NBA Picks and Trade Talk

By Dan Rodgers

I want to give a quick opinion on a few of the more notable trades that were pulled off in the NBA:

Wizards get: Nene, Brian Cook, future 2nd rounder
Clippers get: Nick Young
Nuggets get: JaVale McGee, Ronny Turiaf

This trade puzzled me because I'm not quite sure what the Wiz had in mind. They gave LA a young scorer to help replace Billups. They helped the Nuggets get younger and more athletic at the forward/center position. The Wizards got a quality veteran center, but they aren't in a win-now mode. Good move for LA/Denver, we will have to wait and see for Washington.

The Lakers situation is complicated because they pulled one trade to acquire Ramon Sessions and one to get rid of Derek Fisher. The Lakers didn't give up much in the trades talent-wise, but they did give up lottery protected first round picks. Still, Fisher is old and was a defensive liability. Sessions gives them more athleticism on both ends of the floor.

Warriors get: Andrew Bogut, Stephen Jackson
Bucks get: Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown, Ekpe Udoh

If Bogut can stay healthy, the Warriors will greatly benefit from this deal. They have a ton of scorers and could afford to deal Ellis. Bogut will solidify the defense in the paint and allow David Lee to play the four all the time. The Bucks dealt their injury-prone center for a scorer to complement Brandon Jennings. I think the deal is much safer for the Bucks but fairly even all-around.

Rockets get: Marcus Camby
Blazers get: Hasheem Thabeet, Johnny Flynn, 2012 second round pick

This deal presents incredible upside for the Blazers. They traded a 38-year-old center for a 25-year-old center and a 23-year-old guard, both of whom showed flashes of greatness in college. Thabeet hasn't been too much of an opportunity so he isn't a bust yet. Flynn averaged over 13 ppg and 4 apg as a rookie and hasn't been given a fair chance since then. Not to mention, who knows about the draft pick. Houston is clearly in a win-now mode, while Portland probably thinks they can win now and get younger at the same time. I think Houston might have been trade-raped... but only time will tell.

Picks:

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Philadelphia 76ers -9 = The 76ers get Andre Iguodala back tonight and Spencer Hawes is returning to form since returning from injury. The Cavs aren't a very good team and have lost three in a row. Starting center Anderson Varejao is still out with an injury and Jamison will be playing hurt. Philly hasn't been as good since their hot start, and needs to get these important home wins over bad teams as they are in a tight division race with the Celtics. I think Philly blows out the Cavs tonight as the Sixers have the youth to run with the Cavs and the experience to outlast them and pull away.

Minnesota Timber Wolves @ Memphis Grizzlies -5.5 = The Grizz have beaten the Wolves at home nine out of the last 10 times, including six in a row. Memphis lost the first three game of their road trip before posting an impressive win at the Lakers. They should carry that momentum back home as Minnesota will be without their starting center Pekovic and likely J.J. Barea as well. They will also obviously be without Ricky Rubio who is out for the season with a torn ACL. I think that Memphis found their stroke against LA and should go to work offensively against a Minnesota team that has allowed at least 100 points in four out of their last five games.

Enjoy the NIT games as well...

Rodgers That

Are You (your bracket) Still Alive?

By Dan Rodgers

The NCAA has been thoroughly entertaining thus far. Most of the games have been competitive and that is what most people want. However, I have a bracket, and even though my champion has been long gone, I can still tie for first place. If you go back and look at my bracket, I have Missouri beating Louisville in the Elite 8. If only I had chosen Louisville instead...haha.

I was working all day yesterday, so I didn't have time to post my picks, but I did like Louisville to win outright, and I already have Ohio State in my Final Four so clearly I liked them as well. Today we had Kentucky do work against Baylor, so I have another Final Four team correct. UNC is the other team (I have them in the championship), and they are tied with Kansas at halftime.

Anyway, on to the NBA...

Utah Jazz @ Atlanta Hawks -1 = This is an interesting game. Utah is not a good road team and Atlanta is a good team even though they haven't been playing great. They are at home and there is no reason they shouldn't win outright. The Hawks have won three in a row and just seem to do enough to win the game. Meanwhile, even with wins in their last two road games, Utah is a terrible 7-16 on the road this season. CORRECT - it took four overtimes to get it done, but the Hawks did as expected.

Memphis Grizzlies @ L.A. Lakers -6.5 = The Lakers are 20-3 at home this season. The Lakers have won seven of their last 10. Kobe Bryant is the best scorer in the NBA (28.5 ppg). The Grizzlies have lost three in a row. The Grizzlies are 9-14 on the road this season. The Grizzlies lost last night in the same building to the Clippers by 16. These are all of the statistics I have come up with to enforce my decision of picking the Lakers tonight. INCORRECT - The Lakers played crap defense the entire night and Kobe got benched even though he had a solid shooting night.

Enjoy tonight's games. The Heat play in Oklahoma City tonight and it should be a great game.

Rodgers That

Picking Dirty

By Dan Rodgers

So I didn't post anything the past two days. However, I did pick the Pacers and Grizzlies (both hit), however, I got screwed by a 41-point 4th quarter by the Jazz who scored eight points in the final 20 seconds.

A basic rule of thumb I go by in the NBA: Charlotte, Detroit and New Orleans are terrible. I know Detroit has 12 wins compared to only four my Charlotte, but the Pistons are awful and always look to go against them when they are on the road or facing a damn good team (like Memphis). The Bobcats are just the worst team in the NBA bar none. They give up 15 more points per game than they score, which means the odds are in your favor to go with the other team. Plus, the good part is that the Bobcats often fall far behind early and don't fight back so you can coast to an easy win. The Hornets tend to fight at home, but Indiana is way better and a matchup nightmare. However, against a mediocre team, the Hornets tend to put up a good fight at home but often get blown out on the road.

As for NCAAB yesterday, I loved Memphis early. That game was a blowout as expected. I also liked UConn, and Jim Calhoun didn't let us down in his first game back. Unfortunately, I was on the losing side of only the second home loss of the season for South Florida. Beating West Virginia and clinching the fourth seed and a double-bye in the Big East tournament would have all but locked up their ticket to the NCAA tournament but they disappointed big time.

There wasn't too much I liked the rest of the day... But let's move on to today...

Kentucky -5 @ Florida = The No. 1 ranked team plays their final game of the season today and they look to become the third team since 1956 to go undefeated in the SEC. They handled the Gators easily last time and Florida has lost their last two. I think Kentucky will get it done and cover the five points. I'm not crazy about them but definitely confident. CORRECT

Michigan -5 @ Penn State = This line puzzles me... Michigan beat the Nittany Lions at home by 18 points. Once again, I don't feel that Penn State deserves 13 points just for being at home. Also, State has lost their last three, including a 24-point beat-down at Purdue. I think Michigan should take care of business again, especially because they are still fighting for first place in the Big Ten. CORRECT

Ohio State @ Michigan State -3.5 = The Spartans beat the Buckeyes by 10 in Ohio and I think they can sweep the season series. State controls their own destiny, if they win, they win the Big Ten regular season title. INCORRECT - MichSt was up nine at half and lost outright.

Siena @ Loyola Maryland -6.5 = Loyola is having a great season and they swept the regular season series with wins by seven and 11. I see no reason for them to not win this game convincingly as well. CORRECT

Purdue @ Indiana -6 = The Hoosiers won at Purdue by 17. Now Indiana is at home and I think we are getting a bargain with a line of six. Purdue is a decent team and they definitely fight until the very end, but Indiana is coming off of a huge 15-point win over Michigan State and I think they follow that up with another big win. CORRECT

NBA

I'm not currently crazy about any games, but I'm going to re-evaluate later and I might add something.

UPDATE:

New York Knicks +2 @ Boston Celtics = So I didn't want to make a play and I just wanted to watch this great game. If I would have done something, I would have teased the Knicks. It was a great game so I hope you caught it. DIDN'T PICK

New Jersey Nets -4.5 @ Charlotte Bobcats = So I ended up deciding that the Nets are a decent enough road team to take care of business. With Lopez back to playing in the paint, they'll take care of business. INCORRECT - The Nets dominated the second half after an iffy first half, they were covering but a couple of late buckets allowed Charlotte to kick the backdoor wide open... What a waste of a 57-point performance by D-Will... also, the Bobcats went 37/39 from the charity stripe, the Nets missed 11 FTs... it happens

Other Notes: I like the Rockets to win at home (the spread is around -1), and I also think the 76ers will give Chicago all they can handle and should cover as well at home (spread is around +4).

Enjoy the games for the rest of the night.

Rodgers That