This article is part of our NBA Picks series.
Dave Chappelle hosted SNL on Saturday, UFC 205 set Madison Square Garden on fire, A Tribe Called Quest dropped a new album for the first time in 18 years reviving some lost lyrics of the legendary Phife Dawg, and I've been amongst the madness since Friday.
Working out of New York City for a pitstop before Thanksgiving next week has been a pleasure, save for those West Coast games that tip off at 10:30 local tim. For good measure, the Knicks beat the Mavericks at home on Monday too. Overall, I don't see anything wrong with this place from a sports perspective.
Last week: 2-1 (4-5 on the season).
Quote I regret from last week: "Take the points; the Blazers and Clippers are not friendly, so there should be gas in the tank at Staples Center."
The Blazers were getting doubled up by the Clippers in the third quarter, as I sat anxiously on my couch praying for the wildest back door cover in NBA history. That obviously did not happen -- oh well, onto this week!
Although there is a big slate of games, truthfully there are only two games this week I really like. For fun, I'm adding in an additional pick for the over/under.
Rockets at Thunder (-1.5)
Those who believe that machines will run our planet in the foreseeable future do not watch enough basketball, seeing as two triple-double machines are going head-to-head on Wednesday night when the Rockets travel to Oklahoma City for a heavily
Dave Chappelle hosted SNL on Saturday, UFC 205 set Madison Square Garden on fire, A Tribe Called Quest dropped a new album for the first time in 18 years reviving some lost lyrics of the legendary Phife Dawg, and I've been amongst the madness since Friday.
Working out of New York City for a pitstop before Thanksgiving next week has been a pleasure, save for those West Coast games that tip off at 10:30 local tim. For good measure, the Knicks beat the Mavericks at home on Monday too. Overall, I don't see anything wrong with this place from a sports perspective.
Last week: 2-1 (4-5 on the season).
Quote I regret from last week: "Take the points; the Blazers and Clippers are not friendly, so there should be gas in the tank at Staples Center."
The Blazers were getting doubled up by the Clippers in the third quarter, as I sat anxiously on my couch praying for the wildest back door cover in NBA history. That obviously did not happen -- oh well, onto this week!
Although there is a big slate of games, truthfully there are only two games this week I really like. For fun, I'm adding in an additional pick for the over/under.
Rockets at Thunder (-1.5)
Those who believe that machines will run our planet in the foreseeable future do not watch enough basketball, seeing as two triple-double machines are going head-to-head on Wednesday night when the Rockets travel to Oklahoma City for a heavily anticipated James Harden vs. Russell Westbrook point guard explosion.
What to expect: STATS, mediocre defense and some form of Westbrook trolling through his pre-game outfit. Maybe a Sweeney Todd reference for James Harden's beard? Is that too dark?
The Rockets pretty much have to win outright on the road, given the point-and-a-half is not going to make too much of difference in a game where I thought the Thunder would be favored by a few more points. While Oladipo is still trying, we think, to get his shot and rhythm back in Oklahoma City (season-low nine points on Monday), Enes Kanter should see some more minutes given such a lowly amount against the small-ball Warriors earlier this week.
The Pick: Thunder -1.5
The other pick: Under 217 total points - 89% of bettors are going over -- that's just too many people.
Suns at Nuggets (-4)
Both the Suns and Nuggets wish their ATS records counted for something in the league, given the fact that they are 7-4 and 6-4, respectively, on the season. Devin Booker is the real deal. I'm not sure how much longer we have to "Dak Prescott" the guy or believe anything short of his abilities as a pure scorer in the NBA. Booker will go through spurts of scoring back-to-back 35-plus point performances, mixed in with a regression like he has the last three games (13.7 points on 31.1 percent shooting). Booker is a rising star on a bad team and fortunately is going up against a depleted backcourt riddled with injuries heading into Wednesday's matchup: Will Barton (ankle) and Gary Harris (foot) are out, while Darrell Arthur (knee) and Wilson Chandler (hamstring) are both considered probable.
There are far too many headaches and lineup rotations to mess with on the Nuggets end, all the while the four points are enough to make me feel safe with this pick. Tyson Chandler is likely to be back on the court following a family emergency, which will also aid the Suns in this matchup.
The pick: Suns +4
The other pick: Over 221 total points - scoring is fun, high-scoring games are even more fun.
