NBA Picks 11/30

Yesterday's picks: 1-2

I might be better off flipping a coin... At least I called the Rockets getting blown out last night. Home teams reigned supreme last night, road teams rule tonight (usually that spells disaster).

Today's games:

CLEVELAND at Toronto

WASHINGTON at Philadelphia

MILWAUKEE at New York

NEW ORLEANS at Atlanta

SAN ANTONIO at Minnesota

BOSTON at Miami

Portland at DALLAS

LAKERS at Jazz

Clippers at DENVER

INDIANA at Seattle

Featured game: Orlando at Phoenix

We already know that Orlando will show up to play against the big fellas after they took out Boston. We know that they will shoot out the lights if you focus on Glass Howard. We know that the Glass will rip you apart if you don't take him out of the game. So how does a team beat Orlando? Be the Spurs, that's how. The Suns are possibly the opposite of the Spurs (we've already gone over this) when it comes to playing style. They really have no bigs to man up on Howard (Sorry Amare, though we've seen small line-ups do well against big men, re: Harrington vs. Yao) and if Raja Bell doesn't play, who is going to contain the two headed monster of Jameer Nelson and Keith Bogans? Shawn Marion will probably shut down either Hedo or Shard, and the Magic will struggle to keep up, but I think that they want to show the league that they are here to stay.
Winner: ORLANDO

NBA Picks 11/29

Yesterday's picks: 6-4

Rockets seem to be better than I give them credit for. Which means that if I pick them now, theyre going to get blown out.

Today's games:

New York at BOSTON

HOUSTON at Golden State

Featured game: Denver at Lakers

This is a battle of the forgotten teams in the West. Both are regarded as "very dangerous", and yet are poised to just sneak into the playoffs at the 7 and 8 spot in the West. Kobe is always able to put up 50 unless you put a lockdown defender on him in the mold of Shane Battier, Gerald Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko, or Kobe Bryant (in which case he'll score 30), but the Nuggets don't have one of those guys (Step up Yakhouba Diawara!). What they have instead is a compete offensive arsenal, especially if all of their guys show up to play, and the ability to simply outscore all but the most powerful of offenses or defenses (or both re: Celtics). Kobe has a better supporting cast than he may realize, but are they enough to stop the onslaught of a driving AI, a slashing Carmelo, and an overpowering Marcus Camby? That's not even taking Linas Kleiza, J.R. Smith, K-Mart, or Nene into account. Yes, Kobe can always win a gme by himself, but I think the Nuggets will be too much for them today.
Winner: DENVER

NBA Picks 11/28

2 Days ago's picks: 1-7

Sorry for not having picks yesterday. My world was so rocked by the games on Monday that I decided to stay up all night, then sleep from 10 am until 8 pm, and then stay up since then. Seriously though, 6 big upsets in a day and the one I pick is the one that doesn't happen. Come on.

Today's games:

MILWAUKEE at Atlanta

Memphis at TORONTO

UTAH at Philadelphia

Washington at SAN ANTONIO

Minnesota at DALLAS

Houston at PHOENIX

Golden State at SACRAMENTO

ORLANDO at Seattle

Indiana at PORTLAND

Featured game: Cleveland at Detroit

Conventional wisdom tells us that a power team will not be upset twice in a row. Not as conventional of thought says that teams will not overperform in back-to-back games. This has already been proven wrong several times this season (Re: Bucks, Pacers, Lakers, Blazers). So what do we have in line for the Cavs one day after they beat the Celtics? For another team, I might say that they step and take down the Pistons at home. After all, these are not your older brothers Pistons, especially if Sheed doesn't play. The Cavaliers are, by all measurable standards (except the standings), the better team right now. Lebron had another monster game against the Celtics, but it was really the supporting cast that stepped up to seal the win, with a big night from Gooden nd help from Z as well. However, I don't think we see that kind of output 2 nights in a row from a team. Especially not after their game goes into overtime and they have to travel during the night and go into a stadium full of angry fans while still probably pretty drowsy. Teams on winning streaks can take games off too right?
Winner: DETROIT

NBA Picks 11/26

Yesterday's picks: 2-1

As the Rockets go, so go my featured games picks (Unless I pick against the Rockets). Think about it, they started the season hot, and then went on a cold streak, and now have a win again.

Today's games:

UTAH at New York

Minnesota at NEW ORLEANS

Washington at DALLAS

SAN ANTONIO at Sacramento

PHOENIX at Golden State

HOUSTON at Clippers

Featured game: Orlando at Portland

This is almost featured just by default, since every other game tonight is poised to be a blowout. All the winners I picked are members of the top 10 in my power rankings facing off against teams from the bottom 10. Orlando at Portland narrowly misses that distinction (6 vs. 18), but s we all know, Portland at home is much better than on the road. We know that Orlando will step up in the big game, but how are they going to do against a team of excited youngsters? We know that Portland can surprise big teams at home, so I'm going to go for it (which will spell death from my percentages).
Winner: PORTLAND

NBA Picks 11/25

Yesterday's picks: 4-4

Its a cruel world that allows there to be back-to-back days with Noontime games. My reverse jinx of the Rockets worked, hopefully it will do the same for my picks.

Today's games:

SAN ANTONIO at Seattle

New Jersey at LAKERS

Featured game: Cleveland at Indiana

Lebron is looking beastly as of late as he is personally carrying the Cavs to prominence in the East. His per game averages of 31 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8 assists are unheard of, especially considering that he is trending upward in every category (39 points, 10 rebounds, 9.5 assists in his last 5 games). Indiana is looking as strong as it's been since the fated brawl with a bevy of breakout stars, including but not limited to Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger, and Ike Diogu, all of whom are vying for the Most Improved Player award. Yesterday afternoon, Cleveland overcame a large deficit to come back and beat a TJ Ford-less Raptor squad and weathered the storm of Chris Bosh's 41 points. Might that be too much stress for on weekend? I'm betting on no, for one reason. The pressure was all on Lebron yesterday, but to beat this Indiana team, the rest of the team doesn't need to step up too much. Lebron can shut down either Dunleavy or Granger and the Pacers dont have a great big to exploit Cleveland's weakness down low (Jermaine O'Neal is a shell of himself; also please sign, Andy Varejao!).
Winner: CLEVELAND

NBA Picks 11/24

Yesterday's picks: 8-4

God, I wish this week would be over. 3 straight losses on the featured game. I should probably just pick an easy one. But then I'd jinx it. Also today, I missed picking the first two games of the day.

Today's games:

Miami at ORLANDO

Golden State at PHILADELPHIA

BOSTON at Charlotte

WASHINGTON at Memphis

ATLANTA at Minnesota

DALLAS at Milwaukee

NEW ORLEANS at Clippers

Featured game: Denver at Houston

I lied when I said I was going to pick an easy game. I mean I can't just give up. This is a perfect opportunity for the Rockets to snap out of their funk. They're at home, and lying against a team that will let you play how you want. Though the Nuggets are a good team in their own right, because of their style, they tend to get destroyed by the superpowers (Re: the Celtics game). This might be the chance for the Rockets to pick up ther game and continue dominating lke they did before T-Mac went down. Right now, I'm going to hedge my bets a little though (you all know I'm a Rockets fan) because I'd feel really bad if I personally sent my team to a 7 game losing streak.
Winner: DENVER

NBA Picks 11/23

Yesterday's picks: 0-0

Today's games:

GOLDEN STATE at Washington

Charlotte at ORLANDO

Lakers at CELTICS

DALLAS at Indiana

HOUSTON at Miami

Philadelphia at DETROIT

Memphis at SAN ANTONIO

Clippers at SUNS

Kings at BLAZERS

Nets at SONICS

Featured game: New Orleans at Jazz

These two teams are itching to be considered along side San Antonio, Dallas, and Phoenix as the cream of the west and when they are completely healthy, they should be. There's a little rivalry between Chris Paul and Deron Williams due to their being selecting in the same draft in the same Lebron-Carmelo, GODE-Durantula way. Honestly, I think the Jazz are the better team. They have a better starting line-up, better bench, and a better coach than the Hornets. However, I'm getting great odds to pick the Hornets, so I will with a caveat (yes... continuing my streak of losses).
Winner: NEW ORLEANS

NBA Picks 11/22

Yesterday's picks: 6-7

No picks today (because there are no games to pick). Happy Turkey Day everyone and be sure to stuff yourselves.

NBA Picks 11/21

Yesterday's picks: 6-2

I think I need to be a little more conservative with my featured game (i.e. not Atlanta over San Antonio) especially if I want to keep up with a surging Tas (because we all know he's the brains of the operation). In any case, my upsets went relatively went yesterday (except for the upsets...) and there are a lot of chances for me to mess up today.

Today's games:

Washington at CHARLOTTE

Golden State at BOSTON

ATLANTA at Miami

LAKERS at Bucks

Toronto at MEMPHIS

CLEVELAND at Minnesota

Indiana at NEW ORLEANS

New York at DETROIT

Orlando at SAN ANTONIO

Sacramento at PHOENIX

New Jersey at PORTLAND

DENVER at Clippers

Featured game: Dallas at Houston

I pick a fairly disportionate (I'm not sure that is a word) amount of Rockets games to be featured. There are a few reasons to this. Firstly, they are a good team, which makes them more likely to be fetured than bad teams will only be featured on slow days, or in an upset. Secondly, they play in the league's hardest division, which means more match ups against other hard teams, including in-state rivals and fellow powerhouses Dallas and San Antonio, which probably will always be featured. Lastly, they are my favorite team, so I guess I'm biased. Today, they welcome McGrady back which should provide an added spark while Luis Scola and Shane Battier hopefully keep contributing like they have been. I don't my Rocks losing 6 straight, so I'm praying for a mercy win here.
Winner: HOUSTON

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NBA Picks 11/20

Yesterday's picks: 4-0

An undefeated day means I have to pick a lot of upsets today to balance things out.

Today's games:

MILWAUKEE at Cleveland

LAKERS at Indiana

PHILADELPHIA at Washington

GOLDEN STATE at New York

Toronto at DALLAS

Chicago at DENVER

PHOENIX at Sacramento

Featured game: San Antonio at Atlanta

The birds have shown this year that they will not roll over against the big boys with a win against Dallas, win against Phoenix, and a loss at Detroit by 1 (They were crushed by Boston, we'll forget about that). The Spurs are a team that aren't easily upset, but if anyone the Hwks are a team to do it. They create match-up problems all around by being basically able to field a team of all forwards (PG Joe Johnson, SG Josh Childress, SF Josh Smith, PF Shelden Williams, C Al Horford) that might actually be their best squad especially with Acie Law IV out. It'll be intersting to watch any one on the Hawks try to guard Tony Parker, but ultimately there's only one reason I'm featuring this game, and you know what it is.
Winner: ATLANTA

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NBA Picks 11/19

Yesterday's picks: 2-1

I win because I correctly picked against the Celtics. Hooray.

Today's games:

Portland at CHARLOTTE

Seattle at MEMPHIS

New Jersey at UTAH

Featured game: Orlando at New Orleans

Portland can't win on the road/can't lose at home. Memphis is coming out of its shell. Utah wants three all stars. And here we have the match up of the respective leaders of the Southeast and Southwest divisions. Orlando showed the world that they were a force to be reckoned with yesterday by taking down the mighty Celtics, though they did squander a 20-point lead. New Orleans looked like one of the best teams in the league before Chris Paul went down with an ankle injury. Jannero Prgo filled in well last game, but as we know from last year, as Chris Paul goes so go the Hornets. If Paul were healthy, I'd pick the Hornets easily, the Magic are complacent coming off a big win. However, this team is not the same and more importantly, I can't bet on a home team sweep for today.
Winner: ORLANDO

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NBA Picks 11/18

Yesterday's picks: 4-6

Ouch. This also marks the first time this season that I woke up too late to pick a game. I guess you have to take my word for it that I would have picked Toronto.

Today's games:

DETROIT at Sacramento

Chicago at LAKERS

Featured game: Boston at Orlando

I was genuinely frightened on Friday when I was sitting in my god awful (they weren't actually that bad) 40 dollar seats at the TD BankNorth Garden and I thought I might be witnessing the Celtics' first loss this season. Against the Heat. At the hands of Ricky Davis. Yes, that Ricky Davis: every team's castaway who is more of a doppelganger for Eddie Griffin the actor than the late Eddie Griffin the player ever could be. I guess it could be worse though. We could have let Damien Wilkens drop 41 on us. In any case, at the Magic is significantly tough enough of a game to pick against the Celtics I think, although I did want to have the Celtics improve to 9-0, Pats go to 10-0, and the Revs win the title on the same day (even though they just lost).
Winner: ORLANDO

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NBA Picks

Yesterday's picks: 6-6

Ballhype claims that I went 7-4 yesterday, which doesn't make a lot of sense because there were 12 games in action yesterday and I lost 6 of them. Whatever.

Today's games:

Seattle at CHARLOTTE

PORTLAND at Washington

UTAH at Indiana

Miami at NEW JERSEY

NEW ORLEANS at Minnesota

Memphis at DALLAS

ATLANTA at Milwaukee

NEW YORK at Denver

CHICAGO at Clippers

Featured game: Phoenix at Houston

Every team experiences a week from hell at some point during the season and this concludes Houston's. Their schedule had less wiggle room than you sitting next to a fat guy on a bus. 5 games in 7 weeks is bad enough when your games are not @ Charlotte, @ Memphis, vs. Lakers, @ San Antonio, and vs. Phoenix, with two sets of back-to backs in that span. To add to their misery, TMac went down at the midpoint of the week, reducing them to just a shell of themselves. However, they were somehow able to keep the game close against the Spurs yesterday night due to big contributions from Scola and Shane Battier. As we've said before, the Suns are the type of team that lets you hang around, and I don't think you want to do that if the role players of the Rockets are stepping up.
Winner: HOUSTON

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NBA Picks 11/16

Yesterday's picks: 2-0

Nothing spectacular. Dallas really laid it on San Antonio early in the game, which was pretty interesting to see.

Today's games:

Indiana at TORONTO

PORTLAND at Philadelphia

Seattle at ATLANTA

Orlando at NEW JERSEY

UTAH at Cleveland

Miami at BOSTON

New Orleans at MEMPHIS

WASHINGTON at Minnesota

NEW YORK at Sacramento

Detroit at LAKERS

Clippers at GOLDEN STATE

Featured game: Houston at San Antonio

In the first half of yesterday's game against Dallas, the Spurs looked pretty bad. The Mavs were running all over them and raining threes like their name was Fat Joe. Everyone is tired on the back end of a back-to-back, but after a loss, you are also one of two things: dejected or hungry. The Spurs are a resilient team and used to winning, so expect them to bounce back. The Rockets started the season looking like one of the best teams in the Lig, but have faltered as of late. Even though the Rockets are one of the deepest team out there, when you remove TMac from the equation any team will go from elite to mediocre.
Winner: SAN ANTONIO

When the Injury Bug Bites

Longtime man of glass, Tracy McGrady, suffered his annual injury during last night's game against the Lakers when he ran into the stonewall that is the quantifiably dirtiest (as in grundgy not like unfair) player in the league, Luke Walton. While trying to break Little Bill's ankles, T-Mac caught his right arm on Luke Walton's body, which bent it back and hurt his elbow.

McGrady: "At the time, I couldn't feel my fingers for a while. When I got to the hospital, I started getting feeling in my hands. It was very painful. Right now, I couldn't play if I tried."

Hm, that doesn't sound good. McGrady had to shoot his free throws with one hand (his left, if you didn't catch that). He made the first and didn't even catch iron on the second. According to Kobe, he and the Mac Attack used to have contests where they would shoot one handed free throws with their off hand, but I'm guessing for these contests they did not have throbbing pain in their other arm.

Currently, McGrady is listed as day-to-day as MRIs showed no significant ligament damage to the elbow, which means that hopefully he wont be out for long.

NBA Picks 11/15

Yesterday's picks: 9-4

Decent day, some good picks, some bad.

Today's games:

Chicago at PHOENIX

Featured game: San Antonio at Dallas

The champs are looking as good as ever right now, especially when TD isn't getting blocked by Kobe. Manu Ginobili loves his role as the 6th man as he is one of the most productive Spurs right now. Dirk seems to have a diminished role in Dallas, but that is partially because of how Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and DeSagna Diop (Yes, DeSagna Diop) have majorly stepped up their games. Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili might match up against each other off the bench, so they might nullify each other's virtually identical efficiency ratings (22.86 and 22.88 respectively). Overall, however, while the Spurs are the reigning champs, the Mavs are the reigning regular season champs, and last time I checked, this is the regular season, and to boot (I use that phrase too often) they are playing in Dallas.
Winner: DALLAS

NBA Picks 11/14

Yesterday's picks: 7-1

I sniped that Memphis over Houston call, but wasn't man enough to feature it. It's nice to have a definitively good day again.

Today's games:

CHARLOTTE at Atlanta

INDIANA at Washington

Orlando at CLEVELAND

SEATTLE at Miami

New Jersey at BOSTON

Sacramento at MINNESOTA

Memphis at MILWAUKEE

Philadelphia at NEW ORLEANS

Lakers at HOUSTON

DETROIT at Golden State

New York at CLIPPERS

Featured game: Utah at Toronto

Earlier this season, I was very high on Toronto. To me they looked definitively like one of the best teams in the Leastern Conference. A few losses laer, I came back down to Earth about them, but I stil think they are a dangerous squad (which is kind of a bankhanded compliment reserved for teams like Atlanta and Portland usually meaning that they will put up a fight). Utah looks as good as ever right now with Kirilenko flirting with triple doubles virtually every game again, while probably being only the third best player on the Jazz with apologies to Memhet Okur and Ronnie Brewer. Top to bottom, the Jazz might have one of the best starting fives in the Lig (Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Memhet Okur), especially with Brewer establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with and a most improved player candidate. Honestly, who's is better? Probably Phoenix (Nash, Barbosa/Bell, Marion, Stoudamire, Diaw), but I don't think anyone else.
Winner: UTAH

NBA Picks 11/12

Yesterday's picks: 5-2

This new found traffic heading my way from Hardwood Paroxysm puts a lot of pressure on me for these picks.

Today's games:

Cleveland at DENVER

Sacramento at UTAH

Featured game: New Orleans at New Jersey

This is a battle of the New's, one old and one... new? New Jersey looks solid this year, but Vince Carter's injury makes the rest of the season look bleak. New Orleans is clicking on all cylinders, with Peja and Tyson Chandler providing a perfect inside-outside combo with Chris Paul solidfying his spot as the best point guard this side of Steve Nash. Usually around this point, after I have put down one team and hyped up the other, I'll make a sharp turnaround and pick the worse team, but today I'm going to keep you on your toes.
Winner: NEW ORLEANS

NBA Picks 11/11

Yesterday's picks: 4-3

I feel like now is an appropriate time to say that all of my picks re based off of gut feeling rather than like any kind of research.

Today's games:

MIAMI at New York

NEW ORLEANS at Philadelphia

HOUSTON at Charlotte

Milwaukee at SAN ANTONIO

Detroit at SEATTLE

Cleveland at CLIPPERS

Featured Game: Washington at Atlanta

This is a game of Southeast rivals, one with budding talent and the other with established superstars. One team is on the rise while the other seems to be falling fast. All kidding aside, the only reason to watch this game is to see whether the Wiz kids get the first win, and what better team to do so against than the Baby birds (There are many better teams to do so against, such as, for example, the Wizards). Atlanta has already shed the cupcake label as they took down powerhouses such as Dallas and Phoenix. Al Horford is challenging Kevin Durant for the Rookie of the Year title as he has double digit rebounds in 3 out of his 5 games. Meanwhile, I keep picking the Wizards to win because I figure they have to ge their first sometime, but they keep proving me wrong. I'm picking them again today with the same logic (I picked Miami and Seattle too, so this could be a special day for winless teams).
Winner: WASHINGTON

NBA Picks 11/10

Yesterday's picks: 11-3

Hooray, finally a good day. Too bad it's because there were not really any notable games to pick.

Today's games:

Denver at INDIANA

PHOENIX at Orlando

TORONTO at Chicago

DALLAS at Portland

Minnesota at SACRAMENTO

Featured game: Memphis at Utah

Both teams are on the tail end of a back to back: last year, the Grizz went 2-20 in such match ups. This is not last year's Grizzlies, however. Two premier frontcourts match up in this game with Kirilenko, Boozer, and Okur match up against Rudy Gay, Darko, and Pau Gasol. Point guards of the future are the second headline of the game, with Mike Conley Jr. and Kyle Lowry (though Captain Mighty Mouse is starting) going head to head with Deron Williams. At the last spot, Mike Miller brings his experience against Ronnie Brewer's athleticism. All signs should point to Utah taking this game, but if I were picking them, this wouldn't be the featured game, now would it?
Winner: MEMPHIS