Hoop Hopes – Ricky Rothstein makes his picks for tonight’s NBA action!
The first thing to do when handicapping the Sixers’ visit to Dallas tonight is to forget their last game. Philly got torn asunder in New Orleans on Saturday night, suffering a 37-point thumping as the Pelicans covered four times over. Sixers’ head coach Brett Brown ran up the white flag in New Orleans when he pulled his starters, aware that this trip to Dallas was on the cards. If he has faith, so should we.
Of course, faith in winning and faith in covering are two different things. A win for Philadelphia at Dallas would be a shock. The Mavericks are 4-0 straight up and against the spread on their home court, they’re a form team in the League and they have one of the League’s all-timers in Dirk Nowitzki. But -12 is a big number to cover, and my dollar says they won’t.
Hoop Hope 1 | Philadelphia at Dallas: Philadelphia +12
The Staples Center hosts a rematch of the Western First Round Playoff Series when Memphis beat a Clippers team that had just won the Pacific Division for the first time in Clipper history. Blake Griffin was injured in that series and the Clippers are just a different team without him dominating the paint.
The Grizzlies have no mean frontcourt presence themselves in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, but the Clippers have the better team and home court advantage. A win won’t make up for last year, but winning is always better than losing.
Hoop Hope 2: Memphis at LA Clippers: LA Clippers -8.5
Charlotte is a huge underdog at the United Center tonight, and that’s as it should be. The Bulls and the Bobcats exist at different ends of the NBA Universe, and the Bulls will be eager to remind Charlotte of that. Charlotte is having a good start to the season by Bobcat-standards, but the Bulls dealt Indiana its first loss of the season on Saturday in a game in which Derrick Rose shone like the star he is. They’re feeling pretty good about their basketball in the windy city right now.
Chicago isn’t the bet though. Chicago is one of the premier defensive teams in the League, and its hosting a team with one of the poorest offenses. The Bulls will score enough to win, but no more. The total will be low.
Hoop Hope 3 | Charlotte at Chicago: Under 180.5 points
Follow Ricky Rothstein’s Hoop Hopes every night – he’s 7-7 for the season so far!
