Mak's Friday Fundamentals

Afternoon gents, a huge slate tonight.  Nothing better than NBA basketball on a Friday night, well for me at least.  Would have been quite content going 1-1 last night but unfortunately I bit on the Hawks when the news of LeBron and Wade got confirmed.  As a Raptors fan Chris Bosh has continuously fucked me over the past 2 years but last night’s fluke shot to take the game into overtime probably hurt the most.  Took ATL on the ML so I would have been very happy with a 3 point Hawks win.  The one thing I despise about the Hawks is that Teague (who went 1-12) Johnson, Smith and Williams all took more shots than the most consistent and in my opinion best overall player on that team which is Al Horford.  Horford never gets to have any consistency in terms of his offensive game because of the selfishness of the squad.  They take bad shots, have no movement in their sets and run way to many iso plays with minimal pick and roll coverage.  As of now the Pistons are my only blacklisted team but I think I am on the verge of adding the Hawks on that list as well.  The Mavs and Spurs was a tough game to swallow, I’ll take the loss like a man but I do have a few excuses.  One, if anyone thinks that this new scheduling doesn’t have an impact, I beg to differ.  Especially when it comes to older teams.  Mavs were playing 5 in 7 and it showed, Dirk having 6 points is unacceptable and the Mavs as a unit going 1-19 from long range is just ridiculous, combine that with the fact that San An had 16 long range bombs...that’s the ball game.  San An lives and dies by the three which make them a very difficult team to back or go against.  Blazers did what they were supposed to do.  Tonight is fave Friday for me, I rarely care about public perception but that doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous going with the public on most plays today, especially since it is Friday and as experienced NBA wagerers know, Friday can be a devastatingly devious day in the association.  As always fellas, I wish you nothing but the best of luck.  Kwaheri from Kenya - - - MAK

MAK'S SEASON PREVIEWS & PROJECTIONS

DENVER NUGGETS – 5.0 -110 - - - The Nuggets are the real deal, they are not only a playoff team, but this is one team that could actually upset a top 4 seed in a 7 game playoff series.  They have the youth, exuberance, coaching and most importantly they have as potent an offensive team as any in the NBA.  Their up-tempo style is just straight up fun to watch, when you combine an up-tempo style with playmakers and confidence, you have a deadly combination.  They remind me lot of the potent Phoenix Suns from years back subtract Steve Nash.  They have the ability to just continuously run and gun which can be very frustrating to opponents.  Tonight they face a team that doesn’t really have the mentality to run the floor.  The Hornets rely on their size and Monty Williams stresses a rigid mentality on the defensive team.  As I have said countless times, the only thing New Orleans has going for them is their front-court.  Okafor, Landry, Kaman and Smith and 4 solid guys who can defend the rim with poise and precision, the problem is, apart from Landry, they are not very skilled offensively, neither is this team as a whole.  Tonight they face off against a very underrated front-court, Denver has an abundance of talent at all positions.  Nene will start at power forward tonight and he has a tendency to always seem hungrier after watching from the sidelines, he has started the season off a bit slow (especially in comparison to his massive 70 million dollar contract) but don’t get it twisted, he is an extremely good offensive post scorer with a ton of low post moves to free himself up from the best of defenders.  He should prove to be too strong for Landry and too quick for Smith tonight.  Mozgov is just a space-filler, and a good one at that, he will provide about 15 minutes of solid work at the 5.  Chris Andersen is another space-filler, a bit more talented defensively than Mozgov and he should provide another 13-15 minutes of solid low post work tonight.  Al Harrington has found his niche as a sixth man, he plays the 3 and the 4 for this Denver team and he has been a major reason the Nuggets have soared to supremacy this year.  He has found consistency in his offensive game.  He went 7-10 last game for 15 points and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes. He is averaging 16 points and 6 rebounds a game off the bench.  He is the sixth man for this team and my leading contender for sixth man of the year.  Dino is another guy who often plays the 4 spot when the Nuggets decide to play small ball but he is a legit 3 and finding his grove, very inconsistent to start the season, but once he finds consistency in the long ball, he is as good as it gets, he attacks the basket as well which is always a positive thing.  With the recent absence of Nene, Koufus has emerged as yet another big man who can provide some serviceable minutes for George Karl (like they needed more depth), this team is stacked in the front-court and what is scary is that they are even more skilled in the back-court.  There is a reason Karl decided to start Lawson over iron man Andre Miller who has been a constant in the NBA for years.  Lawson is number two overall in steals in the NBA behind Chris Paul, he is an extremely good perimeter defender and a hell of an offensive threat.  Dre is one of the best, if not the statistical best back-up point guard in the NBA.  Afflalo is one of the best defenders in the league at his position, he is talented offensively but the reason he was signed to a massive deal was due to his ability to defend any 2 guard in the NBA and sometimes the 3 spot as well.  Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer were acquired from Dallas for nothing at all, and what a luxury to have two guys like that come off the bench.  Tonight the Hornets are without starting guard Eric Gordon and starting 3 man Ariza.  Instead in the starting 5 will be Aminu and Marco joined by Jack, Landry and Okafor...to be completely honesy, I think the Denver role players could beat this starting 5.  The Nuggets are the 2nd best offensive team in the NBA averaging 103 points a game, New Orleans is 27th overall scoring 87 a game, I just don’t see any way the Hornets can keep up with this outstanding Denver team tonight.  Nuggets cover this spread easily.

6 UNITS NENE “DON’T CALL ME HILARIO” HILARIO - - - 

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER – 8.0 (-120) - - - With Thabo back in the starting 5, I can officially start backing the Thunder again.  I have explained countless times how imperative it is to have Thabo start and Harden come off the bench.  It is of the utmost importance.  Tonight it would prove to be the difference in the cover.  First off Thabo will absolutely lock down Kevin Martin, Martin has struggled historically against him and tonight will be no different.  Lowry and Lee are both questionable, if Kyle doesn’t play I may decide to increase the wager depending on the line movement.  Either way, Westbrook is one guy that could cause fits for Kyle.  He is stronger, faster and bigger.  Durant and Budinger is not even a contest.  Look for Kevin to have a massive game after a sub-par outing against Portland’s Gerald Wallace.  Tonight Durant knows there is not a single person on Houston who can check him, look for him to go off for about 35 tonight.  Perkins and Ibaka are a hell of a 4/5 combo punch on the defensive end.  Scola scores most of his baskets off scoop lay-ins and shots around the basket.  It will be impossible to go off for a big night against two shot-blockers who live in the paint.  Off the bench Houston does have some depth in Goran, Sammy & Williams but OKC will counter with Harden, Collison, Nazr and Cook.  9 deep I truly believe the Thunder are the better team, in terms of matchups they just dominate the Rockets individually.  After back-to-back losses for the Thunder, I expect them to come at the Rockets with vigour and gusto and dominate from the opening tip.  I expect a double digit win tonight for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

5 UNITS SHAWN “RAIN MAN” KEMP - - -

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS – 2.0 (-120) - - - This was a difficult pull for me due to the fact that the Blazers are on a back to back.  But the fact remains that I absolutely hate what the Suns are doing.  Their roster and rotation is all over the place, there is no identity or stability to this team whatsoever.  The Blazers have one of the best 7 man rotations in the league, granted the Suns have quite a bit more depth that the Blazers, but depth means nothing unless you have specific roles.  Felton and Matthews are once again the key for me here, they have to first contain Steve Nash and Dudley from going off on them.  Secondly they have to score the rock in order to help this team beat a deadly offensive ball club.  Wallace, Big L and Camby are a hell of a front-court and should handle Hill, Frye and Gortat with ease.  As I stated, the bench of the Suns is very deep, they have a lot of serviceable players but none of which are really an automatic 15 points.  Shannon Brown has been a major disappointment for them, Hakim Warrick has done well but is too of-and-on to rely on, Robin Lopez is a dud but may be used a bit more tonight to contend with Big L and Camby, Price and Telfair ae usless and Childress is the lost man getting no minutes.  The only bright spot is rookie Markieff Morris.  He has been an absolute stud thus far and I really suspect him to overtake Crye sooner rather than later as the starting 4 man for this team.  He works well on the ¼ pick and roll with Nash and doesn’t play at all like a rookie.  Despite their depth, I suspect Jamal Crawford & Batum to outscore them all tonight.  Kurt Thomas will be used sparingly tonight due to the pace, but when he is in there he can bounce around any of the Suns bigs.  I don’t like backing the Blazers after a tough win against the Lakers and on a back to back, but the fact of the matter is the Blazers have a solid 8 man team and the Suns are a 1 man show.  Portland improves to 6-1 with their victory in the desert tonight.

4 UNITS GERALD “PLASTIC MAN” WALLACE - - -     

BOSTON CELTICS – 6.0 -110 - - - This is another situational game for me rather than a strictly matchups bet.  The Boston Celtics have an amazing 4 day rest after this game, they will be able to recuperate, reload and revamp their team and strategy after tonight.  My hope is that Doc Rivers will take this opportunity to actually play his 4 horseman a ton of minutes.  Rondo, Jesus Shuttlesworth, The Trurth and KG should all see an increase in their minutes tonight barring any foul trouble.  I suspect the Indiana Pacers to be poised to upset the Celts in their home due to their embarrassing loss against the Heat in their last game.  This should be a battle, but a battle I am hoping the Celtics win.  There is a bit of an underlying factor that I hope will come into play.  David West had the opportunity to join the Celtics in the offseason.  All West talked about was wanting a chance to win a championship, he went on and on about not caring about the money but wanting to win...well it was clearly evident the guy didn’t give a flying fuck about winning because he opted to take a bigger annual salary and go with the Pacers.  The Celtics were actually quite upset about this because they had put all their eggs in the David West basket.  I think he would have been a great addition to the Celts and they know it too.  There were some bitter feelings and some words exchanged.  Ray Allen actually came out and said it was David West’s ego that couldn’t allow him to come to the Celts.  Some say West thought he was better than Garnet and deserved to start at the PF, I am sure KG will show him who the better forward is tonight.  Rondo should dominate Collison on both ends of the ball, Ray Allen is my only concern, he is recovering from a bad flu and Paul George is considerably bigger than him, but prior to Allen’s illness he was on fire hitting every shot he took, especially from down-town.  Pierce is finally getting to be 100%, the past few games he was trying to find stability after sitting out the first few games of the season.  Granger and Paul should go at it all night.  KG and J.O will man the middle against West and Hibbert.  I expect Hibbert to dominate down low which should keep the Pacers in the game.  Bass and Hansbrough should offset each other tonight and if Avery Bradley, Dooling and Daniels can match the output of George Hill, this should be a Celtics cover.  I do suspect this to be a very hard-fought game, matchups are actually quite even, the only thing that pulls me towards going for the Celtics tonight is the fact they have that 4 day vacation before their next battle, I think they will want to go into that rest with a victory. 

2 UNITS LARRY “WHITE MEN CAN JUMP” BIRD - - -      

BOL tonight 

enjoy the write ups! keep the good stuff coming my friend

BOL

gL

good stuff indeed.

Best of Luck 

Man where did you take all the time to write those impressive insights... you´re such a gift for covers...
Damn that Dirk didn´t get the job done yesterday.
Best of luck tonight buddy

BOL MAK

very nice, i have all the same games except blazers i have toronto. i liked the blazers also but a little cautious off a huge win and second of b2b on the road. best of luck brother,

hello good to see you this year ...since ive started youve showed consistancy with your knowledge for the game keep it up I personally appreciate your time and effort you put into your post  have a great finish to season

$$ und Nets 182   und Jazz 186

  

                                                                                          JP

Let's get it MAK!  I like all of the picks tonight.  I was actually looking for your take on the Boston game.  Appreciate the insight always.  Was leaning C's and your write up confirms my final play!

Good luck tonight my dude!

With you on the Thunder boys. Bol

Great plays lovin them all BOL

Have to disagree with ur picks today...
BOL though bud

Best of luck as always --> Like the Nuggets to hammer on the Hornet's tonight. Look for a 10-14 point spread when the Nuggets play in Denver in a few nights

gl tonight Mak

Where's Mak been?!?

thats a great question where has mak been?