Upcoming home stand key to Warriors’ NBA all-time wins chase
Published:
Daniel Coyle, American Sports Correspondent | March 29, 2016
Golden State Warriors can draw to within five wins of matching the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 regular-season victories when they take on Washington Wizards on Tuesday as 12.5-point favourites in NBA betting from Coral.
Warriors (4/5 to win the NBA Championship) have remained unrelenting in their drive towards a second straight NBA championship, crushing Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday by a 117-105 score, extending their record-setting winning streak on home court to an incredible 53 games.
With an NBA-best 66-7 record, the Dubs must claim victory in seven of their final nine outings to become the league’s most successful squad, starting with Tuesday night’s Wizards vs. Warriors matchup at Oracle Arena.
Golden State hits the floor as a double-digit favourite in their fourth straight, but has struggled to meet expectations at the sportsbook, failing to post an against the spread in three of those contests, and four of their past five overall.
Scoring has not been a problem for the NBA championship betting favourites at Coral, who have exceeded their 115.5 points per game average in eight of their past 12, but are 9-13-1 ATS over their past 23.
Wizards travel to the Bay Area fresh off a 101-88 victory over Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, easily covering as 9-point chalk and ending a two-game SU losing streak in the first of a five-game Western road trip.
Washington’s 36-37 record leaves them outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and desperate for a win to close in on the eighth-place Detroit Pistons, who hold a 2.5-game lead.
But it has been a long time since Wizards enjoyed any success against the Dubs, coming up short in nine of their past 10 meetings, including SU and ATS losses in their past three.
Following Tuesday night’s date with Washington, Warriors travel to Utah on Wednesday to battle the Jazz, before returning home for a four-game home stand that will prove critical to the club’s chances of setting the new regular-season wins record.
Like Washington, the Jazz need wins to secure a playoff spot
At 37-37, Utah currently controls seventh place in the NBA’s Western Conference standings, just one game up on Houston and Dallas, who continue to battle for the final playoff spot in the West.
The Jazz are also coming off a lopsided victory over Lakers, routing Los Angeles 123-75 as 13.5-point chalk to improve to 8-2 SU in their past 10.
But again, like Washington, Utah has enjoyed minimal success against Warriors, going 1-11 SU in the past 12 overall meetings, and 2-5 SU in their past seven at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Celtics kick off Warriors final home stand
Things could get tougher for GSW when they return home to face the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
Warriors have posted five straight SU victories over Boston, but Celtics have played them tough on the road, posting a 2-3 SU record in their past five visits, and covering in each of their past two, which they lost by a mere five combined points.
The defending champs then entertain the pesky Portland Trail Blazers, who pounded them 137-105 on February 19, and the rapidly improving Minnesota Timeberwolves next week, before wrapping up the season with two games each against Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs, who continue to trail Warriors by just 4.5 games for first place in the West.
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