8* Cleveland (7:35 ET): The Cavs have been unspeakably bad for some time now as their lone win of 2019 came against the LeBron-less Lakers. They own the worst record/point differential in the league at 9-39 SU while being outscored by more than 10 points per game. They're dealing w/ injuries and the truth of the matter is that this season is going just about as poorly as the first time LeBron left them high and dry (2010). That all being said, this is simply too many points for Boston - or any other team, for that matter - to lay in a regular season contest. Take the points. 

The Celtics have had their own set of issues this season. Granted, it's not even comparable to what's going on in Cleveland, but w/ just the 5th best record in the East right now, they're clearly underachieving. I would not be surprised to see them move up the standings over the course of the second half of the season, but winning by a margin larger than what the oddsmakers are calling for here could prove problematic. Even as the Celtics have won four in a row coming into tonight, none of the victories have been by double digits. They're a pretty strong home team (won 9 straight here), but even so, they're "only" outscoring visitors by an average of 10.4 PPG, a far cry from tonight's pointspread. 

Short-handed as they might be, the Cavs will desperately want to atone for Monday's putrid performance at home vs. Chicago where they lost by 18.  They'll also want revenge for a 33-point loss here in Boston earlier in the year. Believe it or not, but the Cavs do own two outright wins this year as a road underdog of at least 12.5 points. Boston has a home game vs. Golden State (Saturday night) to look forward to. Too much has to go right to cover a pointspread as large as this one. 8* Cleveland 

10* Vancouver (10:35 ET): Few, if any, would have expected the Canucks to be playoff contenders going into the All-Star Break, but that's precisely where we're at right now in British Columbia. The club has 52 points entering Wednesday, which has them tied for a Wild Card spot in the not very deep Western Conference. Vancouver is unlikely to catch any of the top three (Calgary-San Jose-Vegas) in the Pacific, but right now they have as good a shot as any at grabbing one of those two WC spots. Tonight, they are benefiting from facing an opponent that is playing in the second night of a back to back. Look for the Canucks' somewhat "improbable" run to continue here! 

Carolina not only played last night, they lost in OT. For them, this is the end of a three-game trek in Western Canada. It started Sunday in Edmonton (where I took them) and they won there 7-4. But last night's loss to Calgary was all too emblematic of the kind of season the team from Raleigh is having. They outshot the Flames, 35-25, but it didn't end up mattering in the end. The 'Canes own the top shot differential in the league, but that simply has not translated into wins as they are below .500 and probably have a worse shot at making the playoffs than does Vancouver. Carolina's shooting percentage for the year is just 7.7% (woeful) and their goaltending does them no favors w/ a bottom five save percentage. 

While Carolina is playing its third road game in four nights and the second of a back to back, tonight marks the sixth straight home game for Vancouver, who has also been off for the last two days. Two key returns have sparked a two-game win streak for the Canucks. One is rookie Elias Pettersson, who leads all rookies w/ 44 points. Pettersson had a goal and an assist in Sunday's 3-2 win over Detroit. Goaltender Markstrom is also back and he stopped 35 of 37 shots in that same game. Note the Canucks have not been beaten in regulation during this homestand as they've gone 3-0-2. 10* Vancouver 

10* Utah (10:35 ET): While I haven't been correct about everything this NBA season, one of my more "spot on" calls came earlier this month when I said the Jazz were set to go on a major run. Sure enough, that's exactly what's taken place. The team has gone 8-2 SU its L10 games, though they did lose Monday (here at home) to Portland, 109-104 as five-point chalk. As hot as they've been, I don't see the Jazz dropping B2B home games. A big reason for their success this month has been their play at home. They'll be hosting a Denver team that has played just one of its last six games on the road and that was at Phoenix, where they lost outright 102-93. Lay the points here. 

Overall, the Nuggets are just 11-10 SU on the road this season. Now let's not sell this team short, shall we? They are 31-14 SU overall and just a game back of Golden State for the top spot in the Western Conference. But of course the Warriors did humiliate them last week - at home - in a 142-111 beatdown. Since then, Denver has gotten back on track w/ B2B blowouts over Chicago and Cleveland, the two worst teams in the league. Fatigue certainly shouldn't be a factor for the Nuggets here as they've been off since Saturday. But what about rust? The team is only 1-3 ATS this season when playing w/ three or more days rest. 

The Jazz have certainly had the Nuggets' number here in Salt Lake City through the years, winning 38 of the past 46 matchups here. Perhaps what happened to Utah Monday night was a product of what could very well happen to Denver tonight. They could have been a bit overconfident following a recent string of wins, although in the end it simply boiled down to the fact the Blazers shot the ball a whole lot better. Denver is 6-0 SU/5-1 ATS in division games this season, but this sets up as a big revenge spot for the Jazz, who lost badly in the Mile High City back in November. They're certainly playing a lot better now and I look for them to beat the Nuggets for an eighth straight time here in SLC. They've held Denver below 90 pts in five of those seven previous wins, which have come by an average of 14 PPG. 10* Utah

8* Long Beach State (10:00 ET): We return to our "previously scheduled program" of fading Cal State Northridge, a team I maintain is getting too much respect from the oddsmakers on a game by game basis. Perhaps the joke is on me, however, as the Matadors have managed to go a somewhat impressive 7-1-1 ATS their last nine games. But that one ATS loss happened to be the last time I played against them, which was 1.17 at home vs. a Hawaii team that hadn't played on the road in months. The Matadors did cover over the weekend against UC Irvine, but lost the game straight up, by six points (they were getting seven). 

Long Beach State is off an outright loss here as they lost by two, at home, to Cal State Fullerton. That was an overtime game as the 49ers were able to rally back from a 10-point halftime deficit. But, it was not to be as the extra period saw them only able to grab the lead briefly. Still, this is a team that has been beaten in regulation only one time since blowing an eight-point halftime lead on December 10th and that was at Stanford. While they did not cover either game LY vs. Cal State Northridge, LBSU did win both. They also won their last road game, beating UC Irvine exactly one week ago. 

Cal State Northridge has been involved in a LOT of close calls so far this season. Their last nine games have all been decided by eight points or less w/ eight of them decided by six or less. They've managed to go 5-4 SU and 7-1-1 ATS in that stretch, but the loss to UC Irvine on Saturday was pretty crushing as it not only came here at home, but also saw the Matadors blow a 16-point halftime lead. They were outscored 43-21 over the game's final 20 minutes including a 14-0 run by UC Irvine in the final six minutes. Cal State Northridge was only able to secure the cover when they hit a "meaningless" three-pointer w/ two seconds remaining, their only made basket in the game's six minutes. 8* Long Beach State 

8* DePaul (8:30 ET): While it's an arguable point whether or not LSU belongs in the Top 25 right now, I think it's inarguable that Marquette is NOT the 12th best team in the country. Yet, that's exactly where the Golden Eagles find themselves this week, based on the strength of a 16-3 SU record and five-game win streak. Personally, I don't even consider Marquette a Top 25 team, so there's an argument to be had that they are the most overrated team in the country right now. Don't sleep on DePaul here as the Blue Demons just upset Seton Hall over the weekend. I'm taking the points in this Big East matchup. 

DePaul is 11-8 SU and coming off its second upset of Seton Hall this season. The Blue Demons won 97-93, on the road, Saturday as 7-pt pups. It was an impressive all-around performance shooting the basketball for the contingent from Chicago as they made 52.5% of their field goal attempts, including 6 of 11 from three-point range, and went 29 of 32 from the free throw line. Making the Blue Demons a force to be reckoned with is the fact that was the third outright upset they've pulled in the last four games. In addition to getting Seton Hall twice, they also went to St. John's and won. Consider that Marquette lost by 20 at St. John's, though you do have to factor in that the Johnnies were w/o their leading scorer when they faced DePaul. 

Marquette is 13-0 SU at home this season, putting them in a pretty exclusive class of 19 teams that are currently 10-0 SU or better on campus. Only Houston (14-0 SU) has a better home record. Certainly, that has to be a little bit intimidating for a DePaul team that is just 2-17 SU its L19 visits here. But this is an underdog that can score (77.6 PPG) and they have four different players averaging double figures. Note that Marquette's last three games have not been easy. Two were wins by four pts or less (Seton Hall, G'town) and then on Sunday, they had to come back and erase an eight-point halftime deficit (here at home) vs. Providence. 8* DePaul

8* Georgia (7:00 ET): LSU has cracked the top 25, but I'm not entirely sure they belong there. Sure, they own a 14-3 SU record and have won seven in a row since a failed attempt at ending Houston's unbeaten run (which has since come to an end). But the Bayou Bengals haven't exactly taken on the toughest competition the SEC has to offer. Even an 87-69 win Saturday over a South Carolina team that had previously not dropped a conference game wasn't all THAT impressive when you consider the Tigers were 9-pt favorites here in Baton Rouge. I think LSU is ripe for a letdown.

Georgia has taken on the best the SEC has to offer and it really hasn't gone too well for them. They are 1-4 SU in SEC play, but those losses were to Tennessee (new #1 team in the country), Kentucky (hot as anybody right now), Auburn (who I still consider a top 15 team) and Florida. In my own personal power rankings, I have all of those teams rated higher than LSU. Now UGA lost all four of those games by double digits. But they should come in very motivated tonight and with some confidence, knowing that they are a perfect 3-0 (straight up) vs. LSU the past two seasons. 

LSU HC Will Wade noted his team didn't handle being ranked in the polls very well earlier this year. "Human nature is to relax; human nature is to give in a little bit," he said. That's what happened after LSU started the year 5-0 SU and found itself ranked #19 in the country. They then lost their next two games, to Florida State and Oklahoma State. While the Tigers are on a 17-game home win streak (10-0 TY), the last team to beat them here in Baton Rouge was UGA, 61-60 last season. The Bulldogs played better than the final score (62-52) showed vs. Florida on Saturday as they shot almost 58% from the field (but 38% in the 2H), only to turn it over 20 times, which led to 28 pts for the Gators. Despite all that, the Dawgs were still up by five in the 2H. Take the points tonight. 8* Georgia