Handicappers Picks

San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns
Free Pick: Phoenix Suns -4
Courtesy of Mike Rose (Handicapperspicks.com)
Click here for expert NBA basketball playoffs picks

Conference Semifinal action picks up in the desert on Monday night where the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns will begin their battle for the right to play in the Western Conference Finals.

After dropping Game 1 in their quarterfinal series with the Dallas Mavericks, the Spurs rattled off three straight victories to steal home court and eventually won the series in six games.

Phoenix split its first four games with the Portland Trail Blazers before it punched its ticket to the Western Conference Semifinals by taking Games 5 & 6 with relative ease.

The trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker once again reigned supreme for the Spurs in their 1st round match-up with the in-state rival Mavericks.

The keys to success throughout their series with the Mavs was their ability to force turnovers and play stifling defense. They averaged just over six steals per game and held the Mavericks to 90 or less points in four of the six overall NBA playoff betting battles.

Phoenix got a stern test from one of the league’s best defensive teams in the first round of the playoffs. The Suns top ranked offense averaged 103.3 PPG in the series, which was almost seven-points fewer than their regular season average of 110.2 PPG.

When they surpassed the 100-point plateau, the Suns won all four games and went 3-1 ATS.

These Western Conference rivals met up three times throughout the 2009-10 regular season with the home team winning each game. Phoenix came out the pointspread victor though (3-0 ATS) after it covered the four-point spread at San Antonio falling 113-110.

This is going to be a very interesting series to take in for NBA bettors as the grizzled and experienced legs of the Spurs try to keep pace with the frenetic Suns offense. The Suns would love to play every one of their games well over the 200-point barrier, while SA would be ecstatic to keep every one of its opponents around 100-points.

Easier said than done; especially in this spot!

Phoenix let Game 1 get away from them in the quarterfinals against Portland. They ultimately lost 105-100 as lofty 8.5-point favorites allowing Andre Miller to have a monster game. Their shots wouldn’t fall evidenced by them shooting a pathetic 41.8 percent from the field.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls
Free Pick: Milwaukee Bucks +6.5 (Jimmy Boyd)
I know the Bucks will be Andrew Bogut for the rest of the season, but I think odds makers have over figured his absence into this line. Milwaukee will be extremely motivated tonight as it can clinch a postseason berth with a win. The Bulls will be motivated to win as well, as they are trying to play their way into the No. 8 seed. With this in mind, I expect another down to the wire game from these two teams. The first three meetings this season have all been decided by 3 or fewer points. The Bucks are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games as a road underdog and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games as a road underdog of 5.0-10.5 points. Milwaukee is also 16-4 ATS versus poor defensive teams allowing 99 or more points per game, 2nd half of the season this season, winning in these spots by an average score of 102.7 to 95.5. Not having Bogut in the playoffs will prove costly, but I expect the Bucks to rally in his absence and take the Bulls right down to the wire tonight. Bet the Bucks.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Sacramento Kings
Free Pick: San Antonio Spurs -6 (Tom Freese)
Sacramento is just playing out the string. Tyreke Evans score 20 points a game. Beno Udrih scores 12.9 points a game Center Jason Thompson scores 12.5 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. The Kings score 99.8 points a game and they allow 104.2 points a game. Sacramento is 0-6 ATS their last 6 games as home dogs and they are 2-9-1 ATS when playing with two days of rest. San Antonio is led in scoring by Center Tim Duncan and his 18.1 points and 10.8 rebounds a game. Guard Manu Ginobili scores 16.6 points a game George Hill is filling in for the injured Tony Parker. Richard Jefferson scores 12.3 points a game. The Spurs 101.2 points a game and they allow 96 points a game. San Antonio is 10-1 ATS after scoring 100 or more points in their last game and they are 9-1 ATS their last 10 games vs. Western Conference teams. PLAY ON SAN ANTONIO

Looking for more free NBA basketball picks? Visit Handicappers Picks for free sports picks from over 30 professional sports handicappers

San Antonio Spurs vs. New Jersey Nets
Free Pick: New Jersey +8 (March 29th 2010 – Big Al McMordie)
Want more NBA basketball predictions? Visit Handicapperspicks.com

At 7:30 pm, our complimentary selection is on the New Jersey Nets + the points over San Antonio. Last night, we cashed a big High Roller selection on the Spurs over Boston (we’re now 5-0 our last 5 High Rollers), but the Spurs were in one of their best roles on Sunday (they were on the road, playing with revenge); tonight, they’re in one of their worst. And that is to play AGAINST San Antonio if it is playing without rest, and is PK or Favored off back-to-back wins. Since 2005, the Spurs have been very poor in this situation. With San Antone off back-to-back BIG wins over Cleveland and Boston, look for the Spurs to stumble a bit vs. the league’s worst team, New Jersey. And, of course, it certainly wouldn’t hurt if Gregg Popovich decided later in the day to rest Timmy Duncan (this is one of only a few “back-to-backs” left on San Antonio’s schedule, which Coach Pop likes to utilize to rest Timmy). That would make our pointspread, here, look even more attractive. So, this is also a play where it makes sense to get down earlier, rather than later. Good luck, as always…Al McMordie.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs
Free Pick: Los Angeles Lakers +1 (March 24th 2010 – Big Al McMordie)
Want more free NBA basketball predictions? Visit Handicappers Picks

At 9:30 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Los Angeles Lakers plus the point over San Antonio. The Spurs are playing their best basketball of this not-so-young season, so from coach Gregg Popovich’s perspective, it’s “better late than never.” They went into Oklahoma City on Monday and upset the Thunder, and that qualified as their biggest win of the year — even more than their 20-point blowout of the Lakers earlier this season. And that’s because San Antonio rebounded from a heartbreaking overtime loss at Philips Arena on Sunday, so they showed a lot of mettle in winning at OKC when playing on the road without rest. But even though the Spurs are finally playing well, they will be without Tony Parker tonight, and his quickness over Derek Fisher was one of the few, if any, matchup advantages the Spurs had over the Lakers. Surely, Duncan is, at best, a break-even proposition against Gasol. And San Antone has nobody who can guard either Lamar Odom or Kobe Bryant. The Lakers only “negative” in this game is that they might lack the requisite motivation, given they’re firmly locked into the #1 seed out west. But Los Angeles generally gets up to play the Spurs, and we’ll take L.A. as the small underdog here. Good luck, as always…Big Al McMordie.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Free Pick: Oklahoma City -4 (March 22nd 2010 – Big Al McMordie)
Want more NBA basketball predictions? Visit Handicappers Picks

At 8 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Oklahoma City Thunder minus the points over San Antonio. OKC plays with revenge from an 8-point loss in the Alamo City in February (and a 1-point defeat at home in January). And the Thunder are a solid 20-11 ATS when playing with revenge this season! Last night, the Spurs had to go into overtime at Atlanta when they blew a four point lead with a little over a minute to play in regulation. Off that heartbreaking defeat, look for the unrested Spurs to have a tough time tonight against the younger, more athletic Thunder. Not only will they once again be without Tony Parker (who’s scheduled to miss the rest of the regular season), but Manu Ginobili has made just 9 of his 36 shots this season vs. Oklahoma City! The Thunder sit one game ahead of San Antonio in the Western Conference standings, and still have hopes of catching the Jazz for home court advantage in the playoffs. OKC is 22-11 at home this season, and I think they’ll roll over the Spurs. Lay the points. Good luck, as always…Big Al McMordie.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Free NBA Pick: Under (March 8th 2010 – Big Al McMordie)
Want more NBA basketball predictions? visit Handicappers Picks

At 7:05 pm, our complimentary selection is on the ‘under’ in the Spurs/Cavaliers game. On Friday night, this looked like a heckuva match-up on paper. The Spurs have just started to play their best basketball of the season, while the Cavaliers have been the league’s best team. But then, on Saturday, San Antonio’s 2nd leading scorer, point guard Tony Parker, broke a bone in his hand, and will miss the rest of the regular season. And coach Mike Brown decided to rest LeBron James against Milwaukee (in part because of a gimpy ankle), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that James may sit out tonight’s game vs. the Spurs as well. With all this star power (and fire power) on the sidelines tonight, the rotations will be a bit messed up, and I look for the offensive efficiency of each team to suffer a bit. After all, both teams run their offenses thru Parker and James. Let’s play on the Cavs and Spurs to sail ‘under’ the total tonight.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Free NBA Pick: Memphis +1.5 (March 6th 2010 – Big Al McMordie)
Want more free NBA picks? Visit Handicapperspicks.com

At 8:05 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Memphis Grizzlies plus the points over San Antone. Last night, the Spurs defeated the New Orleans Hornets at home in the Alamo City, and Gregg Popovich’s crew has definitely had the Hornets’ number this season, winning all three games. But this match-up tonight in Memphis spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E for the Spurs, as San Antonio is a terrible 34% ATS as an UNRESTED favorite (or PK) off back-to-back wins. The Spurs come into this contest on a three-game win streak, so they fall squarely within their negative 34% ATS team situation. Memphis is 6-2 ATS its last eight, including impressive upset road wins over the Hornets and Bulls its last two games. With Memphis a solid 21-10 ATS off a win this season, we’ll take the home dog Grizzlies on Saturday. Good luck, as always…Big Al McMordie.