darrell,

Two picks tonight.

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Good luck , darrell!

Game: Indiana at New Jersey (7:05 PM Eastern)
Pick: 2 stars on Indiana +7

The New Jersey Nets won a much needed game against the Pacers at Indiana in Game 4. However, this does not take away from the fact that the Nets continue to stuggle against the Pacers as this series is all about the necessity of each game as it seems that the team needs to win the most comes through. When the Nets had to win game two, they covered and came through. When the Pacers had to win game three, or face being down 3-1 on their home court, they came through and won in easy fashion covering the virtual pick'em line. Then, as the Nets needed to win game four or face the same elimination scenario on their home court, they came through as well. We now have game 5 with the spread is at a large 7 points. Considering the Pacers have covered the last 5 out of 6 games and they continue to outplay the Nets in most games this season (won the last 4 out of 7 games straight up), I look for them to play tough once again after the home loss and cover the number.

How often do you see the Spurs lose a playoff game by 18? Even more shocking, how often do you see the Spurs lose back to back games? The Spurs loss in game 3 was devestating considering that they came back from a huge defecit, only to lose by a lack of ball handling in the end. Now, they face the Kings in game five on their home court where they have dominated. After the past couple of games, it's easy to forget that the Spurs won the first two games by 34 and 9 points. Considering that they won by 9 points even after the Kings were embarassed is important to note. What this means is that the lowest point total for vicotry in this young series is nine points for the Spurs and that was after an incredibly embarassing loss for the Kings. Now, the Spurs are embarassed and return home as 8 point favorites. The question becomes can the Spurs beat the 8 point spread considering that they have a major double revenge as they look to take an important 3-2 lead on the series? These are the World Champions and they realize and understand along with Coach Pop how vital this game is. If they drop this they have to face an elimination game in Sacremento where they have dropped the first two and obviously do not play well there. This is a must win for the Spurs and I expect them to win in convincing fashion much like game one where their intensity was at a much higher level.