darrell,

Got the win with Cleveland last night. We've now won 4 out of the last 5 nights in the NBA. One pick 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: 2 stars on Miami -7

This line quickly jumped from -6 to -7 as most people are seeing this as I am. After an embarrassing game one home loss, I expect the Heat to come out fired up. They are in desparate need of a win. Game one looked bad for Miami as they lost by 12 points as a home favorite. But they actually played well after the first quarter, outscoring New Jersey by 5 points in the final three quarters. Miami put together an 18-3 run in the 3rd quarter which shows me they have heart. It was really that first quarter that killed them as New Jersey scored 38 points and ran out to a 17 point lead. Richard Jefferson led that charge starting out 4-for-4 for 11 points in the first four minutes. Now, Jefferson is hobbled and may not start in this game. Game 2 in the NBA playoffs is all about adjustments. You saw Cleveland do it yesterday, losing by just 6 points after falling by 27 in game 1. Pat Riley and company will adjust here and make sure they don't fall down by 18-5 to start the game. The Heat absolutely need this game. They averaged 102.3 PPG at home this season and no way they follow up that 88 point effort (39% FG) with another bad one. Heat blowout here.