Vegas Matty debuts Tuesday. He is a sample of what you will get.
Denver Nuggets (46-29) at Los Angeles Lakers (55-20)
Analysis: The two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have been nearly unstoppable since the All-Star break with an unreal 17-1 record straight-up. But the Lakers have been much more mortal against the spread during that stretch with a 12-6 mark, including 3-4 in their past seven games. These Denver Nuggets will also be playing LA for the first time since getting rid of Carmelo Anthony, their former star who took his talents to the Big Apple in a blockbuster trade right before the Lakers went on their run. The Nuggets enjoyed past success against Los Angeles with Anthony, going 1-4-1 ATS in the last six meetings. They have been a better team without him though with a 14-4 record and incredible 15-2-1 ATS mark. The Lakers expended a lot of energy on Friday during their comeback from a 17-point deficit in the second quarter at Utah in an eventual 96-85 victory, and they are just 24-23 ATS when playing on one day of rest this season. That trend alone makes this game a toss-up, and the others also point in Denver’s direction. Since this is a nationally televised game, the line is a bit inflated with more people betting LA. Take the Nuggets to keep it close and stay within the seven points.
Pick: Nuggets +7
San Francisco Giants (1-2) at Los Angeles Dodgers (2-1)
Analysis: The San Francisco Giants looked like the defending World Series champions on Saturday in a 10-0 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but do not forget what happened in the first two games of this series. The Dodgers outdueled the Giants on the mound, which is exactly what should happen on Sunday Night Baseball. In the latest meeting, LA’s Ted Lilly got knocked out after giving up four runs in 4.2 innings, but Hiroki Kuroda should be able to right the ship and give the home team a series victory against their division rivals. Kuroda had a 3.39 ERA last season, and that number was up just slightly vs. the Giants at 3.56. He also owns San Francisco’s Freddy Sanchez, who has only two hits in 12 career at-bats against him. Barry Zito takes the mound for the Giants after getting into an auto accident in West Hollywood on Wednesday. Zito was deemed fit to pitch after a throwing session on Friday, but that does not mean he was able to go back in time to find his Cy Young form. He was so bad at the end of last season (1-10 with a 5.19 ERA in his last 15 appearances) that he was left off San Francisco’s postseason roster during the team’s World Series run. Zito went 0-3 against the Dodgers last year, getting just five runs of support. LA slugger Matt Kemp has more hits against Zito (18) than any other pitcher, so look for him to shine and allow the Dodgers faithful to go home happy.
Pick: Dodgers -140