 |
AC TITTICOCK'S WEEKLY FREE NBA BASKETBALL PICKS AND WINNERS
|
AC's 2005-2006 NBA Picks Season Record
Wins: 74 Losses: 61 Ties: 3
NBA Picks Winning Percentage: 55%
Record updated Saturdays and Mondays
Contact AC at ac@wagercom.com or post your questions/comments on the Wagercom Message Board
Read AC's Bio
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 wrapped up the 2003-2004 NBA betting season with a 51% winning percentage against the spread on his basketball picks after 190 games and has improved that to a 57% winning percentage against the spread completing the 2004-2005 season.
NBA WEEK 18 COLUMN & FREE PICKS:
With the NBA in a bit of a lull right now, I thought I’d take a look at who I think are the three most improved players in the league this year. It’s either that, or force you all to read my love letter to Andre Kirilenko’s wife and that can’t be good for any of us.
So here are my votes for most improved player:
Boris Diaw:
Diaw has more than doubled his assists, rebounds, and points per game from last year all while becoming more than just the answer to the trivia question “Who is the worst player in the NBA named Boris?” It has taken him 3 years and a new team to show any real semblance of basketball skills but we have to remember one key thing, and that is that he is French. If we have learned anything from our history we know the French may make good cheese but aren’t the best allies in a world war and suck at basketball unless they are named Tony Parker (and if you don’t agree, watch Vince Carter jump over 7 footer Fredric “The Isle of Elbe” Weis in the greatest in game jam of all-time ). Therefore, Boris has had to overcome this handicap in turning himself into a solid all around player. Steve Belkin was right to not want to give up 2 #1 picks and Diaw for Joe Johnson but arguing logic with Billy Knight is as futile as masturbating to a picture of Rosie O’Donnell. I still think Diaw is as soft as a nice Borusault, which may be a problem when the intensity picks up in the playoffs, but he has definitely improved to the point that he is an above average player and can pass, shoot, and rebound.
David West:
It must be hard to follow in the great tradition of Xavier big men such as Tyrone Hill, Derek Strong, and Aaron Williams but West has finally emerged as a force of his own (speaking of great Xavier players, can we give some props to the immortal Jumping Jamal Walker who never saw a ball he couldn’t turn over?). Much like Diaw, West’s success has occurred in his third year and has coincided with being paired up with an elite point guard (Nash for Diaw and Paul for West). The ability to both get minutes from coach Byron Scott and the ball from Chris Paul has allowed West to not only be on the court during the game, but to be in a position to score. West has gone from averaging 6 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes a game to averaging 17 points and 7.5 rebounds in 34 minutes a game. So he has improved his scoring rate as well as his total points. It might be by default that Byron Scott finally came around to giving West some run this year but a .512 shooting percentage is enough to keep him in the line-up for good. While West is not spectacular at anything on the court, he quietly hits the boards, plays solid defense, and shoots effectively. He’s probably reached his potential but that was enough to get Carlos Boozer a giant contract so West has many groupie parties coming his way (and David, if you’re reading this, and I assume you are, send me an invitation, I’ll even jump on the grenade for you).
Delonte West:
Delonte doesn’t get as much press as he should but in a season and a half he has morphed from pure spot shooter in college to an above average NBA point guard. Over the last month he has averaged 14.5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and less than 1 turnover a game all while shooting 47% from the field. But it’s not just the numbers, it’s that he makes the right decision 90% of the time, is slowly becoming the leader of a resurgent Celtics team (AC has them as the most improved team in the NBA next year, but keep that on the quiet), and gave one of the best interviews in the history of sports to ESPN on Valentine’s day. I still think he is more of a combo guard ala Chauncey Billups than a traditional point guard but he plays with enough fire that he will always find a way to be on the court. Rarely do you see players who are completely focused on winning and give their maximum effort on every play. Delonte is one such player. He hates to lose as much as Isiah loves making bad trades. If you get a chance to watch a Celtic’s game, focus on Delonte and see how the ball moves around when he is on the court. He plays the game so smartly that he is the anti-Scalabrine.
So without further ado, on to this weeks picks:
NBA FRIDAY FREE PICKS:
Washington at Philadelphia Under 209:
I really don't like this game but I will be in attendance so I need some reason to pay attention. Both teams like to score but 209 is a lot of points. Iverson and Arenas may combine for 100 so just hope all of the other players take the night off.
Indiana at Boston Under 190.5:
The Celtics are playing much better and the Pacers have seemingly found a rhythm. While the Celtics run an efficient and sometimes potent offense, the Pacers love to slow the game down. This should be close but when you handicap the Celtics for playing 4 on 5 when Scalabrine is in the game, that takes 10 points off the score right there. Take the under and hope Doc continues to mismanage the rotations.
Detroit -8 at Seattle:
8 points is a lot to give on the road but the Pistons are coming of an ugly loss to the Nuggets. Seattle plays decently at home but the Petro-Wilcox-Collison-Swift-Fortson front court is no match for the Wallaces. You just have to hope Detroit does not get complacent and let Seattle hang in the game.
LA Clippers -4 at Utah:
Wow, giving 4 on the road and taking the Clippers. It's like I have entered some bizarro world where Ray Romano is funny, Isiah Thomas makes good trades, and Taylor Rain is going to fellate me. As an aside, god bless Taylor Rain. If the Clips were ever ready for a let down, this would be the game but Kirilenko may not play for the Jazz (either he has a bad back or is taking his wife up on a freebie, not sure) and they are 2-9 with him out. Take the Clips and hope Vin Baker didn't take the team out partying beforehand.
NBA SATURDAY FREE PICKS:
First I have to apologize for last night. Nobody is more angered by going 0-4 than myself so for that I am sorry. Not only did I have the ignominy of going defeated, but I sat through the Sixers-Wizards game as they crushed my under wager with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. As for the game, Antonio Daniels is really bad and the Sixers play much better with Kevin Ollie on the court and a small line-up. Dalembert hurts them like Blount used to hurt the Celtics. Either way, I need to win you back your cash today because there are a ton of strippers that may be out of work otherwise.
New York at Milwaukee Over 199.5:
The Knicks play defense about as well as I picked games last night. They play defense like it will give them herpes. Milwaukee is not San Antonio either. Just hope the Knicks can hit 90 points and root for Redd to go off.
Portland at San Antonio Under 179.5:
Portland hates scoring like the Knicks hate playing defense which means as long as the Spurs don’t run, this should be a low scoring affair. Take the under and hope the Spurs don’t play their starters.
Detroit -4.5 at LA Lakers:
I am going back to the well on this one. I know the well was not fruitful for me last night, but I am going back to it anyway. The Pistons are going to treat Kobe like a Colorado hotel worker. In other words, he should cover his ass. Just hope Odom takes the night off.
Atlanta +12.5 at Miami:
There are two things I like about this game, I don’t have to watch it and nothing. Enjoy the soup.
Wagercom.com recommends sportsbook.com for all your sports wagering. Click here to join now and receive a generous sign up bonus!
contact AC at ac@wagercom.com or post your questions/comments on the Wagercom Message Board
To sign up to receive this column each week by email simply click on: info@wagercom.com, put your email address in the message box and hit send.(Note we recently lost our mailing list due to a technical glitch...if you had signed up prior to 11/25/05 please sign up again to receive our newsletter)
Check the current point spreads and game lines.
|
