By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Dwight Howard was a stupendous player a year ago. This season, somehow, he is arguably the league’s most improved.

Example: He could become the first NBA player in 15 years Wednesday night to record three consecutive 20-point, 20-rebound games.

According to WagerWeb.com, the Magic are 7-point favorites against the visiting Pacers.

"I'm just trying to do the best I can to help us win games," Howard said Tuesday. "If I can dominate around the boards, we can win games. And that's the goal."

The 20-year-old had 24 points and 23 rebounds Monday night in a loss at Memphis after registering a 24/21 night in a win against Charlotte last Saturday. He now leads the league at 14.1 rebounds a game. He is attempting to become the youngest rebounding champion in NBA history.

RUNNING RAPTORS REELING: The new up-tempo style of the Toronto Raptors simply isn’t working.

Toronto (2-8) is yielding 105.4 points a game, second-highest in the NBA to Denver. The difference is the Nuggets are scoring more than that. The Raptors’ point differential rests at minus-5.5, third-worst in the league to Miami and Charlotte.

Rookie center Andrea Bargnani is averaging just 11 minutes a game, but might be in line for an increase. He played a season-high 27 minutes in a 101-96 loss Monday night to Utah, scoring 15 points with three rebounds.

Things are only going to get tougher for Toronto, which hosts Cleveland Wednesday night. The Raptors are 2.5-point underdogs, but the Cavaliers are in the second night of a back-to-back while Toronto should be well-rested.

GOLDEN DAYS FOR GOLDEN STATE: Two very prominent reasons for Golden State’s 7-4 start are little-known Mickael Pietrus and Monta Ellis.

The former is averaging 14.7 points a game and shooting 54 percent from the field.

The latter, a 6-foot-3 guard, is averaging 18.7 points a game. Ellis is shooting 52 percent from the field, which is 11 percent higher than he did a year ago. The 21-year-old exploded for successive 31-point games last week against Phoenix and Seattle.

SACRAMENTO KING: How did Sacramento forward Kevin Martin get this good this fast?

That’s what a lot of folks would like to know. The Western Carolina product started 41 games and averaged a rather modest 10.8 points a game in 2005-06, but has more than doubled that this year, scoring 23.7 points a game.
Martin has shot remarkably well in all areas. He has hit 53 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 94 percent from the line.

Can he keep it up? He’ll try to tonight at home against 10-1 Utah. WagerWeb.com lists the Kings as 4-point favorites.

DIOP DROP: Dallas coach Avery Johnson decided Erick Dampier would provide better production from the starting center position than DeSagana Diop.

So far, he has been right. Dampier has had two double-doubles since the move. He also had eight points and 15 rebounds in a 93-85 win against Charlotte on Monday night. Diop, meanwhile, managed one point, one rebound and five fouls in 13 minutes.

Diop did bounce back with a 13-rebound performance in an easy win against floundering Chicago on Tuesday. But he was 0-for-6 from the field. His inability to develop into any kind of offensive threat has allowed opposing defenses to ignore him and double-team Dirk Nowitzki.

DISENCHANTED: Seattle point guard Earl Watson recently complained about a lack of playing time coming off the bench.

The trouble is that Luke Ridnour is performing well at that spot, and Watson certainly isn’t going to be taking minutes away from Ray Allen.

His performance so far this season isn’t going to change the mind of Coach Bob Hill. Watson is shooting 32 percent from the field and 26 percent from beyond the arc.

According to WagerWeb.com, bettors have made the Sonics 5.5-point underdogs at the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night.

BEST BENCH BUNCH: The Knicks may be 4-8, but they are receiving tremendous production off the bench.

In a loss to Houston on Monday night, Channing Frye was the lone double-figure scorer among the starters. But Jamal Crawford emerged from the bench to score a team-high 25 points.

Meanwhile, former NBA stars Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury were in the process of combining for 10 points and seven total shots in 39 minutes.

DRIBBLES: Brazilian Leandro Barbosa has developed into a star in Phoenix. He is averaging 20 points a game and was particularly effective when two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash was sidelined. He will attempt to stay hot when the Suns host tough New Orleans tonight. The Suns are 9-point favorites, according to WagerWeb.com.… The high ankle sprain of Cleveland shooting guard Larry Hughes is a bit worse than expected. He will miss at least one more week.… The San Antonio Spurs own the second-best record in the NBA at 9-2. Why? Because they are 6-0 on the road. They will host struggling and Shaq-less Miami Wednesday night and are listed as 10.5-point favorites by WagerWeb.com.… The Detroit Pistons are surging, having won three consecutive games to slide over .500 at 6-5. According to WagerWeb.com, they are 6.5-point favorites Wednesday night against visiting Atlanta.


http://www.wagerweb.com/sportsbook/betting-odds/basketball.html