[Inv1ctus]

Ok so today everyone is playing, 15 games and not much to like. I'm waiting for Houston and Boston lines to pop up.

In the meanwhile I decided to take a closer look at Cleveland-Chicago. Cleveland has hit a slump in the last week, after barely beating Washington they went 1:1 vs Miami who is actually playing pretty decent defense but they lack the size and Cavs big men didn't capitalize on that. Now Chicago on the other hand has no D at all. The key for Cavs in this game will be for Williams and West to not let the opposing backcourt shoot uncontested shots, especially 3-pointers which they like so much, make them put the ball to the floor cause there will be some shot blockers waiting in the paint. They got killed with threes in Miami. If Gooden ain't playing (he's still listed as day-to-day) big Z should have a big night on the offensive end because there is little chance that inexperienced Noah and Gray will stop him. I think Cavs will try to get back to winning ways with authority which they showed for about 7 weeks in November and December, what better opponent than Chicago whom they've already beaten twice this season, and the Bulls got destroyed at home by Orlando, talking about moral booster.

Key Matchup: Delonte West vs Ben Gordon

X Factor: Lebron (I don't think it would be fair to put anyone else in here, he is the most efficient player in the league and driving force for Cavs)

Number's Game: Chicago is 2:6 ATS in its last 8 games on the road, Cleveland is 8:2 ATS in the last 10 games at home vs Chicago, Cleveland is still the only unbeaten team at home with record of 16:0.

My pick Cleveland at -11.5 (bought a point) with 5/10.


Ok the Houston line finally came out. I thought it would be higher to be honest, especially with J. O'Neal questionable for tonights game, but Houston is playing kinda bad lately so it's a reasonable line. In the last five games they've been held to only 92 points and have shot very poorly with a little shy of 40%. Although Toronto ain't shooting that bad, they're still dropping games here and there, in the last 10 matches they've won twice against Sacramento and Clippers which is hardly something to be proud of.

Raps face some tough matchups tonigh, who is gonna guard Yao? Who is gonna score in double digits besides Bosh? Rockets defend the threes very well and thats always good against a team who has some good 3-point shooters. Toronto is one of the worst rebounding teams in the league and if O'Neal ain't gonna play imagine how will they get any rebounds. Also Calderon will have tough time with quick Brooks and Alston on the other side, I just hope they won't shoot as bad as they did the previous game. I never understood how a guard can be so lazy that he doesn't even have a 40% FG%. I hope that Dikembe already had some kind of meeting with the team, he could be a moral booster, as arrogant as he is he would probably convince them that they're gonna win the title no matter what

Key Matchup: Alston vs Calderon

X Factor: Ron Artest (If any Toronto player gets hot from downtown he can shut him down and he's also a pretty good 3-point shooter)

Number's Game: Houston is 1:4 ATS in the last 5 games playing on the road vs Toronto. Toronto is 1:4 ATS in its last 5 home games.


My pick here is Houston at -3,5 with 7/10.


The last game I'm going to bet today is NJ Nets vs Atlanta. It's a bit funny because early in the morning when they put out the line, I was all over Atlanta @-3, but then I watched Oklahoma-Atlanta and the first game of the season beetween Nets and Hawks and I started to lean more and more towards Nets so I've decided to wait cause that line will go up, hope it goes over 5, so I can buy a point to +6,5.

The Hawks had big problems with Lopez in that game cause neither Horford or Zaza could guard him. Also Harris played with a mild sprained ankle and could get to the FT line at will, the same was with Carter. Those three are probably gonna have good games, but that won't be enough, somebody will have to hit some shots beside them. Either Hayes or Yi will have to step up, Yi has been especially bad in the last two weeks. Anderson who was very solid in the beginning of the season was pushed aside and Najera will get his minutes. Najera still hasn't found himself with this team but he could be a nice energy guy from the bench for Nets if he will just hit those couple of shots per game as he used to do in the past. I really hope Dooling will be back, because he is probably the most consistent player on their team and could be a big help with some 3-pointers made.

Key Matchup: Carter vs Johnson

X Factor: Brook Lopez (If he brings his A game no one on the Hawks can stop him, cause they just don't have the size)

Number's Game: Almost everything points to the Hawks except the two losses early in the season which might not even be relevant because Smith wasn't playing and he is their defensive force. Atlanta is 6:1 ATS in the last seven games, Nets are 1:7 ATS in the last 8 games. Nets are 7:1 ATS vs Hawks.


Although a lot of things point towards Hawks, I still believe the Nets are gonna pull this one off because they just possess some bad matchups for Atlanta.

My pick is New Jersey at +6.5 (will buy enough points for this HC), with 5/10.