Thursday, February 11, 2010
By Roz Juarbe

With the All Star game this weekend, teams can't wait to get a break with this long season at the official halfway point. Notice that some teams have been coasting defensively of late. Golden State is on a 5-3 run over the total, and just hung 132 on the Clippers. Stephen Curry had 36 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as Monte Ellis missed his third game of the season, this time with a sprained left knee. In those three games, Curry is averaging 29.3 points, seven assists and eight rebounds.

Curry is the sixth rookie in NBA history to record a 35-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist game, joining Elgin Baylor, Jason Kidd, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. Does that mean Ellis is on the trading block? Golden State suited up only eight players Wednesday and played without leading scorers Ellis and Corey Maggette.

The Warriors shot 62 percent from the floor, played against an apathetic Clippers team that has lost eight of its past nine. Remember that LA is on its second coach in Kim Hughes and the players aren't responding. Guard Baron Davis made only one of 12 shots for the Clippers, who played mostly reserves in the fourth quarter after falling behind by as many as 38 points. Forward Al Thornton scored a team-high 18 points off the bench.

"I don't know how to explain it," guard Eric Gordon said. "We just didn't come to play at all." ...No kidding! The Clippers are on a 1-7 SU, 2-6 ATS run.

The Dallas Mavericks have been supreme money-burners, on a 3-13 ATS run! Owner Mark Cuban said this week that the Mavericks will not "shuffle the deck chairs" by making a trade. That remains to be seen. It's clear, though, that the Mavs shouldn't have broken up the team they had that made it to the 2006 NBA Finals before bringing in Jason Kidd. They were a deep, talented young team then -- and far better.

Phoenix is on a 5-1 SU/ATS run, but that lone loss was the last game, a disappointing 108-101 home loss to banged up Portland. The Trail Blazers had managed only 77 points, 31 field goals and 40 percent shooting in a Tuesday home loss to Oklahoma City. But after arriving in Phoenix at 3 a.m. Wednesday, Portland had 83 points on 69 percent shooting when it led by 22.

What was the problem? Maybe the Suns were looking ahead to the All Star break. Or, four days of rest meant four days of rust for the Suns. "We didn't have any energy," Suns center Channing Frye said. "It was just a bad game."

That's why it's such a fine line for coaches to understand the pulse of their team, when to push in practice, when to back off and give the players time, and when to rest starters. And why teams with above average coaches in all sports excel both straight up and against the number.

ATS trends: The Cavaliers have won 12 in a row, they are also on a 7-3 ATS run. In college hoops out of the SEC, Ole Miss is on a 5-1-1 ATS run, the Arkansas Razorbacks are on a 9-4 ATS run, plus winning 5 in a row (3 as a dog). Defensive Tide: Alabama is on a 9-1-1 run under the total. Mississippi State is on a 3-6 ATS run. "Uptempo" Tennessee is 10-5 under the total. Vandy is on an 8-4 ATS run.

In the Big 12, Texas is on a 7-3 run over the total, giving up 80 points or more in 7 of those 10 games! Hang on everyone, March tourney play is just around the corner, one of the most exciting times on the sports calendar!