Sports Handicapping – Tips, Picks and Betting

NBA Expert Picks for the 2011 NBA Championship

After the Miami Heat beat last year’s Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics, they are now the favorite to win it. The Heat will match up with the Chicago Bulls in what will be a tough series but we pick the Heat to come out on top due to the lack of a second scorer for the Bulls in this series.

NBA insiders for NBA Expert picks report that the Heat have the league’s 2nd best defense which means the Bulls will need two consistent scores throughout the series together than Derrick Rose to keep up with the Heat 3-headed tandem.Leul Deng will have to defend Labron James in this series which will limit his offensive game which means the Bulls will have to count on Carlos Boozer who only posted one good scoring game in their last series and will face a much tougher defenders in this series.  Read more... (243 words, 1 image, estimated 58 secs reading time)

NFL Weekly Sports Picks Green Bay Packers Injury Report Piling Up

A funny thing happened on the way to the Green Bay Packers being one popular top sports picks to win it all this NFL season. The realities of playing a collision sport have been plainly felt in Titletown, U.S.A., leaving a team that was an early season favorite to make a Super Bowl run now wondering how they can survive their next four-game stretch.

NFL  WEEKLY INJURY REPORT

 The injury problem actually began in Week One. Starting running back Ryan Grant left the season-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles with an ankle injury. The team got grim news the next day when Grant needed season-ending surgery. 

But he wouldn’t be the last key starter to see his 2010 season come to a premature close. 

Two weeks ago, the Pack lost starting safety Morgan Burnett for the year with a torn ACL while linebacker Nick Barnett suffered a wrist injury needing season-ending surgery. But that was just foreshadowing of what may still be to come.  Read more... (424 words, 0 images, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

2010 NCAAF Picks Preview: No. 12 LSU Tigers @ No. 14 Florida Gators

2010 NCAAF Picks  insider previews a Top-25 matchup between SEC conference division leaders on Saturday as the No. 12 LSU Tigers visit the No. 14 Florida Gators (7:30 pm ET, ESPN).                            

COLLEGE FOOTBALL ODDS

Florida is a 6-point, -250 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 42, and the betting public is backing the Gators in this conference clash, with just under 62 per cent betting Florida covers the 6 points. Bettors are not quite as sold on the over/under with about 53 per cent on the over. 

The Gators are 2-1 SU in SEC play this season, first in the SEC’s East division. The Tigers are a perfect 3-0 in the SEC, and sit atop the conference’s West division.

 Over the past 10 head-to-head, the Gators have gone 6-4 SU and 7-2-1 ATS. They last squared off on Oct. 10 last season, when the Gators beat the Tigers 13-3. That score ended up as a push for bettors, as the Gators had been 10-point road favorites. The score went well below the total of 46.  Read more... (261 words, 0 images, estimated 1:03 mins reading time)

2010/11 NBA Picks Insider Report: Agent Zero Thinking About Next Assignment

Let’s be honest, there’s nearly no one expecting the Washington Wizards to be a frequent 2010/11NBA picks this season. But with top overall draft pick John Wall on the roster, there’s talk that the Wiz may be working themselves into the thick of the playoff race in the next couple of years. Gilbert Arenas seems to believe that as well. He just doesn’t think he’ll be around to see it.

2010/11 NBA PICKS INSIDER REPORT 

The veteran Wizards guard told reporters after Washington’s preseason opener against the Dallas Mavericks that he plans on showing Wall “the ins and the outs of the game, and then eventually go on and move on.” 

The reasons for Arenas’ resignation are many. After missing nearly an entire season because of a felony gun possession and 50-game NBA suspension, Agent Zero is aware of his status as a pariah in the nation’s capital. The Wizards removed any mention of Arenas from the team store and anywhere in the Verizon Center.  Read more... (419 words, 0 images, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

2010-11 NBA Picks Preview: Detroit Pistons

 NBA PREDICTIONS&PREVIEWS FOR 2010-11

2010-11 NBA Picks provides a NBA season preview for the Detroit Pistons, who finished last in the Central division and 12^th in the Eastern conference with a 27-55 SU record last season. 

Some of Detroit’s key offseason player moves include the additions of Tracy McGrady and Greg Monroe, and the losses of Chucky Atkins and Kwame Brown.

 After a disappointing 2009-10 campaign, somewhat interestingly (and curiously), Detroit’s biggest moves during the summer involved resigning its own free agents, Ben Wallace and Will Bynum.

 Wallace, in particular, apparently has decided the Pistons are his team, and vice versa, as this is the third time he’s signed with Detroit for a relatively low price ($4.3M over 2 years). 

Likewise, Bynum was inked for the financially friendly price of $9.75 M over three seasons, a steal compared to comparable point guards like Steve Blake ($16M/4 years) and Derek Fisher ($10.5M/3 years).  Read more... (289 words, 0 images, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

NBA Picks Season Preview: New Jersey Nets

NBA Picks takes a look at this season’s prospects for the New Jersey Nets, last season’s perennial doormat in the NBA.

The Nets were the worst team in the NBA in 2009-10, finishing their pitiful season with a 12-70 SU record.

Some key players who will no longer toil with the Nets this season are Keyon Dooling, Courtney Lee, Yi Jianlian, and Rod Thorn. Some notable additions include Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, Jordan Farmar, Travis Outlaw, Anthony Morrow, Billy King, and Damion James.

When you have a team as bad as the Nets, every position rightfully comes under scrutiny. But the source of many of New Jersey’s woes is the trading of Kenyon Martin in 2004. The Nets never adequately replaced Martin at the power forward position. Well, they finally addressed this by drafting Favors with the third overall pick in 2010 NBA Draft, and by also acquiring Murphy, who will allow Favors to mature as a legitimate NBA forward.  Read more... (275 words, 0 images, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

2010-11 NBA Picks Atlantic Division Questioner

Time to get your 2010-11 NBA picks ready – the season is here! Yes, I know there were no games, but with every team in the league hosting their Media Day on Monday, it marks the beginning of training camp and another year of life in The Association. It also means it’s time to start asking questions that could affect the season. So we’ll follow the trail of the rising sun and start in the Atlantic.  Read more... (558 words, 0 images, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

 NBA EXPERT PICKS

1. 1.    Will old age finally take down the Celtics? It’s a question a lot of people asked last year. Lo and behold, the C’s were back in the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons. Then they had a big offseason – at least physically – adding Shaquille and Jermaine O’Neal and drafting Notre Dame big man Luke Harangody. All three of them will be key in filling the gap left while Kendrick Perkins recovers from the knee injury he suffered in last season’s Finals. All of which should make them a popular NBA pick this season. Now can they mesh around the Big Four of Allen, Garnett, Pierce and Rondo to get them over the hump?

New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins SUNDAY NIGHT PREVIEW

2010 NFL Expert Picks previews NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup between AFC East division rivals New York Jets and Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium.

The Dolphins are 2.5-point home favorites for this divisional matchup while the over/under total is 35.5.

These teams always play each other closely, as evidenced by the fact the point spread has been higher than 3.5 for either team just twice in the past 10 head-to-head. The Dolphins took both meetings last season, winning 30-25 as a 3.5-point road underdog on Nov. 1, and winning 31-27 as a 3-point home dog on Oct. 12.

The Jets have a slight edge over the past 10 at 6-4 SU and 6-3-1 ATS, and are 17-7 SU in the past 24 meetings. New York is 4-2 SU in its past six trips to Miami.

This is New York’s second-straight divisional matchup. The Jets (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS) beat the favored New England Patriots 28-14 last Sunday, easily cashing as a 3-point home underdog. The score went over the total.  Read more... (259 words, 0 images, estimated 1:02 mins reading time)

2010 NBA Picks Reports that Nellie is Out In Oakland

Rejoice Golden State Warriors fans, your team may have gained traction in 2010 NBA picks. What was once a successful franchise has spent the past couple of decades floundering around in ways only a Clipper fan could appreciate. The GS-Dubs posted their worst season in eight years, going 26-56 and missing the playoffs for the 16^th time in 18 seasons.

But it’s been a busy offseason for the boys in Oakland. Longtime owner Chris Cohan – long a target of fan angst – sold the team in July for a record $450 million. Immediately the rumors swirled that the new owners, venture capitalist Joe Lacob and movie mogul Peter Guber, planned to make major changes that included removing 70-year old head coach Don Nelson. 

That change has come. Reports surfaced on Thursday that Nelson, the NBA’s winningest coach, would not return to coach the Warriors for a 12^th season. Publicly, the move is being described as a resignation, but according to the San Francisco Chronicle, Nellie was asked to leave the organization completely.   Read more... (383 words, 0 images, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

2010 NCAAF Weekly Picks Previews Two SEC matchups this College Football Weekend

We’re not screwing around with this week’s 2010 college football picks and going straight to the top to peek in on the SEC. The conference considered by some to be NFL Lite could start to see a little bit of separation between its contenders and pretenders thanks to a pair of intriguing matchups. 

2010 NCCAF Picks Alabama vs. Arkansas 

For a conference that doesn’t do nuance and subtlety, Saturday’s Alabama-Arkansas game is loaded with layers of intrigue. There are the obvious conference implications – the Crimson Tide trying to maintain their status as the prohibitive favorite for the SEC and BCS titles while the Razorbacks have a chance to plant their flag as a dark horse contender.   Read more... (419 words, 0 images, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)