November 2006 - Page 4 of 4 - Free Football Picks

NBA 2 – Rookies Making the Grade

IT was a crazy 2nd day of the NBA season.
The Bulls were ousted by the Magic in what can either go down as a let down game, or quite possibly the coming of the very young, sans Grant Hill, Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard is a beast. Allen Iverson went off for 32 poins, and Michael Redd did his part in wounding the Pistons to open the season, he led the league with 37 on Wednesday. LaBron was, well, LaBron I guess… More Wise than Business if you know what I mean. But a healthy Larry Huges (27 points) was the difference as Gilbert Arenas started the season with a very poor 2-12 performance. KG was on top of his game, and its nice to see him back to playing his game. As I predicted, Isaiah Thomas and the Knicks got a big win over the Grizzlies. As for the young stars of the league, Brandon Roy is getting most people’s nod for Rookie of the Year already, but watch out for Rudy Gay, he didn’t shoot all that well, but defensively, he was money. 4 blocks for the young Memphis star. Adam Morrison played alright, as he tallied 14 points, 3 of them coming on a flithy buzzer beater from about 35 feet out. All 3 will be stars in this league. Today, in hoopland, there are two games on the radar, and this is how I would pick them…
I want the Dallas Mavericks (-3) over the Spurs. I don’t care what people are saying about he Spurs being favored in the West, right now I see 3 better teams than San Antone… Dallas, Phoenix, and (gulp) the Lakers. Yeah, I hate to say it as much as you hate to read it, but if LaMar Odom plays this effectively with Kobe in the lineup, the Lakers are at least #3 in the West.
also would like to roll the dice on the Clippers starting 0-2 on the season, losing at home to the Denver Nuggets. Carmelo is going to be one fo the filthiest players this game has to offer. There’s reason he was the go to guy for team USA throughout the World Tourney.
Tonight, a big 3 VS 5 match up in the Big East will see West Virginia stomp into Louisville for a battle of the undefeated. One will come out alive, and I have to give it to the team whose best player isn’t cheering from the sidelines. West Virgina will give the rock to their two super athletes, Slaton and White, while Michael Bush can only root his team on from the sidelines. Thus far Louisville hasn’t missed their star runner, but this time around Louisville will only be able to ponder what could have been.
That’s how I see it. – LL

The Heat pull a Barbero – Day 2 Picks

WOW… Are they going to have to put the Heat down? Or can they recover and become sperm donors? Alright, lucky for the Heat, this isn’t horse racing, but honestly, 66 points on opening night? Allowing 108 to the Bulls? Hell Dwayne Wade had 25 points, too. It’s not like he was off. But do the math, he had 25, so the entire Heat team, sans D, yes, 41 points. Nice. No other Heat player busted the double digit mark. Not exactly a way to start your title defense now is it.
But lets not belittle those Bulls. Baby or well-tuned, I don’t care what you call them, they came to play, and dominate they did. Athletically, it’s going to be rare when a team matches up with Chicago. They have so many studs, they can get a bad night from Ben Gordon, 6 points on terrible shooting, and still win by 44. My favorite stat from a Bull on Tuesday, Chris Duhon hit 7-8 from the floor, but his 20 points in 17 minutes got my attention. There you go, bad night from Benny, throw CD out there This could be a nice season for Skiles and company.

Don’t think I forgot about you Laker fans out there. LA came out like a pile of dump against the Suns, as Phoenix jumpered out to a 41 point 1st quarter, and a 14 point lead on the Kobe-less Lakers. But it was downhill for the Suns from there as LA managed there way back into the game behind an MVP type game from Lamar Odom (12-24, 13 rebounds, 6 dimes, and 34 points) and two gritty performances from a couple youngsters, Andrew Bynum (18 years old, 7-11, 9 boards, 5 dimes, and 18 points) and Maurice Evans (8-13, 4 boards, and 17 points). Leandro Barbosa rocked the court for the Suns, but his 6 three pointers, 30 points and 4 dimes, wasn’t enough for the Suns as they fell by 9 in LA.
I had the Bulls over the Heat, but have to admit, I definitely had the Suns, with or without Kobe playing. So I was 1-1 on opening night, I’ll take it.

As for Tomorrow’s games, this is how I see my top 5 bets rolling out…
Atlanta (+7) will at least cover against the 76ers in Philly. The Hawks have enough talent and size to give the Sixers trouble all night on both sides of the floor. A couple of early losses could spell shake-up for the Philly boys.
Chicago (+3) should be able to bounce back from last nights game and beat the popular sleeper pick, Orlando Magic, in Orlando. Basketball is definitely a game of streaks, and Chicago can’t be tired from sleep walking through the Heat for at least a half last night. Kirk Heinrich was the only player from Chicago that played more than 29 minutes last night. Rest shouldn’t be an issue.
I like the New York Knicks (+5.5) to cover against the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. Call me a sick-o, but I actually think the Knickerbockers have enough talent to compete in a mediocre Eastern Conference. The Grizz are starting a rookie, and see themselves in a basic rebuilding mode. New York should be much better this season under a coach they believe in. Many don’t understand how important that is.
Sacramento (+5) should put up a good fight in Minnesota, even without their team leader, Mike Bibby, who’s out with a thumb injury for the first couple weeks of the regular season. Kevin Martin, who is very underrated, should have a huge first couple weeks with Bibby sidelined. The Kings are a good bet against a Timberwolve squad that has yet to gel. Minnesota will be back in playoff contention this season, but it’ll take a week for them to get on the right track.
And last but not least in Wednesday’s Top 5 Hoop Games….
I’ll roll with the Detroit Pistons (-7) to handle the Milwaukee Bucks with care. Jason Maxielle and Antonio McDyess should do just fine in Ben Wallace’s old roll, when they come off the bench, and if the Piston crew can instill some toughness in Nazr, he’ll do just fine starting in Ben’s place. That being said, I still think the Pistons have the make-up of a champion, so taking them on opening night feels right.

It’s nice having hoops season back. Can’t wait for College Hoops next week. Tune in often for my hoops picks a few times a week. This week, a nice little movie quote for your viewing pleasure… “Your Mamma’s so fat she broke her leg and gravy poored out.” (Can you guess this flick?) – LL