CHRIS JORDAN
100* Brown
100* Houston
100* Penn
Kelso Sturgeon
NBA GOW
25 unit- Toronto
10 unit - Niagara
Rocketman Sports
3* Princeton +13
Sports Profit Systems
Philadelphia 76ers @ Golden State Warriors
PICK: Golden State Warriors
REASON FOR PICK: It’s the last game on the NBA board and it’s one the oddsmakers may have missed. The Sixers have generated some hype with their recent surge, but we feel they’re getting way too much credit to be a small dog in a late game at Oracle. When you take a look at the Sixers recent games – you see most of those wins came at home. In their last six road games they’re just 2-4 SU & ATS. The two wins (and covers) came at 19-38 Charlotte and at 10-45 Miami, both Eastern Conference JV teams. In the two road losses prior to the overtime win against the hapless Heat, they were routed in a 16-point loss at Orlando and a 16-point loss at Minnesota. Yet all of a sudden they’re going to hang with the Warriors who are 19-10 at home? And they’re going to do so after playing Wednesday night and traveling across the country? We’re not convinced. Even good Western Conference teams have trouble getting out of Oakland with a win. The only thing we could point to that supports a play on the Sixers would be home revenge. The Warriors beat Philly back in November at Wachovia 100-98 in OT. That might come into play in the 1st half, but by the 4th quarter the Sixers could just run out of gas – and as a result get run out of the barn. The Warriors are on an 8-2 SU run in their last ten home games, but are a mirror image 2-8 ATS, which may be dropping the number tonight into the value zone. We think that’s the case as Golden State wins big and covers with ease. With no significant Warrior injuries posted as we write this, we’ve got a slam dunk with this one.
LARRY NESS
Washington Wizards @ Chicago Bulls
PICK: Chicago Bulls
REASON FOR PICK: Chicago Bull fans will get their first look at Larry Hughes (12.7) and Drew Gooden (11.4-8.4), as the team's newest players will in the United Center for the first time, after their first three games in a Bulls uniform came away from Chicago .The two players and their new team will be back on the road Sunday in a nationally televised game in Cleveland, which shipped Hughes and Gooden to Chicago as part of an 11-player deal shortly before Thursday's trade deadline. Hughes should get a big welcome from the Bulls home crowd after scoring 29 points and tying a season high with six assists in a 113-107 victory at Indiana on Wednesday. He scored a combined 27 points in his first two games with Chicago as the team lost at Houston and Dallas. Gooden had his first double-double as a member of the Bulls on Wednesday with 10 points and 15 rebounds, including a season-high eight offensive boards. Chicago (23-34) is 10th in the East but among a group of six teams within 5 1/2 games of each other that are battling for the conference's final three playoff spots. Leading that mix is Washington (27-30), which is 1 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia for the sixth seed. However, it was just learned that Caron Butler (21.4-6.8-4.5) has a small labral tear of the left joint in his hip. The All-Star forward has missed the last 10 games with what was originally diagnosed as a strained hip flexor and a timetable for his return is unclear, though it's certain he will not play this weekend. Washington is 4-10 this season when playing without Butler and more bad news came Washington's way when Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas (22.4-4.4-5.9) revealed he is not close to being ready to play despite originally targeting March 2 as his return date from knee surgery. He's missed all but eight games this season. Despite the absence of Butler and Arenas, Washington recently put together back-to-back wins, including a road victory over New Orleans on Monday. The following night though, the Wizards lost 94-69 at Houston to a Rockets team which won its 13th straight despite missing Yao Ming. Washington recorded its lowest point total of the season in the defeat, scoring a franchise-low 23 points in the first half en route to a 28-point deficit. Washington hopes to bounce back against a Chicago team which has given up an average of 110.0 PPG in its last five games but one wonders how the Wizards have enough firepower, with only Jamison (21.1-10.3) being healthy among the team's "Big Three." I'm laying the points with Chicago.
THE MILLER GROUP
Sacramento Kings @ Dallas Mavericks
PICK: under
REASON FOR PICK: We should see a renewed defensive focus out of the Mavericks when they return home to face the Kings on Friday night. They're coming off a tough loss in San Antonio last night, but catch Sacramento on the final game of a five-game road trip. Look for Dallas to control the tempo in this one.
The Kings lit up the scoreboard a couple of nights ago in Atlanta, but previous to that they had been held to 93 and 86 points against the Magic and Heat. They've been a weaker offensive team on the road this season and we look for them to run into a brick wall on Friday night. Until Kevin Martin breaks out of his shooting slump, this is an offense that can't be trusted to put up big numbers on a consistent basis.
The Mavs have scored more than 100 points in just one of their last 10 games. They would have to do that and then some to help push this one over the total. Note that the under is 10-5-1 in their last 16 games overall. The addition of Jason Kidd has boosted their energy, but hasn't lead to a scoring increase. The Kings are by no means an upper echelon defensive team, but they will hold their own against a weary Mavs squad tonight. Take the under.
Josh Dean
10* Pacers +11
5* Sixers +5.5
FREE B: Hornets
Ness 20* GOY-Yale
Spreitzer GOY-Brown
Odds on Sports
NBA:
New York +6.5
Under 196.5 Portland/Lakers
Over 201 Dallas/Sacc
Under 190.5 Minn/Clev
Under 215.5 Gst/Philly
Under 205.5 Utah/NO
NCAA Hoops:
Columbia -7
Over 136 Fairfield/Manhattan
NHL:
Anaheim -165
Over 5.5 Buff/Montreal
Jimmy Kruger
LAL UN 197
GSW OVER 215
LAS VEGAS TECH REPORT (LVTR)
SACRAMENTO +9
SEATTLE +1
INDIAN COWBOY
PLAY OF THE DAY: UTAH vs NEW ORLEANS
Play: NEW ORLEANS HORNETS 4* POD AT -4.5
Comments: INDIAN COWBOY'S PLAY OF THE DAY: 4* Hornets -4.5
INDIAN COWBOY: INDIANA vs TORONTO
Play: 4* Toronto Raptors -11
Comments: INDIAN COWBOY SELECTION: 4* Raptors -11
Getting the Raptors at home against a team that they struggled on the road - now, they get to face a team at home, where they have absolutely dominated and face a Pacers team that has struggled on the road including losing by double-digits against the Pistons in a dismal game. I think the Raps show they are significantly better than this team today with a big win at home.
Billy Coleman
5* Chic
3* Pacers
3* St Peters
Accu-Picks
4'* G. St
3* Over Knicks
California Sports
4* Niagara
4* Over Knicks
4* Toronto
Bobby Maxwell
Bulls
DOCS
7-Unit Play - Take New York/Atlanta OVER 202
Would have liked to have got this line overnight at 199, but we think this will still go over. The Hawks offense really seems to be clicking with Mike Bibby running the show. They have scored over 100 in three of their last five games and they surpassed 110 in two of those contests. They tied a season high on Wednesday as they put up 123 against Sacramento (the previous game where they scored that much went to double OT). Bibby scored 24 and dished the ball in all the right places. They should be able to shred apart a New York defense that has given up an average of 104 points per game on the road this season and they have been even worse in recent games. The Hawks haven’t been playing much defense lately either as they have given up 100 or more in five of their last six games and four of those opponents have scored more than 110 points. They have given up an average of 107 in their last five. Lately the Knicks either score a bunch or give up a bunch in nearly every game and they have gone over the posted total in eight straight games. Atlanta has gone over in nine of their last 11 games. The over is 16-5 in the Knicks last 21 road games and 7-1 in the last eight meetings in Atlanta. We think the bookies are underestimating the Hawks offensive capabilities now that Bibby is on board and we will exploit this weak number on Friday.
5-Unit Play -Take Charlotte/Boston UNDER 195
*This line was 196 1/2 when we posted as our odds feed was slow this morning and reflecting the opening line. We like this pick at any number above 192 and will grade it at 195 even though that number is 1 1/2 points under what is widely available at the time we posted. Our mistake.
Even though Charlotte has been atrocious on defense lately, we just don’t know how they can score enough to get this one over the posted number on Friday. They will likely be missing their two top scorers. Gerald Wallace is out for a couple weeks with a head injury and Jason Richardson got poked in the eye in a loss to the Knicks on Wednesday and is likely to miss the game. They have been one of the worst offensive teams in the NBA even with these two at their best but without them they should be laughable. In Wednesday’s game they barely managed 89 points despite a 27 point fourth quarter once the game was out of contention (garbage time). Tonight they will face a Boston defense that had a couple rough patches on a trip out West but has been extremely solid in their last two games (They held the Clippers to 76 and the Cavs to 87 even though 5 came in the final seconds). We think Charlotte will manage only high 70s or low 80s tonight. Charlotte has managed to play some D in two meetings this season with Boston as the Celtics managed only 90 points in two meetings.
3-Unit Play - Take New Orleans -4 ½ Over Utah
The Hornets have dropped three of their last four and that is why we are getting such a nice line here. Two of those losses were to the Spurs and Rockets, so they are nothing to worry about. They bounced back with a strong blowout win against Phoenix and despite their recent slide they have still won six of their last nine games overall. Utah has won both meetings this season but both games were in Utah. It is time for revenge tonight. The Jazz have not played very well on the road recently and they have dropped three of their last four road games with the only win coming at Seattle. Both teams can score on offense but the Hornets are much better defensively at home than the Jazz are on the road and we think that will be the difference tonight
DA Stick
20* NHL GOY Detroit
Dr Bob
I was 1-1 on my Thursday Best Bets, winning 2-Stars on Wisconsin and losing 3-Stars with Louisiana Tech. I am now 122-111-5 on my Basketball Best Bets for the season, and 312-290-14 on a Star Basis for a slight loss of -7.0 Stars at -1.10
Sacramento (+9 ½) over DALLAS,
3-Stars at +9 or more, 2-Stars from +8 1/2 to +7 points.
L.A. Clippers (+14 ½) over DENVER, 2-Stars at +14 points or more.
Seabass
20* Yale
50* Brown
10* Niagra
NESS NBA
Insider - Atlanta Hawks
15* tv gom - New Orleans Hornets
WILL SYKES
WASHINGTON vs CHICAGO
SYKE-O-ANALYSIS: How many times do you want me to tell you how horrible these Bulls are? Practically every time these Bulls win, they lose 6-16 ATS to be exact (3-19 SU, meaning 3 of those ATS wins were because they were dogs) You think that trend is nice, check this out as the Bulls are 0-5 ATS when playing at home after a division game (1-4 SU, winning the only game against the Knicks; we all know how horrible the Knicks are) Why trust a team that's not capable of winning back to back games, and a mediocre 15-15 ATS after 1 days rest? No only are they a mediocre 15-15 ATS after a days rest, but they're also 10-16 ATS at home. When you can trust a Washington Wizards team that's 6-0 ATS with 2 days rest (5-1SU losing the only game @ Cleveland by 1 point), and is a winning 17-12 ATS on the road. You say that those Bulls just got some new players and I should be worried about them? I despise anyone who would think that, didn't you hear LeBron? "I'm happy we made the trade, it makes our team better." I can't believe why the public is backing these Bulls, but I do see it in a lines makers perspective in another psych out situation. So don't get psyched here tonight, by taking the horrible home favorite, and stick with Sykes in his first ever 7* GOY release at Maui . Just stick with Sykes and you won't be psyched.
7* GOY: WASHINGTON WIZARDS +5
ATS LOCK PICKS
6* Bulls
4* Nuggets
4* Jazz
Chicago Sports Connection
Atlanta over 202
Chicago over 198
Sac. +9
Brandon Lovell
NBA Blank Check Game of my Career
Memphis - Rockets UNDER 194