Free Picks Basketball - April 17, 2010

We scooped +32.5 units last year in NBA playoffs going 55-44. We come into this season's NBA playoffs on a 40-32 run over the last five weeks, good for +12 units.

We have a trio of premium picks ready for the opening round of the playoffs including a 5-unit pick and a pair of 4-unit selections.

Bet Phoenix NBA Playoff Bracket Contest - Over $15K in prizes. Free to Enter. To play, go here.

WUNDERDOG 2010 RECENT RESULTS ($100/bet)
SPORT	WINS-LOSSES	%	NET
NFL	46-29 last 75 picks	61%	+$4060
CFB	25-10 last 35 picks	71%	+$6040
MLB	265-219 last 484 picks	55%	+$8370
NBA	40-32 last 72 picks	56%	+$1220
NHL	312-236 last 548 picks	57%	+$13720
WNBA	121-90 last 211 picks	57%	+$5490
TOTAL			+$38900

Today's NBA Basketball Picks:

Game: Chicago at Cleveland (3:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 5 units on Cleveland -11 (-110) (risk 5 to win 4.6)
Pick: 3 units on Game Total UNDER 193 -110 (risk 3 to win 2.7)

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have the best record in the NBA when the playoffs begin, so they will have the home court advantage as long as they last. They are facing a double-digit pointspread for their opener vs. the Bulls. That has shown to be no problem for the Cavs as they went 4-0-1 ATS as a 10+ favorite a year ago in the playoffs. They won the five games by a total of 87 points! This is a Bulls team that was getting 10 points at home vs. the Cavs less than a month ago, so this line certainly isn't loaded up on Cleveland. The Cavs have been 22-7 ATS following a 10+ point loss, and the Bulls just 3-19 ATS in Cleveland. I'll go with Cleveland to win big in the opener. I also like the UNDER in this game. The Bulls were 24-16 UNDER on the road this season including 15-7 UNDER vs. teams that score 100+ per game. When facing teams that shoot well (46%+ from the field), the Bulls were 12-3 UNDER this season on the road. Cleveland plays great defense at home, allowing just 94 ppg and will have high-intensity here. Since last season, the Cavs are 37-24 UNDER as a double-digit favorite. Take the Cavs and the UNDER here.

The Atlanta Hawks beat-out the Celtics for the No. 3 seed, and continue to make strides every season. The Milwaukee Bucks were hot over the second half of the season, despite losing Michael Redd again in mid-January. A bigger loss occurred when Andrew Bogut went down with just a few weeks to go in the season and will miss the playoffs. The Bucks have made impressive strides, but there is one area they still have yet to shine in and that is playing on the road vs. a winning team. Discounting the season finale vs. the Celtics, when the C's sat their starters, the Bucks finished the regular season just 3-16 on the road vs. a winning team. The injuries will be too hard to overcome here, so I like Atlanta in this one.

The intensity on defense usually picks up in the NBA playoffs, but with a game that features a pair of teams built on the offensive end, I'm not expecting to see that here. The Jazz, discounting the season finale, went for 110.8 points per game over their last 23. The Nuggets went for 110 or more points in half their home games, so they are going to score here as well. In the four meetings on the season, they averaged 218 ppg between these clubs. The Jazz have gone 20-7 to the OVER in their last 27 vs. the NBA Northwest. I look for this one to soar OVER the total.

NBA Basketball Picks Resources:

• View our basketball ratings here.
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• View our 2009 NBA season preview here.
• View our blog basketball here.
• Hop over to our 2009 NBA season picks here.
• Check out NBA basketball predictions here.
• Check out our updated NBA basketball odds and lines.
• View our updated basketball against-the-spread records.

Check out the last five NBA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-14-2010
The Minnesota Timberwolves are closing the season in a bad way as they have become the early season New Jersey Nets. The T-Wolves are a pathetic 1-22 in their last 23 games, so posted as a favorite he...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-13-2010
The Denver Nuggets continue to excel on their home court, but the road is certainly not paved with gold for this team as their 19-21 mark is indicative of their struggles. A closer look reveals that t...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-12-2010
The Heat have been impressive on the defensive end during their late surge that shows them at 10-1 over their last 11 games. The Heat have strangled opponents, holding them to 86.1 points per game dur...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-10-2010
The Golden State Warriors haven't done much winning on the road with just seven in the win column all season. They are playing much better now, winning three of their last four, and on the road, t...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-09-2010
Much to the chagrin of their fans, the Knicks have not put a competitive team on the floor for many years. That comes with a price to fans, but to their backers they remain a solid opportunity, and wi...