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AC TITTICOCK'S WEEKLY FREE NBA BASKETBALL PICKS AND WINNERS
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AC's Wagercom 2007-2008 NBA Picks Season Record
Wins: 67 Losses: 63 Ties: 4
NBA Picks Winning Percentage: 52%
Record updated Saturdays and Mondays
Contact AC at ac@wagercom.com or post your questions/comments on the Wagercom Message Board
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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 4 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 NBA 2007-2008 WEEK 17 FREE NBA PICKS & COLUMN:
As promised, this week we will explore the eight trade deadline moves made by NBA teams last week.
Cleveland Trades Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall plus Donyell Marshall’s weed hook up to Seattle. Cleveland also trades Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, and Shannon Brown to Chicago. Cleveland receives Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and a second round draft pick from Chicago as well as Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Dirk Minniefield from Seattle. Chicago also sends Adrian Griffin to Seattle.
If you’re scoring at home, that is one heck of a trade. To make it easier, I’ll break it down by team.
The Cavs: Essentially, Cleveland added front court depth with Ben Wallace and Joe Smith (basically Ben Wallace with offense and shorter hair) and shooting with Wally and Delonte. To do this all they gave up was a younger, worse version of Joe Smith in Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes and his awful contract. It’s not clear to me that this trade made Cleveland any better, but it certainly didn’t make them any worse. The Cavs biggest problem is that they could use one more dynamic scorer to take some pressure off of LeDong and they didn’t get that. Wally can shoot the ball every once in a while but the other three are offensive role players at best and Ben Wallace at worst. With Boobie Gibson out for six weeks, Delonte West certainly helps, even if he can only dribble with his left hand while Wallace and Smith should help Cleveland’s interior defense and help them compete with the Pistons.
Trading Hughes is addition by subtraction and the rest of what they gave up is nothing they couldn’t find on the waiver wire, in the second round of the draft, or at the local YMCA. None of this will propel the Cavs to the title, but at least it makes Danny Ferry seem like he is doing something. It’s almost like trading a wheat thin for a triscuit.
The Bulls: I still can not understand this trade for the Bulls since they already have the slightly better version of Larry Hughes in Ben Gordon (which I said last week) and had the more veteran version of Drew Gooden in Joe Smith. I understand their desire to get out of Ben Wallace’s albatross of a contract, but now they are stuck with Larry Hughes and still have to find money to sign Ben Gordon and Luol Deng at the end of the season even though both Gordon and Deng have played like they are auditioning for the European league. This trade does open up more playing time for Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas, which was needed, and it should help in the locker room where apparently Ben Wallace’s discontent was infecting the mood like hepatitis did Pam Anderson. Either way, the Bulls surely could have done something better than this.
The Sonics: They save money and get the only non-jewish guy in the world named Ira. What’s not to like about this move for them?
Dallas trades Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop, Keith Van Horn, and two first round draft picks to New Jersey for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright
The Mavericks: Dallas caved into the peer pressure of all of the other Western Conference teams who acquired established all-stars and nabbed Kidd. The problem is, point guard really wasn’t their problem. What they lack is actually a scoring big man to take some pressure off of Dirk and a slasher who can create for himself to replace Jerry Stackhouse who is now in that role. Kidd will certainly improve the transition game, but he has lost a step on defense and since his shot is worse than Paul Bettany’s acting his man will just double Dirk in half court ssets making it harder for Dirk to score. Dallas gave up a younger, just below all-star level potential in point guard Devin Harris, two marginal first round picks, and a ten minute a game defensive replacement in Diop for the privilege of losing in the first or second round of the playoffs (which they would have done anyway) and having to take on Jason Kidd’s huge contract. I kind of understand why they did this, but it seems kind of silly. Just because all of the other kids are smoking cigarettes, doesn’t mean you have to.
The Nets: Great trade by New Jersey. They basically need to blow everything up so the fact that they got legitimate talent in return (Devin Harris), salary cap flexibility, and some upside (two first round picks) is great for them. They weren’t going anywhere with Kidd and now they don’t have to deal with his pouting and his wife beating. Nice trade, now if they could only get rid of Vince Carter and his infected vagina.
Atlanta acquires Mike Bibby from Sacramento for Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Beetlejuice Johnson, Tyronn Lue, and a second round draft pick
The Hawks: Wow. Wow. Wow is all I can say. This is a horrible trade for Atlanta and to say I am surprised is like saying Mike Bibby is an aging injury prone point guard with a big contract. The fact that Billy Knight traded for a point guard even though he had four on the roster says all you need to know about Billy’s ability to put together a roster. To be fair, they really didn’t give up much to get Bibby, but this is the kind of trade a playoff contender makes, not a team that is eight games under .500 looking to limp into the eighth seed in the East. But hey, we all enjoyed the Shelden Williams experience, which was about as successful as the Edsel or any TV show starring Brooke Shields.
The Kings: They get rid of a big contract and open up playing room for Beno Udrih (ok, that was a bit of a joke). I liked the Kings before this trade as my deep sleeper in the West, but either way, they aren’t going anywhere. Sure they are worse off in the short term, but if this can help them make moves in the future, then it is a decent deal. It is bizarre they couldn’t unload Artest, but then again, everything about Artest is bizarre.
Houston trades Bonzi Wells, Mike James, and cash to New Orleans, and they trade some guy named Malick Badiane to Memphis. In return they get Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska from New Orleans and some guy named Sergei Lishook from Memphis. New Orleans also sends some guy named Marcus Vinicius to Memphis.
The Rockets: Houston essentially gets Bobby Jackson for Bonzi Wells and Mike James. Since Bobby Jackson is a slightly more energetic Mike James, I guess they came out ahead but I am not sure how they back fill Bonzi’s scoring. The emergence of Carl Landry in Houston helps (seriously, keep your eye on Carl, he is my super secret sleeper in the West) mitigate the loss of Wells but overall this probably wasn’t the best move for the Rockets. They did get out of Mike James’ contract, but Bobby Jackson gets injured more often than Jenna Jameson gets tossed so who knows how long this will really benefit them.
The Whorenets: Not a bad deal for the Whorenets since they traded one decent player for two decent players and their weakness is definitely their bench. This makes them a bit stronger for the playoffs and gives them two scorers should they need a boost.
Memphis: Since Chris Wallace made this trade, we can only assume it was awful. They got cash (which is probably counterfeit or pesos), they got the rights to Marcus Vinicius (who I am told is the Brazilian Kedrick Brown), and they got the rights to Malick Badiane (and I am told even the Badiane’s think Malick sucks). Why does Chris Wallace have a job? No really, why?
Minnesota trade Gerald “The Scarecrow” Green to Houston for Kirk Snyder, a second round pick, and cash.
The TerribleWolves™: This may be the first good move of the McHale era. The fact that they got something for Gerald is a miracle and it should bring the TerribleWolves™ collective IQ up about twenty points. The best thing about this trade though was the following quote from McHale when asked if he might regret making the trade three years from now, "In three years, come see me."
The Rockets: Well they will probably get three more fans now that they traded for hometown bust Gerald Green. Plus Gerald was once called the future Tracy McGrady so now he gets to play a few games with the real Tracy McGrady. All this means is Gerald Green has a shorter trip home when he is cut at the end of the year.
Portland trades Taurean Green to Denver for Von Wafer
The Trailblazers: By making this trade, Portland allows me to dust off my favorite and least appreciated joke from the 2005 draft “39. Von Wafer-Los Angeles Lakers: Answer to the age old question, what happens when Von Hayes and a sugar wafer procreate?”
The Nuggets: Taurean Green won two NCAA championships at Florida, unfortunately Denver does not play North Carolina. In other words, who cares?
Detroit trades Primo Brezec to Toronto for Juan Dixon
The Pistons: Since we all know Primo Brezec is a worse version of Vitaly Potapenko, and Vitaly Potapenko is a worse version of Nenad Krstic and Nenad Kristic sucks, this probably is a good move by the Pistons since Juan Dixon can heat it up every once in awhile.
The Raptors: I love Colangelo cornering the market on Euros. Horde them and drive the price up Brian, drive the price up.
Seattle trades Kurt Thomas and Kurt Thomas’s walker to San Antonio for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, and a first round pick.
The Spurs: People seem to like this trade for the Spurs since it gives them a big man not named Francisco Elson to help out Tim Duncan. The Spurs were definitely weak up front and this solves a big need. That said, I think they will miss Brent Barry’s shooting off the bench. A push of a trade in my opinion, especially since Kurt Thomas loves getting injured.
The Sonics: Seattle continues their fire sale. Ho hum. Nothing to see here.
FRIDAY NIGHT NBA PICKS
Philadelphia at Golden Shower State -5.5:
While the Warriors haven’t blown anyone out since they played Charlotte February 1st, the Sixers are a terrible road team. The Sixers are 10-18 on the road which is about as good as Britney’s shrink. Not only are they bad on the road, but Golden Shower State, which is located in the beautiful outskirts of Oaktown (shout out to all my No. Cal peeps), has one of the best home crowds in the league. Simply put, the Warriors are due for a big win, Philly sucks on the road and against running teams, and Britney is crazy. Teasing this with over 215.5 is a great bet while investing in condos in Miami is not.
Memphis +12.5 at Houston:
There are two reasons for this: 1. Houston is due for a let down. They have been playing retardedly well and overcompensated in their first game without Yao. Now that Yao’s injury has sunk in, I fully expect them to come out flatter than an Olsen Twin (pre-boob job). 2. We don’t give 12.5 here at www.wagercom.com on NBA games unless the TerribleWolves™ or Knicks are involved or the Spurs are at home. Now we may vary on that from time to time, but so far the rule has worked for us (and yes we just started it last week, and yes we are 1-0 with it). So root for a tough defensive battle and a sloppy all around game.
Charlotte at Boston Under 194.5:
Since Charlotte is only going to score 72 points, the Celtics will need to reach 123 to lose the over and that is not happening. Just hope the Celtics scrubs (and yes I mean you Greg Pruitt and Glen Davis) don’t stop playing defense in their extended second half minutes. Sam Cassell anyone?
Indiana +10.5 at Toronto:
I really like Chicago -5 vs Washington and Sacramento +9 at Dallas but according to John Hollinger, the Raptors are just blowing people out.
“But look closer and you'll see what an impressive stretch it's been. Five of the six losses were by five points or less, while eight of the 10 wins were by 17 or more; one of the two that wasn't was a 114-112 win in Boston that was the best shooting display a team has put on all season.
Let's put it more simply: The Raps aren't beating people, they're killing them. Toronto topped Milwaukee by 31, Washington by 39, Miami by 32, Minnesota by 23 and 22, New Jersey by 18, Orlando by 17, and New York by 23. In a 16-game stretch, half their games were blowout wins.”
And we all know John Hollinger is an idiot.
So this bet has nothing to do with Indiana, who sucks as badly as your boy AC predicted mainly because they have no talent and one of the most overrated coaches in NBA history in Jimmy O’Braindead, but everything to do with John Hollinger being a dope. Take the Pacers and tell John Hollinger and his nonsensical PER stat to go fuck themselves. The Raptors are not blowing people out and I am sorry Vegas is following Hollinger’s selective and flawed logic.
Saturday Free NBA Picks:
A 2-2 night last night but the Toronto-Indiana game was my favorite pick of all-time just because it was so obvious. Remember, always bet against John Hollinger or anyone else who builds a convoluted scoring system that relies on inputs which are not necessarily correlated. Tonight, we will win some cash to start the trust fund for the stripper we’ll meet while celebrating our victory.
San Antonio -6 at Milwaukee:
This is a bit of a stretch since we know Milwaukee is becoming the perfect trap game. The Bucks have won three straight home games against good teams (Detroit, Denver, and Cleveland) because opponents are solely thinking about getting out of Milwaukee rather than winning. The Spurs haven’t had the killer mentality this year, preferring to conserve energy rather than blowing teams out. This game could be close but San Antonio is really finding their groove now. Take the Spurs and root for Tony Parker to play hard for at least two and a half quarters.
Philadelphia +9.5 at Phoenix:
The Sixers play hard and the Suns are hardly playing. Ok, I’m not exactly sure what that means but the Suns have yet to figure out how to play with Shaq (though I would suggest nicely) so until that happens, we’ll take 9.5 points and hope the Sixers bounce back from their shellacking in Golden Shower State last night. As long as Andre Miller can make Steve Nash play some defense, the Sixers should be able to keep this under double digits.
Detroit -8 at LA Clippers:
I hate laying eight on the road here, hate it, but the Clippers are playing about as poorly as a team can play. The Pistons can take these games lightly but with the Celtics winning on Friday Night, they need a victory here to keep pace in the East. Take the Pistons and root for Richard Hamilton to go off and for Tayshaun Prince to shut down Corey Maggette.
Utah at Memphis Under 210:
First of all, F U Memphis for completely shitting the bed last night against Houston. You cost me several lap dances. As for this game, Utah laying nine points is interesting, but the fact that Memphis can’t score is even more interesting. As long as Utah scores under 120, this game won’t break 210 so root for that one fifteen point Grizzlies quarter.
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