Hoop Hopes – Ricky Rothstein makes his picks for tonight’s NBA action!
San Antonio at Oklahoma City If anybody doubted that both teams had marked big red circles on their calendars for today, the Spurs’ and Thunder’s bench strategy in their previous games pretty much rules it out. The Spurs were very careful to limit the floor-time of their big three while plucking the Pelicans’ feathers on Monday, while Oklahoma City sat Russell Westbrook while the rest of the team rolled Utah over on Sunday.
Both teams are going to be full strength tonight for the first of four meetings between the Western contenders. Last year, they split 2-2, with each team holding home court, and tonight the Thunder are a 2.5 point hometown favorite. It’s a very even matchup, but the Spurs have an edge on defense and in experience. San Antonio is the pick. Hoop Hope 1 | San Antonio +2.5
LA Lakers at Brooklyn Nets Brooklyn won last night at Toronto to give the Nets their fourth win of the year, but they shouldn’t start thinking they’re through the worst of it yet in Brooklyn. The win wasn’t all that convincing, and the Nets are likely to face a more thorough examination when the Lakers visit the Barclay Center tonight.
The Lakers lost to a John Wall-inspired Washington last night, but they could have still stolen it at the death. They’re more likely to be better against Brooklyn, where Pau Gasol can remind the Nets of just how big a loss Brook Lopez is. Kobe is on his way back, but the Lakers won’t need him tonight. This one they can cover on their own. Hoop Hope 2 | LA Lakers +2.5
Miami at Cleveland The people of Cleveland don’t need our sympathy, but it’s hard to keep it from them too. Not only are the Cavs off to another poor start to a season, but there are rumors of strife in the camp, not least between head coach Mike Brown and star point guard Kyrie Irving. And if all this weren’t bad enough, tonight Miami is in town, with You-Know-Who looking forward to being home for Thanksgiving. If this were a Hollywood movie, Irving would have a triple-double to inspire the plucky Cavs to the win, LeBron invites him over for Turkey Day and decides, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, that there’s no place like home.
But that’s Hollywood. In the reality of the Quicken Loans Arena, Miami will massacre Cleveland. Just like always. Hoop Hope 3 | Miami -9
Follow Ricky Rothstein’s Hoop Hopes every night – he’s 19-15 for the season so far!
