Heat Cooling Down? Thursday Night NBA Picks!

Hoop Hopes – Ricky Rothstein makes his picks for tonight’s NBA action!

Golden State at Miami
Two of the hottest teams in the NBA take the court at Biscayne Bay tonight when the Golden State Nuggets take on the World Champion Miami Heat. Golden State’s form had been patchy before the holidays but the Warriors are currently riding a six-game straight-up winning streak that includes a home win over the Clippers on Christmas Day.

Miami is busy being Miami. The Heat are 8-2 straight up over their last ten and the only concern is with the wear and tear showing on their stars, who are not as young as they used to be. LeBron missed the game at Portland on Saturday and Dwayne Wade is a doubt also for tonight. That means that the line on the Heat may be just a half-point too high, making Golden State a shrewd bet.
Hoop Hope 1 | Golden State +4.5 at Miami

Brooklyn Nets at Oklahoma Thunder
The Thunder aren’t getting all their own way lately. The latest knee injury to Russell Westbrook puts a big dent in Oklahoma’s hopes to win a Championship, and the Thunder have been beaten at home in two of their last three home games, not the form you expect from a contender.

But tonight the Nets are in town, and the Thunder are likely to find relief for their frustrations. Stocking up with veterans to win now was a risky plan and the injury to Brook Lopez has found the Nets out. They’re going through a merciless stretch of their schedule right now too – home and away to Indiana, at San Antonio and at Oklahoma tonight. They haven’t a chance.
Hoop Hope 2 | Oklahoma City -12.0

Memphis at Phoenix
How about those Phoenix Suns? Shaq and Steve Nash never did bring them to the Promised Land and it looked like the desert was going to be pretty dry in the years after, but now here they are, one game behind the Clippers in the Pacific and sitting pretty for the West’s fifth seed.

Will it last? Who knows, but it should last enough for them to cover six points tonight against Memphis. This season hasn’t been good to the Grizzlies, and a knee injury to center Marc Gasol doesn’t do anything to make it any easier.
Hoop Hope 3 | Phoenix -6.0

Follow Ricky Rothstein’s Hoop Hopes every night – he’s 32-22, .592, for the season so far!