Friday Freak Picks

BJ's Hardcore Friday Picks
Ol' Bobby Catz gave me the day off yesterday for some reason, so while I reveled in the NCAA bracket ruining everyones lives, I also thought about my recent up and down NBA trend. I pride myself on being a pretty knowledgable NBA fan and I was trying to ride that knowledge to a solid w/l record. That shit did not work! So I am going back to looking at the numbers that matter, combining it with things like "Boogie Cousins almost stabbed his teammate last night," and winning at a nice 65% clip. Thanks for hangin in there while we figured our shit out!

New York at Philly (OVER 209.5) (L)
That is a big number for one mediocre team and the worst team in the league. Let's dig a little deeper. The Sixers, though terrible, play at the fastest pace in the NBA; nearly 103 possessions per 48 minutes. The Knicks play at the third slowest pace in the league, so those two stats nearly cancel out.  What it comes down to is defensive efficiency. Philly is the fifth worst in the league in that regard and the Knicks are right in front of them with the sixth worst. What we're looking at tomorrow is a game in which the Sixers get up and down the court, against a bad defense and probably get more possessions than usual. The Knicks on the other hand, are somewhat efficient on offense and they will  be getting more looks than usual this game. Expect 'Melo and the boys to cruise to at least 109 this game, if not more. Philly Might actually keep this close going up against an equally terrible defense. I predict a 115-103 finish.

San Antonio (-8) at Sacramento (WINNER!)
The Spurs have been flat out dominant as of late. Sacramento has been having a terrible month shooting the ball, and that is not going to get any better tonight as they try to go toe-to-toe with the Spurs. I would throw some numbers out, but you can just go to the NBA stats page and see that San Antonio dominates the shit out of Sacrament in every category.

Bob's Out from Under the Weather Picks

DET at PHX (-8.5) (L)
This matchup on paper should favor the Pistons. They are tall, athletic, and way more talented. However this game ain't played on paper as we have all learned early on in the NCAA tournament as well (Mercer!!). The Suns need this game if they want to stay in the playoff race and the number of remaining games is quickly dwindling. Look for a focused Suns team to come out gunning at home en route to a thirty to forty point blowout.

CHI (+6) at IND (L)
This is a possible second round preview of next months eastern conference playoffs. One thing is for sure, the Bulls are not afraid of the Pacers. Also for a team that struggles to score, the last team you want to go against is the Bulls. Although I expect the Pacers to win this series in a best of seven, don't be surprised if the Bulls take this one tonight behind a monster Joakim Noah game.