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AC TITTICOCK'S WEEKLY FREE NBA BASKETBALL PICKS AND WINNERS
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AC's Wagercom 2009-2010 NBA Picks Season Record
Wins: 113 Losses: 103 Ties: 2
NBA Picks Winning Percentage: 52%
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AC's outlook on the NBA is an entertaining original column featured here at Wagercom. If you are prone to NBA betting or even just an NBA fan, make sure you come back often to read his articles and free NBA Basketball picks against the spread. AC will be providing us with a weekly outlook during the basketball season including free NBA Basketball picks on some of the weekend games each Friday and Saturday.
Our NBA expert AC has had 6 consecutive winning seasons picking NBA games against the spread making you money including the VIG. AC does this out of the kindness of his heart and for the naked pictures of your girlfriends you send him as a token of your appreciation. So enjoy the columns and the picks..
AC'S 2010 NBA DRAFT RECAP AND ANALYSIS SPECIAL:
Despite Portland firing their GM an hour before the draft, despite Oklahoma City somehow being involved in all 60 picks, and despite more length being on display than in a Lexington Steele/Peter North double feature, the NBA draft was about as memorable and exciting as any of Traci Lords’ legitimate movies. That said, it still remains the best night of the year and AC is here to break down all 60 of the picks for you.
First Round:
1. John Wall-Washington Wizards: To the surprise of no one, The Wiz drafted John Wall who was the consensus number one pick, though AC thinks this could be one of the weakest number one picks since Kwame Brown and his carny hands went to this same Wizards team. There is a lot to like about Wall. He’s fast, he can pass, and despite being saddled with 4 other number one picks on his team he was able to lead an overdog Kentucky squad to the Elite 8. While it’s likely that Wall becomes a star, AC thinks there is a lot of God Shammgod in Wall as he’s not a great shooter and he loves to jump before he passes. To be honest, AC is not sure that Rajon Rondo isn’t Wall’s upside and while Rondo is certainly a top 5 point guard, Wall is being treated like he is going to be a great one. AC thinks Wall averages 14 points, 6 assists, and 3 turnovers as a rookie which is fine, but he doesn’t think this is a guaranteed all-star type pick.
2. Evan Turner-Philadelphia 76ers: AC loves him some Evan Turner, loves him. The guy can play multiple positions, can pass the ball, can rebound, and most of all he can score. Two years ago he was an unstoppable 2 guard before being moved out of position to the point last year and he should play the 2 for the Sixers with J’rue “The Damaja” Holiday playing the point and combo guard Lou Williams playing the Vinnie “Microwave” Johnson role. AC thinks this Sixers team can role out some talent but they will be handicapped by Doug Collins’ coaching, and his loquaciousness. Still, Turner is going to be a player, though the only caveat is that the last player AC felt this way about was Corey Brewer, and well, you see how that turned out. And as an aside, AC has to give props to Turner for the black horn rimmed glasses he wore for the draft which somehow seem to be a bizarre new trend, like sleeping with your teammate’s mom and choreographed player introductions.
3. Derrick Favors-New Jersey Nets: AC can honestly say he has never seen Derrick Favors play but he looked like a beast in the highlights ESPN showed. He’s a big guy and only 18 years old and was able to dominate the ACC by averaging a whopping 12 ppg. So um, yeah. This pick could go either way as Favors is young enough that he is still filling out and learning, and yet unskilled enough offensively that he may never develop a touch even as bad as D-White Howard’s. Still, putting him next to Brook Lopez could give the Nets a great front line in a couple of years so this seems like a reasonable selection.
4. Wesley Johnson-Minnesota TerribleWolves™: Wow. This is the first likely bust of the night and not surprisingly the pick was made by David Kahn who is in a furious race against time to see how quickly he make the TerribleWolves™ even worse. Wesley Johnson is 23 years old already and has only played two years of college basketball, one of which was good but not great and the other of which was very good. Given his age, he’s already NBA ready, so he will be given the opportunity to slide right in to the TerribleWolves™ rotation, but then again, making Minnesota’s rotation just requires a heartbeat and a filled out medical waiver. AC thinks there is a lot of Lawrence Moten in this pick as Johnson is a solid college player who just doesn’t do one thing good enough to differentiate himself. So while AC loves that Johnson wore his best Judge Smails wardrode to the draft (no really, check it out, it’s like he was going directly from the draft to his yacht race), he would short this pick if such things were legal.
5. DeMarcus Cousins-Sacramento Kings: This is either the best pick of the night or the worst pick because Cousins has a ton of talent as well as a ton of weight and behaviorial issues. When asked about his off court problems after being drafted, Cousins said “people think I’m a monster off the floor.” Wow. That’s not good. You never want to draft a guy who thinks that is what people say about him. You want to draft a guy who is positive and can laugh off stupid stuff like that. That said, the guy can score and rebound and has terrific physical talents. Teaming Cousins up with Tyreke Evans could be a solid combination for the Kings for years to come and it could also be a solid combination for the Sacramento police blotter for years to come as well. AC sees Cousins as a mixture of Zach Randolph and Derrick Coleman and that probably isn’t a good thing.
6. Ekpe Udoh-Golden State Warriors: AC likes this pick. There, he said it. Udoh is kind of a late bloomer but he’s hella athletic, can play great defense, and run the floor. It’s not clear where the Warriors play him given that they have Anthony Randolph, Andris Biedrins, and Brandan Wright, but he could be a very good energy guy for years to come. He’ll never be an all-star, but there’s no reason he can’t be a better Chris Andersen.
7. Greg Monroe-Detroit Pistons: The Pistons never brought Monroe in for a workout which is amazing to AC. In this day and age where everything prospects do is scrutinized from how fast they can run through cones to how runny their poop is, how is it possible to invest the kind of money a #7 pick garners without having brought him in for an interview? This is more bizarre than Eliot Spitzer getting his own CNN show which apparently isn’t about hookers. Monroe has the size to be decent but he certainly wasn’t dominant at Georgetown so he’ll likely be a marginal NBA player.
8. Al-Farouq Aminu- LA Clippers: Wow. The guy showed up wearing oversized Urkel glasses which certainly made a statement, though it’s not clear what that statement was other than “I’m going to feel like a boob when I look at these pics in 10 years” (and as an aside, AC loves to feel him some boobs). Aminu plays the same position as the Clips #1 pick from last year, Blake Griffin, so it is a bit of an odd selection but given that one of them will likely miss the year with a soon to occur Clippers knee injury, I guess you always need depth.
9. Gordon Hayward- Utah Jazz: This was a very very bizarre pick because usually the Jazz take the best available white guy (which would have been Luke Babbitt) but instead they seem to have taken the dopiest available white guy. It’s hard to know how to rate Hayward. The guy is a tremendous athlete but he played in a strict defensive system that slowed the game down and stunted his creativity on offense. He’ll definitely be better than the last highly drafted white wing player in Mike Mamula, I mean Joe Alexander, but it’s hard to know just how good he will be without seeing him in a pro-style offense. AC actually thinks that despite Hayward’s pigmentation problem, he can be a decent NBA player because he is a top notch athlete.
10. Paul George-Indiana Pacers: This is either a great pick or a total bust and judging by George’s 42% FG% last year in college, AC is going with bust. The good news is Brandon Rush will have someone with whom to share the unspotlight (AC is not clear what the opposite of spotlight is, so he’s going with “unspotlight,” though perhaps darkness would have been better).
11. Cole Aldrich-Oklahoma City Thunder: Oklahoma traded a bunch of stuff to get Aldrich including Sam Presti’s dignity. Aldrich is a 6 foot 9 center and the last affective 6 foot 9 center was Dave Cowens 40 years ago. Newsflash, Aldrich isn’t Dave Cowens, heck he might not even be Al Cowens. He’s like new teammate Nick Collison without the offense, and yes that is sarcasm, and yes it is true.
12. Xavier Henry-Memphis Grizzlies: Two things you should know:
1. He pronounces “Xavier” as “Za-vee-ay.”
2. Chris Wallace made this pick and Chris Wallace is to NBA GMing what BP is to oil drilling.
Henry is about as middle of the road as it gets in terms of NBA prospects so good for Memphis.
13. Ed Davis-Toronto Raptors: AC strangely likes Ed Davis. He has about 10% chance of becoming an all-star, 60% chance of becoming an adequate player, and 30% chance of becoming the black Eric Montross. But at 13, why not? I mean who was Toronto going to pick, Patrick Patterson?
14. Patrick Patterson-Houston Rockets: Maybe he can fill the Carl Landry role which is now being filled by Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries, but it is more likely he’ll fill the Alexander Johnson role (yep, that guy is somehow still on an NBA roster) and hold down the end of the bench.
15. Larry Sanders-Milwaukee Bucks: Hey Now! Sanders is tall and has a wingspan that makes Jay Bilas howl at the moon. ESPN compared him to Theo Ratliff and AC only hopes that one day Sanders’ contract can become just as famous. That said, AC likes this pick.
16. Luke Babbitt-Portland Trailblazers: AC can list the number of times he has seen Babbitt play on no fingers and no toes but his numbers are stellar and apparently he can fill it up. While he sounded like a bigger meathead during his interview than old school Rob Reiner, he shot 50% from the floor and shooting % is one thing that tends to carry through to the NBA. What’s not to like about a 6 foot 9 shooter who dominated a weak college basketball division?
17. Kevin Serpahin-Chicago Bulls: He’s no Fredrick Weiss, at least Chicago hopes he’s not, but he is far from being an NBA player. He’s raw, he’s young, and he’s a bit of a mystery. That said, AC is sure the Frenchman speaks better English than Derrick Rose so perhaps he can double as a tutor.
18. Eric Bledsoe-LA Clippers: The Clips traded for Bledsoe who was stuck behind John Wall at Kentucky and now will be stuck behind Baron Davis and Eric Gordon in LA. What can you say about a guy who averaged 11 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds in his one college season? Incomplete?
19. Avery Bradley-Boston Celtics: Some had him rated above John Wall coming out of high school, but those include Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles (and that’s not because Ray is blind, but because he’s dead). AC gets that Ainge went for the best available athlete but Bradley plays the same position as a guy named Rajon Rondo who is not just the team’s best player but also signed for 5 more years. The only thing this likely signals is the end of the Little Nate Robinson Era. It was fun while it lasted, and luckily no one got hurt. Anyway, the Celtics likely see Bradley as a SG and he is supposed to be a terrific defender, so who knows, maybe this will work out, but PGs who average 2 assists per game in college don’t have great NBA track records.
20. James Anderson-San Antonio: The Spurs with a potential steal here as this guy can fill it up. He shoots a high percentage and he scores the ball. He doesn’t pass or rebound particularly well and he’s not particularly big, but scoring is an underrated skill (no seriously, it is) and this guy can do that.
21. Craig Brackins- New Orleans Whorenets: He can rebound, but a 6 foot 10 guy who shoots 42% from the floor is not going to be successful the NBA, no way no how (other than Bill Russell, and AC is willing to bet Brackins isn’t the second coming of Bill Russell). In two out of his three years of college, Brackins shot below 44% from the floor in the Big 12, color AC unimpressed (as long as unimpressed is a nice shade of blue to match his eyes).
22. Elliot Williams-Portland Trailblazers: We’re getting closer to a PG who averaged more than 4 assists per game as Williams clocked in at 3.8 assists per game last year. AC would think more of this pick if the guy making it hadn’t been fired an hour before the draft for his player evaluation deficiencies. This is a better pick than Craig Brackins though.
23. Trevor Booker-Washington Wizards: There was some kind of trade here that sent Booker from the TerribleWolves™ to the Wizards but now we have officially entered the part of the draft where it doesn’t really matter. Here is what AC knows about Booker: He can finish down low, his stats haven’t improved much in four years, and he has never been in AC’s kitchen. There aren’t many successful 6 foot 8 power forwards in the NBA and odds are Booker will continue that trend.
24. Damion James-New Jersey: AC is a big fan of this pick because James can get it done. He may be too short and slow for the NBA but he put up 18 and 10 as a senior and shot 50% from the floor. He’s basically the black Luke Harangody and that’s good enough to be a late first rounder.
25. Dominique Jones-Dallas Mavericks: Umm, didn’t this guy just get picked at 24?
26. Quincy Poindexter-New Orleans Whorenets: Oklahoma City was somehow involved in this trade because they were legally required to be involved in every pick of the night. That said, Poindexter is a decent enough player and shot 53% from the floor so he might have a chance to be a solid 10th man one day.
27. Jordan Crawford-Atlanta Hawks: There is a lot of Jamal Crawford in this guy and interestingly enough he’ll get to learn from Jamal in Atlanta. AC loves this pick because this guy can flat out play and it’s not like there was anybody else really left on the board. Sure he’s 21 and sat out 2 years ago as a transfer, but he can shoot and can shoot in high pressure situations.
28. Greivis Vasquez-Memphis Grizzlies: The most excited people on draft night were the Vazquez family who couldn’t believe an NBA GM would actually draft Grievis in Round One, and oddly enough, one didn’t since this pick was made by Chris Wallace. Vasquez is a smart player, hustles, and makes good decisions but it’s not clear he has the physical tools to make the league (See Law, Acie). He did average almost 7 assists per game so the skills are there to run a team and with only Mike Conley ahead of him, there is opportunity, but it’s more likely he has a long career in Europe than in the NBA.
29. Daniel Orton-Orlando Magic: Wow, the 5th Kentucky player goes in the first round from a team that didn’t even make the Final Four so either Calipari sucks as a coach or these guys aren’t that good. Discuss. Orton averaged a mammoth 3 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes a game in his one and only year so I guess he’s got that going for him. At least D-White Howard will no longer be the worst offensive big man on Orlando.
30. Lazar Hayward-Minnesota TerribleWolves™: Minnesota acquired this pick in a trade and apparently decided to not use it. Hayward is the one player in this draft that AC has seen play live and in person and he actually kind of liked the guy. Hayward seemed to have talent and always appeared to be in the right place when he wasn’t taking plays off. He has a chance to be a Jared Dudley type of player.
Second Round: As always, this is the speed round where AC breaks it down in 2 sentences or fewer (and not Dickens Tale of Two City long ass sentences, but Hemingway short and to the point sentences).
31. Tibor Pleiss-Oklahoma City Thunder: The Thunder with another trade, this time to get Pleiss who flew all the way from Germany to sit in the upper deck for this moment. Interesting enough, “Tibor Pleiss” is german for “Johan Petro”.
32. Dexter Pittman-Miami Heat: At least we now know why Big Baby Davis was essentially a no show in the last 3 Celtics games, Pittman ate him. Pittman is big but he is skilled and actually has a chance of being a decent NBA player.
33. Hassan Whiteside- Sacramento Kings: He looked like he was 14 and was compared to either Marcus Camby or Patrick O’Bryant which AC thinks means he’ll likely tear cartilage when he trips over his own feet. Athletic 7 footers don’t grow on trees (except for maybe in Sudan), so why not?
34. Armon Johnson-Portland Trailblazers: In Kevin Pritchard’s last move as GM he trades up to get some guy of whom no one has ever heard. Two players from Nevada’s powerhouse starting five have now been drafted and remember, Nevada was good enough to lose to URI in the second round of the NIT, so you might want to short this pick.
35. Nemanja Bjelica-Minnesota TerribleWolves™: David Kahn sneezes in the draft room and this is what happens. Gesundheit.
36. Terrico White-Detroit Pistons: A poor shooter but an ath-a-lete. Also the last time AC will likely ever have to type Terrico White.
37. Darington Hobson-Milwaukee Bucks: Hobson attended five high schools and a junior college before playing one whole year at New Mexico which means he should have an easy time adjusting to playing in Greece, China, and Russia in the future.
38. Andy Rautins-New York Knicks: Wow. AC thought the Knicks fired Isiah a few years ago.
39. Landry Fields-New York Knicks: No, really, they fired Isiah, right?
40. Lance Stephenson-Indiana Pacers: The Pacers got rid of all of their head cases just in time to draft one of the biggest head cases of them all. AC bets this guy does 10 to 20 before he ever averages 10 to 20 in an NBA season.
41. Jarvis Varnado-Miami: A 6 foot 10 senior who averaged a double-double on 58% shooting with 5 blocks per game. What is AC missing here because this seems like a terrific pick, seriously.
42. Da’Sean Butler-Miami: Butler was a decent college scorer but nothing all that special. Add in a bad knee and you’ve got the upside of an NBDL all-rookie team.
43. Devin Ebanks-LA Lakers: He’s like a worse shooting Corey Brewer and no, that was not a compliment.
44. Jerome Jordan-Milwaukee Bucks: If you’re over seven feet tall and you average 15 and 9 in Conference USA, you might not be an NBA player. But at least the Bucks finally got a Jordan.
45. Paulao Prestes-Minnesota TerribleWolves™: The scratchy highlight tape ESPN showed of him made him look a bit like a Brazilian Andre the Giant, only slower. No slow motion instant replay needed for this guy.
46. Gani Lawal- Phoenix Suns: Sounds like a female venereal disease: “I was totally going to bang that chick but she dropped her drawers and it smelled like she had a nasty case of Gani-lawal so I had to run out of there.” But nice pick by Robert Sarver I guess.
47. Keith Gallon- Milwaukee Bucks: Another pick for the Bucks and AC loves it. Tiny Gallon can shoot, occasionally rebound, and he will definitely help Milwaukee out in the All-Star Game sausage eating contest.
48. Latavious Williams-Miami Heat: Miami’s third pick of the second round and the first D-Leaguer ever selected in the draft. Williams is blazing a trail for every high school kid who dreams of making the NBDL year after year.
49. Ryan Richards-San Antonio Spurs: Ryan will now join Joel Freeland in the trivia question: “What two British centers were drafted in the NBA and never played a minute?”
50. Solomon Alabi-Toronto Raptors: This pick was traded about six times and Alabi slid more than any other player in the draft as scouts realized that to be an NBA player, you need to have one skill more than just being seven foot one. Alabi tested out below every other player in just about all of the pre-draft workouts except for “most likely to be a bust.”
51. Magnum Rolle-Indiana Pacers: Another trade involving the Thunder sent the 24 year old Rolle to the Pacers where he immediately will become the team’s senior statesman, which is good, because he can’t play for shit.
52. Luke Harangody-Boston Celtics: Separated at birth?
 
53. Pape Sy-Atlanta Hawks: ESPN commentators remarked that he wasn’t even a great player in the French pro league so I guess Pape Sy is going to make Hawks fans sigh. But we’re now only 3 “Pape”s away from an all-Pape NBA bust team with Pape Sow anchoring the front line.
54. Willie Warren-LA Clippers: Warren had a good year the first time he played with Blake Griffin so why not try it again? Oh yeah, because Warren can’t dribble.
55. Jeremy Evans-Utah Jazz: Evans is fresh off a senior year where he averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds for Western Kentucky after averaging 9 and 6 as a Junior. So as long as he keeps up that kind of improvement, he’ll make the Jazz roster sometime around 2098.
56. Hamady N'diaye-Minnesota TerribleWolves™: Hamady is a hot commodity after averaging a single-single in all four years at Rutgers.
57. Ryan Reid-Oklahoma City Thunder: AC doesn’t know what is more confusing, that Oklahoma traded for this guy or that this guy was actually drafted. Reid is about 6 foot 8 and averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds at FSU making this the most bizarre pick since Red Auerbach drafted a grilled cheese sandwich in the 8th round of 1973 (and strangely enough, the grilled cheese sandwich had a better jump shot than Ryan Reid).
58. Derrick Caracter-LA Lakers: AC loves that a guy named Caracter has character issues. It’s like finding out Dick Trickle has a bladder problem.
59. Stanley Robinson-Orlando Magic: Is anyone still reading this? Jim Calhoun once kicked Robinson off the Connecticut team, AC doesn’t think that will happen with Stan Van Gundy largely because Robinson won’t make the team.
60. Dwyane Collins- Phoenix Suns: If you made it this far you are either a relative of Dwyane or need a hobby. But as a reward, enjoy.
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