 7-2 ATS in 9 games away from home (while the Super Bowl is a neutral-site match, it can be considered a road game for handicapping purposes.)
When it comes to Super Bowl odds, the recent trends have favored the NFC (5-2 ATS past 7) and the UNDER bet (5 of the past 6). And with a huge total of 55 at most sportsbooks tracked by Odds Shark, the UNDER will be heavily bet again this time.
If you trust unbiased computer rankings and score predictions, the Odds Shark computer is predicting a 36-25 final. Our handicappers disagree and believe a low-scoring game is at hand.
Check out the latest Super Bowl previews, trends and bonus specials.
Do you take the chance on an injured QB favored at home after getting burned by Mike Vick and the Eagles in the exact same situation?
Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys are favored by 3 against the visiting Washington Redskins, just like the Eagles were Sunday against the Giants. We all saw how that turned out as Vick got hurt again and the Eagles lost again.
With Dallas banged up, starting with Romo's ribs and continuing with Mile Austin's hamstring, Dez Bryant's thigh and Felix Jones's shoulder, +3 looks pretty tempting for Washington.
They are 2-0, have dominated the Cowboys lately (7-2 Against the spread) and have been a tough mark on the road (going 8-3-1 ATS past 12 road games). The Redskins are also 5-0 ATS their past five times as an underdog.
Contrast that with Dallas trends going in the opposite direction. They are a wallet-sucking 1-8-1 ATS in their past 10 matches as a favorite and just 3-9 ATS in its past 12 October games.
But while injuries make the point spread a tricky one - despite the Michael Vick life lesson bettors should have learned Sunday - the total also seems to be an intriguing play.
As a favorite, Dallas is 8-1 past 9 favoring the OVER. At home, Dallas is 9-0 past 9 favoring the OVER. And in October, again the OVER has dominated (13-3 past 16 October games).
With the number hovering near 44.5 and inching downwards because of the injury situation with Dallas skill players, perhaps the OVER is the best Monday Night Football play?
Check out all the lalest lines, full matchup reports on all your favorite Los Angeles and southern California teams at Odds Shark.
When your team is favored by 10 or more points, it's a pretty good indication that a superior team should easily win the game.
But in the case of the San Diego Chargers, being favored big has been no guarantee of winning at all, let alone covering the point spread.
Indeed the past nine times that oddsmakers made San Diego a double-digit favorite, they lost the game four times! It's an incredibly lame 5-4 SU, almost unheard of in wagering circles.
So as the Chargers sit as 15-point favorites against the injury-depleted Chiefs, are they a safe wager? Are they even safe to pick in your survivor pool?
"This situation is different with the Chiefs so battered and with the Chargers coming off a tough road loss," explains Mike Pickett of OddsShark.com. "It would be a real stretch to suggest they lose two in a row, with the back end being at home against a divisional foe."
And what about covering that huge spread?
"No comment on that one. I'm avoiding the spread on that game, in part because of San Diego's ugly recent past as big chalk."
It's the biggest spread on the board in a week which features a 15-0 streak, a 16-1 streak and many other seemingly sure-bet situations.
New England has won 15 in a row against the Bills and are big road favorites. The Lions have lost 16 of 17 trips to Minnesota but are still favored.
UCLA, USC both underdogs
The Bruins get as many as 5.5 points at Oregon State, depending on which book's lines you look at. UCLA opened as just 2.5-point road pups, but the wagering public obviously saw something in the Beavers that they liked.
USC is an underdog at Arizona State, but not by much (+2.5 at most shops tracked by OddsShark.com).
They have won 11 straight against the Sun Devils, who have bitten the Trojans ATS, going 4-2 ATS despite six recent losses.
Check out the Raiders trends (over is 6-1 past 7 Oakland home games) and other trends on every game and play for a share of $4,000 in cash prizes in the NFL Bankroll Contest. It's free to play.
LA's former team goes under the Monday Night Football spotlight with many reasons to bet against them as they visit the New York Giants.
Some reasons are written in stats while others are etched in logic. Whatever the case, plenty of fans are doubting the Rams can cover 7 points tonight at the Meadowlands in a battle of 0-1 teams.
Logic dictates that because the Rams gave up 236 rushing yards to Philly and since the Giants love to pound the run, Monday Night's Giants vs Rams battle will be a one-sided battle with New York easily covering the spread.
Logic isn't always so logical, however, if you scratch under the surface of the stats.
So before throwing your money on New York (it opened at -4.5 and was bet all the way to -7 by 'logical' bettors), check out the following myth-busting data.
"We haven't seen enough to know if the Rams run-stop is really all that bad and we haven't seen the Giants commit fully to the run, even though that's the way they are supposed to play," said Mike Pickett of OddsShark.com.
"The Giants abandoned the run in the second half of their loss at Washington."
The Rams lost 31-13 to the Eagles in Week 1 and true, LeSean McCoy ran for 122 yards and Michael Vick ran for 97. But 95 of McCoy's were churned up in the fourth quarter - part of the Eagle philosophy of building a lead with the pass then grinding a tired defense to death with the run late in games.
So if the Giants are unable to make early headway against the Rams defense, does this stat matter? Does anyone think Eli Manning is a similar threat to Vick and will duplicate those 97 rushing yards? Of course not.
Still, there are other reasons to doubt the Rams here, even if you discount the flawed running-game logic.
First, the Giants are 0-1 and hungry to not fall to 0-2, especially at home on national TV.
Second, the Rams have been road patsies, losing 18 of their past 21 trips away from home. They are also 1-5 ATS in their past 6 games overall and haven't won a road game in September since 2006. (They have played 10 UNDERs in their past 11 September road games for bettors who like that angle).
Third, the Giants have owned the Rams against the spread in recent years, going 5-0 ATS lately. They have also dominated all NFC West teams, to the tune of a 10-2 ATS run in 12 games.
Check out the latest NFL Monday Night odds and play the cool free Bankroll Contest for $1,000 in cash!
Raider Nation loves to support its team in Vegas as well as on the field, but it hasn't been a profitable show of loyalty in recent years.
But Week 2 could be different if a bunch of recent trends pointing at an Oakland cover at Buffalo hold true. [ It's also the start of a huge NFL contest, where contestants get $1,000 in credit and then are challenged to build the biggest bankroll over the next four weeks - it's free, check it out. ]
For the second straight week, the Raiders are road underdogs. This time, it's against a Bills team that looked awesome blasting the Chiefs 41-7 in KC. But the Bills? Are the Chiefs that bad?
The Bills give 3 points to Oakland and the Raiders have done very well against them. In the past six trips to Rich Stadium, Oakland is 5-1 ATS. Overall in the past 9, they are 7-2 ATS. [ Matchup Report ]
And hitting the road in September has been good news for Raider backers as they are 7-1 ATS in their past 8 matches in that situation.
If you are backing the Raiders, you're in the minority as 61% of voters at OddsShark.com are on the Bills.
11 Years in Making a 9-point spread
The last time Detroit was favored by nine points was Christmas Eve of 2000. They lay that number at home against the aforementioned Chiefs. It's not the biggest spread (Seattle gets 15 points at Pittsburgh), but it's an historic one in Detroit.
More Week 2 Trends & Picks - see full odds menu
Raiders +3 @ Bills -3 | Odds Shark Consensus as of Friday 61% on Bills
Raiders 7-2 ATS vs Bills since 1992
Raiders 5-1 ATS past 6 trips to Buffalo
Raiders 7-1 ATS past 8 September road games
Cowboys -3 @ 49ers +3 | Odds Shark Consensus as of Friday 71% on Cowboys
Cowboys are 7-1 ATS past 8 September road games
Past 5 meetings since 2000 all played OVER total
Cowboys 5-0 ATS past 5 games as underdog
Cowboys played 7 straight OVERs as underdog
Chargers +7 @ Patriots -7 | Odds Shark Consensus as of Friday 63% on Chargers
Patriots 6-1 SU past 7 at home vs San Diego
Chargers played 7 straight UNDERs vs AFC East teams
Patriots played 6 straight home OVERs
Chargers 9-2-1 ATS past 12 games as underdog
Texans +3 @ Dolphins -3 | Odds Shark Consensus as of Friday 69% on Texans
Miami has never beaten Houston (0-5 SU)
Texans 1-5 ATS past 6 road games
Bengals +3.5 @ Broncos -3.5 | Odds Shark Consensus as of Friday 61% on Bengals
Bengals 2-11 SU past 13 trips to Denver
Eagles -2.5 @ Falcons +2.5 | Odds Shark Consensus as of Friday 66% on Eagles
Eagles 10-1-1 ATS past 12 games vs Falcons
Falcons 2-8 SU past 10 as home underdog
Eagles 8-2 ATS past 10 as road favorite
Rams +6 @ Giants -6 | Monday Nighter | Odds Shark Consensus as of Friday 53% on Giants
Giants 5-0 ATS past 5 games vs Rams
Rams have lost 18 of past 21 road games SU
Same spread, same situation, different week.
The Raiders are 3-point road underdogs for the second straight week, travelling to face the Bills in Buffalo Sunday. Oakland upset the Broncos on Monday night behind a record-tying 63-yard field goal from Sebastien Janikowski.
They look to do the same to the Biills, who shocked the betting world last week by crushing the Chiefs 41-7 at Kansas City.
"Oddsmakers are terrified of this game because everybody doubts the Bills are for real but everyone doubts the Raiders can win two straight on the road," said Mike Pickett of odds aggregator OddsShark.com (who provide the live NFL odds comparisons here at LA Daily News).
Trends junkies know that the Raiders are a money-making 5-1 ATS in their past six trips to Buffalo, dating back to 1993. They are 7-2 ATS overall the past nine meetings.
However, the Bills are 8-2 ATS their past 10 games when favored by 4 or less points, which is where this number will likely end up, pending any suspensions or injuries late in the week.
As of Wednesday morning, less than 40 per cent of the voting bets were on the Raiders on the Odds Shark Consensus chart.
Week 1 Odds Recap
Five teams were road favorites in Week 1 - only two of them won, but both covered the spread.
The Eagles were one of those teams, easily burying the Rams as 4-point chalk and leaving the St. Louis roster in emotional and physical tatters. The other was the Patriots, who justified the early hype and status as early Super Bowl 46 favorites by running up nearly 630 yards in offense at Miami Monday Night.
For the week, underdogs had the edge, going 9-7 ATS. The home teams did well, winning 10 games. But it was the over under betting that proved the most lopsided trend and it ran counter to the traditional Week 1 handicapping theory of betting UNDER in season openers.
The logic is that destroying things is easier than creating things - hence, defense should have the early advantage over offense. The theory was shot to Hell with 12 of 16 games going OVER the closing totals.
"Maybe that theory doesn't hold up when you have so many talented QBs in the league," says Jack Randall, NFL analyst at OddsShark.com. "Maybe the days are over for predicting Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees to be held in check early in the season. They are just too good."
Or Ryan Fitzpatrick (4 TDs passes for the Bills over KC), Cam Newton (422 yards in a loss at Arizona) and countless other less-hyped pivots for that matter. The hype around QBs caused a wave of player props focused on QBs like Brady vs Philip Rivers, Michael Vick, even David Garrard and Dan Marino.
The biggest savior for sportsbooks in Week 1 was the Cowboys road cover at the Jets. Plenty of action was riding on New York and even though Tony Romo choked away the game, the 27-24 loss was still an ATS win for the Cowboys and good news for Vegas and international sportsbooks.
Week 2 opens with three double-digit favorites and the Colts humbled as home underdogs against Cleveland. The Steelers are the biggest chalk on the board, opening at 15 points (already being bet up) at some shops tracked by OddsShark.com.
The marquee battles are the Sunday night game in Atlanta where Michael Vick returns to Atlanta, the Patriots hosting the Chargers and Monday where the Rams visit the Giants in a battle of Week 1 losers.
See all the NFL line moves and current consensus action on every game at Odds Shark and play their free $4,000 Football Bankroll contest where you win big by picking NFL winners.
Odds Shark is the authority on odds, point spreads and other questions related to the numbers around sports wagering.
On its "About Us" page, Odds Shark says it "(has) been online doing sports matchups, odds comparisons and other sports-related functionality since 1997 ...providing stats, trends, analysis and picks before the Internet even took off, providing products via phone and (egad) fax-on-request services in 1994.
Recent Comments