Nba Game Predictions - March 22, 2008

We went 4-2 last night, notching our tenth winning day out of the last fourteen. Over the past two weeks we are now 43-20 (68%) for +70 units! Tonight we have six plays.

Get a 40% Bonus from Diamond Sports
Wunderdog subscribers can get a 40% Diamond Sportsbook signup bonus at Diamond. From now through the end of March, simply open a new Diamond Sportsbook account or re-up your existing account with Diamond to qualify for the 40% bonus. Sounds good right? Simply reply to this email to get the details.

Today's NBA Basketball Picks:

Game: Sacramento at Memphis (8:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Game Total OVER 213 -110 (risk 3 to win 2.7)

The Kings give up 106 ppg on the road. Their offense is clicking right now as they have gotten 102.4 per game over their last five. Memphis has scored all season, and also gives up 106 ppg (at home). The Kings have gone OVER four of their last five vs. the league's worst teams (teams under .400). They are also off a loss and they are on a 40-19 OVER streak in that situation. We expect very little defense and enough offense to push this one OVER.

It's time to face it... The Knicks have packed it in. This has been a dysfunctional team all season. Sure, they would show up here and there, but they haven't shown up in weeks. In March they have been bad. They've won once this month, and that was against Miami, a team with more issues than even the Knicks right now. With that said, they didn't even cover that game. They have covered one game all month! The whole picture for the T-Wolves doesn't say much. The recent picture does. This young team suffered serious growing pains early, starting an uncompetitive 5-34. They have grown into a decent team having gone 12-17 over their last 29. A losing ATS team has also become a positive cover team. They have also covered 60% as a favorite, and with the Knicks losing by 13.4 ppg in their last ten losses, another double-digit loss is ready to be served.

Boston just keeps ripping through the Western Conference as they now face their fourth straight tough road game against the Western's elite. They have already disposed of San Antonio, Houston and Dallas, playing good basketball. Can they make it four straight tongiht against New Orleans? While they are certainly capable, we think it's time their incredible run comes to an end. The Hornets are 26-10 at home this season and right now their defense is clicking, having held their last five opponents to 88.8 ppg on average. This is a team that has shown they are up for the challenge of facing the league's best top teams. They are 29-18 ATS as a favorite this season and 23-13 ATS at home. They shut down Houston last game and are 15-5 ATS the past two seasons after holding an opponent to 85 or fewer points. We also like the fist-half UNDER a lot here. We mentioned how the Hornet's defense is playing. Boston's has been tremendous all season long. They are 41-27 UNDER in the first half overall this season. They are also 20-11 UNDER off a road game and 11-1 UNDER off a division game this season. Finally, the Celts are 8-1 UNDER in the first half this season when facing an up-tempo team (83+ shots per game) on the road. This should be another playoff-intensity game which often spells UNDER. We'll back the Hornets and the UNDER in the first half.

We cashed with another big favorite yesterday with Washington -14. So, we are not going to shy away from this one, even though the line is -19.5. Yes, it's a monster line but right now these big favorites are winning as double-digit chalk is hitting 65% ATS in the Association since the All-Star break! It doesn't get much better than Utah at home. They rarely lose here but happen to be off a rare home loss to the Lakers on Thursday. It was their first home loss in 20 games and we think they come back with a vengeance here, taking out frustrations vs. a helpless Seattle team. Seattle has quit on the season as demonstrated by their ten straight losses. They have actually lose 14 of their last 15 games, giving up 117.9 points per game on average over that span. In the past week and a half they have lost three games by more than this spread (25 to LA, 52 to Denver and 29 to Boston). Utah has won by an average of 12.4 per game here at home this season so against this Sonics team, 20+ is not only reasonable, but expected. The Jazz are 22-10 ATS as a home favorite this season and 7-0 ATS since the All Star break vs. teams that allow 103+ ppg. They are also 15-4 ATS the past three seasons off an upset home loss so we like them a lot here.

It's splashdown time for the Rockets. The streak is over and the reality of playing without Yao will be unsettling to their backers down the stretch. Their can't-lose mentality is now gone, and with it their superb play. And now here comes Phoenix. The Suns have settled in now with Shaq in the middle after needing some adjustment time. Shaq's minutes are on the incline (25-30 min per game), and he is averaging a double-double in the last three. The Suns are heating up offense as well, scoring at a 121 ppg clip in last five, all wins by 8 or more. Emotionally the Rockets are off the win streak high, while the Suns are in the midst of the mindset that players get from extended winning. We like the Suns by double-digits.

Results: 4-2

NBA Basketball Picks Resources:

• Don't forget to visit our NBA record.
• Read our sports handicapping NBA picks here.
• View our NBA lines here.
• View basketball ATS recrds here.
• Check out 2007 NBA preview here.
• View our NBA basketball Game-of-Day Analysis here.
• View our sportsbook reviews basketball here.
• Take a look at our 2007 NBA prior pick season results here.
• Don't forget to visit our NBA basketball power ratings.
• View NBA picks blog here.

Check out the last five NBA Basketball Picks Newsletters:

NBA-Basketball-Picks-March-21-2008
Both of these teams have average defenses. Philly is average on offense but Orlando is !GOOD1! on offense. Does that spell this game going over 104 in the first half? No way - the line is too high. On...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-March-20-2008
After their amazing start, it's hard to imagine that the Celtics could heat it up even more but that's what they have done, winning 13 of their last 14 games. They have taken out two Western C...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-March-19-2008
Washington gives up 100.8 per game on the road but just 47 in the first half. Their offense produces just 45.6 first-half points per game. Orlando gives up 99.2 at home but 48.9 in the first half. Orl...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-March-18-2008
The Nuggets high octane offense has now put up 305 points in their last two games. The 168 vs the Sonics was an NBA season high. We were on them in that game, a 52-point win, but we are fadi...

NBA-Basketball-Picks-March-17-2008
This should be a good game to watch and you would think Orlando will have the edge at home where they are 21-12. We will look to the first-half total though. Cleveland has been a very good defensive t...