darrell,

Got the win with Detroit yesterday in a game that was about as easy as the come with the Pistons winning by 27. Two picks tonight.

My NBA Power Rankings are updated weekly and can be found here.

Please Tell A Friend about this newsletter and they'll thank you!

Good luck , darrell!

Game: New Jersey at Miami (8:05 PM Eastern)
Pick: 4 stars on Miami -4.5

We have continued to see that during playoff series' this year that the home teams continue to win game one and to win it handily. The home team earned it and they have the advantage in the "feel-out" game. No adjustments yet from the coaches (that happens in games 2-7). Just the better team at home, fired up to start off on the right foot. I believe Miami will come out of the gates and play strong, especially after some scare games in the Chicago series. They might hit a slump eventually during the series as this will likely drag into a 6 or 7 game series. The Nets are a horrendous road playoff team as they are 2-8 ATS of late and 0-8 ATS when playing after a straight up win. They are also 2-6 in their last eight visits to Miami. Last year Miami swept this series winning by an average of 13 points per game. Heat big here.

It seems that all roads to the NBA Finals for Phoenix pass through Los Angeles as the Suns open a up a series with the L.A. Clippers today. After an emotional series against the Lakers, the Suns look to get off to a good start against the Clippers as they understand how vital it is as their win in game one. Their game one win against the Lakers gave them the safety net as they lost the next three games. In game 7 against the Lakers the Suns finally took their game to another level as they made easy work of the Lakers with their run and gun. The Clipps come off a series against a Nuggets team that was in dissaray. They are in for a bit of a rude awakening against a much better team. You have to be a strong defensive team such as the Spurs to halt the run and gun of Phoenix and the Clippers are not a defensive powerhouse by any means. I beleive Phoenix picked up an incredible amount of confidence after Game 7 as they have now won three straight after many said they were done. They have resurrected Suns basketball and they win and cover against LA tonight.