TORONTO at ATLANTA
(Bet Pro Sports Line: Hawks -9.5, Total 183) — Andrea Bargnani is out again for Toronto, and now that outstanding point guard Jose Calderon (4.5-to-1) is out too, it leaves little hope for offense on the part of the Raptors. here is the disclaimer: that didn’t prevent them from defeating the Boston Celtics the other night, although another effort where they shoot less than 35% and score 84 points will likely not get it done against the Atlanta Hawks, who have covered six of their last seven games and have this game as the first half of a home-and-home as they go to Toronto tomorrow night. Will they save something in the tank, or will they take advantage of the absence of the two Raptor stars? These teams are trending in different directions from the standpoint of totals, as Atlanta has played six “overs” in their last seven, while Toronto has gone “under” in seven of eight. Note that when Toronto was missing Bargnani previously, they shot 37% and lost a 100-77 decision.

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: ATLANTA -9.5 ***

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

PORTLAND at MILWAUKEE
(Bet Pro Sports Line: Bucks -5 , Total 206) — Portland won a thriller with no time left against Dallas last night, so the Blazers are a team that may be in danger of having a letdown. In the second of back-to-back nights they have not been stellar (8-10 ATS), but if you’re a trend player, you know that the Bucks have been even worse (6-12 ATS). And Milwaukee, which had been on a string where they shot 50% or better in four of five games, had a harder time than expected against Charlotte last night, hitting just 41% and taking it on the chin on the glass. One must expect that Portland is seeking a little revenge for a very embarrassing evening they suffered at the Rose Garden back on March 20, when they shot only 35% while Milwaukee ran wild with eleven three-pointers in a 116-87 win. that was only the second loss the Blazers have suffered to Milwaukee in the last ten meetings. We do respect the fact that the Bucks have won five of their last six games, but at the same time we duly note that having a couple of “shoot first, pass later” guys like Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis in the backcourt can’t possibly be a winning formula in the long run.

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: PORTLAND +5 **

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

MINNESOTA at SAN ANTONIO
(Bet Pro Sports Line: Spurs -9.5, Total 208.5) — The T-Wolves had to take to the road without rookie Ricky Rubio, who tore his ACL and is out for the year. They have gone 2-4 SU without him, but they are kind of lucky that they have a veteran like Luke Ridnour to step in. Ridnour has piled up 55 assists in the six games since taking over the point full-time. Another guy who has assumed a take-charge role recently is center Nikola Pekovic, who had 20 points or more for five straight games until injuring his ankle. He’s expected to miss this game. Darko Milicic is not an answer; he’s been pulling a lot of DNP’s. The possible absence of Michael Beasley, who’s got a toe injury, further clouds things. After losing nineteen games in a row in the series, the T-Wolves have won both meetings against San Antonio this season; the first time they hit a load of threes (12, in fact) and got 24 points and 15 rebounds from Kevin Love. The second time around, Love was held to six field goals but had 16 boards. Against a short-handed bunch, this could be a revenge special for the home team, which has won three of its last four and has had three days off coming into this one (important for a veteran squad).

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: SAN ANTONIO -9.5 **

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

ATLANTA at L.A. CLIPPERS
(Line: Clippers -7 , Total 184.5) — Atlanta has weathered the storm of being without either of its All-Star performers, as Joe Johnson has returned to a lineup that will be missing center Al Horford for the rest of the season. While Atlanta has indeed lost three of its last four on this extended road trip, the Hawks have been one of the league’s better pointspread teams over the last couple of weeks, going 6-1 against the number in their last seven. Obviously Larry Drew deserves a lot of credit for helping to keep things together. Meanwhile, the Clippers came off a long road trip with consecutive losses at the Staples Center to Golden State and Boston, and despite a +53 rebound margin over opponents in the last six games, they have been slipping in the standings. And laying points, they have been a disaster; in fact, the Clips have dropped their last eight as a favorite, after starting out so well in that department.

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: ATLANTA +7 ***

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

MILWAUKEE at NEW JERSEY
(Bet Pro Sports - Line: Bucks -2, Total 195.5) — Milwaukee has really hit the skids lately, as the Bucks have not only lost four games in a row, but they have also gone just 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine games. In only two of those nine games have they shot better than 42%. So why are they a favorite here AT New Jersey? Well, because the Nets have lost eight of their last nine games, emerging victorious yesterday only because Chicago was caught sleeping. The interesting thing here is that the Nets have not had an advantage on the boards over an opponent in any of the last nine contests. That would seem to indicate that the Jersey Boys aren’t as equipped as some teams to exploit Milwaukee’s loss of Andrew Bogut, which they had apparently been able to cover for, until lately. Can we point to any technical trends here? Well, oddly, the Bucks have been incredibly efficient against opponents from the Atlantic Division, covering 30 of the last 37.

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: MILWAUKEE -2 *

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

NEW JERSEY at CHICAGO
(Bet Pro Sports - Line: Bulls -12, Total 189.5) — The Nets have not been a tough “out” for the Bulls, who have beaten them by margins of 15 and 21 points. Derrick Rose, as you know, has been missing from the lineup, but the interesting thing is that the Bulls have done pretty well without him; the latest was a win over a Boston crew that came back from a big deficit, only to be turned back in the end. None of this should be a huge mystery; Rose is someone who dominates the ball, and without him the Bulls become, in a way, more difficult to defend, because there is more balance and ball movement. The Net shave been burning holes in their backers’ pockets, dropping the last six against the spread. At this point, because of injuries (namely to star center Brook Lopez) and poor play, things don’t seem to be working out in new Jersey the way it was supposed to.

JAY’S PLAY: CHICAGO -12 *

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

MIAMI at ATLANTA
(Line - Bet Pro Sports: Heat -4, Total 189.5) — There’s no Al Horford around for the Hawks, and that kind of evens things up as far as play in the paint is concerned. The Hawks and Heat have split two meetings this season, each winning on the other’s home floor. The Hawks are desperate enough in the middle to reach out and sign aging Erick Dampier, who played with the Heat last year. After really picking the pace up from last year, the Heat has gotten back to a slightly slower style of play in recent games, and that, coupled with some improved defense, has accounted for eight unders in the last twelve. The Hawks have played ten unders in the last 15 as they have not had the opportunity at as many easy baskets.

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: UNDER 189.5 **

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

PORTLAND at NEW ORLEANS
(Bet Pro Sports Line: Blazers -7.5, Total 180) — We don’t really know what to tell you at this time about the New Orleans Hornets, who so non-offensive that it literally IS offensive. This is a team that can’t even crack 30% from three-point range, and have not been able to recover from guys being banged up, whether it has been Eric Gordon, who came over from the Clipper sin the Chris Paul deal, Jason Smith or Carl Landry. Now we get word that Jarrett Jack is going to miss this game with his sore left knee. The streak now is seven straight defeats, both straight-up and against the number, coming off a 67-point performance against Chicago. We would not argue that Portland is not nearly as proficient on the road (3-9 ATS) as it is at home, but the Blazers will unquestionably have their antennae up after two straight very unsatisfying results at the Rose garden - the loss to Oklahoma City where they got victimized by a bad call (which the NBA admitted to) and the loss on Wednesday to the Houston Rockets, where they were probably still thinking about it.

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: PORTLAND -7.5 **

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

CHICAGO at NEW ORLEANS
(Bet Pro Sports Line: Bulls -10, Total 181) — Wow - this is along and grueling road trip for the Bulls. They have lost to a couple of the East’s leading contenders (Miami and Philadelphia) but beaten everyone else, and the last two have been laughers (against Milwaukee and New Jersey). Now, with a day off, and with three straight shooting performances above 50% behind them, they pull into the Crescent City against the Hornets, who have now lost 15 of 16, with six straight pointspread defeats, five of which have come by eight points or more, and plenty of injury problems. With Eric Gordon, Jason Smith and Carl Landry out of action, and Jarrett Jack listed questionable, these guys are really short on warm bodies. It’s hard to work up any enthusiasm for them in this situation.

JAY’S BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: CHICAGO -10 **

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)

CHICAGO at MILWAUKEE
(Line: Bulls -5.5, Total 186.5) — The Bucks slipped against Detroit a coupe of nights ago, which may have been suspected as this team was just coming off its victory over the Miami Heat. But you have to take note of this team’s five consecutive pointspread wins going into that game with the Pistons, not to mention the fact that they have shown a surprising ability to score points even without Andrew Bogut in the lineup; witness six overs in their last seven games. Can Milwaukee, which shot just 35% against Detroit, cure that a little against the Bulls, who have the potential to be one of the roughest defensive teams to play against?

Take note that Chicago has covered four of the last five meetings, and that Milwaukee has had a difficult time when playing the back end of back-to-back games, going 1-6 ATS in those situations. And the Bulls might get a boost with the return of Luol Deng, who has been out with a wrist injury and is listed as a game-time decision.

BET PRO SPORTS PLAY: CHICAGO -5.5 *

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)