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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: 93 Losses: 90 Ties: 2
NBA Picks Winning Percentage: 51%
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 PLAYOFFS WEEK 1:
The NBA playoffs are here and I am as excited as Paris Hilton in a store that doesn’t sell panties. Finally we’ll get to see some good games, good players, and maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll even get to see Kevin Willis. As for who is going to win it all, I am obligated to stick with my preseason prediction of the Suns beating the Cavs, though the Suns are clearly going to have to start playing better. If you want to root for a sleeper though, put some cash on Houston at 12-1 as they are going to surprise a lot of people. Below is the break down of the first round match-ups.
Eastern Conference:
Detroit vs Orlando:
This is the least interesting of all eight first round series. The Magic snuck into the playoffs and while they actually have a nice little team, they lack a true scorer who can keep them in games. Turkoglu is streaky, Nelson is inconsistent, and Howard is more of a defensive presence than an offensive one right now. That said, the Pistons are solid all around and with the addition of Christina “the tin man” Webber, they have had a better flowing offense. The big question is can the Magic win one game here, and the answer is yes, but that’s all.
Prediction: Detroit in 5
Cleveland vs Washington
What a shame this season has turned out to be for the Wizards. First they lose Caron Butler, then they lose Gilbert Arenas, and now they will lose in the first round of the playoffs. We all know the Wizards were flawed even with those two (I mean Haywood and Thomas at center is like having a girl from Flava of Love as a bridesmaid, it won’t kill the wedding, but you know something bad is going to happen). The Cavs meanwhile are as much of a one man show as the Lakers or Hall and Oates (Hall clearly carried the hobbit-esque Oates for years). If LeDong plays well, they win, that simple. With the Wiz more injured than Alberto Gonzales’s reputation, the Cavs should easily win this series.
Prediction: Cleveland in 4
Toronto vs New Jersey
The Nets are like that old guy who joins in your pick-up game, sets a few picks, and drains every shot from the top of the key. In other words, they’re not that good, but they know how to play. The Raptors are young and may be a bit overconfident, especially with all of the hype surrounding Vince Carter’s return to Toronto after he all but performed a super bowl blumpkin on them before leaving. Vince’s return to Toronto is like when Johnny Damon went back to Fenway with the Yankees or when Sergeant Slaughter teamed up with the Iron Shiek. Toronto clearly has more talent, and the Nets don’t have anyone who can stop Bosh, yet if Kidd can control the pace, this series can go either way. Since most people think the Nets will upset the Raptors, and most people are stupid as judged by the ratings for According to Jim, I have to go the other way and take the Raptors. It won’t be pretty, but it will be entertaining.
Prediction: Toronto in 7
Bulls vs Heat
By losing the last game of the year, the Bulls screwed themselves by having to play the Heat. Which leads to the question, if you can’t beat a team who is not trying in a game you really need to win, how are you going to beat the defending champions, even if the defending champions are old, crippled, slow, and did I say old already? The Bulls clearly have more talent, and it will be interesting to see if Wallace can neutralize the Heat on the boards, but I never pick against the defending champs in the first round. Pat Riley is no dummy, Dwayne Wyane Wade was still unstoppable the last time I checked, and Shaq still looks ok one out of every seventeen minutes. In other words, the Heat should be able to squeak by here, even with Skiles ranting and raving.
Prediction: Heat in 6
Western Conference
Mavericks vs Warriors
Everyone seems to be excited that the Warriors made the playoffs, and as a former resident of the Bay Area, I am a bit excited as well, but they are going to get creamed by Dallas. This is going to be like watching Artie Lange take on Verne Troyer in an eating contest. Seriously, once Dallas plays one quarter of defense, this series will be over. The real question is can Baron Davis play more than three playoff intensity games without getting injured?
Prediction: Mavericks in 4
Suns vs Lakers
This should be a great match-up in the sense that it will be like the Bulls-Celtics in the 1986 playoffs when Jordan went off but the Celtics dominated. The Suns are just so much better than the Lakers at every position, it is almost embarrassing. Odom is a poor man’s Shawn Marion, and Luke Walton, Smush Parker, and Kwame Brown are just poor men (figuratively, not literally). It will be fun to see how many Kobe can score, and he may hit 70 in one game, but the Suns should run all over this Lakers team even if the Lakers have some locker room motivational fodder.
Prediction: Suns in 5
Spurs vs Denver
Now this should be the most interesting series of all. The Spurs are playing the best they have in years and the Nuggets need to prove they are as good as the sum their parts. What I am looking forward to the most though is the conflicting styles; the Nuggets like to run and Spurs don’t, the Spurs play defense and the Nuggets don’t, the Nuggets play outside and the Spurs don’t, and the Nuggets suck and the Spurs don’t. As much as I would like to see Iverson and Melo get some kind of vindication, especially as I really liked the Iveson trade, it all comes down to Camby controlling Duncan and the Nuggets finding someone who can neutralize Manu. In other words, take the Spurs and enjoy the show. If the Nuggets were in the East, it would be a different story, but the West is just too good.
Prediction: Spurs in 6
Rockets vs Jazz:
A healthy Yao and McGrady means trouble for every team in the West, but especially the overrated Jazz. I am pretty sure Okur, Boozer, Kirilenko, Mark Eaton, Greg Ostertag or whomever the Jazz throw out there will not be able to contain Yao. Plus, the Jazz don’t really have a lock-up defender/slasher to stop McGrady. I guess they could try Kirilenko on him but that might be bad for all involved. Sure the Jazz could neutralize Yao a bit by moving Okur out to the three point line, but if I were the Rockets I would then switch Battier out on Okur and let Yao putz around covering Boozer or the offensively ineffective Kirilenko. Speaking of which, has anyone ever had such a precipitous decline in offense during their prime as Kirilenko did? It’s like Chris Rock going from Bigger and Blacker to Pootie Tang. It just makes no sense. The Rockets are good enough to win the west and the Jazz are good enough to win the East, so in short, the Rockets should roll here.
Prediction: Rockets in 6
Saturday Night NBA Picks:
It’s the opening round of the playoffs and all teams are going to be trying to win so finally we can make some money. I haven’t looked forward to watching something this much since I was 13 and got Skinemax (god bless Shannon Tweed). Anyway, tonight we will all get paid for having to watch this awful season.
New Jersey +4.5 at Toronto:
This is my least favorite game of the day because Toronto is completely unproven, they still don’t have Garbajosa (and yes it took me 5 times to spell that correctly and I am guessing it would take at least 7 times to pronounce it correctly, but hey, enjoy the tapas), and the Vince in Toronto factor is going to be tough on everyone. While I think the Raptors will win the series, I think the Nets steal this one on inexperience. Watch the Raptors roll to a double digit lead early before the Nets come back behind a big game from Dicky “Stone Hands” Jefferson. So take the Nets and hope they can keep it from getting too out of hand too early (and yes, I originally had the Raptors giving the points, so this could go either way).
Miami +4 at Chicago:
Chicago is as unproven as Toronto except they actually have a ton of talent. That said, the Heat have been waiting for this all year and while they are not really that good, they will slow the game down enough to keep it close. I’m not sure who wins but it will come down to the final two minutes and when that happens, take the points. Just hope Shaq and Wade can stay healthy.
Orlando at Detroit -8.5:
Orlando was a nice story (a bit Willaim Saroyan-esque in their feel goodness, but they lack the bite of my boy Fred Exley to advance) but they are nowhere near the team the Pistons are right now, especially with Dwight Howard shooting free throws like the rim is 12 feet high. The Pistons should roll early and often here.
Utah at Houston -6:
My sleeper team is giving a lot of points here but I have been less impressed with Utah than I was with Antonio Tarver’s acting in Rocky Balboa (seriously, it was horrible, like a 2nd grader in a special ed class trying to play the role of Hamlet in an adapted Shakespearen musical). Take the Rockets and hope they can pressure Deron Williams into some turnovers and also hope McGrady’s back does not give way as usual.
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