Orlando Magic (23-16) @ Charlotte Bobcats (14-23)
7:00PM EST – 1/16/2008
The opening line for this game is a little confusing for a few reasons. First, and most obvious is that the Magic have a glaringly better record than the Bobcats. This wouldn’t be enough for me to bet on the game, of course, but when you add the fact that the Magic are one of the best road teams in the NBA against the point spread, you have to start liking this game more and more. In their last 30 road games, Orlando is an impressive 22-6-2 against the point spread, a winning percentage a little over 73%! Not bad at all! Taking a deeper look into the Bobcat’s season, we see they are a dismal 0-8 against the spread when they play teams from the NBA Southeast (see: Orlando’s conference). All of these factors have me wondering how the line can open at just -1.5 in favor of Orlando. I guess Jameer Nelson is listed as questionable for the game, but it’s not like he’s Dwight Howard or Rashard Lewis for this team. They can still win without him and they’ll prove it Wednesday night in Charlotte.
Free NBA Pick: Orlando Magic -1.5
Golden State Warriors (22-16) @ Indiana Pacers (17-22)
7:00PM EST – 1/16/2008
It’s surprising to me that the Pacers continue to struggle despite being a fairly young team and a team that has succeeded in the past with a lot of the same major players. You can’t argue with the results, however, and at 17-22 the Pacers need to kick it into gear immediately if they want to salvage their season. I feel like this is a good chance for them to get going in the right direction against a solid Golden State team. The Warriors have been good, but nothing amazing. Baron Davis is still in the cream of the crop when you are talking scoring NBA point guards, but after him there is a pretty big drop-off in production for this team. Indiana as an overall team has the better defense and the deeper bench, and that’s enough for me to jump on them Wednesday night. It’s time for the Pacers to wake up and there’s no better time than now.
Free NBA Pick: Indiana Pacers -1
Portland Trailblazers (23-14) @ Boston Celtics (30-6)
7:30PM EST
Did anyone see the Blazers coming this year? I sure didn’t! After the loss of Greg Oden for the entire season, I think just about everyone wrote Portland off as a lost cause that would have to wait for at least another year to have any success. Not the case at all! The Blazers have come out and shown that they can be a force without the #1 pick in the draft. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have been incredible so far this year. If you’re a Portland fan (or even a basketball fan, for that matter) you have to like what you are seeing out of the Blazers this season, and you have to be excited for what the future holds once Oden finally takes the court. The the other side of this match up we have the powerhouse that is the Boston Celtics. It’s been awhile since a team has looked this dominant. It’s almost like the games they lose are out of boredom. They get tired of doing the same thing every night and winning, so they try a different formula just to keep having fun. The thing about the Celtics is that everyone knew they would be good, or at least thought they had a very good chance to be good. Maybe not 30-6, but good. Everyone talks about their 16-3 record on the road, but you don’t hear nearly as much about Portland’s 17-3 home record! That point really doesn’t matter as the Celtics get home court advantage for this game, which really does favor them. Everyone loves an underdog, but don’t take the bait against the Celtics. Sometimes the little guy wins, but, more often than not, the big dog gets the bone!
Free NBA Pick: Boston Celtics -9
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- NBA Tips 1/25/2008
- Free NBA Tip – 1/21/2008
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- Free NBA Picks – 1/23/2008
- Free NBA Picks – 01/17/2008
