Sharing one of my picks

Bucks vs Nets 12.Apr

The situation is still critical for the Nets as they have not secured the play-off spot yet, but with the way they have been playing lately (8-2 in last 10 games), it would take a last minute collapse for the Nets to miss the playoffs. Key of their recent success has been the change in style. The Nets play it much faster as of late and like to push the tempo from turnovers, defensive rebounds and sometimes even from made baskets. It has led to a high scoring games as the Nets no doubt have some scoring talen in their lineup.

The Nets have stayed below 100 points only once in last 9 games (99 pts in a blowout loss against the Hawks). In this all important game it is difficult to see the Nets changing their approach as running and sometimes even frantic style of play has been serving them well.

When it comes to wins and losses the Bucks have had a less success as of late, but their scoring ability has stayed solid. Michael Carter-Williams and Giannis Antetokuonmpo both like to run the fast breaks and drive to the basket early in the shot-clock drawing a foulor attempting a shot. The shooting percentages have been a problem for the Bucks, but the Nets players in general are all slow on their feet at the defensive end, so this aggressive styleof driving to the basket will work very well offensively tonight and teh Bucks should have no problems with the scoring.

Both of the previous meetings between these teams this season went over tonights o/u line and if anything has changed it is the Nets approach to the tempo. Both teams have offensive advantages over their opponents, so we see this game being as a relatively high-scoring affair. Take over 201.5 points @1.952 from Pinnacle with 2/5 units.

GL

Surprisingly LBJ decided to play tonight. Which means this game will not be a joke for the Cavaliers and they will try to win it at home. BOS needs to win more, but the Cavaliers should never be only a -6 point favorite at home against any other East team.

Take Cavaliers to cover -6 points

GL

Sharing one of my picks ...

Pistons vs Pacers 10.Apr

The Pistons have been officially eliminated from the playoff race. It has been a long season for them so obviously its difficult to keep playing with similar kind of focus when everybody knows these remaining games are meaningless. It was the case already in previous matchup against the Celtics when couple of Pistons just weren’t fully engaged. For instance Andre Drummond didn’t hustle at all defensively, his energy simply wasn’t there. At one point coach Van Gundy even had to bench him for not getting back on defense quickly enough.

The situation, of course, is totally different for the Pacers as they hold the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference, but have to approach this game as a must win. After Wednesday’s games they are a game back of Boston and Brooklyn for the final two playoff spots in the East. The Celtics and Nets both hold the tiebreaker over the Pacers so it’s not looking good. However they still have a chance to take the best out of it.

Having said that the Pacers have certainly been playing competitive ball as of late. They have won three straight games which all have actually been blowouts. It seems like Paul George’s return has somehow fueled the entire team. They’ve come together playing with more fire and heart. PG also gives the team 15-20 quality minutes from the bench which is greatly needed at this point of the the season.

Once again motivation is the key here. For the Pistons winning is not the first priority anymore. The Pacers at the same time will give their everything for 48 minutes to win tonight. Indiana has good momentum and enough quality to win this one on the road. Take Indiana to cover -5 points @1.925 with 2/5 units from Pinnacle.

GL

Sharing one of my Plays

Heat vs Bulls 9.Apr

The Bulls have been one of the toughest teams to predict as they always seem to come out with a lack of energy against weaker teams, but play great in a situations they in theory should struggle. It has been sometimes question of a motivation, but the Bulls also have never been really healthy for an extended number of games in a row. One thing they have done well though is performing in games televised nationally as they just have too much pride in their lineup to go out and not to perform infront of a big audience.

This pride also plays a role tonight for couple of reasons. The Bulls lost last night against the Magic and likely feel frustration, anger and desire to bounce back, but even more importantly they have a perfect change to give the Heat play-off hopes a massive blow. The Bulls have been in a role of a punching bag for so many years that games against the Heat mean much more than just 48 minutes of running and shooting. Nothing would make players like Noah and Rose to feel better than get at least some kind of a revenge tonight. And yes, this game tonight will be on TNT.

Miami obviously needs this win badly. They were in a similar situation couple of nights ago against the Hornets and although they won the game, the performance was rather average. It is understandable as they play with a lineup limping on one leg or having only one healthy wrist. With a similar performance the Heat will lose tonight.

The Bulls have to play back-to-back, but Orlando to Miami back-to-back is one of the easiest in the league. Both teams want to win this game for different reasons and both teams have been dealing with injuries lately. As of now the Bulls are bit healthier and in general they are a better team. We expect the Bulls to win. Take Chicago to win @1.961 from Pinnacle with 3/5 units.

GL

76ers vs Wizards UNDER 187

John Wall will not play and he is the only guy who wants to run, so it will be walking the ball up the court game and as both teams just love to take jump-shots it will be low-scoring game unless they can shoot with a miraculous percentage (unlikely).

Lakers ML @5.74

It is really a stupid game, with both teams not caring a slightest who will win or lose and LAL is out of danger that winning will damage their draft position. Next team is 4 wins ahead already so they can aswell as win this one. DEN has been mightly bad so if LAL can get some sort of a run early it could be enough.

GL

Sharing one of my picks...

Pistons vs Celtics 8.Apr

The Pistons are 30-47 while the Celtics have a record of 35-42. The difference is only 5 wins, but it plays a huge part in motivation for tonight`s game. The Pistons are not statistically eliminated from the play-offs yet, but with 5 wins behind, with 5 games left to go and couple of teams between them and the 8^th seed everyone in the Pistons organisation knows that offseason is about to begin in 1 week. So the Pistons will use their last 5 games as a chance to give their young players and bench some playing minutes, without being worried too much if they win or lose.

The situation is of course totally different for the Celtics as they hold the 8^th seed in the Eastern Conference, but have to approach this game as a must win. After tonight they have 4 games left (2 vs CLE, home vs TOR and away vs MIL), which realistically means 2-2 record at best but could easily be 1-3. Three wins from last 5 games will probably be enough to get to the play-offs, two wins clearly won`t be. That makes this game huge for the Celtics as they simply have to win to feel good about their chances.

Motivation is the key here. Detroit will be happy with any outcome, but the Celtics will give their everything for 48 minutes to win tonight. Boston is as healthy as they can be at this stage of the season, they have won 4 of their last 6 games and been showing enough quality to win all important games over recent weeks. Take Boston to cover -1.5 points @1.952 with 3/5 units from Pinnacle.

GL

Those are my views and my plays which I post in couple of other forums as well

Heat vs Hornets 7.Apr

Biggest game for the Heat in this season so far. Miami may not have a championship quality anymore, but they have championship level mentality and coaching staff, that will take care that the Heat will play close to their maximum tonight. Jefferson is out, Whiteside is in. Miami will dominate the low-post and with home court advantage it should be enough to cover the spread against a struggling team of Hornets.

Take MIA -5 @1.952 from Pinnacle with 3/5 units.

GL

Sharing one of my picks:

Knicks vs 76ers 5.Apr

There are couple of things that make this game so special. First, no one really wants to watch this game as it will be ugly as hell. Second, winner of this game is the one who manages to lose. Both teams are totally fine with losing to get a higher pick in upcoming draft. The difference is that while the 76ers tank with a style (losing close games), the Knicks are doing it blatantly without even trying to keep games close.

So in a situation where both teams do not mind losing, what will happen is a lot of dribbling, slow tempo of the game and taking a lot of jump shots. The Knicks have been exceptionally successful in it staying below 100 points for 9 games in a row. The 76ers have scored a bit more, but they rely heavily on 3-point shots and with Nerlens Noel likely out after suffering an eye injury last night, they will not have their main offensive weapon inside the paint. So the result will be more jump shots and it is just not something that can led to many points.

When those teams met two weeks ago they managed to score 178 points. The Knicks took only 69 shots in that game and although they shot 23-26 from the free-throw line they managed to score 81 points. Nerlens Noel scored 23 points in that game, but those points are likely to sit out tonight. This will be an ugly, low-scoring game. Take under 187 points with 3/5 units.

GL

Usually after such an embarassing loss teams bounce back. But this is the play-offs and the Clippers are not going to lay down and wait for the Warriors to take the lead again. In game 1 touch foul calls on Griffin made sure that quality in low-post players was equalized, but in game 2 the Clippers gave us a clear picture what it means for the Warriors not to have Bogut avaliable. It is just not possible that David Lee and Jermaine O`Neal can keep Clippers from scoring the layups and dunking the ball for extended period of time. 138 points the Clippers scored in game 2 will be difficult to repeat, but if they can keep their key players out of foul trouble they are going to score 120+ points again against the Warriors.

It is easy to overreact to a blowout game, but it would be surprise if this series would end with any other score than 4-1 for the Clippers. Doc Rivers is one of the best coaches in adjustment game during the play-off series, while Mark Jackson has a long way to go in that. It would take a lights out shooting performance from Curry and Thompson to keep up with the Clippers and even then it could not be enough. Clippers to cover -1.5 points with 7/10 stakes.

GL

Memphis vs Dallas 16/04

This game decides nothing other than 7th and 8th seed in the Western Conference standings. Winner will be 7th and loser will be 8th. What we know for sure is that top seed in the Western Conference will be the San Antonio Spurs. 2nd seed will be likely the Thunder or it could be the Clippers (if OKC loses last game against the Pistons and LAC gets a win against the Blazers).

In all likelihood it looks like the Thunder will take the 2nd seed as they have promised to play Durant all through regular season and it doesn`t look very likely they will lose to the Pistons at home. So for the game DAL/MEM it means winner gets to play the Thunder in the first round of the play-offs. Now the question is if MEM and/or DAL would prefer either of these teams. We think the answer is yes. Memphis did pull one of the biggest upsets in the playoffs in recent history against the Spurs few years ago when they were 8th seed aswell. They do matchup better against the Spurs and although they managed to beat the Thunder in the play-offs last season it was a Thunder playing without Russell Westbrook.

You can`t call this game fixed, but while Memphis must know they have better chances against the Spurs, Dallas has to look at their regular season results against OKC and SAS. The Mavericks are 0-4 against the Spurs and 2-1 against the Thunder. So clearly they have been by far more successful against the Thunder. While the Memphis have won and lost series against the Spurs, they have a good memories against them while playing as 8th seed. From player matchups point of view they would do better against the Spurs. All in all they are likely not to care about tonights game outcome. The Mavericks at the same time have had better success against the Thunder and will play for the win. Take Dallas +3.5 points with 6/10 units.

GL

Knicks vs Bulls 13/04

After being eliminated from the play-offs it is difficult to imagine the Knicks trying really hard to win this game. The Bulls at the same time want to win cause they need to avoid dropping to the 4th seed in the East (that would mean meeting the Nets in the 1st round instead of the Wizards or the Bobcats).

The Knicks got eliminated without playing last night as the Hawks managed to secure the 8th seed with a win against the Heat. There are several factors against the Knicks tonight. It`s likely that MSG homecrowd will be hostile towards them right from the start or will start sending boobirds flying first possible moment … or both. Not making to the play-offs is a tough disappointment to swallow for a team that has exactly 0 draft picks. For the players the motivation is gone aswell. In fact we could see some key players getting limited minutes after playing through injuries lately (Melo) or not playing at all.

The Bulls need to win and they have been on a roll over the last couple of weeks winning 7 games in a row. They are tough team to beat when they play a good basketball and when they play a team lacking motivation. Last time these teams met the Bulls pulled away early and the Knicks never had a chance. Chicago to cover -3 points with 5/10 units.

GL

It is a meeting between two teams that rarely stay under 100 points. The pressure is off for the Pistons as they can`t climb or fall in the standings for the rest of the way. The Raptors want to win though to secure their 3rd seedin the East. All that means that the Pistons will play their usual uptempo offense and probably do not care that much at the other end, while The Raptors will take advantage of it.

Deroit has scored 94, 104, 115, 102, 100 and 98 points in 6 games during the month of April. 94 points they scored against the Pacers and 98 points against the Bulls – two teams that belong to the top of defensive teams in the league. The Raptors are not even near as good defensive team and they like to push the ball aswell. In April the Raptors are yet to stay under 100 points. Toronto`s totals have been 107, 102, 102, 125 and 100 points.

It is an early game, but both teams are rested and like to play uptempo games. Detroit likes to take an early shots and their defense will allow the Raptors to do the same. Relatively high scoring game is expected. Take over 206 points with 5/10 units.

GL

This game is likely to decide the outcome in the top of the Eastern Conference standings. As of now Indiana has 54 wins and 25 losses and Miami has 53 wins and 25 losses. Both teams have been playing poor basketball over the last couple of weeks, but some part of it has been the tactics of resting their key players.

We have a genuine hate between players here. They have seen eachother way too often in recent years and have played way too many play-off games against eachother. That leads us to the fact that this game means much more than just another day on court. It will be a statement game for both teams. Indiana needs this win probably more as their struggles as of late have been more obvious, but the Heat don`t want to lose the season series against the Pacers to give them a) homecourt advantage for the play-offs and b) confidence.

In these play-off intensinty level games what happens is that offense slows down and defense becomes more important. Both teams will take care of their defense and will be more cautious at the offensive end. A quick reminder about the scores we saw last year in the play-offs when the importance was really high. In games 4 to 7 in the East finals the scores were 90-79, 77-91, 99-76, 88-92. Two weeks ago when they met in Indiana intensity level was just like should be expected here again. The result was 84-83. That`s 18 points under the line offered. It`s likely to be a close grind out defensive war. Under 185 with 6/10 units.

GL

The list of injuries for the Lakers is longer than the list of active players. Pau Gasol is out with vertigo, Kobe Bryant is of course shut down for the season, Steve Nash is in and out of the lineup, Xavier Henry will miss the reminder of the season and Chris Kaman, Jordan Farmar, Kent Bazemore are all questionable with various injuries. Some part of it is obvious attempt by the Lakers to lose as much as they can, but the way they can`t play a game without someone getting injured again is already getting ridiculous.

The Rockets will miss Dwight Howard due to his ankle injury and will not have Patrick Beverley available for couple of weeks, but they still need to win games. They are 1 win ahead of the Blazers to secure the homecourt advantage for the 1st round of the play-offs. Against the Lakers, not having Howard could be a good thing as the Lakers have no rim protection at all, which allows Harden, Lin and Parson to drive to the basket for easy dunks and layups. Dwight being an excellent low-post player could slow the tempo down and make it more of an half-court offense. Now we will see the Rockets driving to the basket for 48 minutes.

The lineup Lakers will play is not even a serious D-League material. The Rockets will take an advantage, score many points and cover the spread with an ease. Houston -11 with 7/10 units.

GL

Lakers vs Clippers 06/04

By all means it should be a high scoring game, but to expect 226 points scored in a game played between home town rivals and played as an early game is a bit too much.

LAC and LAL met on 6th of March and the game was a total disaster for the Lakers. It finished with the 48 points difference and the Lakers allowed 142 points. What it means for the game tonight though is a revenge factor as the Lakers don`t want to get humiliated again. They are probably not good enough to win the game, but they are not going to get embarassed again. What it really means is that they will bring out a better effort at the defensive end.

To score 226 points it would take 48 minutes of running. The Lakers have been trying to do that, but their roster now is just too bad to score enough points to justify that style against the Clippers. Steve Nash will see some minutes tonight and he will slow the Lakers tempo. While Gasol is out, Nash really doesn`t have a counterparty to play a pick`n`roll so his offensive effectivness will be limited and his half healthy presence in the lineup will bring down the Lakers scoring averages.

The Clippers will probably find ways to score more than 100 points, but for this game to go over 226 points they have to score at least 120 points and they have not done that ever since that remarkable 142 points against the Lakers exactly a month ago. With the early game sloppiness and revenge factor in play we are likely to see this game staying under 226 points. Under 226 points with 5/10 units.

GL

While it makes no difference for the Kings if they win or lose this game, for the Mavericks the play-offs have started already. They need to play all the remaining regular season games with the play-off intensity to secure their place for the postseason. Consequently this game means a whole lot more for the Mavericks.

With a record of 27 wins and 49 losses, the Kings really have nothing to play for. Being elliminated from the play-offs long time ago they could in fact help themselves by losing more. They played one of their worst games of the season on Friday, when they lost to the Warriors by 33 points (after trailing already by 30 at the halftime). Golden State is actually in quite a similar position as Dallas, so this should be a good indication what motivation means in these type of games.

The Mavericks have 1 game lead over 9th seed in the West, so they really can`t allow themselves to lose against weaker opponents. With a record of 46 wins and 31 losses they are almost 20 wins ahead of the Kings. Sacramento is also missing some key players with Isaiah Thomas suffering right quad injury, Rudy happy expecting his first child and Carl Landry, Jason Terry out for season. Motivation is the key here. Dallas -4.5 points with 6/10 units.

GL

76ers vs Nets 05/04

As for the late stages of the regular season, tanking done so masterfully by the 76ers can stop. With a record of 17-59 they have secured honourable 2nd place in tanking contest only losing to the Bucks. That allows the 76ers to play like they can without coaching staff or management thinking how we can play so that we would lose.

One thing Philadelphia has been able to do all season has been scoring points. Together with sometimes hilarious number of points they allow, they usually still score 90 points themsleves. Reason of course is lack of their defense, but also desire to push the ball whenever possible and take early shots at the offensive end.

The Nets have secured the play-off spot, but would like to get to top 4 in the East to have an homecourt for the first round. The Nets have turned around an awful start they had and now look like a team that could give a scare to struggling top teams in the East. One reason for their success has been ability to score points. In fact over last 11 games the Nets have scored more than 100 points 10 times. Their scoring average over last 11 games is 106,5 points.

Both teams can score points and prefer to play uptempo games. There`s no reason why they should fade from it tonight from it as it has been successful strategy for the Nets and losing pressure is off the shoulders for the 76ers. This game should look overish. Take over 208 points with 5/10 units.

GL

Totally agree. These headlines are just moronic and feel like begging for attention. As well as these way too long write-ups. If you need attention or appreciation go to your mum and ask for a hug. If you want to help people, lose 90% of your text (it is pointless noise anyway) and go to the point faster.