Doc’s Sports NBA Picks & Against the Spread Plays

5 Unit Play. Take #649 USC +8.5 over Oklahoma (9p.m., Saturday, December 15 ESPNU) Oklahoma is not good enough to be laying this many points against a similar teams in talent. This game is not in Norman and thus some of the home court advantage is minimized. USC is 5-4 but they do not have a bad loss on the season and I just do not see them getting blown out in this game. USC is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against Big 12 teams. Oklahoma is 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games played on Saturday.

4 Unit Play. Take #664 Over 140.5 in Washington vs Virginia Tech (7p.m., Saturday, December 15 ESPNU) Virginia Tech should be able to dictate the style of play in this game and expect both teams to reach the 70s in scoring. The Hokies have gone over the posted total in 6 of their last 8 neutral site games. The Huskies have gone over the posted total in 5 straight games against ACC teams.

7-Unit Play. #032. Take Under in New Jersey vs Nashville (Saturday, December 15 at 8:05 p.m.).

As per your selection on the Under, it almost feels like Christmas came a week early. You have two teams that generally play to the ?over?, which is they the line is 6.5, but it almost feels like the line hasn't accounted for the Devils playing on back-to-back nights or the fact that the Predators are still banged up offensively, and are among the best teams in the league defensively. Look, I get the fact that these two teams are coming off 5-4 and 4-3 games respectively, but the situation tonight makes me believe this will be more like a 3-1 style of game. The Under has hit in the Preds last 5 games vs the Eastern Conference, and it has also hit in 8 of the Preds last 10 games when their opponent scores 5 or more goals in their previous game. The Predators know what it takes to shut down the opposing team's top line and we believe Taylor Hall is still out again through illness, so it'll make their job a hell of a lot easier, not having to contain the reigning Hart Trophy winner. Take the Under in this spot and enjoy a nice winner.

10 Unit Play. Take #667 Indiana over Butler (3:45p.m., Saturday, December 15 CBS) This 4 team tournament always seems to feature competitive games and upsets but I just do not believe Butler has the same magic under this coaching staff. The Bulldogs are 7-2 on the season but both of their losses have come against teams that will likely not make the NCAA Tournament come March. Indiana is 8-2 and both of their losses are against quality teams with one of them (Duke) possessing the most talent in the country. Indiana can score points and they are shooting over 51% on the season. Butler will have to be on fire from long range to make a game of this and I do not expect that to happen. The Hoosiers are in year two under Archie Miller and they have already shown flashes of brilliance this year and I expect them to make the NCAA Tournament come March. They pick up another quality win today at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

We believe in this Clippers team and think they are a playoff-caliber squad. But they at one point held down the No. 1 spot in the west. Now they are No. 4 and will probably drop further after Saturday. This team is just not on good form right now. They have failed to cover in five straight games and four of those were double-digit blowout losses. The Thunder are coming in on a back-to-back here, but we think the oddsmakers are punishing them too much. The Thunder have been good in limited B2B’s this season. Los Angeles hasn’t covered here in five trips, and we expect another rough outing on Saturday.

Minnesota is one of the best under teams for betting this season, and the Suns are trending in that direction lately as well. And the oddsmakers have once again posted too high of a total for this game. The Suns offense is really struggling without Booker, and they have failed to reach the century mark in seven of their last nine games. Minnesota has been hit or miss on offense, and we don’t see them putting up a massive number tonight. The under is 7-2 in the last nine meetings in Phoenix, and we see this one going in that direction on Saturday as well.

If the Rockets were a stock, we would be buying right now. We knew this team would start to turn it on, and now it seems like that is taking place after wins and covers in their last two games, against the Blazers and Lakers. The Grizzlies had a very strong start to the season, but they are trailing off now. Their offense has failed to reach the century mark in five of their last six games. The Houston offense has really got in rhythm and we don’t think the Grizzlies will be able to slow them down. Houston has won and covered the last two meetings by double digits, and they have covered in four of the last six meetings. Those trends hold firm tonight.

2 Unit Play. Take #201 North Texas Mean Green over Utah State Aggies (2p.m., Saturday, December 15 ESPN New Mexico Bowl) We will grab the points in this game since both teams have stud quarterbacks and this should be a high scoring game. Utah State lost their coach and I just do not see them blowing out the Mean Green since their new coach is not on the current staff.

4 Unit Play. Take #306 Denver Broncos over Cleveland Browns (5:20p.m., Saturday, December 15 NFLN) The Broncos laid an egg last week against San Francisco but expect them to bounce back in a big way at home against Cleveland. The Browns dominated the NFC South covering every game against those 4 teams, but they are playing a team desperate for a win on Sunday. Denver now has a week to adjust to key injuries on both sides of the football and expect them to be much better on Saturday. Cleveland is 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games against teams with a losing record. Denver is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Cleveland.

4 Unit Play. Take #206 Fresno State Bulldogs over Arizona State Sun Devils (3:30p.m., Saturday, December 15 ABC Las Vegas Bowl) We have had good success using the MWC team in this game over the years. This is the only bowl game that the MWC gets to play against a Power 5 conference and unlike previous years the MWC team is the favorite in this game. Arizona State got a gift last time out against Arizona who self-destructed and costs them a chance to become bowl eligible. Fresno State is better on both sides of the football and should be able to control this game for 60 minutes. Over the last 2 years under Coach Tedford, the Bulldogs are 18-6 ATS (2 pushes). Arizona State will not have N’Keal Harry for this game and that is a big loss that will be tough to overcome. Arizona State is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games against MWC teams.