NEW ORLEANS HORNETS (3-11) at HOUSTON ROCKETS (7-7)
Tip-off: Thursday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -10, Total: 184
Houston has a golden opportunity to stretch its SU winning streak to five (and ATS win streak to eight) when it hosts New Orleans Thursday night.
Not only are the rebuilding Hornets traveling for a back-to-back after hosting Memphis on Wednesday, but they’re going to be without their best player, SG Eric Gordon (knee), for a ninth straight game. The Rockets are well-rested and have pounded teams at home this year, winning four of their six home games by 11 points or more. They’re 5-1 SU and 6-0 ATS at the Toyota Center. HOUSTON is the pick to win and cover the big spread.
The Rockets enter this game not only looking for their fifth SU win in a row, but also for their eight straight ATS win. They hammered Detroit at home on Tuesday, 97-80, despite having played in a game at Washington the night before.
Their inside-outside combo of PG Kyle Lowry (17.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 8.7 APG) and PF Luis Scola (15.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG) is already one of the most productive, yet underrated, duos in the NBA. And now Houston is starting to get big production from newly signed C Samuel Dalembert (8.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG), who is averaging 15.3 PPG on 69.2% shooting from the field, 11.8 RPG and 2.0 BPG over the past four contests. And while SG Kevin Martin (17.4 PPG) has been slumping on the road (15.5 PPG, 18.4% shooting from three), he’s averaging 20.0 PPG and hitting 40.0% of his threes at home.
Things seem to keep getting worse for New Orleans. Gordon was the closest thing they had to a franchise player after the Chris Paul trade, but he’s played in just two games this season.
They have played relatively well on the road, going 2-4 SU but 4-2 ATS. And the return of SF Trevor Ariza (11.2 PPG) for Wednesday night’s loss to Memphis at least provided a boost to their anemic offense (86.7 PPG, 3rd-worst in NBA). New Orleans has yet to hit the 100-point mark in a game this season, reaching 90 just five times in 14 games. After missing eight games with a groin injury, Ariza had 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, five rebounds and seven assists against Memphis. But aside from he and PG Jarrett Jack (16.4 PPG, 7.4 APG), the Hornets are struggling to score as C Chris Kaman (10.1 PPG, 7.1 RPG) struggles to adjust to his new team, and PF Carl Landry (11.6 PPG) has been in and out of head coach Monty Williams’ doghouse.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (8-7) at UTAH JAZZ (9-4)
Tip-off: Thursday, 10:35 p.m. ET
Line: Utah -2.5, Total: 184.5
After losing to both L.A. teams on last-second three-pointers, Dallas is eager to get back in the win column visiting a red-hot Utah team on Thursday.
The Jazz started the season 1-3 (SU and ATS), but since turning the calendar to 2012, they have the NBA’s best record at 8-1 SU (7-2 ATS). But before dropping two nailbiters in L.A. by a combined five points, the Mavericks were also on fire, winning five straight and seven of eight (both SU and ATS). Dallas’ defense has been extremely stingy in the past seven games, limiting opponents to 78.9 PPG on 38.5% FG (28.6% threes). Although the Mavericks just played Wednesday night, they have shown a remarkable ability to win on zero days rest, going 17-9 ATS (18-8 SU) since the start of last season. And although the Jazz have historically been a tremendous home team, the Mavs won by 12 points and 17 points at EnergySolutions Arena last season. The pick here is underdog DALLAS to end its slide with a big road win.
The Mavericks have been tremendous defensively, but their offense continues to sputter.
Dirk Nowitzki (17.9 PPG, 46% FG, 25% threes) is averaging just 14.1 PPG (43% FG) in his past eight games, reaching 20 points just once in this span. He’s coming off a horrible 6-of-18 shooting night against the Clippers, but a date with Utah could be just what he needs to bust out of his slump. In last year’s four-game series sweep of the Jazz, Nowitzki averaged 24.8 PPG on 63% FG and grabbed 8.5 RPG.
SG Delonte West scored a season-high 17 points in the loss to the Clippers and made 3-of-5 from downtown. This was a great sign considering he entered the game 3-of-18 from three-point range. PG Jason Kidd hasn’t shot the ball well either since his return from injury (5-of-17 FG, 1-of-13 threes), but he did dish out 10 assists against the Clippers, eight more than he had against the Lakers on Monday. Since returning to Dallas in 2007-08, Kidd has 115 assists and 34 turnovers (3.4 ratio) in 13 games versus Utah.
Unlike the Mavs who gear much of their offense around Dirk Nowitzki, the Jazz are happy to share the wealth. Seven players are averaging more than eight points per game led by Al Jefferson (18.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG) and Paul Millsap (15.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG), the team’s top two scorers and rebounders. This duo has been largely responsible for the team’s 50.0 PPG in the paint this month, the second-highest total in the NBA. However, Dallas has allowed just 32.4 PPG in the paint in January, which is the lowest total in the league.
Utah also has two potent scorers off the bench in Josh Howard (10.7 PPG) and C.J. Miles (8.2 PPG). Howard could miss his third straight game on Thursday due to a quadriceps injury, but Miles has 36 points and 11 rebounds spanning just 47 minutes in his past two home games. PG Devin Harris will be going up against his former team in this matchup. Harris has shot the ball terribly this season, posting a career-worst 34.1% FG. But he’s starting to find his rhythm, scoring 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting in the past two games.
Do gloves make boxing more dangerous?
Promotional posters for boxing matches in the 19th century followed a formula: the two adversaries would be depicted squaring up to each other, with heads tilted slightly backwards and their fists held low, the knuckles pointing out and upwards. The pose looks comical nowadays, as if they are actors in a silent movie rather than pugilists.
The stance and guard were low because bare-knuckle boxing consisted largely of striking the opponent's body. The skull is an extremely hard object, and a full-force punch to an opponent's head could easily result in a broken hand. This is why so many bar-room brawls end after one punch. The "boxer's fracture" a break behind the knuckle of the little finger is regularly seen in hospital casualty departments at weekends.
The Marquess of Queensberry rules took off not because society viewed the new sport as more civilised than the old, but because fights conducted under the new guidelines attracted more spectators. Audiences wanted to see repeated blows to the head and dramatic knockouts.
By contrast, the last bare-knuckle heavyweight contest in the US in 1897 dragged on into the 75th round. Since gloves spread the impact of a blow, the recipient of a punch is less likely to be blinded, have their teeth knocked out or their jaw broken. However, gloves do not lessen the force applied to the brain as it rattles inside the skull from a heavy blow. In fact, they make matters worse by adding 10oz to the weight of the fist.
A full-force punch to the head is comparable to being hit with a 12lb padded wooden mallet travelling at 20mph. Gerald McClellan took around 40 such blows over the course of his world title fight against Nigel Benn in 1995. Even the most hardened spectators were shocked by its brutality.
Neither fighter made any great attempts to defend himself. Instead, the two stood toe to toe, trading punches. As a result, McClellan suffered brain damage that left him blind, 80 per cent deaf and paralysed.
As the bare-knuckle campaigner Dr Alan J Ryan pointed out: "In 100 years of bare-knuckle fighting in the United States, which terminated around 1897 with a John L Sullivan heavyweight championship fight, there wasn't a single ring fatality." Today, there are three or four every year in the US, and around 15 per cent of professional fighters suffer some form of permanent brain damage during their career. Worldwide, there have been over 400 boxing deaths in the last 50 years alone. The total would be far higher were it not for the advances in medical care that saved the lives of fighters such as McClellan and Michael Watson. A return to bare knuckles would be bloodier and less acceptable to mass television audiences, but one has to ask whether wheelchairs and life-support machines are any easier on one's conscience.
Why do cyclists shave their legs?
Professional cyclists claim there are two reasons why they shave.
1. Medical
The first is medical. They fall off their bikes more often than one might expect, and it's easier to clean out the dirt and gravel from their wounds if their legs have been shaved. Bare skin coming into contact with asphalt at 35mph is going to tear off, so it's better that it tears off cleanly, and pulling off bandages from healed cuts is less torturous if hairs are not pulled out at the same time.
2. Therapeutic
The second reason is more therapeutic: the massages they receive after every stage of a race are more comfortable if they are hairless.
EXTRA 3. Aesthetic
The real reason cyclists shave their legs is very simple: it is because everyone else does it. No one likes to make a direct admission but, secretly, shaving one's legs has an aesthetic dimension: it is simply how the racing cyclist should look. As every oiled bodybuilder knows, smooth skin looks better and allows everyone a perfect view of all your hard work.
CINCINNATI BEARCATS (14-4, 4-1 Big East) at CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (14-3, 4-2 Big East)
Tip-Off: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Connecticut -7, Total: 129.5
No. 13 UConn looks to extend its winning streak to three and remain unbeaten at home when they host Cincinnati on Wednesday night in Storrs.
The Bearcats have bounced back nicely since the well-documented brawl with Xavier on December 10, and are 4-1 ATS on the road this year, including a 68-64 win at Georgetown last Monday. Cincinnati is comfortable playing in close games, with four of its five Big East games decided by four points or less. The Huskies have covered their past two games and look to build off an impressive 67-53 road win over Notre Dame on Saturday. Connecticut’s backcourt will be very thin though, as freshman guard Ryan Boatright sits out for the second game in a row due to an ongoing NCAA investigation regarding potential rules violations. Both teams rely heavily on guard play, but UConn holds a significant advantage in the frontcourt with a +6 rebound margin compared to Cincy’s minus-0.1 RPG. The Bearcats will hit shots and keep this game close early on, but look for the Huskies to limit second-chance opportunities on the glass and pull away late. CONNECTICUT is the pick to win and cover.
The Bearcats are a veteran team with their top four leading scorers from last season all back in the lineup this year. Physical sophomore guard Sean Kilpatrick (16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG) leads the way for Cincinnati, along with senior guard Dion Dixon (14.1 PPG). Cincy ranks fifth in the Big East from behind the arc, shooting 36.8% from three-point range. The Bearcats will need to hit these jumpers against UConn’s poor perimeter defense that’s allowing opponents to convert at a 41.1 percent clip. The Bearcats must get a big game from embattled forward Yancy Gates (12.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG), who will have the unenviable task of guarding UConn’s dangerous inside tandem of Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.
UConn looks to be gaining some steam coming off its most impressive win of the season at Notre Dame. The loss of Boatright definitely hurts the Huskies’ backcourt depth, leaving Jeremy Lamb (17.9 PPG) and Shabazz Napier (13.9 PPG, 6.2 APG) as the only formidable guards in the rotation. Napier must stay out of foul trouble, otherwise the Huskies will be without any true point guard. Now more than ever, Jim Calhoun will need his big men to play up to their potential. Freshman phenom Andre Drummond (10.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG) looks more and more comfortable every game and has posted double-doubles in back-to-back games. The enigma that is junior forward Alex Oriakhi (7.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG) continues to be a mystery, but he had a strong performance against Notre Dame with 12 points and seven boards. The sooner Oriakhi and Drummond learn to co-exist down low, the more likely it becomes for the Huskies to make their third Final Four trip in four years.
