In this article (in which I would appreciate some SBR points 
) I am going to describe each NBA game today and then give you my opinion of what the point spread should be. I can already tell, some are going to be much different than the actual spread. If you agree with me, you can use this information to make your own picks.
Miami at Philadelphia
Philadelphia has faint playoff hopes and they are coming off an incredibly close loss against Toronto. They would have come back from 20+ if that white guy on the Raptors didn’t get fouled as he shot a 3-pointer, causing the ball to go in the basket for 4 points. Miami, who doesn’t have a secure playoff spot but is under the illusion that they do, is coming off 2 blowout wins against Houston and Atlanta. Then, Dwayne Wade decided to become the MVP of the all-star game. He will be exhausted as well as full of himself. Miami will get a reality check in the first half, and Dwayne Wade just won’t have the energy to single handedly lead a comeback, even at home.
1H Philadelphia -2
Philadelphia -4.
New Jersey at Charlotte
The Nets did everything they could against Milwaukee, but still lost in a blowout. This team needs everything to fall in its place to win a game. The All Star Break is not the break New Jersey needs. Charlotte will want to step their game up after losing their last meeting and missing the playoffs last year even though they had a legitimate shot at this point last season. Charlotte lost badly to Orlando right before the break, but they know they are not at that level anyway, so this loss will not phase them. Charlotte knows that they need to win games like this if they want to say they are in the top 8 in the East. They will want to prove to themselves that they matured since the 1st half when they lost to New Jersey.
1H Charlotte -7
Charlotte -14.
Minnesota at Detroit
Detroit is playing a 3rd straight game against a bad team. They lost the first two, but I think the rest, experience, and home court will allow them to squeak by Minnesota. I think Minnesota does have a very good shot to win this game, however. They are angry after losing a very close game to Charlotte. They’ll get a fast start but Detroit will be able to figure it out by the end.
1H Minnesota -4.5
Detroit -2.5
New York at Chicago
Chicago lost their last meeting against New York, but now they are barely hanging on to the 8th seed so they will not take this team for granted again. Chicago in general has a lot to prove. Can they still compete with teams like Boston without Ben Gordon? New York just blew a game against Sacramento in which they led for basically the whole game. New York can’t tire out the Bulls by shooting a lot of baskets. Derrick Rose will have fun against the Knicks like a lot of stars often do.
1H Bulls-6
Bulls-12
Dallas at Oklahoma
So, Dallas is finally young enough to compete. The only problem with that this week is that they didn’t need the youngsters this week as they are coming off a break. Oklahoma City finished the 1st half on a long impressive winning streak, but their last win is against the Blazers, who have a slightly worse record than the Mavs do. The Thunder is not done with their winning spree. Both teams’ best players were in the all-star game. Dirk might be tired, but Durant is more athletic than Dirk. This game is in Oklahoma City. They will destroy the Mavs.
1H Oklahoma -6
Oklahoma -12
Phoenix at Memphis
Phoenix is coming off a loss to Portland, but they dominated the 2nd half. They will take their frustrations out on Memphis, who unexpectedly finished the 1st half over .500. Their 26-25 record is just good enough for Memphis to give themselves a moral victory and decide to take an extended all-star break, and it is just long enough for the Suns to take them a little more seriously than they normally would. The Suns have a lot to prove, since there were 9 good teams in the West last year, and the Suns ended 9th. What could they have done if they had made the playoffs? They will show you!
1H Phoenix -7
Phoenix -14
Utah at Houston
The Jazz is a better team than the Rockets. Just because a teams’ best player is injured, doesn’t mean you can relax against them. Last week Utah lost to the Kobe-less Lakers and they lost their last meeting against the Yao-less Rockets. The Rockets will want to make a run in the second half, but since the Jazz had the entire All Star break to think about their losses to these teams, I think the better team will win.
1H Jazz -2
Jazz -4.5
LA Clippers at Portland
Whichever team decides to play their newly acquired players (that they got from each other) will win. Players tend to be extra hungry when they play their former teams. I think neither team will play their new players, so I think Portland will be able to come back at home against the Clippers. However, this game will be incredibly close. Portland is on a cold streak, but they don’t know it because they are coming off a win over the Suns. Really, they are 5-7 without Roy and the second half against Phoenix was unimpressive. The Clippers are desperate and paranoid. Portland lost their last meeting against LA, so they will wake up this time.
1H Pick’em
Portland -3.5
Boston at Sacramento
Boston is tired because of the various players having to play in the all-star game. They are coming off a loss against New Orleans sans Chris Paul, but a win over Sacramento will prove nothing. They won’t be motivated for this game until they are behind. With the Celtics getting older, they will not be able to complete a comeback on the road. However, I think Rondo will have a HUGE 2nd half. The Kings will be incredibly motivated, since the Celtics are so overhyped. The win will also validate their current 2 game winning streak, which consists of 2 comeback wins against 2 teams with poor records (DET and NYK).
1H Sacramento -8
Sacramento -2.
Golden State at LA Lakers
The Lakers beat 3 great teams without Kobe. That’s because without Kobe, the team is still an above average team. They also wanted to prove that they could win without Kobe. Secondary players have egos too. Pau Gasol might be tired from the All Star Game, and Lamar Odem probably celebrated the win streak with 20 boxes of Oreos over the break. Now they are playing the Warriors. What would that prove? The Lakers really have nothing to worry about. They are going to get the 1st seed in the West. The Warriors are coming off a high scoring win over LAC. Now that they have rest, they won’t be too tired to make it 2/2 in LA.
1H Warriors -5
Warriors -4.
) I am going to describe each NBA game today and then give you my opinion of what the point spread should be. I can already tell, some are going to be much different than the actual spread. If you agree with me, you can use this information to make your own picks.Miami at Philadelphia
Philadelphia has faint playoff hopes and they are coming off an incredibly close loss against Toronto. They would have come back from 20+ if that white guy on the Raptors didn’t get fouled as he shot a 3-pointer, causing the ball to go in the basket for 4 points. Miami, who doesn’t have a secure playoff spot but is under the illusion that they do, is coming off 2 blowout wins against Houston and Atlanta. Then, Dwayne Wade decided to become the MVP of the all-star game. He will be exhausted as well as full of himself. Miami will get a reality check in the first half, and Dwayne Wade just won’t have the energy to single handedly lead a comeback, even at home.
1H Philadelphia -2
Philadelphia -4.
New Jersey at Charlotte
The Nets did everything they could against Milwaukee, but still lost in a blowout. This team needs everything to fall in its place to win a game. The All Star Break is not the break New Jersey needs. Charlotte will want to step their game up after losing their last meeting and missing the playoffs last year even though they had a legitimate shot at this point last season. Charlotte lost badly to Orlando right before the break, but they know they are not at that level anyway, so this loss will not phase them. Charlotte knows that they need to win games like this if they want to say they are in the top 8 in the East. They will want to prove to themselves that they matured since the 1st half when they lost to New Jersey.
1H Charlotte -7
Charlotte -14.
Minnesota at Detroit
Detroit is playing a 3rd straight game against a bad team. They lost the first two, but I think the rest, experience, and home court will allow them to squeak by Minnesota. I think Minnesota does have a very good shot to win this game, however. They are angry after losing a very close game to Charlotte. They’ll get a fast start but Detroit will be able to figure it out by the end.
1H Minnesota -4.5
Detroit -2.5
New York at Chicago
Chicago lost their last meeting against New York, but now they are barely hanging on to the 8th seed so they will not take this team for granted again. Chicago in general has a lot to prove. Can they still compete with teams like Boston without Ben Gordon? New York just blew a game against Sacramento in which they led for basically the whole game. New York can’t tire out the Bulls by shooting a lot of baskets. Derrick Rose will have fun against the Knicks like a lot of stars often do.
1H Bulls-6
Bulls-12
Dallas at Oklahoma
So, Dallas is finally young enough to compete. The only problem with that this week is that they didn’t need the youngsters this week as they are coming off a break. Oklahoma City finished the 1st half on a long impressive winning streak, but their last win is against the Blazers, who have a slightly worse record than the Mavs do. The Thunder is not done with their winning spree. Both teams’ best players were in the all-star game. Dirk might be tired, but Durant is more athletic than Dirk. This game is in Oklahoma City. They will destroy the Mavs.
1H Oklahoma -6
Oklahoma -12
Phoenix at Memphis
Phoenix is coming off a loss to Portland, but they dominated the 2nd half. They will take their frustrations out on Memphis, who unexpectedly finished the 1st half over .500. Their 26-25 record is just good enough for Memphis to give themselves a moral victory and decide to take an extended all-star break, and it is just long enough for the Suns to take them a little more seriously than they normally would. The Suns have a lot to prove, since there were 9 good teams in the West last year, and the Suns ended 9th. What could they have done if they had made the playoffs? They will show you!
1H Phoenix -7
Phoenix -14
Utah at Houston
The Jazz is a better team than the Rockets. Just because a teams’ best player is injured, doesn’t mean you can relax against them. Last week Utah lost to the Kobe-less Lakers and they lost their last meeting against the Yao-less Rockets. The Rockets will want to make a run in the second half, but since the Jazz had the entire All Star break to think about their losses to these teams, I think the better team will win.
1H Jazz -2
Jazz -4.5
LA Clippers at Portland
Whichever team decides to play their newly acquired players (that they got from each other) will win. Players tend to be extra hungry when they play their former teams. I think neither team will play their new players, so I think Portland will be able to come back at home against the Clippers. However, this game will be incredibly close. Portland is on a cold streak, but they don’t know it because they are coming off a win over the Suns. Really, they are 5-7 without Roy and the second half against Phoenix was unimpressive. The Clippers are desperate and paranoid. Portland lost their last meeting against LA, so they will wake up this time.
1H Pick’em
Portland -3.5
Boston at Sacramento
Boston is tired because of the various players having to play in the all-star game. They are coming off a loss against New Orleans sans Chris Paul, but a win over Sacramento will prove nothing. They won’t be motivated for this game until they are behind. With the Celtics getting older, they will not be able to complete a comeback on the road. However, I think Rondo will have a HUGE 2nd half. The Kings will be incredibly motivated, since the Celtics are so overhyped. The win will also validate their current 2 game winning streak, which consists of 2 comeback wins against 2 teams with poor records (DET and NYK).
1H Sacramento -8
Sacramento -2.
Golden State at LA Lakers
The Lakers beat 3 great teams without Kobe. That’s because without Kobe, the team is still an above average team. They also wanted to prove that they could win without Kobe. Secondary players have egos too. Pau Gasol might be tired from the All Star Game, and Lamar Odem probably celebrated the win streak with 20 boxes of Oreos over the break. Now they are playing the Warriors. What would that prove? The Lakers really have nothing to worry about. They are going to get the 1st seed in the West. The Warriors are coming off a high scoring win over LAC. Now that they have rest, they won’t be too tired to make it 2/2 in LA.
1H Warriors -5
Warriors -4.