Sports Betting Blog - Free Picks and Handicapping Advice

The Diesel and Flash Reunite

It has been a week full of reunions for Shaquille O’neal.  It started with a win over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.  It continued last night with a loss to O’neal’s original team the Orlando Magic and their new all-star center Dwight Howard.  And tonight the “Big Aristotle” will finish with a matchup against Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat.  This will be the first time the two have met in Miami since the trade that sent O’neal to the Suns for Shawn Marion. 

Tonight’s game will feature two superstars that have returned to form after disappointing seasons in recent years.  Shaquille O’neal appeared to be on the downward side of his career over the last couple of years as his scoring and rebounding numbers had declined.  There was a noticeable difference in his conditioning and his ability to elevate the way he used to.  But recently there has been a new spring to O’neal’s step and his numbers have showed it.  Last week against the Toronto Raptors Shaq scored 45 points on 20 of 23 shooting.  The following game, he scored 33 against the Lakers as Phoenix won both games.  This was his first back-to-back thirty point games and first forty point effort since 2004.  He’s averaging 18.2 points per game this season and 24 over his last seven.  And Oneal’s success seems to have energized his team as they are 6-3 since the all-star break, even without star forward Amare Stoudamire.

Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade has had an incredible year rebounding from two injury plagued seasons.  Wade is averaging 29.2 points per game to go along with 5 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.2 steals.  He and LeBron James are neck and neck in the race for the league’s scoring title.  But lately, Wade has somehow been able to put up even better numbers.  In his last nine contests, Wade is averaging 34.2 points and 8.9 assists per game and has the Heat bound for a return to the playoffs.

In tonights matchup, I expect Dwayne Wade to out perform Shaq individually, however I think that the Suns have too much depth and talent for Wade to beat by himself.  Pheonix has been getting solid production from Leandro Barbosa, Matt Barnes, Jason Richardson and Grant Hill.  With Steve Nash returning from an injury and Shaq motivated for the reunion, I like the Suns to win this one.  Dwayne Wade is one of the best players in the NBA and would get my vote for the MVP, but his supporting cast is still very young.  Shaqovic and the Suns (+2.5) win a great one 110-106.

March 4th, 2009 3:35:24 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Basketball, Free Picks by Ricky Steamboat | No Comments

UNC/Duke

Good afternoon sports fans.  I’m not sure if all of you out there are aware but today is no ordinary Wednesday.  On this particular day the two greatest college basketball programs square off and will provide the latest entry in a historic rivalry.  Two schools that have faced off over 200 times and preside just 8 miles apart.  The only thing that stands between them is an intense hatred of the other.  In case you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s Carolina vs. Duke.

Once again these two teams meet when they both are vying for ACC and national championships.  The Tar Heels come into this game tied atop the ACC with the Blue Devils and 2 spots higher at #3 in the national polls.  But you can throw the standings out the window when these two teams get together.  The intensity that this rivalry is built on keeps the score close regardless if one team has a talent advantage over the other.

In terms of this year’s matchup, I have to give that talent advantage to North Carolina (-1.5).  But what Duke has the home court advantage on its side, and in no place is there a bigger advantage than Cameron Indoor Stadium.  But not since Tyler Hansbrough came to UNC.  Since his arrival Carolina has not lost at Duke, winning all three.  But I think that this game will be mostly decided on the perimeter.  Hansbrough will get his and be a force inside.  But can Carolina’s perimeter shooting and defense show up tonight?  If they do then there is no way that Duke can keep up.  However if Carolina doesn’t shoot well from the outside and doesn’t defend Duke’s perimeter players well, then Duke will have a legitimate shot to win this one.

But when it comes down to it, I think that both their perimeter shooting and defense will show up for Carolina with the loose rims at Cameron.  The Tar Heels make a statement to the Blue Devils and the rest of the nation with an 83-78 victory.

February 11th, 2009 1:53:42 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Basketball, Free Picks, Sports, Sports Betting by Ricky Steamboat | No Comments

NBA Finals Rematch

Last June the NBA Finals ended between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers on the very same court that the two teams will square off tonight.  The Lakers hope to see a very different result this time around as in that game the Celtics embarrassed them with a 131-92 blowout in route to their NBA record 17th championship.

Tonight’s game has many similarities to that finals matchup of a year ago.  The Celtics (-7) rebounded from a 2-7 midseason stretch that was the worst of the big three era.  They are back to dominating the Eastern Conference as they have won their last twelve games and have the NBA’s best record.  And on the Laker side, although they have also been winning games, they lost center Andrew Bynum to a torn MCL that will have him out 8-12 weeks.  Bynum missed much of the season and all of the playoffs last year, and the Lakers missed him against Boston as the Celtics outrebounded them 48-29 in the clincher.  His presence and defense in the paint will be sorely missed tonight with Kevin Garnett returning to the lineup after struggling with the flu.  With Bynum in the lineup the Lakers beat Boston 93-82 in L.A. on Christmas Day.  That win sent the Celtics into that aforementioned 2-7 tailspin earlier this year.

Tonight the Lakers should have revenge on their mind as they travel to the place where they remember the celebratory confetti raining down upon them.  But it won’t be easy against the defending champions on their home court.  I like Boston to win this one but I see it coming down to the wire with the Lakers unable to get over the hump.  I expect Kobe to continue his good play over this road trip but it won’t be enough.  The Celtics are too strong defensively and will outrebound L.A. once again.  Boston wins but doesn’t cover, 97-94.

February 5th, 2009 2:13:09 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Basketball, Free Picks, Sports, Sports Betting by Ricky Steamboat | No Comments

College Basketball Spotlight

Good afternoon sports fans.  I hope everyone is off to a good start to week and has fully recovered from their superbowl festivities.  I’m not sure if I’m even back to full strength quite yet, but like the great ones, we’re going to perservere.  Since football season has ended it’s time that college basketball takes the stage as the star for a couple of months.  Tonight we have great matchups all across the country and I’ll try to give you some winners in every time zone.

Lets start out west as the UCLA Bruins (-8.5) welcome their cross-town rival USC to Pauley Pavilion for their second meeting of the season.  The first game between the two was hotly contested but the Bruins prevailed with a 64-60 win.  But USC has rebounded and is still in the hunt for first place in the PAC-10.  But in order to acheive that, they will have to go through UCLA who used a blowout win over Stanford to gain a tie for first in the conference.  The Bruins have won three straight and eight of ten against USC, however the Trojans won last years meeting at Pauley Pavilion.  I expect to see another close game with UCLA prevailing once again.  USC will fight until the end, but UCLA makes it four straight against them, 67-64.

Coming back toward the east coast by way of the midwest, we have a matchup between two struggling Big East teams.  Notre Dame (-2.5) travels to Cincinnati to try to end a five game losing streak as they take on the Bearcats.  In losing five in a row the Irish haven’t been playing their best basketball but have played a top 25 team in each of those contests.  The Cincinnati team they will face tonight is far from the caliber of those elite teams that the Irish have been losing to.  I look for Luke Harangody to have another huge game adding to his 25.1 point per game average.  And if Kyle McAlarney can regain his early season shooting form, the Irish could run away with this one.  I like Notre Dame to get back on track with a big win, 84-72.

And to the east coast we have arrived with a top ten showdown between two of the ACC’s elite.  The Duke Blue Devils (-4), fresh off of losing their #1 ranking last week, travel to Clemson to take on the #10 ranked Tigers.  Clemson comes into this game having lost only two games thus far this season and both of those losses came against top five opponents.  They’ll get another chance to take down one of the nation’s elite when Duke comes to town tonight.  The Tigers haven’t had much success against Duke in recent years however.  They have lost nine straight at home to Duke and had lost 22 in a row overall until a win in last years ACC tournament.  I think that Clemson will be a valiant opponent tonight but Duke’s balance and defense will prevail in the end.  Clemson’s K.C. Rivers and Trevor Booker will keep the Tigers in it most of the game, but Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson will help Duke distance themselves down the stretch.  I like a good game that is closer than the final score.  But Duke wins again and covers with a 77-69 win.

Also in the ACC look for Wake Forest (-2.5) to rebound on the road against Miami with a big win and cover.  Enjoy the games tonight as we approach the stretch run of the regular season and are looking forward to post-season play.  See all you gambling fools soon.  B E Z

February 4th, 2009 3:12:17 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Basketball, Free Picks, Sports, Sports Betting by Ricky Steamboat | No Comments

One and Done at #1?

It’s Big Monday on ESPN tonight sports fans.  Headlining this week’s college basketball lineup is a game tonight between the newly #1 UConn Huskies who travel to take on the surging Louisville Cardinals (-2.5) at Freedom Hall.  Both teams come into this game riding serious winning streaks of ten and nine games respectively.  But which teams streak will be snapped, and will the #1 ranked team go down once again?

UConn is atop the college basketball rankings for the first time since the 2005-06 season.  The Huskies moved up to that lofty position after Duke and Pittsburgh lost last week.  They became today the fifth team to hold that spot, all of which have either come from the ACC or Big East conferences.  But in order to hold onto that spot they will have to beat a Louisville team that has already beaten a number one team at Freedom Hall this year.  The Cardinals defeated then number one Pittsburgh 69-63 on January 17th which has propelled them to a tie for first place in the conference at 8-0.  But UConn is right on their heels at 9-1 in conference play with their only loss coming against Georgetown 74-63 in their first conference game of the season.

In tonight’s game there will be several factors that could turn the game either way.  UConn is one of the most balanced teams in the nation with the inside play of Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien, and solid guards A.J. Price and Jerome Dyson.  If they are to win tonight they will need to take advantage of their size in the paint and limit their turnovers against the Cardinal press.  If UConn can slow the game down and turn it into a grinding half-court game, they should have the advantage.

But Louisville has one of the most explosive teams around, headlined by the athletic Earl Clark and Terrence Williams.  If Louisville hopes to dethrone their second #1 team of the year, they will need big nights from both of those young men.  The Cardinals must try to push the tempo and get some turnovers with their press as well.  If they can push the ball up and down the court making it a guards game, they can limit the impact of the Connecticut big men.  If this game gets into the open court and allows Louisville to exploit their transition game advantage, I think Louisville should get another win.

And that is exactly what I think will happen tonight.  UConn point guard A.J. Price is an experienced and talented leader, but I’ve seen him play very inconsistently over the years.  The Cardinals press should have a negative impact on Price’s decision making and allow Louisville to get some easy baskets.  Also I think that both teams have excellent coaches, however Rick Pitino is one of the greatest of all-time.  Couple his coaching advantage with that of the home court, and you’ve got yourself a 74-67 Louisville win.

February 2nd, 2009 6:14:54 PM GMT+5 | Posted in Basketball by Ricky Steamboat | No Comments