Halloween Hoops

This being my first post, I just wanted to convey my excitement to be working with the Picksix crew in this first week of what promises to be a memorable season of NBA action.  Without any further ado, let's get you up to date on our consensus picks for this Halloween night in the NBA ... 

New York over PHILADELPHIA (-8.5) ... We like the Knicks to win the second game of the D'Antoni era.  Though, as Coach stated in his postgame comments, the team slacked in the closing five minutes of its opener against Miami, we like Crawford and Co. tonight.  We'll pick the Knicks while we still can, and while Stephon Marbury remains on the bench.  Hey, it's Halloween, they wear orange, 'nuff said. 

TORONTO (-7.5) over Golden State ... In defeating Philly in their opener, the Raptors showed me early signs that Chris Bosh has been rewarded for last years' play with a seemingly competent supporting cast.  I have been a booster of Toronto's July acquisition of Jermaine O'Neal, who contributed 17 points to the opening night win.  After his injury last season, if O'Neal can stay healthy, and shooting threat Jason Kapono can hold his own, look for Toronto to potentially make some noise in the East.  The Warriors were beaten by Chris Paul (the Hornets) in their opener.  

MIAMI (-5.5) over Sacramento ... Expect more out of Miami than we saw at the Garden the other night.  They are, after all, playing the Kings, who are in rebuilding mode.  It could be a long season. 

BOSTON (-9.5) over Chicago ... The Boston Celtics seem relatively adept at the art of winning basketball games.  Safe to say that we here at the Picksix will be in their camp early and often this season.  Shout out to Ben Gordon though.  

ORLANDO (-6.5) over Memphis ... Despite the opening night loss at the hands of Atlanta, we like  Orlando tonight.  Look for some Magic tonight, as Dwight Howard will want to get this team on the winning track in a season filled with big aspirations for them.  Even with a decent scoring night from Rudy Gay opening night (20), the Grizzlies lost to Ron Artest's surging Houston Rockets.  

LA CLIPPERS over Denver (-1.5) ... Carmelo Anthony will be continuing his early season suspension, and despite the Clippers opening night loss, we need not forget that it came at the hands of the beasts of the west, the team that shares the Staples Center with them.  The Lakers ...  they're good at basketball.  

San Antonio (-1.5) over PORTLAND ... Despite the fact that Greg Popovich's beard is a departure from tradition, we do not expect it to get in the way of the Spurs' tradition of solid play.  Note: it is a safe bet to not expect to see many picks favoring Portland any time soon.  

That about wraps up our take on tonight's NBA action.  Once again, I'm pumped to be on board, and, until next time, this has been J.  

Last night: 2-1

Season: 11-7

Black Tek patches and the dawn of an era

CLEVELAND (-9.5) over Charlotte - An unhappy LeBron plus a bad Charlotte team should equate to a bopping.

DALLAS (-3.5) over Houston - Time for an extended discourse on the dynamics of the current incarnation of the Picksix crew:

Since day one this season, Acks and I have been wearing black "TP" patches on the shoulders of our handicapping uniforms in tribute of our missing colleague, the incomparable Tek Kothary, who is spending the first half of the season traveling overseas. Despite our wonderful technological progress, Tek's availability throughout this early portion of the season will be spotty at best. In his honor, we have affixed the TP to our shoulders to keep us reminded of his favorite phrase, "Tek peeved," used so often on a night when a pick or two of his was overruled and came back to bite us. Tek, we're eagerly awaiting your return, and you'll always have a spot on this motley crew.

In the meantime, we have augmented this year's brain trust with the addition (again, that's addition, not replacement) of longtime Picksix ally J Stein.

And that brings us to Dallas-Houston. J made his first statement of boldness during last night's picks conference call, the first of his career. Citing both film and statistical study, the newcomer roundly rejected the reasoning of taking the superior team getting the points (Houston) and told us he had 'a feeling' about the Mavs. And so it is.

Welcome aboard, J. Tek (and longtime buddy and future Picksix recruit Anil, who is also overseas), we'll be here when you're ready.

New Orleans over PHOENIX (-1.5) - We really like Chris Paul. You're going to want to get used to that.

Last night: 7-5

Season: 9-6

Early season deluge

It's opening night for most of the league, which means we don't have much to go on for the young season.  So prepare for some guessing that's even less educated than usual, if that's possible.

Toronto over PHILADELPHIA (-5.5) - There is a lot of hype surrounding Elton Brand and the Sixers, but it may take them some time to jell.  This is a good Toronto team that matches up well with Philly down low by throwing Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal at Brand and Sam Dalembert.

ORLANDO (-7.5) over Atlanta - The Magic have Dwight Howard after what is likely another summer of growth.  The Hawks did nothing to get better.

WASHINGTON (-6.5) over New Jersey - The Wiz are banged up, but the Nets aren't any good, healthy or otherwise.

Miami over NEW YORK (-3.5) - Favoring the Knicks over a healthy Dwyane Wade?  Really?

Indiana over DETROIT (-10.5) - Seems a bit early to start handing out points all over the place when we don't know enough about these teams.

Sacramento over MINNESOTA (-5.5) - Not as sold on the Wolves' supposed revival as many around the nation.  They can't guard anyone inside.

Phoenix over SAN ANTONIO (-2.5) - No Ginobili, and who knows how interested the Spurs are in any regular season game in the first place?

OKLAHOMA CITY (-2.5) over Milwaukee - Did you see the Bucks last night?  They sent the Bulls to the line 44 times.  The reigning last-place team in defensive efficiency will need some time to improve that mark.

Memphis over HOUSTON (-12.5) - Again, lots of points for opening night.  Memphis has enough firepower to stay relatively close before falling away at the end.

Denver over UTAH (-7.5) - No Deron Williams, no interest in giving more than a touchdown with Utah.

New Orleans (-5.5) over GOLDEN STATE - A certain point guard colleague of Deron Williams from the 2005 draft has no such injury concerns.

LA Lakers (-8.5) over LA CLIPPERS - Catch the Lakers last night?  They're really good.  Really.  Good.

Last night: 2-1

Season: 2-1

Back in business

You can stop flooding me(us) with fan(or hate) mail. For the millions of you out there waiting for our insight (Yes, millions. You thought you were alone?) we're back in action for the 2008-2009 NBA season.
Side note: You'll excuse me(us) if I'm(we're) full of my(our)self(selves). We were 46 games over .500 last year against the spread at 636-594 and we aim to top that figure this season.

Just for you I'll cut the parentheses.

Here is where I would regale you with all kinds of exciting details about our new features and improvements... except that we didn't make any. Also one member of our three-man committee is abroad and will thus be largely unavailable. No complaining: in fairness, we cut our prices in half.

With no further ado, here are the opening night selections. Home teams in caps.

the Boston Celtics (-6.5) over the Cleveland Cavaliers
Any player who isn't motivated to play at home during a championship banner celebration probably doesn't have a pulse.

the Chicago Bulls (-5.5) over the Milwaukee Bucks
If I remember correctly, Chicago games troubled us throughout last season. We couldn't pick a Bulls' point spread correctly if our lives depended on it. Mostly that was because they underachieved a ton early in the year and then played inconsistently enough down the stretch.

With that said, Chicago should be better this season. Derrick Rose will play in the opener, and play well at that. Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah will all continue to improve. Ben Gordon will either get his act together or leave town in exchange for helpful assets before the trading deadline. And new head coach Vinny Del Negro should be able to get the best out of the talent on his roster.

As for Milwaukee, they're a more trendy pick than they were a year ago because of the Richard Jefferson trade. But keep in mind that Jefferson contributes primarily as a scorer off-the-ball and in transition. . Here is what you should keep in mind about Milwaukee:

• Michael Redd will have another nice season, but he is a likely trade candidate.
• Richard Jefferson contributes mostly as a scorer off-the-ball and in transition.
  
• The rest of Milwaukee's personnel isn't fit to play an uptempo style.
• Joe Alexander was a great lottery pick, but is too young to contribute right away (and may not receive the minutes to do so).
• They're going to be awful defensively.

Expect us to stay away as often as we can this coming season. Even when they are getting 5.5 points.

the Los Angeles Lakers (-7.5) over the Portland Trailblazers
Portland is another trendy "sleeper" pick for this season. But they're completely overmatched when they face up against the elite teams in the western conference, as they are here.Portland
is probably going to sit back in a zone and let Los Angeles shoot over the top of them, and Portland's second unit-anchored by rookie Rudy Fernandez- might be able to cut into the deficit, but they're ultimately going to lose this one to the defending conference champions.

Bored? We took all three home favorites on opening night, but we feel great about all three picks. Feel free to check back and taunt us about the ones we missed all season long. We'll be around.

Last Night:0-0
Season: 0-0
Last Season: 636-594