Sports Handicapper ASA's Picks & Predictions

*TOP GAME in NBA Wednesday* ASAwins NBA play on UNDER 233.5 Philadelphia 76ers at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:10pm ET - The 76ers have some inflated offensive numbers based on a schedule filled with some of the league's worst defenses. That won’t be the case tonight against a Cavaliers team that ranks 5th in Defensive Efficiency at 111.7 points allowed per 100 possessions and give up the 9th fewest points per game at 113.9ppg. Philly is 2nd in Offensive Efficiency (1.230 PPP) and 12th in eFG% (56.4%), but again 3 of their seven games have come against some of the worst defenses in the NBA. The 76ers play at a deliberate pace (18th in pace at 100.3) while Cleveland is slightly above average (102.0), but the Cavs dictate tempo at home. UNDER is the play.

ASAwins NBA play on UNDER 231.5 Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics, 7:40pm ET - The Wizards have struggled to score in three straight games with 108, 94 and 102 points. Two of those three games came against teams very similar to the Celtics in terms of Defensive Efficiency. The Celtics have the 11th lowest DEFF in the NBA allowing just 1.136-points per possession and give up the 3rd fewest points per game at 109.6ppg. Boston must rely on their defense with an offense that is struggling to make shots at 43.3% (28th). The C’s have relied on their 3PT advantage in the past but other than Hauser, they just aren’t making shots from beyond the arc (29th - 31.2%). Washington is 20th in the league in overall FG% with the 29th rated Offensive Efficiency rating at 1.059PPP. Washington wants to play fast, but the Celtics are the slowest team in the league and will dictate tempo on their home court. In the four clashes last season the average total points scored between these two teams was 213. Bet Under.

ASAwins NBA play on UNDER 233.5 Brooklyn Nets at Indiana Pacers, 7:10pm ET - We don’t see many points being scored in this game in a battle between the 0-7 Nets and 1-6 Pacers. These two teams have struggled with their shooting as the Pacers are 30th in the NBA at 40.7% FG% overall and hit just 30.2% from Deep - also 30th. The Nets are slightly better at 44.6% as a team (19th) and make 32.4% of their 3PT attempts (24th). Understandably, the Pacers are last in the league in eFG%, the Nets are 23rd. You will also find both teams in the 6 of the league in Offensive Efficiency ratings.Brooklyn has been horrible defensively this season - last in Defensive Efficiency - but as we’ve stated the Pacers bad shooting won’t be able to exploit that weakness. Indiana is 15th in DEFF and will rely on their defense to keep them in this game. Brooklyn is 20th in pace so we know they’ll be content playing slow, the Pacers are 11th in pace, but plays considerably slower than last season. Last season the UNDER cashed in all four meetings between these two teams with no game resulting in more than 213 total points. UNDER is the call here.

#107/108 ASA PLAY ON Under 43 Points – Northern Illinois vs Toledo, Wednesday at 7 PM ET - Defense is the strength of both teams in this match up. Toledo’s defense isn’t discussed much but they are really good. They rank in the top 10 nationally in total defense, YPP allowed, rush defense, pass defense, and they rank 12th in scoring defense allowing just 16 PPG. NIU’s offense ranks outside the top 130 (out of 136 teams) in total offense, YPP, pass offense and scoring putting up only 13 PPG. They’ve been held to 14 points or less in 5 of their last 7 games and they haven’t topped 21 points the entire season. The Huskies have faced one top 10 defense this year (San Diego State) and they scored 3 points in that game. On the other side of the ball, NIU is very solid. They rank 39th nationally in YPP allowed and are giving up only 22 PPG. Only 2 teams have topped 25 points vs NIU this season and one was Mississippi State from the SEC. The Huskies have gone Under the total in 6 of their 8 games and their games have averaged just 35 total points this season. Neither team plays up tempo with NIU ranking 80th in seconds per play (127th in plays per game) and Toledo ranks 82nd in seconds per play. Both rely more on the run than the pass which eats clock. Last year these 2 met in NIU and the final score was 13-6 in favor of Toledo. The Rockets are 2 TD favorites here so we can see them getting ahead and running this one out. Possible windy conditions in Toledo on Wednesday night and we like the Under.