Doc’s Sports

Some teams feel they really will need to turn it on after the break. Golden State is not one of those teams, in our opinion. This team doesn’t care about the regular season, and they can give half effort and still win. In our opinion this is a Top 3 team in NBA history, But that doesn’t mean they are a good bet. They are the fourth-worst betting team this season. They have covered only one of their last seven overall. Sacramento has covered in three straight meetings and in six of the last eight, and we see this as another inflated line on Thursday.

Boston has been a big underachiever this season. But for some reason we still think this team is going to be the top dog in the East when all is said and done. We think at this point after the All-Star Break is when they will come on strong and get in playoff mode. If the Celtics were a stock we would buy right now. This is a very talented roster and the best coach in the NBA, and they will find a way to have success. We loved what we saw from this team before the break, and we think they will compete with a chance to win this one tonight.

These are two of the worst teams in the NBA. But we think the Suns have a brighter future with some talented youngsters, and we think they are a team that will want to have a strong finish to the season and build momentum for next season while the Cavs are tanking and their future just isn’t as bright. We think the Suns are a slightly better team and we think this line is more than fair as we had them at -2.5 and we think they will get the road win here.

We think after the All-Star break that the best teams in the East will really start to flex their muscles. Philly is rested and even though Embiid is out here this team still has a stacked lineup. They are rested so there should be no problems with the rotation, and this Sixers team is almost unbeatable at home. We think the bookies are penalizing this team too much for Embiid with this line, and we think this one has a decent chance to be a double-digit win.

7-Unit Play. #08. Take Florida vs Carolina (Thursday, February 21 at 7:05 p.m.) After our fourth straight win last night courtesy of Boston, I think the short write-ups might be here to stay. Let's make it five in a row tonight as we back Florida to get the job done vs Carolina. Look, Florida is playing some good hockey of late, winners of three straight more. What's more important than that is they are playing good defensive hockey and their top players like Barkov and Huberdeau are just playing out of their mind right now. They absolutely dominated in their last game and now get to face a Carolina team that is mediocre away from home. The Panthers have won 5 of the last 6 meetings in Florida and are 5-1 in their last 6 games playing on 1 day's rest and 7-2 in their last 9 games as an underdog. As the season gets closer to crunch time, it's imperative we ride the teams in good form and Florida fits the bill.

3 Unit Play. Take #622 Texas State over ULM (8p.m., Thursday, February 21) The Bobcats sit atop the standing in the Sun Belt Conference and will enter this game having won 4 straight conference games. ULM has lost 4 of their last 6 games and they are in the middle of a 3-game road trip. The favorite is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.