WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 10TH UTAH @ ORLANDO
PICK: ORLANDO ATS (-110)
This bet is completely contingent upon Jameer Nelson. Without Nelson in the Magic lineup there seems to be a significant lack of scoring production from the 1 position. Duhon and Williams are great backup point guards, but when Vince and Lewis are struggling Orlando needs offense from the 1 position and Nelson is their best bet. He may not be needed to win games, but in order to cover spreads it would be best if the Magic were being commanded by the former all-star point guard. I was actually on Utah yesterday, didn’t think they would win but the spread was ridiculous. Tonight I suspect a very similar spread, If Nelson plays Orlando should win this game by more than 9 points. Utah’s starters are exceptional. D Will had an awesome night but it was Paul Milsap who had the most devastating game of the NBA season. I was going crazy watching him in the 4th. He was a beast out there and is raising his status in the NBA as each game progresses. AK47 is a machine when he is on a contract year and showing it. Bell needs to find his offense but his defense is always stellar and Big Al is proper although he struggled vs Miami, I do think Sloan did the right thing sitting him in the 4th. The starters are not the problem, the Utah bench is the problem. They could be the worst bench in the Western Conference. They have no one who can consistently provide anything off the bench, Okur is injured, C.J Miles has looked terrible in his last 3. Utah will never be able to win back to back road games or even compete with such a shallow bench. Tonight they go against the deepest team in the NBA, rested and ready to pounce. Dwight Howard had a combined 35 rebounds vs Al Jefferson in Minny last year, he always dominated against him. I really hope Stan Van Gundy continues to shake up the 3 and 4 spot depending on matchups. If he does then Bass should start tonight and try and hold Milsap. Most likely the Ron Jeremy look alike will start Ryan or Quentin instead which is dumb in my humble opinion, I say stop going small, set an identity, start Bass and stick to it. Either way I just see a Utah team off an emotional OT win getting their asses handed to them by an Orlando squad that enjoys giving teams that just played Miami a whooping. Magic by double digits tonight.
3 UNITS SCOTT “30 ASSISTS” SKILES - - -
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 10TH NEWARK @ CLEVELAND
PICK: CAVS – 4 (-125)
This home and home series belongs to the Cavs. To be honest there is really no need for the Cavs to even play the regular season...any good NBA forecaster can already predict the seed Cleveland will land in the East.....can you guess.....take a moment and think about it, it is very easy to predict this one. The Cleveland Cavaliers are basically guaranteed the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. Unless a trade develops that changes the East landscape, that is where they will lay. What people need to understand is they are flat out better than most if not all of those lower tier East teams. Indy, Philly, Washington, Charlotte, New Jersey, New York and even Toronto who demolished them by 20 earlier in the season. The Cavs are a good team. Just not better then Atlanta, Milwaukee, Chicago, Orlando, Boston and Miami. Simple as that. I think some people still think the Cavs are not a good team, Lebron didn’t win 61 by himself last year. Despite contrary beliefs, there was a decent group of talent around LBJ, it was LBJ that could not quite carry them over the mountain the same way Jordan did. Do you all honestly believe that his airness in his prime could not have taken this Cavs team to the promise land? Controversial subject I know, but to the point I think the Cavs are talented. Andy V is a presence in the middle and a great defensive starting 5 man. J.J Hickson is a 20/10 power forward. Maybe not this year, but his potential is limitless and he can be dominant at his position. Moon provides what is needed at the starting 3. Defence and rebounding. The guard rotation could be one of the most dangerous in the East. Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson and Ramon Sessions are 4 guards who can score and make plays for other teammates. One thing I have noticed is although the Princeton offense in evident throughout their offensive execution, Cleveland has implemented a lot of drive and draw plays. Byron Scott is a genius. He looks at the assets he has on his team and finds offensive strategies that can help his team flourish. All these drive and draw plays combined with the Princeton system is a perfect fit for a running guard dominated team. Off the bench you could have the sixth man of the year in Antawn Jamison. He is the vet and leader of this team. He has been as consistent an NBA pro as anyone in the league, he will lead this team to victories on many nights. Their big guys are no names off the bench but even Ryan Hollins and Jawad Williams are providing solid minutes off the bench. Cleveland beat NJ last night, controlled and led for most of the night. If Mo Williams didn’t go 1-13 it would have been an easy double digit defeat. They simply outplayed them in every way. Tonight in Cleveland I don’t see the script changing.
3 UNITS SHAWN “SNOWMAN” KEMP - - -