Stephen Nover

The Pacers are the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA yielding just 102.9 points a game. The Pelicans are not good defensively, but both teams figure to be rusty coming off break. In Thursday's action, five of the six games went Under the total, all by quite a bit.  The Pacers are averaging only 100.3 points in their last three games.  The Pelicans have cut back the minutes of star big man Anthony Davis, which hurts their offense. 

Zach Parise is back scoring for the Wild, whose offense is better after acquiring Ryan Donato. However, Minnesota's frontline defense is down without injured Mikko Koivu, who was the Wild's top penalty killer. Minnesota has surrendered at least four goals in seven of its last 10 games.

 The Red Wings have scored three or more goals in four of their last five games. They've also given up 14 goals in their past three games. These two teams have a history of going Over when playing in Detroit. There have been only two Unders the past 17 times they've met in Detroit.

Denver is just about at full strength now with the return of underrated shooting guard Gary Harris. The Nuggets hold a solid frontline edge, too, on the Mavericks, who no longer have DeAndre Jordan to protect the rim against emerging superstar Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap.  The Mavericks got much worst at the trade deadline. In an effort to set themselves up for the future, the Mavericks dealt four of their five best players. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle is left with star rookie point guard Luka Doncic and a motley collection of role players whose spots in the rotation haven't been fully determined.  The Nuggets own the second-best record in the Western Conference. They are clearly the superior team and shouldn't lack for motivation coming off break and with three Western Conference playoff teams looming as their next three opponents. This is a game the Nuggets can't afford to get tripped up on. 

After being idle for a week due to the All-Star break, the NBA resumed its season last night. There were six NBA games played Thursday. Of those games, five of the six went Under the total. None of the five Unders were close to going Over the total.  So it's reasonable to conclude there is a rust factor. Now Denver and Dallas get back in action. Each team has gone nine days without playing. But there is more than a rust factor that also point to an Under in this matchup.  The Nuggets get back guard Gary Harris, who had missed the previous seven games due to a groin injury. Harris is a very good defensive player. So is big man Paul Millsap, who also is back from injury for the Nuggets. Denver gives up 4.2 fewer points per 100 possessions when Harris is on the court, according to research compiled by Basketball-Reference.com.  The Mavericks have shaken up their roster making a rebuilding commitment by trading off four of their starters while getting little in return for this season. Dallas is averaging fewer than 103 points per game in its last five games since dealing those players.  Dallas been a below-the-radar Under team for a while now with the Under going 15-5-1 in its last 21 games.  (Long-time NBA guru Stephen Nover is having another outstanding season going 45-28-1 on his last 74 premium/free NBA plays. Stephen also is having a huge college basketball season going 50-32-1 and has his Ivy League Game of the Year going today. Stephen is having a monster hockey season, too, going 71-48-2. Don't miss any of his winning plays!)

The Clippers would be in the playoffs if the season ended now. They are better than the Grizzlies and can't afford to take a loss here. The Clippers have a strong track record in this instance going 15-5-1 ATS in their past 21 road games versus an opponent with a losing home mark and being 17-5-1 ATS the past 23 times when playing on three or more days rest. Memphis, by comparison, is 1-5 ATS the last six times when in action after three or more days rest and has failed to cover 17 of the last 25 times when taking on an opponent with a winning record. The Grizzlies are in clear rebuild mode after dealing team cornerstone Marc Gasol at the trade deadline. 

Yale and Harvard are the class of the Ivy League. Harvard buried Brown, 68-47, as six-point home chalk on Feb. 2. So laying this short price on the road is more than fair. 

 The Crimson have covered 71 percent of their last 33 Ivy League games. Brown has only covered 17 percent of its past 13 Ivy League contests.  Harvard also covered 68 percent of its last 22 away matchups and is 5-1 ATS in its last six meetings versus Brown.  Only once in their last eight games have the Crimson lost. That was against Cornell three games ago and came the day after the Crimson went three overtimes in a victory against Columbia.