Nba Handicapping - April 19, 2008
The NBA Playoffs begin today. Last season we finished on a 62% (13-8) run as San Antonio took the title. We kickoff the NBA postseason with three plays including 4-unit selection and an early contest between the outspoken Washington team and last season's Eastern Conference champs the Cleveland cavaliers.
Who will it be this year? One of favorites, or is this the year that an upstart team gets hot and makes history as the NBA champs? Get all of our daily premium NBA picks here for just $199.
Today's NBA Basketball Picks:
Game: Washington at Cleveland (12:30 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Washington +3.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)
This will be the third straight time these teams have opened the playoffs in Cleveland. Washington has not done well at all here. The circumstances are much different this time around. Two years ago Cleveland came into this series off a season-ending 14-3 run and last year they entered off a 17-7 run. Two years ago Washington limped into the series with a season ending 9-10 run and a pathetic 2-8 to the close their '07 season. This year the roles are reversed and these teams are much closer. The Cavs come limping in at just 8-10 in their last 18, and Washington has closed at 13-7. The Cavs closed at just 1-6 ATS on their home court, and finished at just 15-26 ATS for the season. James simply does not have the supporting cast he has had in years past. As they got healthier, Washington closed at 12-6 ATS on the road. This one has the makings of a game coming down to the wire, so we will grab the points and back the Wizards here.
Game: Dallas at New Orleans (7:00 PM Eastern)Pick: 3 units on Game Total OVER 192.5 -110 (risk 3 to win 2.7)
Both of these teams will feel like they can score on the other, as the last three times these teams have met in New Orleans it has produced three OVERS. There are a lot of trends that hint to the same thing. Dallas has been 10-1 to the OVER in their last 11 trips to a team with a winning home record. They are also 9-1 as a dog on the road over their last 10. New Orleans has been 15-6 to the OVER as a home favorite, and 26-10 to the OVER against a team with a losing record on the road. We see this one at about 200 points scored, so we will back the OVER.
Game: Utah at Houston (9:30 PM Eastern)Pick: 4 units on Utah +1 (-110) (risk 4 to win 3.6)
The Rockets will face the Jazz in the first round for the second straight year, this time without Yao. It took a 22-game winning streak for the Rockets to find themselves with the home court here, but this team is much different now. They have since gone just 9-7. That record is 7-1 against teams not in the playoffs, and more importantly 2-6 against teams that are. During that 22-game winning streak the Rockets allowed just 88.1 points per game against playoff-bound teams. Since then, with no Yao in the middle that average has shot up to 103.4 ppg! Most give credit to Utah for being a home team that can't win on the road. That may have been true early on as they opened 4-7 on the road against playoff bound teams, but they closed the season 6-4, which included wins at Boston, New Orleans, Phoenix and here in Houston. We will back the Jazz who are just the better team on any court at this point in the season.
Results: 2-1
NBA Basketball Picks Resources:
Check out the last five NBA Basketball Picks Newsletters:
NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-16-2008
Safe to say that Milwaukee has packed it in and there is certainly nothing to get excited about heading to Minnesota for the season finale. The Bucks are just 1-11 on the road in their last 12, and ha...
NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-15-2008
The Nets have done a good job all season, especially lately against the poor teams in the league at home, while the road has always been a struggle for Charlotte since their league debut. New Jersey h...
NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-14-2008
The odds-makers have reached a quandary with Utah playing at home. How much is enough to lay and what is too much? They have decided on a number that is simply not enough. Utah is 24-1 SU at home sinc...
NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-13-2008
The Nuggets are unstoppable at home. They score quickly and often. In their last seven games against .500+ teams has shown them averaging just shy of 119 points per game. At the same time this team pl...
NBA-Basketball-Picks-April-12-2008
The Grizzlies have had a long season and the win column has been difficult to find. They have, to their credit, not quit. Their best stretch of the season has been over their last 14 games where they ...
