The Daily Sweat: Is Golden State finally over its inexplicable road woes this season?
The Golden State Warriors are defending NBA champions and if you just watched their home games, you'd believe they're on their way to another title.
The Warriors are 29-7 at home. That's about what you'd expect from this era's Golden State team.
If you just watched the Warriors' road games, you'd think they're tanking for Victor Wembanyama. Golden State is 8-29 on the road. That home/road split seems impossible. It makes no sense.
“I’ve been on teams that sucked on the road and at home, but nothing like this,” coach Steve Kerr said, via the San Jose Mercury News.
The Warriors snapped an 11-game road losing streak on Monday, beating the Houston Rockets. The Rockets have the second-worst record in the NBA so maybe that road win is meaningless. But at least it wasn't another loss.
The Warriors get a tougher road test Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors — and their .216 winning percentage in road games — are favored by 2.5 points at BetMGM. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have both been dealing with injuries and they're both questionable.
The biggest difference is Warriors opponents are shooting it very well when Golden State is on the road. In road games, the Warriors are allowing opponents to hit 40.6% of three-point shots, second-worst in the NBA. At home that number is 32.4 percent, best in the league. There could be some bad luck involved there, but it has lasted all season.
Whatever is going on, it's bizarre. The Warriors being a road favorite on Wednesday night is a bit weird too.
Here's a first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:
NBA has 10 games
One of the more interesting matchups in the NBA is the Philadelphia 76ers at the Chicago Bulls. The 76ers have been hot and are back in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They're three games behind the Milwaukee Bucks, and just a game behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed. The Bulls have been playing well too. They've won three in a row. The 76ers are 3.5-point favorites.
The second game of the ESPN doubleheader (Warriors-Mavericks kicks it off) is the Phoenix Suns at the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are playing better of late, and they're a half-game out of the No. 10 spot in the West, which is the cutoff for the play-in tournament. The Suns are favored by 1.5 points.
Light night in the NHL
Only two games for the NHL on Wednesday. One of them is expected to be competitive. The Pittsburgh Penguins are at the Colorado Avalanche, and the Avs are -160 favorites. In the other game, the Edmonton Oilers are a whopping -500 favorite over the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes haven't been all that bad lately, winning six of their last eight. Arizona is +360 if you're feeling really lucky.
What's the best bet?
I can't ignore the Warriors' road record. Whatever the reason, it's a thing and I don't think beating the Rockets changes that. I'll take the Mavs getting points.
