Opposite Action Plays
Ball State
JB Sports
Toronto Raptors
Bob Balfe
Buffalo/Ball State Over
Rocketman
Indiana Pacers
Ben Burns
CFB BB Buffalo
CBB Main Event Texas A&M
NBA Annil Wizards
Tony Karpinski
10* NBA Game of the Week
Toronto Raptors +5.5
A new era in Toronto Raptors basketball tips off Friday when the Raptors visit the Jazz in Salt Lake City. Toronto is coming off one of the worst losses in franchise history in their last game on Tuesday which cost Sam Mitchell his job as the Raptors coach. Jay Triano will be the new head coach and had 3 days to prepare a new starting rotation along with his focus on defense. Look for Chris Bosh to continue to flourish along with Jermaine O'Neal. The Jazz, will still be without star forward Carlos Boozer tonight and I expect the Raptors to take advantage inside. The Jazz are also banged up with forwards Andrei Kirilenko (ankle) and Matt Harpring (back) are both injured. Look for Toronto to bounce back with their new coach and coming off a 29 pt beating in which they only shot 35%.
NHL 5* Calgary
CFB 4* Buffalo
ASA
4-Star NJ Nets (-6.5) over Minnesota Timberwolves
Tonight we side with the Nets at home over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. We played against the Nets on Tuesday night as they were in a bad spot at home against the Wizards coming off an extended West coast road trip. It obviously paid off as the Wizards won 108-88. But tonight you’ll see a different Nets team as they are rested and ready. In fact, I’m betting you’ll see the same Nets team that won three straight road games at Phoenix, Utah and Sacramento prior to Tuesday night. Vince Carter had this to say about tonight’s game against the Wolves. "It's not a must-win," Carter cautioned, "It's just, we need to win. We're trying to establish ourselves and we're good enough to where, if we play like that (Tuesday), we can bounce back. So, it's an opportunity, and hopefully we'll respond." While not necessarily a huge game so early in the season, this is a litmus test for the 9-8 Nets and their overall progress this year. But the only valid reason they could have for losing at home to the Timberwolves tonight -- after a day off, a full day of practice Thursday, and four nights in their own beds -- would be that the Nets are just not that good, or they just don't care. I’m confident that’s not the case though as I’ve watched the Nets play and they seem to be jelling as a team with Vince Carter and Devin Harris leading the way. "If we don't come up with the energy in the next game," Carter warned, "then it's a problem." Another quote from head coach Lawrence Franks, "All I know is, if we don't give our best effort, then we don't give ourselves a chance.” "It's very cut and dried. We have to play with a ton of passion, energy, emotion. We've got to attack. If we don't do those things, we're going to struggle. And defensively we have to make improvement." New Jersey is being led by former Wisconsin Badger Devin Harris who came to the Nets via a trade with Dallas for Jason Kidd. **Side note: Mark Cuban has to be kicking himself for that deal.** Harris is averaging over 24 ppg on the year and has scored 30+ points in 6 of the last eleven games he’s played in. As a guard he is shooting nearly 49% from the field which is outstanding to say the least. Minnesota will try to contain Harris and Carter but they really don’t have anyone that can stop them. The T’Wolves will also struggle offensively tonight as Mike Miller is questionable with an ankle injury. Even if Miller can go he won’t be 100%. The T’Wolves are coming off a pair of road losses at Charlotte and Orlando and they are just 2-7 SU away on the season. In their most recent road loss the Wolves were down by 20-points after the 3rd quarter before the Magic bench let them make the final score respectable with a 9-point margin. Minnesota shot just 41% for the game while allowing the Magic to hit nearly 57%. The Nets have won 7 of the last 8 meetings with the Timberwolves at home and they’ll get a double digit win at the IZOD Center tonight.
Scott Rickenbach
1* (regular play) Edmonton Oilers Money Line (+) @ Los Angeles
The Oilers have revenge on their minds here. The Kings beat them in Edmonton last Wednesday and the Oilers get a shot to return the favor here tonight by beating Los Angeles in their own barn! Edmonton has won two of three since the loss to the Kings as the Oilers defeated the Blues in St Louis and got a big home win over the Stars. In between, Edmonton did lose at Dallas but that game showed how resilient the Oilers are right now as they battled back from a 3-0 deficit on the road to tie up the Stars. Even though Dallas won the game 4 to 3 on a late Modano goal, that effort is what gave the Oilers a lot of momentum heading into their home game versus Dallas on Wednesday. Edmonton also brought Mathieu Garon back between the pipes for that game and the performance of the former #1 goalie coupled with how well the Oilers played all facets of the game in a 5 to 2 win, gives Edmonton a ton of momentum for tonight’s match-up. As for the Kings, things haven’t been going so well. Over the last three weeks, Los Angeles played eight games other than the win at Edmonton. In those eight games, the Oilers went just 2-5-1. The five regulation losses came by a combined total of twelve goals as the Kings haven’t just been losing they’ve been getting roughed up. With this being revenge game for Edmonton, we look for more of the same tonight as the Oilers come in hungry (from the home loss to LA) and confident (from the blowout win over Dallas Wednesday). Add it all up and we’re getting great line value with the Oilers on the road here. Play Edmonton on the money line as a regular selection.
Cal Sports
5* Nets
3* Clippers Over
3* Furman
Anybody got Rocketman's NHL picks? Thanks
Wizard of Odds
Charlotte Bobcats +4.5
DOC
6-Unit Play (Game of the Week) – Take Portland/Boston UNDER 185
We were hoping the bookies would lay a number on this game in the mid-180s and they did. Boston is the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA both in points allowed and field goal percentage. Portland is No. 7 in the league for points allowed and, one interesting thing is that they are No. 20 defensively in field goal percentage which means that they really try and slow down the game and force teams to play their game. This total is so high because Boston has been scoring a lot of points lately but they haven’t played many good defensive clubs. The Blazers have been great defensively, holding their last five opponents to an 86 PPG average and they have allowed only one opponent to reach 100 points in their last nine games. Boston allows 90 PPG on the season. Boston hasn’t allowed a 100-point effort in four straight games and it won’t happen tonight against a Portland team that isn’t very explosive on offense. We think this one will be a grind-it-out defensive effort on the part of both teams and we expect this one to land in the high 170s.
Mike Lineback
Pacers/Cavaliers Over
The Consensus Group Guaranteed Selections
6000* NHL LATE STEAM MONEY LINE WINNER
Calgary -135
6000* NBA WINNER
Toronto +5
KBHoops
3* Ball State OVER 63
3* Ball State -15.5
5* Milw/Charl UNDER **POD**
4* Boston -8
3* Cleveland -11
3* Cleveland OVER