Groundhog Day Basketball

Tonight's NBA Games:

Chicago Bulls (28-18) @ Atlanta Hawks (26-19)

25 years ago you would've gotten to see Michael Jordan go up against Dominique Wilkins. Today you get to see Luol Deng and Josh Smith. Not exactly the same great rivalry that it once was but both of these teams are still contenders every year in the East. Derrick Rose should be back soon for the Bulls who have remained one of the four best teams in the East all season. The Hawks traded away Joe Johnson before the season started and haven't really played that much differently. Expect the Hawks to win this one at home.

My prediction: Hawks win 98-93

Sacramento Kings (17-31) @ New York Knicks (29-15)

The Queens are coming to the Big Apple. The Knickerbockers have been playing much better since the return of Raymond Felton and have been unstoppable when playing at "The World's Most Famous Arena." While there have been times where the starting lineup hasn't been reliable enough for the Knicks this year, being able to go to J.R. Smith and Amare Stoudemire off the bench has really helped ignite the offense. Boogie Cousins is one of the best offensive bigmen in the NBA today so the matchup to watch will be him against last year's Defensive Player of the Year, Tyson Chandler.

My prediction: Knicks win 107-96

Oklahoma City Thunder (35-11) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (13-34)

Kevin Durant and the Thunder are visiting Kyrie Irving's Cavaliers tonight in a game that probably won't be a close one. Irving has looked impressive so far in his short NBA career and is showing why it was smart of the Cavaliers to draft him first overall two years ago. The only thing to really look forward to in this game will be whether or not we get to see Russell Westbrook have another temper tantrum. We can only hope.

My prediction: No temper tantrum tonight and Thunder win 114-96

Charlotte Bobcats (11-34) @ Houston Rockets (25-23)

Will the Bobcats ever be good? Will Michael Jordan ever do anything successful with basketball when he's not playing? These are questions that the city of Charlotte has to really ask themselves. The greatest basketball player of all time just can't seem to run a team at all. After almost 10 years of being a team their greatest draft pick might end up being Emeka Okafor or Raymond Felton. Not something that you can really build a team around. They also drafted the guy below over Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay once too. He wasn't exactly the second coming of Larry Bird.

My prediction: Morrison will get a reality TV show about mustaches some day on Spike TV
(Rockets win 102-90)

New Orleans Hornets (15-32) @ Minnesota Timberwolves (17-26) (NBATV)

The city of New Orleans has had some up and downs over the years. They're known for Hurricane Katrina and Mardi Gras. The Saints won a Super Bowl a couple years ago that is now being remembered as "Bountygate." In the NBA they had the great times of Chris Paul leading the Hornets and are now moving forward as the Pelicans with Anthony Davis. It doesn't matter how good this team may ever get, people will always laugh when they hear the Pelicans are coming to town. I'm really sorry New Orleans, David Stern doesn't care about your basketball team.

My prediction: Timberwolves win 99-90

Orlando Magic (14-32) @ Milwaukee Bucks (24-21)

Bucks just lost on the road against a better Knicks team and will now be at home against a worse Magic team. They should be able to win this game rather easily. Expect a boring win for the Bucks tonight.

My prediction: Bucks win 104-95

Washington Wizards (11-34) @ San Antonio Spurs (37-11)

Can this team just go back to being called the Bullets? The Bullets was an awesome team name and the Wizards sounds like a horrible team name for anything besides quidditch (I've never read or seen any of the Harry Potters). This is all I could really write about this game. Any kind of insight would have been me just talking about how awesome the Spurs are and how bad the Wizards are.

My prediction: Spurs win 104-86

Utah Jazz (26-21) @ Portland Trail Blazers (23-23)

It's been 15 years since Stockton and Malone were in the NBA Finals with the Jazz and somewhere Byron Russell is still complaining about the push off. That's been about the only thing this state has been able to talk about besides Jimmer Fredette being a virgin for BYU. The team once known as the Jail Blazers are a team that Portland probably misses these days. Those old Blazers teams always competed and contended in the late 90's early 00's and now this team never seems to play as well as they should.

My prediction: Jail Blazers win 102-94

Phoenix Suns (16-31) @ Golden State Warriors (29-17)

The Suns wore their old school uniforms the other day from back in the 90's and managed to beat the Lakers. I'm starting to think the Suns need to go back to wearing those old unis and just drop the bright orange things they wear everywhere. The Warriors might get Steph Curry back for tonight's game, but I wouldn't bother rushing him back. Warriors should be able to take this game without him.

My prediction: Warriors win 108-92

Yesterday's NBA Results: 

Los Angeles Clippers (34-14) @ Toronto Raptors (17-30) - Raptors won 98-73

Miami Heat (29-14) @ Indiana Pacers (28-19) - Pacers won 102-89

Milwaukee Bucks (24-21) @ New York Knicks (29-15) - Knicks won 96-86

Orlando Magic (14-32) @ Boston Celtics (23-23) - Celtics won 97-84

Chicago Bulls (28-18) @ Brooklyn Nets (28-19) - Nets won 93-89

Sacramento Kings (17-31) @ Philadelphia 76ers (20-26) - 76ers won 89-80

Cleveland Cavaliers (13-34) @ Detroit Pistons (18-29) - Pistons won 117-89

Washington Wizards (11-34) @ Memphis Grizzlies (30-16) - Grizzlies won 85-76

New Orleans Hornets (15-32) @ Denver Nuggets (30-18) - Nuggets won 113-98

Portland Trail Blazers (23-23) @ Utah Jazz (26-21) - Jazz won 86-77

Dallas Mavericks (20-27) @ Phoenix Suns (16-31) - Mavericks won 109-99

Los Angeles Lakers (21-26) @ Minnesota Timberwolves (17-26) - Lakers won 111-100


Thursday's NBA Results:

Memphis Grizzlies (29-16) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (35-11) - Thunder won 106-89

Dallas Mavericks (19-27) @ Golden State Warriors (29-17) - Warriors won 100-97

Tonight's Key NCAA Games:

(* #5 Duke @ Florida State - I was going to pick Florida State to upset Duke today. I'm very glad that I didn't get this written up before that game started because the Seminoles look lost out there)

Oklahoma State (14-5) @ #2 Kansas (19-1) (YES & ESPN3)

The Cowboys will be visiting the the Jayhawks tonight at Allen Fieldhouse tonight. The Jayhawks will be looking to continue their 18 game winning streak tonight and could end up being the only team with 1 loss by the end of the night.

My prediction: #2 Kansas wins 74-60

#14 Miami (FL) (16-3) @ #19 NC State (16-5) (CBS)

In a nice ACC matchup on CBS today, these are the only teams that have defeated the Cameron Crazies this year. Both the Hurricanes and Wolfpack have shown this season that they can contend with any team that they go up against. Right now they are arguably the second and third best teams in their conference and are teams that could go pretty deep in the NCAA Tournament this upcoming March.

My prediction: #19 NC State wins 71-67

#18 Kansas State (16-4) @ Oklahoma (14-5) (ESPN2)

The Wildcats are visiting the Sooners in a Big 12 matchup tonight on ESPN2. In the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season the Wildcats came out victorious 69-60 in the Little Apple. I'm expecting Oklahoma to even up the season series tonight and move back into the top 25.

My predicton: Oklahoma wins 69-65

#16 Ole Miss (17-3) @ #4 Florida (17-2) (ESPNU)

The Gators are welcoming the Running Rebels to "The Swamp" tonight. The Gators haven't lost any games at home yet this season and have remained very consistent in Gainesville. Ole Miss lost earlier in the week to a Kentucky team that isn't having one of their best seasons currently. Expect the Gators to remain undefeated at home and Ole Miss to lose their second straight.

My prediction: #4 Florida wins 80-71

#1 Michigan (20-1) @ #3 Indiana (19-2) (ESPN)

In a battle of BIG 10 powerhouses tonight, could the #1 team in the country go down? The Hoosiers have already been ranked as #1 earlier in the season and have their sights set on regaining that position tonight. This game features a lot of players that will more than likely be drafted in the first round on the upcoming NBA Draft including Tyler Zeller and Victor Oladipo of Indiana, and Trey Burke and Glenn Robinson III or Michigan. The Wolverines and Hoosiers are currently the best two scoring teams in the country, and are so well-rounded that whenever one key player has a bad game someone else has stepped up all season.

My prediction: #3 Indiana wins 78-76


Thursday's NCAA Results: 

UConn (14-5) @ Providence (10-11) - UConn won 82-79

Illinois (15-7) @ #13 Michigan State (18-4) - Michigan State won 80-75

#8 Arizona (18-2) @ Washington (12-9) - #8 Arizona won 57-53

#9 Butler (17-4) @ Saint Louis (15-5) - Saint Louis won 75-58

#7 Gonzaga (20-2) @ Loyola Marymount (8-13) - #7 Gonzaga won 88-43

1/28 NBA & NCAA Predictions

NBA Games:

Coming in to these games I'm currently 11-6 when picking the NBA

Golden State Warriors (26-17) @ Toronto Raptors (16-28)

The best team in Canada is hosting the Warriors from the Golden State tonight. The Warriors are coming into this game on a two game losing streak and I don't see them possibly losing their third straight tonight. Behind the guard play of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson I think the Warriors backcourt will be too much for this Raptors team.

My prediction: Warriors win 105-97

Memphis Grizzlies (28-15) @ Philadelphia 76ers (18-25)

Was pretty shocked to see the Grizzlies lose to a team worse than them yesterday and I don't think it's something this Grizzlies team is going to do two games in a row. While the 76ers have been playing alright as of late, their frontcourt will not be able to stop Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Way too much size for a team that doesn't have their starting center. This one could might not be all that close.

My prediction: Grizzlies win 99-86

Sacramento Kings (16-29) @ Washington Wizards (11-31)

Both of these teams have the potential to be good in a couple of years. However, this isn't the future and both teams currently have no possible chance of seeing the playoffs this year. The Kings never show up on the road and are currently 4-17 away from Sactown so I see the John Wall led Wizards pulling out this game tonight.

My prediction: Wizards win 105-101

Orlando Magic (14-29) @ Brooklyn Nets (26-18)

Magic just lost to the Pistons at home and are going up against a Nets team that has shown to be very reliable team at home. The Nets have been getting great play out of Brook Lopez all season to go along with their guards Deron Williams and Joe Johnson so I'm going with the home team for this game.

My prediction: Nets win 102-86

Charlotte Bobcats (11-32) @ Chicago Bulls (26-17)

Michael Jordan's team is coming to Chicago. If Jordan was suiting up for this Bobcats team tonight they would probably have a better chance of winning this game against the Bulls, but right now the greatest of all time will just be sitting courtside. Sorry Bobcats fans. Expect the Bulls to pound out this Bobcats team and win this game pretty easily.

My prediction: Bulls win 96-79

Indiana Pacers (26-18) @ Denver Nuggets (27-18) - "Game of the Night"

Tonight's "Game of the Night." Both of these teams will be in the playoffs come April and both have played very well while key players were injured. The Nuggets have Wilson Chandler back now, which gives them another scoring option and the Pacers should be getting back Danny Granger soon as well. Paul George has carried this team in Granger's absence but the Pacers have been a poor road team this season and the Nuggets have been almost unstoppable at the Pepsi Center.

My prediction: Nuggets win 98-92

Houston Rockets (24-22) @ Utah Jazz (24-20)

The season is halfway done at this point and these two teams are currently sitting in the 7th and 8th spots in the west. With the Trail Blazers right behind both of them and a surging Kobe Bryant led Lakers team starting to turn it around this game could really effect which team gets to the playoffs in April and which one is a part of the lottery. This game is really a coin flip to me so I'm going with the home team.

My prediction: Jazz win 106-101

NCAA Games:

Pittsburgh (17-4) @ #12 Louisville (16-4)

This game is a battle of two current Big East schools that will be heading to the ACC in the coming years. Louisville is coming in to this game on a three game losing streak and I don't see any possibility of a team this good losing four straight. I do believe this game will be close but I'm going with the home team tonight.

My prediction: #12 Louisville win 71-67

South Florida (10-9) @ #25 Marquette (14-4)

Ever since moving to the Big East, South Florida have been cellar dwellers every year. They are currently 1-6 in the conference and are visiting a ranked opponent in Marquette. This game will be a rout from the beginning.

My prediction: #25 Marquette win 76-55

#2 Kansas (18-1) @ West Virginia (9-10)

The #2 Kansas Jayhawks are on the road against the Mountaineers of West Virginia tonight. While the Mountaineers are usually a team that come March always seems to make the tournament, this year's team is much weaker than any of the past few years. I'm expecting to see what I consider the best team in the country in the Jayhawks completely manhandle this lesser team tonight led by Ben McLemore and Jeff Withey.

My prediction: #2 Kansas win 84-61

1/26 NBA Predictions

Tonight's NBA Predictions:

New York Knicks (26-14) @ Philadelphia 76ers (17-25)

Tonight marks the return of Knicks starting point guard Raymond Felton. The 76ers are currently above .500 at home, but I don't see them having enough to win this game against the Knicks. Sixers starting point guard Jrue Holiday has been showing all-star qualities all season but without Andrew Bynum this team doesn't have the frontcourt size to compete with the Knicks big men in Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire.

My prediction: Knicks win 99-90

Cleveland Cavaliers (12-32) @ Toronto Raptors (16-27)

In a battle of two teams that have no postseason hopes this year, this game will feature a lot of rising star Kyrie Irving. Irving has just been named to his first all-star game and I see him putting up big numbers tonight for the Cavs.

My prediction: Cavaliers win 102-96

Chicago Bulls (26-16) @ Washington Wizards (10-31)

The Bulls currently have more wins on the road this season (12) than the Wizards have total. I don't see this game being close at all.

My prediction: Bulls win 98-81

Minnesota Timberwolves (17-23) @ Charlotte Bobcats (10-32)

The only thing Bobcats fans have been able to look forward to all season is the possibility of them regaining their former name the Hornets. Other than that it looks like it will be another losing season for a team that continues to draft poorly and end up in the lottery year after year.

My prediction: Timberwolves win 97-88

Brooklyn Nets (26-17) @ Houston Rockets (23-22)

If you are interested in seeing a lot of scoring coming from the backcourt this is a game that you will enjoy. Both teams currently have starting guards that combine for 34+ points per game. The Nets have impressed in their first season in Brooklyn and the new starting backcourt of Jeremy Lin and James Harden have shown glimpses of a future that looks promising for Houston.

My prediction: Rockets win 94-92

Golden State Warriors (26-16) @ Milwaukee Bucks (22-19)

This game will mark the first meeting between Monta Ellis and his former team the Golden State Warriors this season. Both teams seem to have been better off since the trade a year ago and this game will be very similar to that of the Nets & Rockets. With a lot of guard scoring I see this game being very competitive all the way until the end.

My prediction: Bucks win 101-99

Phoenix Suns (15-28) @ San Antonio Spurs (35-11)

The Spurs have been unstoppable at home this season with only two losses and the Phoenix Suns have been abysmal on the road with only four wins. This game will be a blowout from the beginning.

My prediction: Spurs win 102-78

Sacramento Kings (16-28) @ Denver Nuggets (26-18)

This will more than likely be the last season of the Sacramento Kings as it's looking like the team is all but ready to be moved to Seattle and be renamed the Supersonics. That has really been the only newsworthy thing about the team besides "Boogie" Cousins causing problems for the team all season.

My prediction: Nuggets win 104-90

Indiana Pacers (26-17) @ Utah Jazz (23-20)

The Pacers have been one of the best defensive teams all season and have managed to slow down just about everybody. However, while the Pacers are on the road they tend not to perform as well as they do at home. The Jazz currently have a frontcourt that contains Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson and Derrick Favors. All three of these guys should be starting but only two of them can take up the spots at the 4 and 5. It's only a matter of time before 1 of those 3 is on the trading block and be shopped to half of the NBA.

My prediction: Jazz win 91-88

Los Angeles Clippers (32-12) @ Portland Trail Blazers (21-21)

In the last game of the evening the big question is when will Chris Paul return. That's the only thing that really matters to a Clippers team that has shown signs of contending for an NBA title this year. While the Clippers have been winning without Paul, he is what makes this team so successful. Without Paul in this game I see the Trail Blazers pulling the upset and beating the Clips.

My prediction: Trail Blazers win 103-98