NBA Betting Picks for January 8, 2011

Full card of NBA betting action for Saturday and the Oddsbay handicapping team is ready with a pair of plays. Oddsbay is your source for the best sports betting information available anywhere in every sport and every season!
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES AT OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER--JANUARY 8, 2011 5:05 PM PACIFIC
The Oklahoma City are a good young team, but they've reached a point in their development where the prices assigned by oddsmakers on their games are getting ahead of their actual performance. Kevin Durant is a superstar and a scoring machine, but his supporting cast is good--though not great. The Thunder frontcourt is perhaps their biggest liability--they're undersized and not especially strong in the paint. For that reason, the cat is out of the bag as to the tactical approach to beat OKC--double team Durant and at least try to neutralize him somewhat and exploit the team's weak interior play on both ends of the court.
OKC does have the scheduling edge, having played last on Thursday while Memphis was in action last night but that's not a big concern in our view. Grizzlies won and covered against the Thunder at home on January 4th and although OKC is good in revenge roles (12-4 SU/11-5 ATS this year) we think they have the edge in the frontcourt. Memphis has been a pointspread goldmine this season--they're 22-13 ATS overall, 14-5 ATS as an underdog and 13-5 ATS against teams with winning records. They're also 16-3 ATS in their last 19 games. OKC is just a breakeven ATS team in most situational roles. Given the Grizzlies' torrid performance against the number of late we'd rather be getting points *with* them than laying points against them.
PLAY MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES +7 OVER OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
ORLANDO MAGIC AT DALLAS MAVERICKS--JANUARY 8, 2011 5:35 PM PACIFIC
Mavs will be without Dirk Nowitzki again here, but in some ways that actually helps our handicap. Magic have been on a tear of late with their recent trade acquisitions starting to familiarize themselves with their new roles and teammates. They played last night at home and had no trouble beating Houston by 15. Orlando has now won 8 straight going 7-1 ATS, but this is a tricky spot for them to continue their winning streak. They've been a horrible team in the second of back-to-back games this season, going 1-7 ATS.
Weird scheduling setup for Orlando--they played at home last night and play their next five on the road but after this game they won't play again until 1/12. This would have been a big measuring stick for Orlando against one of the best teams in the West, but the Mavs' recent slump and the absence of Nowitzki saps it of much of the intensity and significance. For that reason, Orlando could be due for a 'flat spot' and Dallas is still a dangerous team to take lightly. Mavs are 13-5 SU/12-5-1 ATS against opponents with winning records and 8-3 SU/9-2 ATS as an underdog this season. They're also a perfect 5-0 against the Southwest Division. Dallas isn't a dominant home team, but Orlando just 5-11 ATS on the road.
PLAY DALLAS MAVERICKS +5 OVER ORLANDO MAGIC