Thursday's NBA Betting Picks!
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Ricky Rothstein
Hoop Hopes – Ricky Rothstein makes his picks for tonight’s NBA action!
New York at Brooklyn
The battle of New York hasn’t turned out to be quite the epic that the schedulers would have wished back in the summer, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t money to be won on the game. The Knicks are on a nine-game losing streak that could cost Mike Woodson his job. It’s not all Woodson’s fault, of course, but someone’s head will have to roll soon and the head coach is always first in line. But for all that, the Knicks can stop the skid tonight.
The Nets have been bad all season but now they’re missing Paul Pierce as well as Deron Williams. Carmelo’s averaging 26 points a game for the Knicks – he can lead his team to a win at Brooklyn and silence the local papers for twenty-four hours at least.
LA Clippers at Memphis
Memphis was an 8.5 point underdog when it took on the Clippers in LA three weeks ago – the Grizzlies won straight-up, 106-102, in a bad-tempered encounter. The Clippers might be the glamor team, but the Grizzlies are rolling over for nobody.
The Clippers visit Memphis tonight after losing two straight and looking defensively weak, but the Grizzlies may be without both Zach Randolph as well as Marc Gasol tonight. That’s too much presence in the paint to lose against a team that has Blake Griffin in its lineup.
Miami at Chicago
There’s something about Miami that brings out the best in the Bulls. Chicago always steps it up against the Heat, especially when the games are in Chicago, where the Bulls have won five of the last six games against the NBA Champions.
The Heat lost at home to Detroit on Tuesday to end a ten-game winning streak and teams of Miami’s calibre don’t lose two straight. But Chicago really doesn’t like Miami, and there’s always that edge to the Bulls in these games. Derrick Rose is a bitter loss but, harsh though it sounds, it’s not like Chicago hasn’t got used to being without their superstar. In Rose’s absence, Chicago will do what it does best, and defend, defend, defend. Whoever wins, there won’t be any champagne basketball in the United Center tonight.
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