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Free NBA Picks: Spurs at Warriors Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 12/18/2013

The Golden State Warriors were a chic pick to win the Western Conference this season after the emergence of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson a season ago led the Dubs to the Western Conference semifinals. There they were beaten in six games by San Antonio, Thursday's opponent. That series very easily could have ended differently had Golden State not gagged away a 16-point lead with four minutes left in the fourth quarter of the opener and lost in double-overtime despite a superstar-making 44 points from Curry.

Free NBA Picks: Pistons at Celtics Odds
by Aaron Smith - 12/17/2013

The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics have had some highly-entertaining battles down through the years. While they aren’t necessarily bitter rivals, these two teams have duked it out for Eastern Conference supremacy many times in the past.

Free NBA Picks: Pelicans at Warriors Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/16/2013

In some ways, it feels almost easy to be an armchair general manager in the NBA. Just pick five guys who can score and throw them out there. Alas, nothing's that easy. That brings me to the New Orleans Pelicans. They have five pretty big-name guys they can roll out there: Anthony Davis, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday. I'd want any of them on my team. However, just getting guys who can fill up the bucket doesn't win games. Things like defense, rebounding an intangibles matter. And, of course, there's the injury factor.

Free NBA Picks: Clippers at Wizards Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/13/2013

This rings true in Major League Baseball, the NHL and NBA: It's always wise to bet against a team in its final game of a lengthy road trip. Why? Obviously it's harder to play in front of hostile crowds as it is. Add in the fact the guys are tired -- most road trips are very compacted -- and emotionally spent by the end of the trip. Plus, they can see the light at the end of the tunnel and will be back home soon. It's just human nature to sleepwalk in that finale of a trip.

Free NBA Picks: Lakers at Thunder Odds
by Aaron Smith - 12/12/2013

The Los Angeles Lakers, with Kobe Bryant on the court, will travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder Friday night in a marquee matchup. Bryant missed the Lakers first 19 games before returning for the last two. The Lakers were unable to win either of those games, and they’ll have an even tougher matchup Friday night in Oklahoma City.

Free NBA Picks: Rockets at Trail Blazers Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/11/2013

If you had told me before the season that when I previewed a Dec. 12 game between Houston and Portland one of those teams would be leading the ultra-deep Western Conference, I would have said "yeah, that wouldn't surprise me." Of course, I would have expected it to be the Rockets and not the Blazers.

Free NBA Picks: Mavericks at Warriors Odds
by Aaron Smith - 12/10/2013

The Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors have been moving in completely different directions in the last couple years. Dallas has been on the way down after winning an NBA Championship over the Miami Heat in LeBron James’ first season in Miami. Golden State has been on the rise as they look more and more like a contender as their young stars mature.

Free NBA Picks: Heat at Pacers Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/9/2013

The NBA's Eastern Conference is a flat-out joke. The Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat are a combined 34-8, and there's no other team with less than 10 losses. Toronto is just 1.5 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division -- Boston is in first! -- yet the Raptors just made a deal that makes them worse this season in shipping Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings. It was a salary dump and all but ensures the Raptors get into the lottery this season and a shot at Canadian Andrew Wiggins.

Free NBA Picks: Trail Blazers at Jazz Odds
by Dave Schwab - 12/9/2013

First meets worst in the NBA’s Western Conference this Monday night when the high-flying Portland Trail Blazers head into EnergySolutions Arena to face off against the lowly Utah Jazz. Tip-off for this Northwest Division clash is set for 9 p.m. (ET), and the game will be available on NBA League Pass.

Free NBA Picks: Pacers at Spurs Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/6/2013

It's truly a shame that Saturday's Indiana at San Antonio game, very possibly an NBA Finals preview and the Pacers' only visit to the home of the Alamo this season, is this Saturday night. I'd certainly be watching and betting Pacers-Spurs almost any other day, but this week it's dwarfed by conference championship Saturday and is played opposite the Pac-12 title game between Stanford and Arizona State, the ACC tilt between Duke and Florida State and the Big Ten showdown between Ohio State and Michigan State.

Free NBA Picks: Warriors at Rockets Odds
by Aaron Smith - 12/5/2013

If the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets were in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, their records would look stellar. Since they are in the West, they are behind several other teams who are off to a great start. Still, the Warriors and Rockets are two teams that no one is going to want to play come playoff time.

Free NBA Picks: Knicks at Nets Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/4/2013

I really didn't want to write about the New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets matchup in the TNT Thursday opener this week. Both clubs will be on the network's doubleheader often this season -- sorry, no flexing schedules in the NBA -- so I will be forced to write about them plenty later in the season. However, the two franchises are in such disarray -- to my utter enjoyment -- that I couldn't help myself.

Free NBA Picks: Thunder at Blazers Odds
by Aaron Smith - 12/3/2013

Oklahoma City has been considered the team to beat in the Western Conference since the season started. The Thunder have great overall team balance, and they got to the NBA Finals two years ago when their team was completely healthy. Portland was seen as a team that might fight for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.

Free NBA Picks: Suns at Grizzlies Odds
by Alan Matthews - 12/3/2013

All of the NBA attention last week was focused on Derrick Rose's season-ending knee injury, and you can understand that. However, an almost equally big injury was overlooked by many: the Grade 2 MCL strain in the left knee of the Memphis Grizzlies' Marc Gasol, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Free NBA Picks: Bulls at Cavaliers Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 11/29/2013

The Chicago Bulls lucked into winning the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery and took point guard Derrick Rose first overall. The Cleveland Cavaliers lucked into winning the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery and took point guard Kyrie Irving first overall. Sounds like a great potential individual rivalry with the teams in the same division, doesn't it? Yet, because of a myriad of injuries, mostly to Rose, the two have faced off just once in their careers. And with Rose done the rest of this season, that number won't increase until sometime in 2014.

Free NBA Picks: Spurs at Thunder Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/26/2013

Two years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. It was assumed by many experts at the time to be the end of the Spurs run. Oklahoma City was a team on the rise, and they had jumped a big hurdle. The Thunder went on to get stomped by the Heat in the NBA Finals that year.

Free NBA Picks: Nets at Raptors Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 11/25/2013

The Atlanta Hawks have to be doing jumping jacks right now. Remember that trade of Joe Johnson to Brooklyn in July 2012? Not only did the Hawks rid themselves of the horrendous Johnson contract in that deal, they acquired the right to swap first-round picks in the 2014 draft with the Nets. So if you are a Boston Celtics fan, you should not only be rooting against Brooklyn but also Atlanta.

Free NBA Picks: Knicks at Trail Blazers Odds
by Dave Schwab - 11/25/2013

The New York Knicks will try and snap a five-game skid this Monday night when they head west to the Moda Center to square off against the white-hot Portland Trail Blazers, who are riding a 10-game winning streak of their own. Tipoff for this inter-conference clash is set for 10 p.m. (ET), and the game will be available on NBA League Pass.

Free NBA Picks: Knicks at Wizards Odds
by Alan Matthews - 11/22/2013

Recently, Bovada unveiled a first NBA coach to be fired prop, and the favorite was Washington's Randy Wittman. Right behind him was New York's Mike Woodson. Both teams had playoff expectations this season, but the Knicks' were obviously a bit more grandiose. For some reason, owner James Dolan thinks his team can win a championship. Perhaps he hasn't seen the roster.

Free NBA Picks: Spurs at Grizzlies Odds
by Aaron Smith - 11/21/2013

It’s a rematch of the Western Conference Finals from last year. The San Antonio Spurs will travel to Memphis to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in a game that could once again be a playoff preview. San Antonio swept the Grizzlies in four straight games in the Western Conference Finals, though it is important to point out that two of those games went into overtime. The Grizzlies seemed to just run out of gas in that series, but you can bet that the Grizzlies have had this game circled for a while.