AC TITTICOCK'S WEEKLY FREE NBA BASKETBALL PICKS AND WINNERS

AC's NBA Picks Playoff Record
Wins: 23 Losses: 15 Ties: 2
NBA Picks Playoff Winning Percentage: 61%

Contact AC at ac@wagercom.com or post your questions/comments on the Wagercom Message Board

Read AC's Bio

06/26/04 NBA Draft Recap and Analysis

I am excited to announce the addition of our new NBA Basketball expert analyst AC Titticock. While leafing through resumes prior to selecting our new NBA Basketball gambling expert it became clear that AC was the man for the job. Not only did his analysis come across entertaining but it was clear he knew the NBA and about betting on basketball. I am confident you will find his outlook on the NBA extremely useful especially when it comes to his weekly free NBA Basketball picks against the spread. AC will be providing us with a weekly outlook and his free NBA Basketball picks on some of the weekend games each Friday and sometimes Saturday as well.

AC has wrapped up the NBA betting season with a 51% winning percentage against the spread on his NBA basketball picks after 190 games.

NBA 2004 Draft Recap & Analysis

The NBA draft came and went and we witnessed quite a diverse group of players being drafted as NBA scouts and GMs scoured the planet for talent. In the first round, 8 high school seniors were taken, 4 college seniors, a handful of Europeans, 2 Ewoks, and even Nipsy Russell garnered some interest. It was an exciting night and I’ll break it down for you pick by pick.

1. Dwight Howard-Orlando Magic: I don’t know much about Dwight Howard but I do know he loves jebus and as we all know, jebus is very concerned about the NBA draft order. Then again, if I were drafted first I’d give a shout out to Jebus, Allah, Buddha, and even Peter North. I have no idea if Howard can play or whether he will be the next Garnett, Kwame Brown, or even Kwame Jackson for that matter (As an aside, everybody root for Pam Day in the next version of the Apprentice, she’s got game) but I do know he is not as good as Okafor. Nice job Orlando, it is not often you can pass up a franchise center, Sam Bowie anyone?

2. Emeka Okafor-Charlotte Bobcats: Did Charlotte really get another team? No seriously, did they? I don’t really understand that but I do understand they got a solid big man. Just like they first built around Alonzo Mourning, they can now build around Emeka. Plus, we got to learn Emeka’s first name is really Chewbaca which is just good times, good times.

3. Ben Gordon-Chicago Bulls: I’m going to be the first one to say it, but this has bust written all over it. Gordon is neither a point guard nor a shooting guard and seems to be turnover prone. Good news for Bulls fans though as this may signal the departure of Jamal “I’ve never seen a shot I didn’t like” Crawford who is the worst passing point guard in the history of the NBA.

4. Shaun Livingston-LA Clippers: It’s a good thing the Clippers traded down so instead of getting a solid big man at #2, they could draft a high school point guard. I have to admit, I know nothing about Livingston but judging by Elgin Baylor’s past draft success, I’ll be sure to give him a tip when he is pumping my gas with no college education in 2 years (and yes I know he can pay his way through school now but that’s not the point).

5. Devin Harris-Dallas Mavericks: Devin can play. After Emeka, the best player in the draft. He will be an all-star within three years, seriously. Nash may be gone now but they have a great replacement.

6. Josh Childress-Atlanta Hawks: I don’t know why, but Childress reminds me of a younger version of Alan Henderson, which can’t be good news for Hawks fans. On the bright side, you can’t get better tv than Childress’s mom talking about his ‘fro.

7. Luol Deng-Chicago Bulls: First of all, did anybody else hear the tribal yelling when Deng was picked? It sounded like Xena Warrior Princess was sitting at his table. I have to admit, I still can’t figure out if this guy can play but he has a great name. He has made this year’s Dan Dickau list of names that sound like venereal diseases. As in, “When I was down in Jamaica, I hooked up with this skank and when I came home I had a bad case of Luol Deng which really made my Dickau.”

8. Rafael Araujo-Toronto Raptors: The Raptors don’t yet have a coach and apparently don’t have a GM either. I mean, if you’re picking for the Brazilian national team then taking Araujo at 8 may be a good pick but this is the NBA.

9. Andre Igoudala-Philadelphia 76ers: The good news is if the Sixers ever wind up in a game of Wheel of Fortune they won’t have to buy any more vowels, the bad news is that Pat Sajak may have more game than Igoudala. How do you barely score 10 points a game in a college system where the wings lead the break? It couldn’t have happened to a nicer team but it doesn’t matter anyway because Coach O’Braindead doesn’t play young guys anyway. They should have taken hometown boy Jameer Nelson.

10. Luke Jackson-Cleveland Cavaliers: Luke didn’t show up because not even he could believe an NBA team would draft a white guy at the guard position in the first round. Hey, if everything works out he’s Jim Paxson, if not he’s Dan Dickau, I’d call that upside, and yes that was sarcasm.

11. Andris Biedrins-Golden Shower State Warriors: I hear he is from Latvia, I don’t know what else to say. Riga in tha house??

12. Robert Swift-Seattle SuperSonics: This was the best pick in the draft because it meant that Danny Ainge couldn’t pick this guy for the Celtics. Seriously, I’m all for whitey trying to play in the NBA (being a short little whitey myself) but how many seven foot American born white players have made an impact in the NBA over the past 20 years? I mean statistically speaking, there is a better chance that none of this years draftees are offspring of Shawn Kemp than there is of this guy making it. Here is a list: Chris Kaman, Nick Collison, Curtis Borchardt, Troy Murphy, Michael Bradley, Chris Mihm, Joel Pryzbilla, Mark Madsen, Scott Padgett, and Raef LaFrentz. Those are the last ten tall US born white guys picked in the first round of the draft. Not the company you want to be in but skipping college will help him out, right? I mean who needs to get playing time to get better? This is just a horrible, awful pick. Eric Montross would have been number one coming out of high school and look how that worked out. Sorry Robert, but be smart with your money. All of us Celtic fans out there should send Seattle a holiday present this year for taking Swift off of the board.

13. Sebastian Telfair-Portland Jailblazers: Bad idea. Under 6 foot point guards who can’t shoot rarely make it. Should have taken Jameer Nelson if that’s what you wanted. Good news for Telfair is that the Blazers will be so bad, there will be plenty of seats for his 900 person posse. I wish I could buy a call option on Telfair being arrested for drugs or DUI in Portland this year, it’s going to happen.

14. Kris Humphries-Utah Jazz: Apparently Kris led the Big Ten in Scoring and rebounding this year, quite an accomplishment in a league that features my Northwestern Wildcats (sarcasm again). I don’t know, I guess Sloan can teach him or something, good for Kris.

15. Al Jefferson-Boston Celtics: I really wanted the Celtics to take Jameer to fix the error that is Marcus Banks but they went young with Big Al Jefferson. I don’t know anything about this guy but he is left-handed and apparently averaged 365 points per game in Mississippi high school hoops. On the bright side, he’s not Robert Swift and if all else fails, with he and Kendrick Perkins the Celtics will be competitive in the Scholastic League this year against those pesky Ringe and Latin players. Also, Larry Bird was rumored to be a big fan and the Legend knows talent.

16. Kirk Snyder-Utah Jazz: I hear Kirk can play, nice pick by the Jazz.

17. Josh Smith-Atlanta Hawks: This was the highlight of the night for two reasons. First of all, Josh and his dad had matching yellow suits on, and I am not making that up. It reminded me of a great Horace Grant interview in the 1996 playoffs when he was wearing a silk Hawaiin print yellow shirt, the highest of high comedy. However, matching bright yellow suits take the cake. It turns out Smith shunned a sneaker deal and has now signed with Chiquita. Secondly, right after he was drafted Jay Bilas flat out stated he was going to be a bust. Wow. I was waiting for Josh to come at Bilas with a steel chair. Not only that but BooYah Stuart asked him about it, talk about pressure. Hey Josh, you’ve just been drafted in the NBA, have yet to even have had your first groupie, smoked your first blunt with RaWeed Wallace, or complained about playing time and already you’re on your way out. Save up Josh, save up.

18. JR Smith-New Orleans Hornets: Wasn’t he just taken by the Hawks? Can somebody look into this?

19. Dorell Wright-Miami Heat: I can happily say I know absolutely nothing about Dorell, but good pick for the Heat, I guess.

20. Jameer Nelson-Orlando Magic: The Magic having already screwed up the first pick make a nice little move by trading for Jameer here. I have seen Jameer play for a few years and he is good, seriously, I think he is going to be a solid pro. He has some Mateen Cleaves about him but Jameer can fill it up when he wants to. Well done, Kudos, and Hizzah.

21. Pavel Podkolzine-Utah Jazz: My favorite pick of the draft because Pavel could hardly walk up the stairs to shake Stern’s hand. I can’t imagine this guy can run the court. Still, there was something likeable about a seemingly balding 7 foot 5 nineteen year old. If it works out he’s Mark Eaton, if it doesn’t work out, he’s Mark Eaton. So either way the Jazz get what they want.

22. Viktor Khryapa-Portland JailBlazers: I wonder who speaks better English, Viktor or Telfair?

23. Sergey Monya- Portland Jailblazers: In an astonishing move the Jailblazers drafted the small forward rotation of CSKA Moscow. Wow, I wonder if they even won the Russian league. I hear good things about Sergey though but jeesh, I can’t imagine CSKA was really that good.

24. Delonte West-Boston Celtics: To show how little Boston cares about professional basketball, the Globe referred to West as “Delmonte” today in a photo that ran in the paper (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2004/06/26/these_draft_picks_are_dressed_for_success/). I find it weird that Ainge and crew had him ranked as the second best point guard in the draft which would seemingly mean Phil Martelli is an idiot by playing Jameer Nelson there for the past 3 years, but what do I know? I actually like West though, think he has potential for a 24th pick.

25. Tony Allen-Boston Celtics: Let’s hope Allen is not the Joe Forte of the group. I can honestly say I know absolutely nothing about Tony Allen and I saw several Oklahoma State games so I don’t think that is a positive. I hear he plays tough D which is always a positive, and when you have 93 two guards/small forwards, it is the little things that will stand out.

26. Kevin Martin-Sacramento Kings: A 6 foot 7 scorer from Western Carolina who impressed in the pre-draft camps and was second in the nation in scoring. Sounds like a good idea or the hoops version of Mike Mammula.

27. Sasha Vujacic-LA Lakers: Interestingly enough “Sasha Vujacic” is Slovenain for “Rick Fox” and I’m not sure what that means.

28. Beno Udrih-San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs joined in on the run of Slovenians. Doesn’t Udrih sounds like the noise you make when you’re trying to rock a deuce and it is not coming out. This guy was apparently impressive in the Chicago pre-draft camp though so who knows? I love Beno!!!!!!

29. David Harrison-Indiana Pacers: Well he’s 7 foot tall and Larry Legend usually can spot talent so maybe he can be a player.

Round 2 (speed round, two sentences or less)

30. Anderson Varejo-Orlando Magic: The first player named Anderson to play in the NBA since Anderson Hunt, not sure what the correlation is there but what else am I supposed to say about this guy? Spain does have good Paella though.

31. Jackson Vroman-Phoenix Suns: Two guys whose last name start with V just got drafted back to back, weird.

32. Peter John Ramos-Washington Wizards: The Wiz make a splash with a young seven footer from Puerto Rico. Ramos follows in the footsteps of the other great Puerto Rican players in the NBA whose names I unfortunately can’t think of right now.

33. Lionel Chalmers-LA Clippers: The Clippers should have taken his teammate Romain Lettuce Sato, but that’s why they are the Clippers.

34. Donta Smith –Atlanta Hawks: Never heard of him before and likely never will again.

35. Andre Emmett-Memphis Grizzlies: The good news for Andre is the Grizz play a lot of guys so maybe he’ll get some run.

36. Antonio Burks-Memphis Grizzlies: If I am following this correctly Memphis made this their second pick in a row through a trade. Let’s hope he has better knees than Ellis Burks.

37. Royal Ivey-Atlanta Hawks: I hope his nickname is Poison and not Blue. I hope he does well so announcers on opposing teams can say he’s being a “royal pain in the ivey,” and yes that wasn’t funny.

38. Chris Duhon-Chicago Bulls: The Bulls are now trying to coax Thomas Hill, Chris Collins, and Steve Wojochowksi (or however you spell it) out of retirement to go with Deng and Duhon.

39. Albert Miralles-Miami Heat: Lamar Odom is lighting up a bong, has nothing to do with the pick, Lamar just likes to smoke.

40. Justin Reed-Boston Celtics: The Celtics lost Brandon Hunter in order to keep Walter McCarty (ugh) but make up for it by drafting this year’s Hunter. I hope Justin can ball.

41. David Young-Seattle SuperSonics: He played at North Carolina Central which means absolutely nothing to me.

42. Viktor Sanikidze-Atlanta Hawks: Gazundheit.

43. Trevor Ariza-New York Knicks: The Gutty Bruins finally made a splash in the draft. I am sure Trevor will enjoy watching all of the Gutty games from his hotel room while playing in Duluth for the CBA.

44. Tim Pickett-New Orleans Hornets: Apparently he’s not related to either Wilson Pickett or Kirby Puckett.

45. Bernard Robinson-Charlotte Bobcats: Is anybody still reading this?

46 Ha Seung Jin-Portland Jailblazers: Telfair, two Russians, and a seven foot South Korean. Raweed’s pot hallucinations weren’t even this weird.

47. Pape Sow-Toronto Raptors: Pape Sow, meet Chaka Kahn, Chaka Kahn, Pape Sow. No idea what that means but I really wanted to say it.

48. Ricky Minard-Sacramento Kings: Not even Dick Vitale has heard of this guy.

49. Sergei Lishouk Memphis Grizzlies: In a bold move, Jerry West joins the new NBA Russian fad. Russians in the NBA are now like Hello Kitty in Japan, all the GMs want to carry one around.

50. Vassilis Spanoulis-Dallas Mavericks: Probably the first and only time I will have to type the words Vassilis Spanoulis unless I get a bad case of Luol Deng from a girl who had a nasty Vassilis Spanoulis.

51. Christian Drejer-New Jersey Nets: Amazing that scoring 6 points a game for the Florida Gators can get you drafted if you are European. Is the league this watered down?

52. Romain Lettuce Sato-San Antonio: I really like this pick, Romain can ball, no joke and he is tough. A nice back-up for Tony Parker.

53. Matt Freije-Miami Heat: Frieje is following in the footsteps of the other great Vanderbilt NBA players Jeff Turner and Billy (or Bobby, one of them) McCaffery. Let’s hope Frieje kept his day job.

54. Rickey Paulding-Detroit Pistons: I wonder why he spells it Rickey while Ricky Minard spells it Ricky. Somebody should look into this.

55. Luis Flores-Miami Heat: ESPN.com reports that he was traded to the Heat for Vassilis Spanoulis and cash. I guess I was wrong as I just typed Vassilis Spanoulis again, oh well.

56. Marcus Douthit-LA Lakers: They’re going to need somebody to replace Shaq after Kupchak screws up a good thing so it looks like they’re going to do it American Idol style and just take a guy off the street.

57. Sergei Karaulov-San Antonio: Two Sergei’s and a Sergey ends the run on Russians in this year’s draft. Yakov Smirnoff is still anxiously awaiting a call by his phone and I don’t want to be the one to break him the bad news (and yes, 98 Russians were drafted and I didn’t make one Ivan Drago joke, weird).

58. Blake Stepp-Minnesota Timberwolves: Stepp hopes he will be around long enough to at least get Kevin Garnett’s autograph.

59. Rashad Wright-Indiana Pacers: This year’s Mr. Irrelevant. Hey Rashad, congratulations, you’ve just won an all expense paid trip to Indianapolis, well done.

So there you have it, 59 picks, a lot of Russians, 8 High Schoolers, a bunch of college guys that are lucky to have their diplomas, and surprisingly enough, no Kobe rape jokes.

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