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AC TITTICOCK'S WEEKLY FREE NBA BASKETBALL PICKS AND WINNERS
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AC's Wagercom 2006-2007 NBA Picks Season Record
Wins: 67 Losses: 67 Ties: 1
NBA Picks Winning Percentage: 50%
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 has had 3 consecutive winning seasons picking NBA games against the spread for a combined 317-281 record yielding a 53% winning percentage which would have won 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 NBA BASKETBALL FREE PICKS WEEK 17:
There are fewer than 25 games left in the season and the races for the last few playoff spots in each division are heating up like a random girl in the www.welivetogether.com household. With that said, today I will break down each of these races and will let you know who will get the final few playoff spots and thus gear up to lose in the first round.
Eastern Conference:
There are 5 teams fighting for the last 3 spots in the Eastern Conference: Indiana, Miami, New Jersey, Orlando, and New York (and yes I just typed New York). Currently, Indiana is ½ game ahead of Miami, 1.5 Games ahead of New Jersey who holds the last playoff spot, 2.5 games ahead of Orlando, and 3.5 games ahead of the Knicks. So any of these 5 teams could go on a run over the next 2 months. Should any of them play .550 basketball, they will get one of the playoff spots. Below are my picks for the final 3 seeds.
6th Seed: Indiana Pacers
Unlike the other teams on this list, the Pacers really have no controversies, other than that they are not very good. They swapped out half their team and a number of their lawyers in mid year for Mike Dunleavy Jr (and apparently his parents dun leavied a tax on him for made shots since he’s only a 43% career shooter) and Troy Murphy. Adding those two to Jermaine O’Neal should be enough to hold off the other teams for at least an 8th seed. While they have lost 4 in a row, and feature Jamaal “Lee” Tinsley at the point who loves getting injured and missing shots, they still have enough fire power to finish above .500 for the year.
7th Seed: New Jersey Nets
Richard Jefferson promises to be back soon which will once again give the Nets 3 legitimate NBA players to go with the 12 other guys they employ. Kidd is old, Carter is hit or miss, and Jefferson will likely get hurt again, but these guys actually like winning. With Kidd now able to focus on playing basketball rather than hitting his wife, he should be able to lead them to the playoffs. Keep your eyes on Marcus Williams as well, he has been inconsistent but as he gets more time, he gets better and better. Plus he proved to be a clutch player in college so perhaps he can step it up down the stretch for the Nets. And speaking of clutch college players, did any of you see Acie Law IV hit two huge three-pointers against Texas this week? The first one he hit over Kevin Durant, while falling backwards, to send the game into OT was one of the best game tying shots I have ever seen. That dude has balls bigger than Jennifer Lopez’s ass.
8th Seed: Miami Heat
I have no idea if Dwyane Wyane Wade is coming back, but I don’t think it matters too much for them simply getting into the playoffs. They still have Pat Riley coaching them, they still have Shaq’s aging carcass, and they still have Antoine Walker (ok, that was a joke). Seriously though, this team has the experience and the coaching to slow the game down every night which means they will likely always be in the game at the end. They really just need to go .500 to get in and with Jason Williams back running the show, they should do just that. Sure they have no one who can create offense for themselves, but they have enough jump shooters that one of them is bound to be hot on any given night. Without Wade, they lose in round one, but I still think they get the last playoff spot.
Almost in: Orlando Magic
Oh where did it all fall apart for my pre-season sleeper the Magic? Was it the injuries to Grant Hill, the uneven play of Hedo Turkoglu, the injury to Tony Battie (and yes, I am serious about that, they have struggled without him), or the coaching of Brian Hill? Well it’s probably a combination of all of those but still, with Dwight Howard in the middle, how can you not make the playoffs? This team has talent in the back court with Nelson and Arroyo and has some nice players up front to support Howard, so how are they playing under .500 ball? No really, will someone explain this to me? I am going to go with the coaching since I have seen Brian Hill’s work before, but if you have a better reason, please let me know. Actually, if you have a better reason, you should let Otis Smith know.
Almost in: New York Knicks
When a team is thinking about signing 98 year old Jimmy Jackson, things can’t be going well. The fact that Jamal Crawford being injured is deflating their playoff hopes tells you all you need to know about this team. They are just not that good, especially the overrated human turnover Eddy Curry. I compare Eddy Curry to watching professional porn rather than amateur porn, it’s like he’s just going through the motions. Sure he has the size and the talent, but you know he’s just in it for the paycheck.
Western Conference:
There are 4 teams fighting for 2 spots here with the Nuggets currently in 7th place with a ½ game lead over the Clippers, a 1 game lead over the Whorenets, and a 2.5 game lead over the Kings (and yes I know the Kings are tied with Minnesota but Minnesota is not making the playoffs under any scenario, including suspending every other NBA team).
7th Seed: Denver Nuggets
I am positive this team is going to figure it out by the end of the year. They have too much talent and too good of a coach. Iverson and Melo are both getting their points and everyone seems to be getting along but they seem to be missing any kind of defensive intensity. Camby needs to step it up and while Nene has been playing better of late, he also needs to become more of a force inside. They are a Danny Fortson type-player away from being very good.
8th Seed: LA Clippers
With Shaun Livingston out for at least the year with a knee injury as gruesome looking as Tina Yothers’ face (ok, maybe not that bad), Mike Dunleavy will now be forced to give Sam Cassell and Corey Maggette more minutes, which is a good thing. The Clips have all the talent to lose in the first round of the playoffs and I think they will. As long as Brand can keep putting up numbers, and Mobley hits a shot every few quarters, the Clips should be Dallas’ first victim.
Almost in: New Orleans/OK City Whorenets
This is kind of the trendy pick with Chris Paul handling the PG duties as well as almost anyone and David West back and healthy. Tyson Chandler has stepped up his game and is every bit as good as Ben Wallace (nice job Paxson) but this team still lacks depth and a true scorer. Their bench is thinner than Pacman Jones’s alibi (oh wait, I don’t think he has one) which is not good. Next year they will contend for the playoffs.
Long Shot: Sacramento Kings
I have been saying all year that the Kings have all the talent to make the playoffs. Really, they do. I am baffled and perplexed at their record and their inability to win easy games. With Artest, Bibby, Martin, Brad Miller, and Shareef Abdur-Radio-Raheem, how can they be 6 games under .500? Either Artest is really that disruptive or Mike Bibby is taking the year off. Any guessers?
Friday Night NBA Picks
Milwaukee at Toronto -5:
Milwaukee has been playing well since Michael Redd came back and they could steal this one from the Raptors. However, the Raptors are playing as well as any team in the NBA not named Dallas. You need to worry about a let down game from Toronto since they are at home after a week long road trip, but if they can give 3 quarters of intensity, they should be able to win by double digits.
Detroit at Miami Under 182:
Miami has no guards, no penetrators, and no extra shoulders for Dwyane Wyane Wade to borrow. Riley knows the only way for his team to stay in games is to slow it down since they have the offensive fire power of the Municipality of Lichtenstein. Detroit is usually willing to oblige in the slow down game so all signs point to the under, which worries me since the obvious bet never wins. Just hope Webber and RaWeed were smoking it up in South Beach last night and their passing is sluggish.
Atlanta at Washington -7.5:
This is just an awful game as the Hawks are as bad as I assume that move Wild Hogs will be (and I can't think of anything worse than a buddy movie with John Travolta and Tim Allen, unless they were to meet up with Robin Williams and Ray Romano, which of course would be the end of humanity, but I digress) and the Wizards are playing like they are a 3rd seed in the Patriot league. The Wizards have to come out with some intensity sooner or later and Gilbert can't stay cold forever. Just hope this is the night Arenas gets his touch back.
Orlando +11.5 at San Antonio:
This is a game the Spurs may take lightly and a game in which the Magic really need to compete. The Spurs will probably pull it out, but I think it will be closer to 9 points. Just hope Dwight Howard can shoot above 75% from the line and Jameer Nelson can find some open shooters.
Saturday Night NBA Picks:
Detroit at Memphis Under 198.5:
Taking Detroit and the under 2 nights in a row is not really what I wanted to do this weekend but have you seen the rest of the games tonight? I have seen surer bets in a convent than with these lines (and I am not entirely sure what that means, but if it means what I intend it to mean, it is pretty funny, trust me). The Pistons have a couple of 30 point quarters in their offense, just hope tonight is not the night. With both teams playing their second of back to back nights, there will either be no defense or no offense, so root for the no offense and root for a lot of scrub time.
Orlando at Dallas Over 188:
Dallas loves to score and Orlando loves to play crappy basketball right now. The Mavs are cracking 100 so as long as the Magic show up for 3 quarters, this should be a game in the 190s at least. Just hope D-Wight Howard hits better than 60% of his free throws.
Indiana at LA Clippers -2.5:
I pick Clippers games as well as Tim Allen makes movies, in other words, not good. The Pacers are on a big losing streak and really need a win tonight but the Clips need to win too. Bet this game only if you are a gambling addict, and if you have read this far, I assume you are.
New York at Atlanta Under 192:
When two bad teams play, take the under. When two really bad teams play, take the under and avoid contact.
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