NBA Series Predictions

I usually am pretty confident that there will be an upset in the first round of the NBA playoffs with a nice pay out. This year, I don't see any big upsets occurring and I like the big favorites to advance.

Get my daily game picks on twitter @swicatsides

Here are my first round predictions:

Heat over Milwaukee in 5- I think the Bucks will win game 4 at home as they Heat will be a bit bored after rolling through the 1st 3 games.

OKC over Houston in 6. This series will be a little tougher than most expect. The pressure is all on OKC and Houston has the ability to get hot and win a few games.

Knicks over Boston in 7- This will be a tough series for both teams. The knicks have the talent but Boston has the savvy. I like Boston in game to certainly cover and likely win and then for the knicks to fight back from there and eventually win the series.

Spurs over Lakers in 6- The Spurs are not hitting on all cylinders and will be challenged by the Lakers who are surprisingly confident. The Spurs will pull it together but it won't be easy.

Nuggets over Warriors in 6- This should be a fun series, both teams should win at home initially and Nuggs have the coaching edge and will figure out how to win a road game to finish the series off.

Pacers over Hawks in 5- The Hawks are just not as good as there talent indicates. The pacers are focused and despite a sluggish end to the regular season, they will be focused for the playoffs and dispatch the Hawks easily.

Bulls over Nets in six- The coaching edge is huge for the Bulls in this one. The Nets playoff inexperience will catch up to them as the Bulls will be constantly adjusting and figuring out how to win this series and the Nets despite having the talent edge will be playing catch up.

Clippers over Memphis in 7- This should be the most competitive series as both teams dislike each other. I think home court advantage in game 7 will be the difference/

Still Capping

Hey everyone- I am still picking hoops games. My picks are up on twitter @swicatsides much easier to put my picks up daily on twitter vs. blogging. I will get back to blogging once football season rolls back around. In the meantime, get on twitter. It awesome!

NCAA Hoops 2/23

Here are the games I have under consideration.

I will firm these up later on the blog or on Twitter @swicatsides

VCU- 4.5 vs Xavier
NC St/North Carolina over 159
Creighton +5 vs St. Mary's
UNLV -2 vs Wyoming
Murray st -3 vs SD St
Belmont -6.5 vs Ohio

NCAA Hoops 2/17

I am looking to finish off the weekend in style with these picks

Top Pick

Miami -6.5

Illinois St -2

Illinois -3.5

Leans

Clemson/Miami over 122

Illinois/Northwester over 129

Writeups:

Miami- I had Florida St in essentially the same spot earlier in the week and I am not really sure how the Seminoles managed to cover the game. Clemson of course will have a very loud crowd behind them and will play tough defense however I do like the Hurricane's tremendous firepower to be able to find a way to break through their defense and score. Once they get a lead, Clemson will not be able to come back. Look for the Hurricanes to win and cover at the free throw line.

Illinois- Tough to figure out Northwestern however Illinois has the talent edge and will have a lot of road support as their fans will be about 45% of the total crowd. NU shot the three really well against Ohio St and I am betting that they will shoot a lower percent tonight and Illinois will be able to control the boards. Look for a close first half and then for NU's poor shooting to do them in the 2nd half.

Illinois St- Great spot for ISU to get back into the tourney conversation. they have a talented team and played poorly for a stretch but are back on their games now. Wichita St is a strong team but they will not be up to the task tonight as the Redbirds get their signature win and cover.

I am recommending both overs as well as a hedge in case either NU or Clemson are hitting their 3's. If that happens, the overs will get there.

NCAA Hoops 2/16

Two games to get started.

Top Picks

Providence -2 vs Notre Dame
Tennessee +1 vs Kentucky

Providence- ND will be leaving the comforts of South Bend and heading to Providence. The Friars will be waiting in the weeds for this one. Expect ND's string of OT games and a raucous home crowd plus a talented Friars team to add up to a relatively easy win and cover for Providence.

Tennessee- Not basing this pick on the Noel injury however that will be a factor. This is a chance for UT to get a signature win and try to build some momentum for the NCAA tourney. The Vols will be able to match up with Kentucky and use the home crowd to push them to a close win.

NCAA Hoops 2/13

Here are picks for tonight

Top Picks

Butler -12 vs Charlotte

Washington -2.5 vs Oregon

Butler- Yes, I was cursing them last Saturday for blowing the big lead and pretty much choking away a sure cover. But that was on the road and they are not a good road team. At home, they won't get rattled and will demolish a mediocre at best Charlotte team.

Washington- The Huskies have been tough at home. Oregon had a nice little peak but they are closer to a bubble team than a top 4 seed team. Washington will roll.

Also- have Florida st for the record...

NBA & NCAA hoops Feb 10

Couple of tough luck pushes yesterday. Am ready for some plays tonight.

Top picks

Boston -2 vs Denver
Memphis/minn under 183
Minn/ill over 138

Lean

Colorado +2 vs. Oregon st

Write ups

I am mobile so just short thoughts.

Boston- two hot teams, like Boston to control pace and win at the end

Memphis- defense is their calling card now and minn can't score on the inside against them.

Minn- Illinois will coming out fast and gophers will be happy to oblige

Colorado- better team will stay focused. They are starting their climb to top of PAC 10