2010 Winter Olympics Hockey Betting
Belarus vs. Sweden – Free Pick: Sweden
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This should be a mismatch. Yet, because the Swedes only won by two goals (2-0) vs. Germany, the line remains reasonably low, relatively speaking. Let’s not forget that the Swedes are the defending champs and that they returned 13 players from that team. Also, keep in mind that they have six players on their roster who have won the Stanley Cup.

On the other hand, Belarus doesn’t have much talent at all. The Belarusion team lost its opener by a score of 5-1 (vs. Finland) and it could have easily been worse.

Captain Ruslan Salei acknowledged as much. He was quoted as saying: “If we don’t have a goalie, we don’t have no chance. It’s tough to compete with their skill level and pretty much everything else. Obviously, we don’t have that horsepower that they have.”

Making matters worse for the Belarusions, they’re playing without NHL players, Andrei Kostitsyn and Mikhail Grabovski, both out with injuries.

The defending champs got off to a slow start vs. the Germans but eventually got it together. Goalie Henrik Lundqvuist noted: “At the beginning of the game, we were nervous and anxious. But we didn’t panic…”

I expect them to put together a full effort here, winning with relative ease. Consider Sweden

Chicago Bulls vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Free NBA Pick: Under 205.5 -110 NBA odds
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With Joakim Noah listed as doubtful, and with Tyrus Thomas and John Salmons being shipped out, I don’t expect the Bulls to be as sharp offensively tonight. Plus, the Under is 5-0 in the Bulls’ last 5 games as a road favorite. Minnesota has been an Unders machine at home this season. In fact, the Under is 21-9-1 in the Timberwolves’ last 31 home games. The Under has especially been prevalent when Minnesota has found itself in the home dog role. The Under is 12-3 in the Timberwolves’ last 15 games as a home underdog of 4.5 or fewer points and 23-8-1 in their last 32 games as a home underdog period. With Chicago likely having some chemistry issues tonight as it misses a couple key players, and with Minnesota looking to clamp down on the defensive end after head coach Kurt Rambis questioned his team’s effort, we look for this one to stay Under the number.

Below are free NBA Picks and basketball predictions for February 19th 2010 from Touthouse.com handicappers. If you are looking for free NBA basketball picks on a daily basis or premium picks from our NBA basketball betting experts visit Touthouse.com each day.

Free NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -6 (Tom Freese)
Golden St is 14-38 Staight up this year. Shooting guard Monta Ellis scores 26.2 points a game. Forward Corey Maggette scores 20.4 points a game. Point guard Stephen Curry scores 14.9 points a game. Guard Anthony Morrow scores 12.9 points a game and forward Anthony Randolph scores 11.6 points a game. The Warriors are 20-38 ATS off a home win and they are 16-29 ATS off a home win by over 10 points. Utah is 34-19 Straight Up this year. Power Forward Carlos Boozer scores 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds a game. Point Guard Derron Williams scores 18.5 points a game while dishing out 9.9 assists a game. Center Mehmet Okur scores 12.4 points a game. Andrei Kirilenko scores 12.3 points a game. Paul Millsap scores 11.6 points a game. Three other players score between 9.5 and 8.1 points a game. Utah scores 102 points a game. The Jazz are 8-0-1 ATS their last 9 games and they are 7-1 ATS when playing with one day of rest. PLAY ON UTAH

Free NBA Pick: Spurs vs. 76ers Under 192 (Jim Feist)
It’s not your imagination: The veteran Spurs have been turning up the defense of late, getting primed for the postseason as they always do. San Antonio is on a 6-1 run under the total. They take on a Philadelphia team that prefers a slower pace, one on a 12-5 run under the total. The 76ers are not premier offensive team, shooting 45 from the field — 19th in the NBA. These teams have already met and the Spurs won 97-89 in a game that sailed 10 points under the total. Don’t look for a lot of offense, play the Spurs/76ers Under the total.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Free NBA Pick: Philly +3.5 -110 odds
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Philadelphia did not get off to the second half start it hoped to as it was pounded at home against Miami on Tuesday by 27 points. That snapped a modest two-game home winning streak and while that streak seems meaningless, it was actually the first time all season that the Sixers had won two straight games at home this season, whether they were back-to-back or staggered with road games in-between, as was the case with that latest string. This is the eighth time this entire season that the Sixers have played back-to-back games at home with the first game resulting in a loss. They went 4-3 in those seven previous games including a win in the last instance against Dallas which followed a home loss against Portland two days prior. Philadelphia did have a five-game winning streak, easily the biggest of the season, before losing at Toronto right before the All-Star break and it is in need of getting that run going again. This is the final game before a four-game roadtrip so this one is definitely one that the Sixers both need and want before hitting the road. It may seem farfetched, but they are still thinking playoffs despite being 6.5 games back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. “Anything can happen,” Philadelphia head coach Eddie Jordan said. “Is 21-8 realistic? We have to really catch fire and carry momentum through. I’m not going to count anything out.” San Antonio won its first game after the break, a three point win at Indiana and the season-long roadtrip continues. This is the seventh straight road game for the Spurs and the second to last in this current annual trek that sends them packing due to the rodeo being in town. They are 4-2 through the first six games to move to a game over .500 on the road for the season but they are 2-4 against the number and that includes a 1-3 ATS mark as a road chalk and they are currently on a 1-5 ATS run in that spot. That embarrassing loss against Miami is something that the Sixers will rally around as getting pride back at home is huge. The loss also puts the Sixers into a great bounce back situation. Play on home teams that are coming off a loss by 15 points or more as a favorite and playing with two days rest. This situation is 26-5 ATS (83.9 percent) over the last five seasons with the average point differential being +10.1 ppg. Also, Philadelphia is 13-6 ATS in its last 19 games as a home underdog of fewer than five points while the Spurs are 1-5 ATS in their last six games as a road favorite of fewer than five points. The Sixers have done well in this series with covers in 15 of the last 18 meetings including all of the last five where the home team has won outright. 3* Philadelphia 76ers

Pittsburgh vs. Marquette
Free Pick: Marquette -6 -110 odds
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Marquette has stepped up to the level of their competition this year, going 11-4 ATS against teams with a winning record. They also play well against good defensive teams, going 40-23 ATS against teams who allow less than 64 ppg in the second half of the past 13 seasons.

The Golden Eagles are looking to impress the NCAA Tournament committee and they can do so tonight with a win over a ranked opponent in Pittsburgh. The Panthers are just 5-5 on the road this year and are coming off a big home win over West Virginia. This is also a possible look ahead spot to Villanova on Saturday. Marquette on the other hand has three road games coming up and knows they have to win here tonight, so lay the points.

California vs. Oregon State
Free Pick: Under 130 -110 odds
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California appears to be the best the Pac-10 has to offer this season. The conference does not have a top 25 team, and the talent level is down as low as ever. The Beavers are a Princeton-style offense that doesn’t score much, and shortens games. The Beavers are averaging just 53.4 points per game in their last eight games and consequently, have rang the UNDER bell in their last seven in Pac-10 play. Cal has displayed the ability to score, but this will be a frustrating game for them as they managed just 65 at home vs. the Beavers earlier, and the home team does a better job at controlling tempo. The Beavers have played 18 of their last 24 vs. Pac-10 competition to the UNDER. I’ll go with this one to stay UNDER the total.

New Orleans vs. UL Monroe
Free Pick: New Orleans +11 -110 odds
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I know that New Orleans has lost 7 straight games, but with their struggles comes some serious line value that is too good to pass up tonight. LA-Monroe has no business being favored by 11 points in this game. First off, LA-Monroe has only 11 wins this season, and just 3 of those wins have come by more than 11 points. Those victories came against the likes of Alcorn State, Harding and Southwest, three teams that are not even in Division-1 basketball and there wasn’t even a line set on any of those 3 contests because of it. So they have yet to beat a D-1 opponent by this margin, and New Orleans isn’t going to fall by this margin tonight. They’ll be looking for some payback tonight following a 47-48 home loss to LA-Monroe in their first meeting. Looking back to 2008, I find that the last 4 meetings in this head-to-head series have all been decided by 6 points or less. Expect more of the same tonight. Cash in with New Orleans as the underdog.

Syracuse vs. Georgetown
Free Pick: Syracuse +2 -110 odds
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I like the Orange in this game. They have already pounded GT at home by a score of 73-56, and while on the road, they are 8-1 ATS their last 9. I like them even better coming off a big loss where they dropped their guard against a so/so Louisville team and will be focused against their rival, a team they know they can beat.

One thing about GT, they have beaten Nova and Duke at home this season, but if you look deep into their stats, in their last 5 games they are allowing 12 ppg on defense over their season average. Against a good defensive team like Syracuse, who likes to slow it, play disciplined basketball, it takes GT out of their rhythm on offense. Syracuse is GREAT cover team going 24-9 ATS their last 33 games, and 15-6 ATS their last 21 Big East Games. They only have 2 losses on the season for a reason, they play good in big time games, none bigger than this.

Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
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Two of the NBA franchises with the deepest roots do battle at the Staples Center on Thursday night in the second half of the TNT Thursday night double dip. The Boston Celtics (33-18, 19-31-1 ATS) and Los Angeles Lakers (42-13, 25-28-2 ATS) are both coming off of SU victories that yielded ATS defeats. The C’s just narrowly knocked off Sacramento in the first game of a four-game roadie to start the second half of the season. LA, without G Kobe Bryant in the lineup, took out Golden State by ten as 13.5-point choices.

If the Celtics are going to get their groove back, they’re going to have to pick it up offensively. They’ve only broken 100-points once since January 13th. In six of those games, they didn’t even make it to 90. It’s not often that a team that is contending for a championship ranks 18th in the NBA in scoring, but that’s where Boston finds itself. F Kevin Garnett has been a big part of the problem. He has only scored a total of 16 points in his L/2 games and hasn’t dropped 20 on any foe since December 18th. That game also saw him post his last double-double.

Give the Lakers credit for playing so well without Kobe in the starting five. The defense has been paramount in that effort. Since giving up a whopping 126 to Denver on February 5th, HC Phil Jackson’s team has only allowed an average of 86.5 points per game. G Shannon Brown has been clutch in the starting role, especially on Tuesday when he dropped 27 points on the Warriors to go with his ten boards. If Boston is having thoughts about shooting three pointers to beat the Lakers, it had better think twice. LA is only allowing opposing teams to convert on 31.7% of their long-range efforts, the best mark in the NBA.

Since the final game of the 2008 NBA Finals, the Celtics have gone 0-3 SU and 0-2-1 ATS in their L/3 tries against Los Angeles. The Lakers already have to be full of confidence after beating the Celtics 90-89 at Boston Garden on January 31st. Boston is just 3-12-1 ATS in its L/16 games overall.

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Denver Nuggets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
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The beasts of the East tangle with one of the best in the West on Thursday night when the Denver Nuggets (35-18, 24-26-3 ATS) meet up with the Cleveland Cavaliers (43-11, 28-25-1 ATS). The Nuggets had to be happy to have the All-Star Break show up, as they were just treading water, alternating wins and losses in their L/6 games overall. Cleveland is the exact opposite story. The Cavs have won 13 straight games and are 7-2 against the basketball betting lines in their L/9.

The biggest news out of Denver over these last few days is that HC George Karl is battling cancer and will have to take a leave of absence from the team. This is just the latest in a string of bad luck for the Nuggs, who just got back F Carmelo Anthony from an ankle injury just before the break. F Kenyon Martin, the team’s leading rebounder, is listed as questionable with a knee injury. If Martin can’t go, that’s going to put a ton of pressure on Denver’s guards to push the tempo of this game as high as it can go. Otherwise, the bigs for the Cavs are going to dominate the paint.

And then there’s F LeBron James. “The King” continues to be in a league all by himself, as he is scoring 29.9 points, bringing in 7.1 rebounds and dishing out 8.5 assists on a nightly basis. He’s a legitimate triple-double threat every single night, and he’s the biggest reason that the Cavs are on such a roll. What makes this streak all the more impressive is that Cleveland is doing this without its second leading scorer, G Mo Williams, who has missed the L/11 games with a shoulder injury.

The Cavs haven’t lost many times this season, but one of those losses came at Denver back on January 8th. The Nuggets played that day without Anthony in the lineup, but they did get 20 points out of C Nene and 19 from G Chauncey Billups. Denver’s last visit to “The Q” wasn’t exactly a pretty one, as it lost 110-99 back in November 2008.

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