Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
Thunder +4.5 over Clippers
NCAA Basketball
Marquette +6 over Tennessee
Opposite Action Plays
NEW YORK KNICKS
JB Sports
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Ron Raymond
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Lenny Del Genio
CBB DENVER -2
Tony George
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Rocketman
NEW JERSEY DEVILS -125
Nick Parsons
SOUTH FLORIDA +8
Indiancowboy
(POD) Take Portland Pilots -1 over Northern Colorado Bears
Sometimes, you just have to roll with the strength of the power rankings. I want you to note today that this will be a tight game all the way through and by no means are we guaranteed to win this game like any other game. But, we have a lot of power ranking features that work in our favor and frankly, I think this is the only play that works within my style of handicapping today. I'll let you know the things that we don't have working in our favor first. The first being is that Norther Colorado lost to this team by 7 points last year and this team has revenge over Portland. But, we have many things going for us. The first being is that Portland comes off a tough loss to top 20 PR (power ranking) BYU by 15 points. That's actually very impressive. Remember, I have Portland as a top 105 team. Heck, this team nearly beat Portland State who is also another top 105 team on teh road as they lost in overtime to them. Portland has defeated the likes of top 200 Idaho, top 160 Nevada, top 250 UC Davis and even top 50 Washington at home. Portland to this day has not lost to a team outside the top 200. Hence, enter the Northern Colorado Bears. Northern Colorado comes off their own loss to Creighton on the road by more than 20 points. This team lost to top 190 Air Force (remember, Portland is top 105) and the only two games that this Northern Colorado team has won was against Denver and Texas State - with one team outside the top 300 PR and the other team outside the top 200. This team has yet to beat anyone in the top 100-200 range and therefore, I like Portland here. Remember, Portland has yet to lose to anyone outside the top 200 and Northern Colorado has yet to beat anyone in the top 200. Portland also returns their entire young team from last year and is far more physical and their coach is in their third year slowly turning this team around as this team has its top scorer, rebounder, assist leader and 3 point shooter all back. Let's roll with the Pilots here as they are 5-2 ATS and are 5-0 ATS after allowing 90 points or more in their previous game as this team prides itself on defense. This game should be close but I think Portland pulls away in the end adn wins by about 4 points.
Take Under 187 between Chicago Bulls @ Charlotte Bobcats
It seems that Charlotte is playing better as after all, they were essentially tied with the Hawks if not leading them going into the fourth only to collapse. So, the line is slim as they host the Bulls at home. Remember, Charlotte nearly beat the Pistons at home as although they lost they made a huge come back in the second half. Note, that Wallace is questionable in this game and the public is about split anyway on the contest. Chicago comes off a big win over NJ at home and on the road they have been playing several unders. The only thing that worries me by taking Charlotte is their lack of shooting in one quarter out of the four. They have consistently had problems scoring in one quarter and they played well in the other three. Go figure. Nevertheless, Charlotte has played 3 unders in a row and Chicago has played four unders in a row on the road as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see this game dip under rather than taking a side. Remember, with no Wallace Charlotte just cannot sustain offense for the entire game and have to rely on their defense. And frankly, this team has not proved to be a sound shooting all year and Chicago prides itself on defense on the road as well. The under is 5-1 for the Bulls after allowing a 100 points or more in their previous game and the under is 5-0-1 for the Bobcats when they are a home underdog of late.
Take Sacramento Kings +12.5 over the Portland Trail Blazers
Well, goodbye Reggie Theus. He has been fired. The Kings fared just well last night though blowing out the Timberwolves at home. Portland beat this team by 1 earlier this year at home and now faces them again. Something you might not be aware of is that Portland has lost 7 straight covers in a row including a tough loss to the Clippers at home in overtime in wihch I had the Clippers likely winning that game outright. It's interesting how the psyche works when teams lose their coach due to being fired. Usually they immediately start covering the next series of games and this includes the Thunder and the Timberwolves for immediate examples. I think despite Portland's loss, the Kings likely play with heart with their new acting coach today as they likely will lose straight up but will manage to cover. Remembr, Portland has lost 7 straight covers and they come into this game a bit reeling and Roy's status is still unknown for this game. Either way, look for Portland to win, but remember, with a new coach brings new energy and new focus. Sacramento got killed by this team at 20 at home earlier and they went right into Portland the next game and lost by 1 point 90-91 playing their heart out. So obviously, this team can be competitive, have double-revenge in some ways and have a new coach which they built off of winning over the Kings by double-digits.
Take the New York Knicks +13 over the Los Angeles Lakers
Well, give the Knicks some credit as they played admirably at Phoenix. By the way, I have Phoenix as a coin flip for even making the playoffs, as if they do they get in it will be via 7th or 8th spot imo. Something interesting is that the Knicks have won 6 straight covers in a row and the Lakers have lost 6 straight covers. In fact, it has been well over two weeks since the Knicks have lost back to back covers and that is a testament to D'Antoni keeping this team focused in order to reach the playoffs as you have to show night in and night out. And, the Eastern Conference is simply not that competitive as the Western Conference as it can been seen by the records that make it to the playoffs. Heck, even my Hawks made it to the playoffs with a sub .500 record. It is tough not to take a look at the Knicks given that they have such shooting prowess over the last few weeks and even if 38% of their attempts go in, they give their opposing teams headaches because they launch so many threes. Heck, in their last game alone they put up 97 shots to Phoenix's 87 shots and considering that is Phoenix at home, that is impressive. And, this team shot 41% from the field in that game. Nate Robertson alone put up neary 30 shots in that game which is incredible. Look, the Knicks are intimidated by no one. They go into each game, play their style of game and launch a ton of shots which means on any given night, they can be leading any team at any stage in the game. I like the Knicks on the bounce-back here as the Lakers have lost 6 straight covers and the Knicks are 5-0 as a road underdog of late and the Lakers are 0-4 ATS at home of late.
GOLD MEDAL CLUB
Tennessee HUGE
Sports Firm
Sacramento Kings at Portland Trail Blazers
Play: Under 200
New Orleans Hornets at Memphis Grizzlies
Play: Grizzlies 6
Denver Nuggets at Houston Rockets
Play: Under 200
South Florida Bulls at Vanderbilt Commodores
Play: Under 126
California Sports
4* Fla Atl
3* Grizzlies
3* Grizzlies Under 192
CHARLIE
500* Knicks @ Lakers Over 223
30* Tennessee Tech +17
20* Tennessee -7
20* Vanderbilt -8
10* Portland -11'
Memphis +6 free play
Brandon Lang
10 Dime Portland ( COLLEGE )
Free Pick- Marquette
DOC
3 Unit Play.Take Vanderbilt over South Florida
This game is being played in Nashville but not at Memorial Gym but this will still give Vandy a home crowd edge. The Bulls will challenge for one of the worst teams in the Big East and this selection is more about going against them then it is likely Vandy. The Commodores are not as strong as in year’s past but will take care of business on Tuesday playing a 3-4 Bulls teams. Those three victories have come against SMU, High Point, and Northeastern, enough said. USF already has losses to Niagara and UCF, and they will add a double digit loss to Vandy after tonigh
3-Unit Play Take LA Clippers over Oklahoma City
The Clippers have been playing their best basketball of the season, having won three of their last four overall including two road wins (Minnesota and Portland) and a blowout home win over Houston. We think that there is a couple points of nice value here as we were expecting this line to be larger and you can even still find this one at 4 at several sportsbooks. The Clippers have the edge both offensively and defensively tonight and with their horrible start they aren’t going to let down or overlook bad teams. Last month these teams met on this very same floor and the Clippers got a 20-point win and that was before they acquired Zach Randolph and started to play better. The Clippers have covered six of the last seven in this series and the road team is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings.