RECAP
Wade beats no one: It wasn't Kobe vs. Wade, it was Wade vs. no one. If I see Ronny Turiaf's picture under "top performers" in the Yahoo box score, that means that LA didn't come to play. I said Wade would have to outperform Kobe to have a shot at winning. I can't find the exact quote but Wade said something like, "That was the best all around game I've had." Reports say that Kobe had a "touch of the flu." Whatever. He didn't get up for the game at all. Phil Jackson suggested to his team at halftime that maybe he should stay in the locker room and watch A Christmas Carol while the team went back out to play. They all should have just stayed in the locker room. They could have recruited some fans to come in and play the second half. That would have been entertaining at least.
Last night's record: 0-1
Overall: 30-32
PICKS
Memphis +7 1/2 at Washington----- Confidence factor: 3 It seems that lately in every recap of a wiz win or preview of a wiz game, we get an Eddie Jordan quote that goes something like this: "He wants to show he's going to be one of the greatest of all time." Jordan is trying to motivate Arenas to go nuts, put up 50 again. He's so streaky and the streaks are so psychological that Jordan can't help but try. I would love to see Arenas coached by Phil Jackson, just to here what kind of crazy things Jackson would say and to to try to get Arenas to go off. Arenas seems to have a bad game every 6-10 games. He had a bad one just 3 games ago at Denver (10/30 fgs). I see him playing well enough to cover.
Houston at Indiana (No spread available)----- Confidence factor: NA T-Mac should be back tonight. Dike should log big minutes again and if T-Mac doesn't play, expect the scoring load to fall on Luther Head. Historically, McGrady has played pretty well in his 1st game back off injury. I will pick Indiana by 4 which if they ever release a spread, will probably have me picking Houston. UPDATE: It looks like O'Neal is sitting out with the flu. I think Indy still wins this one, maybe knock off a point or two.
New Jersey +7 at Detroit----- Confidence factor: 2 Welcome to the post-Krstic world. Please, Krstic is not that great of a player. If the nets felt that they could make a run before he got hurt, they should still do fine after. They need to play more Moore and Josh Boone needs to have a boon in his minutes. These guys can't replace Krstic, but they bring a different element to the game. I don't think Frank will become desperate enough to open his mind to this reality after just one loss, so House will probably start again. That means VC gets to guard Nazr Mohammed. Detroit's front line isn't as intimidating as it once was, but they should still get the job done against a reeling NJ team.
Chicago +1 at Minnesota----- Confidence factor: 4 I don't have time for this. Trade KG.
Milwaukee +9 at San Antonio----- Confidence factor: 4 Did San Antonio release enough of its rage over losing to Houston when they whooped the Hornets? I think so. The Bucks have always given the Spurs and Pistons trouble. Well, that is to say, Michael Redd has. The Spurs seem to sleep at predictable times. They don't play hard against bad teams unless something else is motivating them (IE a recent bad loss). After having some Christmas jollity, I don't see the Spurs coming out with the intensity it will take to shut down Redd and the Bucks.
Charlotte +13 at Dallas----- Confidence factor: 4 The fantasy dude over at SI.com is saying that Knight is going to be out until after new years. In his report, published today, he also conflicts the reports that McGrady will play, so I don't know how up to date this guy is. He doesn't cite any sources, and the preview for this game says that the Bobcats are "hopeful" that Knight will play. I'm sick of getting burned by picking the Bobcats only to see that Knight sat out and 'Cats were blown out, So I go with Dallas.
Clippers +7 1/2 at Utah----- Confidence factor: 5 **PICK OF THE NIGHT** Cassell says he's going to have to sit for a while. Utah had some precarious moments on their recent road trip, losing to NY and Charlotte and scraping out 4th quarter comebacks against Atlanta and Memphis. They will rejoice and relax after being home and enjoying some Christmas pot roast and get back to their dominating ways against the Clips.
Portland +12 1/2 at Phoenix----- Confidence factor: 1 This is a tough pick. It's hard to say how Phoenix will respond to Arenas single handedly ending their win streak. Either way, they've played a lot of mediocre teams close, so even though their last game against Portland was a blowout, I'll take portland to cover.
New Orleans +6 at Seattle----- Confidence factor: 2 Only six points? Does Ray Allen play his second consecutive big game after returning from injury? As much as I'd like to take New Orleans here, just because they're playing a team with only a bit more talent, I think Allen has been aching to get back and has a big game tonight.
Philadelphia +6 at Golden State----- Confidence factor: 2 Ellis is hurt. Hard to get a read on the new Sixers. Wins against Boston without Pierce and Wally, and New York without almost 1/2 their team for a week, don't say much to me. I like that Iguodala is getting more shots here and I think this team will win more than they would have with just a mopey AI. The ball is going to move. Golden State is coming off of a weak performance. J-Rich is sort of back, but is clearly far from 100%. Gotta go with Philly here.
Boston +6 1/2 at Denver----- AI will have to carry Denver on offense here. Big time. Denver will again be without their defensive anchor, Marcus Camby. Denver still has defensive stopper Yakhouba Diawara and a big man to cover al jefferson in Nene. But again they have no one who can shoot the ball except for their little guy. I think a general lack of leadership (certainly none coming from the bench) will leave Boston disorganized on both sides of the floor. Their one strength is that they have little guys who can cover the perimeter, but I don't think anyone will be stopping AI in these first few honeymooning weeks.
Showing posts with label Kobe Bryant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kobe Bryant. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
12/23 disasterous picks recap, Christmas game
KOBE VS. WADE
Kobe Bryant -1 at Dwayne Wade----- Confidence factor: 3 Yes, it's Kobe vs. Wade, not the Lakers vs. the Heat. "It takes 5" you say? Is that you, KG, Gilbert, Paul Pierce, whoever else Adidas is paying? Are you insinuating that I'm a fool for labeling this Kobe vs Wade? Well you are also insinuating that the NBA is a fool, because that's how they are advertising this game. You know why? Because that's why people will watch it. It's the more interesting storyline here when both of these teams are missing their 2nd best players, one of them has yet to beat a .500+ team, and the other is playing well, but is probably playing to the top of it's potential. I know if I bother to watch this game I won't be anxiously watching to see if Jason Kapono can set a new career high. I'll be watching to see how these guys go at each other. And in the end, D-Wade will definitely have to outperform Kobe to get this win. The Lakers have shown that they have some other players outside of Kobe. There's no way that I can pick against the Lakers here. Kobe is more of a killer than Wade and I can't see him not getting up for this game.
RECAP ON PICKS
Last night was a disaster for me in terms of picks. There were also some bad injuries.
My wrongs:
Minny beats Indy: Minny held Indiana to 21 points in the second half and KG dominated the poor man's version of himself, Jermaine O'Neal. This was an ugly one. Both teams shot under 40% and below 65% from the FT line. I'm glad I didn't watch.
Philly dismantles NY: This is an easy one to evaluate. The knicks were dead tired. Philly played decently well but you could see about 1/2 way into the second quarter that the Knicks were french toast. There was a lot of dribbling off of feet, fumbled passes, rebounds slipping out of hands, etc.
Miami beats Golden State: I went with the wild card and the wild card didn't get wild. Baron goes for only 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Monta Ellis is our first injury, although it looked like Miami was going to win even before Ellis went down. Here's how AP describes Ellis' injury:
[Ellis] remained face down on the court for three minutes, tapping the toes of his sneakers on the court and grimacing in agony. [He] was eventually rolled over onto his back, while being tended to by members of both teams' medical staffs, then was helped off the court as he clutched his side.
Utah beats Memphis (doesn't cover): What can I say, Utah again started slow against a shit team. They came back but fell a point short of covering. Carlos Boozer sure has been turning the ball over a lot. TO's in last 6 games: 5, 3, 3, 7, 4, 5. That's an average of 4.5 TOs. Before these last six games he was averaging only 2 TOs. From watching him play a couple times this season it seems like the points he gets in the halfcourt come off of post fadeaways or turn and shoots, and particularly against new york, the zone defense allowed a second defender to come from the blindside and strip him.
New Jersey loses to Milwaukee: The Nets made a little comeback in the end but fell way short. Bucks played a decent game, but nothing to write to Herb Kohl about. The nets decided to move Carter to PF, matching him up against Brian Skinner, and bring Eddie House into the starting lineup. The move hardly paid dividends early, but house did play a role in their comeback try (did I mention it fell way short?). Josh Boone played about 5 times as many minutes as he has in the past, and was productive (2 points, 2 blocks, a steal and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes). I sincerely hope lawrence frank realizes that unless Boone grows up quickly, the Nets are going to be an easy out if they are fortunate enough to even make the playoffs. If Frank refuses to play him and Moore, the Nets will join Minnesota and the Clippers on my list of teams that are clueless and annoying. Oh yeah, and Vince Carter didn't score until more than halfway through the 3rd quarter!! This guy is supposed to be playing hard. It's a contract year. Oh and word arrived before this game that Krstic is done for the season with a torn ACL.
Clippers beat Houston: Yao is out at least 6 weeks with a fractured knee (sounds painful). He only played 5 minutes and yet the Clips still just pulled this one out.
Chicago wallops Charlotte: Charlotte sucks without brevin Knight. They are still sucky with him, but at least competitive. He doesn't play and the Bulls treat Charlotte like they treated Miami in the first game of the season.
Seattle beats Toronto: Ray-Ray shot 5/6 from three. This game was a 3 point game heading into the 4th quarter, but seattle was just on last night. They shot 51% from the field and 91% from the line. Toronto couldn't keep up.
My rights:
Detroit beats Atlanta: About as much as you could expect with both Claxton and Lue out for Atlanta.
Cleveland beats Orlando (orlando covers): This game turned out exactly as I expected. I suppose the law of averages forces me to be right now and then.
San Antonio destroys New Orleans: I feel bad for the Hornets. Unlike many bad teams, the hornets play to their potential. They don't have young guys who can come out and surprise you with 25 on any given night. They just had no chance for a San Antonio team looking to throttle someone after getting whooped by their nextdoor neighbors.
Last night: 3-8
Overall: 30-31
Pick of the night: 0-1
DARN!
Kobe Bryant -1 at Dwayne Wade----- Confidence factor: 3 Yes, it's Kobe vs. Wade, not the Lakers vs. the Heat. "It takes 5" you say? Is that you, KG, Gilbert, Paul Pierce, whoever else Adidas is paying? Are you insinuating that I'm a fool for labeling this Kobe vs Wade? Well you are also insinuating that the NBA is a fool, because that's how they are advertising this game. You know why? Because that's why people will watch it. It's the more interesting storyline here when both of these teams are missing their 2nd best players, one of them has yet to beat a .500+ team, and the other is playing well, but is probably playing to the top of it's potential. I know if I bother to watch this game I won't be anxiously watching to see if Jason Kapono can set a new career high. I'll be watching to see how these guys go at each other. And in the end, D-Wade will definitely have to outperform Kobe to get this win. The Lakers have shown that they have some other players outside of Kobe. There's no way that I can pick against the Lakers here. Kobe is more of a killer than Wade and I can't see him not getting up for this game.
RECAP ON PICKS
Last night was a disaster for me in terms of picks. There were also some bad injuries.
My wrongs:
Minny beats Indy: Minny held Indiana to 21 points in the second half and KG dominated the poor man's version of himself, Jermaine O'Neal. This was an ugly one. Both teams shot under 40% and below 65% from the FT line. I'm glad I didn't watch.
Philly dismantles NY: This is an easy one to evaluate. The knicks were dead tired. Philly played decently well but you could see about 1/2 way into the second quarter that the Knicks were french toast. There was a lot of dribbling off of feet, fumbled passes, rebounds slipping out of hands, etc.
Miami beats Golden State: I went with the wild card and the wild card didn't get wild. Baron goes for only 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Monta Ellis is our first injury, although it looked like Miami was going to win even before Ellis went down. Here's how AP describes Ellis' injury:
[Ellis] remained face down on the court for three minutes, tapping the toes of his sneakers on the court and grimacing in agony. [He] was eventually rolled over onto his back, while being tended to by members of both teams' medical staffs, then was helped off the court as he clutched his side.
Utah beats Memphis (doesn't cover): What can I say, Utah again started slow against a shit team. They came back but fell a point short of covering. Carlos Boozer sure has been turning the ball over a lot. TO's in last 6 games: 5, 3, 3, 7, 4, 5. That's an average of 4.5 TOs. Before these last six games he was averaging only 2 TOs. From watching him play a couple times this season it seems like the points he gets in the halfcourt come off of post fadeaways or turn and shoots, and particularly against new york, the zone defense allowed a second defender to come from the blindside and strip him.
New Jersey loses to Milwaukee: The Nets made a little comeback in the end but fell way short. Bucks played a decent game, but nothing to write to Herb Kohl about. The nets decided to move Carter to PF, matching him up against Brian Skinner, and bring Eddie House into the starting lineup. The move hardly paid dividends early, but house did play a role in their comeback try (did I mention it fell way short?). Josh Boone played about 5 times as many minutes as he has in the past, and was productive (2 points, 2 blocks, a steal and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes). I sincerely hope lawrence frank realizes that unless Boone grows up quickly, the Nets are going to be an easy out if they are fortunate enough to even make the playoffs. If Frank refuses to play him and Moore, the Nets will join Minnesota and the Clippers on my list of teams that are clueless and annoying. Oh yeah, and Vince Carter didn't score until more than halfway through the 3rd quarter!! This guy is supposed to be playing hard. It's a contract year. Oh and word arrived before this game that Krstic is done for the season with a torn ACL.
Clippers beat Houston: Yao is out at least 6 weeks with a fractured knee (sounds painful). He only played 5 minutes and yet the Clips still just pulled this one out.
Chicago wallops Charlotte: Charlotte sucks without brevin Knight. They are still sucky with him, but at least competitive. He doesn't play and the Bulls treat Charlotte like they treated Miami in the first game of the season.
Seattle beats Toronto: Ray-Ray shot 5/6 from three. This game was a 3 point game heading into the 4th quarter, but seattle was just on last night. They shot 51% from the field and 91% from the line. Toronto couldn't keep up.
My rights:
Detroit beats Atlanta: About as much as you could expect with both Claxton and Lue out for Atlanta.
Cleveland beats Orlando (orlando covers): This game turned out exactly as I expected. I suppose the law of averages forces me to be right now and then.
San Antonio destroys New Orleans: I feel bad for the Hornets. Unlike many bad teams, the hornets play to their potential. They don't have young guys who can come out and surprise you with 25 on any given night. They just had no chance for a San Antonio team looking to throttle someone after getting whooped by their nextdoor neighbors.
Last night: 3-8
Overall: 30-31
Pick of the night: 0-1
DARN!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
picks for sunday
saturday was a bad day for me with the picks -
My wrongs:
Miami came up 1 point short of covering against the wiz.
Net's lost to the Boshless Raptors with "Air Canada" really stinking it to his old team by shooting 4/17 and scoring 12 points.
Eddy Curry mustered 6 shots the entire evening. The knicks continued to play zone despite the fact that streak shooters in Granger and Stephen Jackson were on. They got blown out by a pacers team that looks different every night.
Speedy Claxton made his first contributions of the season as the Hawks beat the Grizz.
Dallas came up 2 points short of covering their 15.5 spread.
Chicago also won without covering, despite the fact that Ben Wallace had 27 rebounds.
My rights:
Golden State was competitive with Phoenix as usual and covered the spread. Boris Diaw put up 21, 14 and 10 assists.
The Blazers beat the lost looking Clippers by 10.
Sacramento actually managed to beat Utah (this one I don't get. I wish I had watched). Sac shot only 40.5% while utah shot 46.6%, the teams were even in 3s made, even in offensive rebounds, and Utah had only 3 extra TOs, but Sac made up the difference in FG% by making their free throws. This is the first time Sac has won a game in which Kevin Martin has played 30+ minutes and shot below 40%.
And in the final game of the night, Kobe goes for 53 and his team outscores the rockets by 18 in the second half to tie the game then pulls out an 11 point victory in the second overtime by outscoring Houston 13-2. It's pretty much the same story as Houston's last game - Yao dominates (he had 35, 15 and 8 blocks), but gets tired in the end and the rockets have nowhere else to turn for scoring. Look for Van Gundy to face up to the fact that without T-Mac, he needs to have Bonzi out there. With Kirk Snyder hurt too, this might be the least athletic team to play in the NBA in the last 20 years. Bonzi is the only healthy athlete they have.
Record yesterday: 4-6
Overall record: 5-8
I'll get tomorrow's picks out in the afternoon. ESPN out. Peace to Marc Stein. Rock and roll. I am shopping for a new Plymouth Horizon. Anyone know where I can find one?
My wrongs:
Miami came up 1 point short of covering against the wiz.
Net's lost to the Boshless Raptors with "Air Canada" really stinking it to his old team by shooting 4/17 and scoring 12 points.
Eddy Curry mustered 6 shots the entire evening. The knicks continued to play zone despite the fact that streak shooters in Granger and Stephen Jackson were on. They got blown out by a pacers team that looks different every night.
Speedy Claxton made his first contributions of the season as the Hawks beat the Grizz.
Dallas came up 2 points short of covering their 15.5 spread.
Chicago also won without covering, despite the fact that Ben Wallace had 27 rebounds.
My rights:
Golden State was competitive with Phoenix as usual and covered the spread. Boris Diaw put up 21, 14 and 10 assists.
The Blazers beat the lost looking Clippers by 10.
Sacramento actually managed to beat Utah (this one I don't get. I wish I had watched). Sac shot only 40.5% while utah shot 46.6%, the teams were even in 3s made, even in offensive rebounds, and Utah had only 3 extra TOs, but Sac made up the difference in FG% by making their free throws. This is the first time Sac has won a game in which Kevin Martin has played 30+ minutes and shot below 40%.
And in the final game of the night, Kobe goes for 53 and his team outscores the rockets by 18 in the second half to tie the game then pulls out an 11 point victory in the second overtime by outscoring Houston 13-2. It's pretty much the same story as Houston's last game - Yao dominates (he had 35, 15 and 8 blocks), but gets tired in the end and the rockets have nowhere else to turn for scoring. Look for Van Gundy to face up to the fact that without T-Mac, he needs to have Bonzi out there. With Kirk Snyder hurt too, this might be the least athletic team to play in the NBA in the last 20 years. Bonzi is the only healthy athlete they have.
Record yesterday: 4-6
Overall record: 5-8
I'll get tomorrow's picks out in the afternoon. ESPN out. Peace to Marc Stein. Rock and roll. I am shopping for a new Plymouth Horizon. Anyone know where I can find one?
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