2002 Buzz Word Sports records
SEASON NFL: 122-86, +76.35 UNITS!!
SEASON NBA: 94-79, +14.1 UNITS!!
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 120-96, +23.35 UNITS!!
SEASON MLB: 672-582, +151.85 UNITS!!
Enjoy our free picks tonight after a monster NFL weekend!
Seattle @ Atlanta 7:35 PM EST
Seattle +1.5 over Atlanta (5 Units)
The Atlanta Hawks are suddenly struggling, as a collapse in their defensive intensity has resulted in three straight losses where their opponents have scored 103 points or more... in a pattern that would make a stock market analyst proud, Atlanta's opponents have scored 82, 92, 103, 105, and 109 points in consecutive games... Opposition scoring is looking like a real blue-chipper right now, and our recommendation on the Hawks is to sell immediately, as in addition to their lapse of defense, the Hawks are playing a Sonics team that has thrived within the heart of Georgia, covering five straight games there, while winning four of the five straight up...
The road team has now actually won each of the last ten games in the series between these two teams against the spread, while winning straight up on 7 of the 10 occasions... and while each of the home wins ended up being by 3 points or less (indicating a game that could have gone either way), the 7 road wins have come by a minimum of six points and an average of 13 ppg... The Sonics have actually won each of their last three trips to Atlanta by at least 9 points, and we wouldn't be surprised in the least to see a similar result tonight...
The Hawks may be a passable 6-7 on the season, but it is obvious to us that they are not yet at a point where they can compete with quality teams in the league, and Seattle is one of those teams... just look at the list of teams Atlanta has defeated - Chicago, Denver, Toronto, the Lakers, Utah, New Orleans... of those teams, only the Hornets are above .500 on the season... but even at that, the Hornets lost on the road, where they are just 2-4 on the season... in our estimation, the Hawks do not yet possess a truly quality win this season, and against any winning competition (Boston, Minnesota, Sacramento, New Jersey), Atlanta is winless on the season outside of the New Orleans contest...
Seattle, on the other hand, has been exceptional on the road, with their only road loss in five games coming at the hands of the still-undefeated Dallas Mavericks... in fact, their three road losses all year (against six victories) have come at the hands of teams that are a combined 19-2 at home this season... with road wins already over San Antonio, Washington, and the Clippers, we don't see Atlanta being a major roadblock for the Sonics, who have more than enough athleticism to counter Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Glenn Robinson, and Jason Terry.... what the Hawks have no answer for is Gary Payton, and in the end, that should doom Atlanta to their fourth straight loss, as Seattle takes their fourth straight game in Atlanta...
FINAL PREDICTION: SEATTLE 100, ATLANTA 87
Utah @ LA Clippers 10:35 PM EST
Utah +2.5 over LA Clippers (5 Units)
The Jazz may still have a few tuneful notes left after all... left for dead in the ultra-competitive Western Conference after a 1-4 start to the season, Utah has now rattled off four straight wins to even their season record at 7-7 heading into this contest against the struggling LA Clippers...
The Clips are still dealing with injury problems, as Quentin Richardson and Lamar Odom are still unavailable for LA, who were expected to make a colossal leap this season into a playoff team, while the Jazz were expected to take their seat at the losers table... it's funny how some things never change though, and while the Clips are an incredibly talented bunch, the offseason contract distractions, the injuries, and the big offseason trade (acquiring Andre Miller for Darius Miles) have left the Clippers searching for consistency, especially at home, where they are now just 2-5 SU on the season, with those two wins coming by a COMBINED three points... not too surprisingly, LA has been an awful home favorite, failing to cover the spread even once despite being favored four times this season... overall, the Clips are 0-5-2 ATS at home this season, and facing a red-hot Jazz team that has dominated the Clips in seasons past isn't going to help change that...
The Utah Jazz are seeking their 14th consecutive victory over the Clippers in this contest, and they come in shooting over 50 percent from the field over their last three contests, while holding each of their last five opponents to 90 points or less, and an average of just 81.8 ppg... and on the season, the Jazz have taken care of business on the road against losing teams, knocking off the Nuggets, Raptors, and Knicks by an average of 14 points per game... Despite the talent that the Clips possess, they still fit the profile of a losing team, and Utah should be able to handle LA for the fourteenth consecutive time...
The Clippers offense has just been out of sync all season at home... while LA scored 96 and 93 points in their first two games of the season (home losses to Cleveland and the Shaq-less Lakers), their 90-89 victory over Houston marked the first time since the opening losses where they reached even 90 points at home... and it's not as though the Clips were facing slow-it-down teams - the Kings, Magic, and Sonics were all included in those contests, three teams that won't soon be confused with the Denvers/Detroits/Miamis of the NBA... considering that the Jazz are coming off three straight 96+ point performances (including games against defensive-minded Phoenix and Denver), and have scored an average of 102.8 ppg in their last five trips to Clipper-vile, LA is going to need to have their highest home production of the season to have a chance to win this game, let alone cover a 2.5-point spread...
The road team has covered five out of six games in this series, and right now the road team is in fact the better team... with Utah getting 2.5 points against a team that hasn't beaten anyone by more than two at home this season, and with the knowledge that the Clippers haven't defeated the Jazz since 1999, we are all over Utah to win this game easily...
FINAL PREDICTION: UTAH 98, LA CLIPPERS 87
Indiana @ Washington 7:05 PM EST
Indiana +1.5 over Washington (4 Units)
Indiana/Washington Over 184 (2.5 Units)
The Indiana Pacers, having had their nine-game winning streak snapped in disheartening fashion against the Detroit Pistons, now head to the nation's capital to take on the struggling Wiz, who have lost three straight contests, including a double-digit loss to the previously winless Memphis Grizzlies...
While Washington will come out of the gates angry with themselves for their performance against the Grizz, we have trouble seeing them able to handle an incredibly deep Pacers squad that has a huge advantage in the frontcourt with players such as Jermaine O'Neal, Brad Miller, Jonathan Bender, Al Harrington and Austin Croshere matched up against the likes of Kwame Brown and Brendan Haywoood... and considering that the Pacers have won 8 of the last 10 games between these two SU, including 3 of 4 in Washington, we're happy to be getting a couple of points in this game...
The Wizards may be 4-1 SU in their last five home games, but that mark is less than impressive when you consider that their wins have come against a depleted Lakers team (by 1 point), Cleveland, Miami, and Utah (by just 3), teams that are a combined 6-24 on the road this season... meanwhile, the Pacers are 3-1 on the road this season, with their only loss coming against the Eastern Conference champion Nets...
Indiana's offense has been running on all cylinders, as they have scored 103+ points in five of their last eight games, and an average of 101.8 ppg during that timeframe... the only teams against whom the Pacers failed to hit triple-digits were the Pistons, Raptors, and Cavs - three teams that obviously emphasize defense more than most squads... and even in those contests, the Pacers managed to put up at least 91 points in each... the Wizards have allowed four of their last five home opponents to score between 99 and 102 points, with the sole exception being a weak Miami squad... so we definitely expect the Pacers to make the scoreboard operator earn his keep tonight...
Both of these teams are well rested, having played their last game on Saturday... however, while Indiana is a very solid 3-1 ATS with two days rest, the Wizards are 0-4 SU and ATS with 2+ days rest on the season... The Wizards are just 2-9 ATS overall, 1-5 ATS at home, 3-6 ATS as a favorite, 2-5 ATS as a pick or fav at home, and 1-4 ATS in their first home game after a road trip of two or more games... toss on the fact that they are just 7-18-1 (including 2-8 this season) when the line is five points or less either way, and you can see why we love the Pacers in this contest... take Indiana and the Over, as the Pacers should hit 100 by themselves with Washington keeping up enough to ensure that the total breaks 184 points...
FINAL PREDICTION: INDIANA 102, WASHINGTON 92
Sacramento @ Cleveland 7:05 PM EST
Cleveland/Sacramento Under 191 (3.5 Units)
The punchless Cleveland Cavaliers host the Sacramento Kings tonight with very few thoughts on winning straight up... in fact, after five straight losses of 13 points or more (and 8 of 9 by that margin), the Cavs are at a point where they just want to avoid another blowout loss... and after getting crushed 94-67 in Sacramento less than a month ago, we expect the Cavs to slow the ball down and focus upon defense in the hopes of just keeping this game close for a few quarters of action...
Keeping the score down hasn't been an issue for the Cleveland offense, as they have now scored 84 points or less in 8 of their last 9 games, and each of their last five... with the total in this contest set at 190, the Kings would have to likely put up triple-digits in order to cash the Over... however, the boys from Sactown have been a different team this year than in years past, focusing more on defense to win on the road, while sacrificing a little offense in the process... the Kings have failed to score more than 97 points in three consecutive road games, and are averaging just 95.4 ppg in their last five road contests.... meanwhile, for a defense that was once known to let opponents score at will, the Kings have improved greatly by allowing 100+ in just 3 of 15 games this season....
As a road favorite this season, the Under is 4-1 (6-1 heading back to last year), with the only Over coming when they allowed Seattle to throw 111 points on the board against them... something tells us that won't be a problem tonight with the Cavs, especially without Darius Miles and Dajuan Wagner to help push the ball on offense... Cleveland knows their best chance at hanging close in this game is through Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the middle, so expect to see a bit of halfcourt offense in this one, which will slow the game down once again...
While we are bucking an Over trend in Cleveland (4-0 when these two play at Gund Arena), the Cavs are holding teams to just 90.6 ppg at home, and can't score a lick themselves... with the Kings still without Mike Bibby and Scot Pollard, and with Peja Stojakovic questionable as well for this contest, we just don't see them running up and down the court with another game tomorrow night in Minnesota... therefore, take the Under, as these teams combine for no more than 185 points...
FINAL PREDICTION: SACRAMENTO 95, CLEVELAND 82
OTHER PLAYS (no analysis):
Houston @ Portland 10:05 PM EST
Houston +6 over Portland (3 Units)
San Antonio @ Denver 9:05 PM EST
Denver +10 over San Antonio (2 Units)