Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was a bit of good and bad for me as far as my picks are concerned. I went 1-1 in my NIT Picks as Dayton defeated Ole Miss 68-63 in a game where I never got the feeling that Dayton was going to lose, and then North Carolina won in overtime over Rhode Island by 1 even though an official, who was not in the position he was supposed to be in, missed an obvious foul that would've sent Rhode Island to the free throw line for a chance to win. Instead the official was not paying attention and it cost the Rams. I don't mind a lot of missed calls but it is very frustrating to me, an indifferent sports fan, to see an official act like he should be calling SEC games in the final minute of an important game. I don't mean to single anyone out but that no call was awful. ANYWAY in the NBA I had a fantastic day as I went 5-0 (Woo) (4-1 ats) as DeMarcus Granger's 33 points helped push the Pacers to a 7 point victory over the Kings, Ronald Murray (23 points) had a fantastic game for the Bulls but it wasn't enough as the Suns prevail 111-105, and Andray Blatche continues his out of nowhere amazing play with 31 points and 10 rebounds but, like Murray, it wasn't enough as the Wizards losing streak falls to 16, Houst 98-94, and in the NHL was where I was not as fantastic going 4-5 as the Ottawa Senators upset the Washington Capitals behind the fantastic play of Jason Spezza (2 goals 2 assists), the St. Louis Blues pulled off the upset of the Chicago Blackhawks, like I called, as Alexander Steen had a great game (2 goals 1 assist) and the Blues still hold onto a small amount of hope for the postseason, and Jonathan Bernier had a 34 save shutout night as the Kings defeated the Predators in Nashville 2-0. Today there are 13 games in the NBA. Woof. That means that there are some great games though as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers head to Atlanta to take on Joe Johnson and the Hawks, Kevin Durant goes up against Paul Pierce as Oklahoma City travels to Boston to take on the Celtics, and Dirk Nowitzki leads the Mavericks into Memphis, which has become a very tough place to play this season. And in the NHL they have some good ones as well as Chicago tries to get back on track at Minnesota, the Ducks take on the Avalanche in Colorado as the Avs try to right the ship and hold onto their playoff spot in the West, and Calgary, currently 4 points behind Colorado in the West will try to take one from the recently hot Coyotes and make a move to the postseason. Should be interesting. Hope you guys enjoy.
My Picks.....
NBA
lakers @ HAWKS (-1) by 2
In their only meeting season the Lakers won 118-110 as they controlled the game with solid defense and a 41 point out burst by Kobe Bryant. This time around I like Atlanta purely because they are one of the best home teams in the NBA winning 81% of the time when they are the host. Josh Smith is beginning to find out just how good he can be and he should present some problems for the Lakers that they did not see in their first match up, plus Kobe has not been as dominant recently as he was at the beginning of the season. I like the Hawks to handle the ball a little better and for the Bynum-less Lakers to struggle.
bucks @ CAVALIERS (-9.5) by 10
clippers @ RAPTORS (-10) by 8
76ers @ BOBCATS (-10) by 9
thunder @ CELTICS (-3.5) by 2
While this is a "headline" type of game I would not be surprised to see the Celtics blow out the Thunder like they did back December. The Celtics shoot the ball better and play better defense then the Thunder. It is very intriguing to look at the stats for the season and then look back at how the game in December played out as the Thunder seem to be the better rebounding team but the Celtics DOMINATED the paint out rebounding the Thunder by 10 and out scoring them in the post by 14. If the Thunder are going to be more competitive in this game they are going to have to be able to play better down low. The reason I see this game being close is that the Thunder are relatively healthy right now where as the Celtics are starting to show their age, getting beat up and tired, and it has caused them to play at a much lower level than they did at the beginning of the season. Still I expect Boston to take this one in the end riding the young guys on the team, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins.
HEAT (-6.5) by 11 @ pistons
SUNS (-7) by 16 @ nets
wizards @ HORNETS (-9.5) by 9
KINGS by 3 @ timberwolves (-2) <----- UPSET
MAVERICKS (-2) by 3 @ grizzlies
At one point this season nobody wanted to travel to Memphis as it mean a sure loss. But here recently? Not so much. Don't get me wrong the Grizzlies still play solid basketball in Memphis but they do not seem like the same bunch. It is as if the magic that the Grizzlies were feeling at the beginning of the season is starting to wear off. The biggest problem of the Grizzlies in their previous games with Dallas has been ball control, as Dallas as confused and frustrated O.J. Mayo in both games and that has really caused the Grizzlies offense to not run like it normally does at times. Dirk Nowitzki has only averaged 20 points and 7 rebounds against the Grizzlies this season which can probably be attested to the solid play of Zach Randolph who has had 2 outstanding games against the Mavericks, averaging 25.5 ppg and 14.5 rpg but the real key is going to be Rudy Gay who has been playing outstanding defense keeping Shawn Marion to an average of just 7 points and 9 rebounds. This Dallas team is playing much better basketball than it was at the beginning of the year and that is vice versa for the Grizzlies. Sounds simple but it's true. I like the Mavs in a close one.
rockets @ SPURS (-11) by 7
knicks @ TRAIL BLAZERS (-10) by 13
warriors @ JAZZ (-13) by 15
NHL
panthers @ SABRES
hurricanes @ CANADIENS
lightning @ PENGUINS
blackhawks @ WILD <----- UPSET
Chicago is looking to take the series but I have to be honest I don't know what to make of the Blackhawks right now. They have lost 3 in a row, including dropping one to St. Louis, one of the league's worst home teams, last night 4-2, and they have lost 7 of their last 10. The Wild have been a solid team at home, even taking one from the Blackhawks earlier this season in Minnesota. The Wild hope they can play a full 60 minutes like they played the last 20 in their last game against the Blackhawks where they scored 4 goals and rode that momentum into overtime where they would win a shootout. The Wild have been physical with the Blackhawks in every single one of the meetings but they have to limit the amount of opportunities that the Blackhawks get as Chicago has dominated the Shots on Goal category in their 2 wins but were held to only 25 sog in Minnesota's win. I think the Wild will do just that and pull out another upset victory behind solid goalie play from Josh Harding.
SHARKS @ stars
ducks @ AVALANCHE
COYOTES @ flames <----- UPSET
This is another game that intrigues me as the Flames really need a win as the season is nearing its end but I just can't picture it. The Flames only win against the Coyotes this season was their first meeting which was in Calgary. The Flames have been the more physical team but at times they have also been very sloppy with the puck which has really cost them in their two losses this season. I don't see much change from that and as the Coyotes are on a hot streak right now, winning 7 of their last 10 games, I don't see the Flames getting past Ilya Bryzgalov enough to win this one.
Alright guys, I am going to be visiting my Grandfather in the Hospital today but If you have any questions, comments, or ideas just let me know at (256) 653-2393 or email us at wherethelandsharksare@gmail.com
Thank you for reading.
Batteman
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