Last two Sunday lines

DENVER (-4.5) over Houston

New Jersey over PHOENIX (-9.5)

Travel day at the Picksix

Early-morning flight coming up, so we've got quick picks for the three games with lines out and a promise of two more on the way by this evening:

DETROIT (-4.5) over Portland

Chicago over PHILADELPHIA (-6.5)

LA LAKERS (-12.5) over Toronto

Last night: 4-7

Season: 122-124

Why do the Wiz keep giving points?

Indiana over ORLANDO (-8.5)

Atlanta over WASHINGTON (-1.5)

Boston (-8.5) over CHARLOTTE

Golden State (-1.5) over NEW YORK

Denver (-4.5) over MINNESOTA

MEMPHIS (-8.5) over Oklahoma City

San Antonio over HOUSTON (-3.5)

Cleveland (-6.5) over MILWAUKEE

UTAH (-8.5) over New Jersey

SACRAMENTO over Dallas (-4.5)

Miami over LA CLIPPERS (-1.5)

Last night: 6-5

Season: 118-117

Red-hot Cavs to keep rollin'

TORONTO (-5.5) over Atlanta - The Hawks haven't beaten anyone of note lately. We're not too excited about them on the road.

BOSTON (-8.5) over Philadelphia - It would be great if the Celts could put together a complete 48 minutes, but as it stands, they're doing all right anyway.

CLEVELAND (-12.5) over Golden State - They whacked the Knicks by 18 (and it wasn't that close) then bopped the Thunder by 35. LeBron has played a total of 47 minutes in his last two games. He'll be ready to roll.

DETROIT (-9.5) over Milwaukee - Acks thinks the Bucks are terrible. At 7-10 and 13th in the East, he might not be too far off.

Charlotte over INDIANA (-6.5) - We're telling you, Larry Brown's team likes to lose close. Or at least is capable of it.

PHOENIX (-8.5) over Miami - Color us unimpressed by the Heat's 38-point loss in Portland.

Minnesota (-2.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY - Nice first effort by the Thunder in Scott Brooks' debut, losing 99-98 to Phoenix. Then they gave up the first 13 the next night and trailed by 40 at the end of the three quarters. We'll pass.

UTAH (-10.5) over Sacramento - The Jazz weren't having too much difficulty without Deron Williams. He's back now.

New Orleans over PORTLAND (-3.5) - Talk to Acks 'bout that one.

LA LAKERS (-10.5) over Dallas - This is the type of line you cover when you're head and shoulders above the rest of your conference as the Lakers have been thus far.

SAN ANTONIO (-10.5) over Memphis - Remember when people were ready to pronounce the Spurs' death sentence? Yeah, that was about a week and a half ago. No mas.

Last night: 1-1

Season: 112-112

Turkeys in DC?

Orlando (-3.5) over WASHINGTON - We know the Wiz showed up for Ed Tapscott's debut, but this still seems a bit low.

DENVER (-2.5) over New Orleans - The Hornets' three straight wins have come against Oklahoma City (two) and the Clippers.  They've yet to meet expectations overall.

Last night: 7-6

Season: 111-111

Blazer line a misprint?

Milwaukee over ATLANTA (-7.5) - The Hawks have won twice in their last seven games, a four-point victory over Washington and a five-point win over Charlotte.  Not interested.

CLEVELAND (-16.5) over Oklahoma City - The Thunder busted it for new coach Scott Brooks last night...and still wound up losing at the buzzer to Phoenix at home.  Cleveland didn't have to work too hard in wiping out the Knicks last night and should be primed for another cruise control win.

Charlotte over TORONTO (-8.5) - Larry Brown's 'Cats aren't great, but they hang tough.  The 6-7 Raps have yet to sell us hard enough.

BOSTON (-12.5) over Golden State - The champs have played much improved basketball since a poor effort in a home loss to Denver a week and a half ago.

Orlando over PHILADELPHIA (-4.5) - The Magic's success isn't that married to Jameer Nelson's health that we'd pass on getting points here.

New York over DETROIT (-13.5) - Take two for the new-look Knicks couldn't possibly be as ugly as the first try was.  Right?  Right?

Phoenix (-4.5) over MINNESOTA - The Wolves' win over Detroit seems like the aberration that proves the rule.

HOUSTON (-8.5) over Indiana - The Rockets return home after sweeping a three-game Southeast Division road swing, and the Pacers play the tail end of a Texas back-to-back.

San Antonio (-7.5) over CHICAGO - Remember when the Spurs were 1-4 and down two stars?  Well, Ginobili's back, they're 7-6 and we're officially scared of them.

UTAH (-9.5) over Memphis - Lots of not-very-close losses for Memphis.  Deron Williams may play.

Miami over PORTLAND (-15.5) - Yowser, that's a lot of points.

SACRAMENTO (-2.5) over New Jersey - The Nets finishing a back-to-back out West don't thrill us.

Denver (-3.5) over LA CLIPPERS - The Nuggets are 7-2 with Chauncey Billups in the lineup.   We're impressed.

Last night: 1-4

Season: 104-105

Tapscott era begins in DC

Golden State (-1.5) over WASHINGTON - Wondering why Eddie Jordan got fired?  Look no further than the fact that less than a month into the season, his team is already 0-2 against the Knicks.  We'll give the point (and a half).

Cleveland (-6.5) over NEW YORK - Here's to a LeBopping.

Phoenix (-9.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY - The Thunder are awful.

DALLAS (-8.5) over Indiana - The surging Mavs have won four straight, all by double-digit margins.

New Jersey over LA LAKERS (-13.5) - The Nets have won four of five, and Vince Carter seems to have woken up.  The Lakers haven't quite been rolling it up as they were earlier in the year as of late.

Jazz shorthanded again

CHARLOTTE over Philadelphia (-3.5) - The 'Cats have fought hard at home this year, and Philly giving any amount of points still makes us nervous.  Especially on the tail end of a back-to-back.

Houston (-2.5) over MIAMI - Seems quite low.  We'll take the bait.

New Orleans (-5.5) over LA CLIPPERS - Ditto.

San Antonio (-1.5) over MEMPHIS - The Grizz got pasted this weekend by a Utah team missing both Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.  

Sacramento over PORTLAND (-11.5) - Blazer pessimist Acks wasn't even willing to discuss this.

ORLANDO (-9.5) over Milwaukee - We're not quite sure how the Bucks wound up 7-8 so far, but we're still not too excited about them.

Chicago over UTAH (-6.5) - No Williams, no Boozer and giving a touchdown isn't a formula we want any part of.

Last night: 2-3

Season: 97-100

Rose injury questions drop Hicag appeal

Golden State over PHILADELPHIA (-6.5) - The new-look Sixers haven't exactly dominated thus far.

DETROIT (-9.5) over Minnesota - Remember when a lot of people thought the Wolves would be vastly improved this year?  We've yet to see much evidence of this.

DENVER (-8.5) over Chicago - Derrick Rose is questionable with a hip injury.  We've got zero non-Rose interest in this team.

LA LAKERS (-17.5) over Sacramento - Upon being told that the Lakers were giving " a lot," Acks responds, "We'll be giving a lot and a half with them."

Last night: 3-6

Season: 95-97

Boston over TORONTO (-0.5)

Two hours until gametime, and the line isn't out yet thanks to some injury questions on the Toronto side - which for our purposes means that we're getting the benefit of defaulting to the home team giving half a point in what is effectively a pick-'em game.  We'll take the champs.

Rest of the day's picks coming this afternoon.

Sleepy Saturday

Been a long couple of days of travel, fading fast to the zzzzz's so I can get up and watch the Nets' and Knicks' games tonight...

ORLANDO (-2.5) over Houston

CHARLOTTE (-2.5) over Milwaukee

Atlanta over CLEVELAND (-11.5)

MIAMI (-5.5) over Indiana

LA Clippers over NEW JERSEY (-3.5)

Washington over NEW YORK (-2.5)

NEW ORLEANS (-15.5) over Oklahoma City

Utah over MEMPHIS (-3.5)

PHOENIX (-5.5) over Portland

Last night: 10-3

Season: 92-91

Gameday: November 21, 2008

With a busy day across the board for the PickSix crew, let's get you a quick run down of our consensus picks for tonight, a busy night in the Association.

Orlando (-1.5) over INDIANA
Los Angeles (Clippers) over PHILADELPHIA (-10.5)
Houston (-4.5) over WASHINGTON
New Jersey over TORONTO (-9.5)
ATLANTA (-7.5) over Charlotte
Boston (-5.5) over MINNESOTA
DALLAS (-9.5) over Memphis
New York over MILWAUKEE (-1.5)
Utah (-3.5) over SAN ANTONIO
New Orleans (-9.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY
SACRAMENTO over Portland (-3.5)
Chicago over GOLDEN STATE (-3.5)
LOS ANGELES (Lakers) (-8.5) over Denver

Last Night - 2-0
Season-To-Date - 82-88

ECF Rematch; Shaq-Phil Throwdown?

BOSTON (-7.5) over Detroit - The Pistons needed a big run (56-36 finish) to overtake and overcome the Cavs last night at home.  Facing the champs on the second night of a back-to-back could be a bit too much for them.

LA Lakers (-4.5) over PHOENIX - Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson's team is a lot better than Shaquille O'Neal's team.

Last night: 6-4

Season: 80-88

Gameday: November 19, 2008

Fresh off of Boof's birthday-present of a win by his beloved Celtics, let's get right down to business today with a quick run down of our picks for tonight.

Washington over ATLANTA (-7.5)
Cleveland over DETROIT (-3.5)
Toronto over MIAMI (-3.5)
NEW ORLEANS (-13.5) over Sacramento
Dallas over HOUSTON (-5.5)
Philadelphia (-3.5) over MINNESOTA
Los Angeles (Clippers) (-1.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY
Denver (-1.5) over SAN ANTONIO
UTAH (-10.5) over Milwaukee
Chicago over PORTLAND (-6.5)

Last Night: 6-4
Season-To-Date: 74-84

Technology on the brink of a return to normal

Last day of picks sans conference call.  The new phone came this afternoon, so we'll be back to business as usual tomorrow.  Thanks for your patience.

Atlanta over INDIANA (-2.5)

Miami over WASHINGTON (-2.5)

Dallas (-4.5) over CHARLOTTE

BOSTON (-11.5) over New York

Cleveland (-5.5) over NEW JERSEY

MEMPHIS (-5.5) over Sacramento

GOLDEN STATE (-1.5) over Portland

LA LAKERS (-12.5) over Chicago

DENVER (-9.5) over Milwaukee

ORLANDO (-6.5) over Toronto

Last night: 2-1

Season: 68-80

The Thunder are really bad

Houston (-8.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY - See headline.

Phoenix over UTAH (-1.5) - The Suns sure looked good against Detroit last night, and Utah's health across the board remains a mystery (Okur, Kirilenko, Williams all listed as questionable).

San Antonio over LA CLIPPERS (-2.5) - Acks: "The Clips suck, bro." Giving up 37 to Anthony Morrow didn't impress us.

Last night: 1-5

Season: 66-79

Confusion abounds at ARCO

TORONTO (-5.5) over Miami - The Heat have been less than impressive on the road so far, going just 1-3 with the win coming in the game in which Tony Parker got hurt in San Antonio.

Orlando (-6.5) over CHARLOTTE - The Magic have Dwight Howard, and the 'Cats don't.

NEW YORK over Dallas (-1.5) - Painful as pick is to make, the Mavs have looked awful in getting off to a 2-7 start, and they shouldn't be giving points to anybody.

DENVER (-9.5) over Minnesota - The Nugs sure looked good in Boston on Friday night.  Minnesota blew a big lead at home to Portland last night.  The Wolves still don't guard anybody.  We'll pass.

Detroit over PHOENIX (-2.5) - The Pistons played their best game of the season in beating the Lakers on the road on Friday night, and they have won three straight out west.  We're not sold on the new-style Suns quite yet.

San Antonio (-2.5) over SACRAMENTO - I'll let Acks take this one: "There's no reasoning.  But can you imagine how absurd it would feel to type in 'SACRAMENTO over San Antonio (-2.5)'?  Grand.

Last night: 2-6

Season: 65-74

Conference calls remain on hold

The Great Boof Phone Fiasco plot doth thicken.  Still waiting for a new phone, refused to pay $50 to get a battery that would make an old phone work for the next few days.  Emails between the Picksix crew yield the following:

New Jersey over ATLANTA (-9.5)

Oklahoma City over PHILADELPHIA (-12.5)

CLEVELAND (-8.5) over Utah

MINNESOTA over Portland (-1.5)

Indiana over CHICAGO (-6.5)

New Orleans over HOUSTON (-3.5)

Boston (-8.5) over MILWAUKEE

Last night: 3-9

Season: 63-68

LA CLIPPERS (-3.5) over Golden State

Despite having Corey Maggette back, the Warriors really haven't impressed thus far.  We'll shy away from them on the road.

This game starts at 3:30 EST, which is why it's getting it's own post.  The rest of the Saturday picks will be to you by evening.

Technology doesn't equate to progress

The following conversation occurred this afternoon between a so-called customer service representative at Cingular and yours truly:

Cingular: What can I help you with today?

Boof (holding out cellular phone):  Last night, perfect working order.  Today, toast.  I'd like to fix this.

Cingular: Here is our warranty line.  You'll want to call them.

Supposedly, the new phone will be coming in five business days.  As you might imagine, today's conference call was somewhat (entirely) short-circuited by this development.  Some hurried email exchanges led to the following list emerging:

INDIANA (-1.5) over Philadelphia

Utah (-6.5) over CHARLOTTE

Washington over MIAMI (-8.5)

Atlanta (-3.5) over NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK (-8.5) over Oklahoma City

BOSTON (-10.5) over Denver

NEW ORLEANS (-8.5) over Portland

Milwaukee over MEMPHIS (-2.5)

Orlando over DALLAS (-3.5)

Houston (-5.5) over SAN ANTONIO

Phoenix (-6.5) over SACRAMENTO

LA LAKERS (-9.5) over Detroit

Last night: 1-2

Season: 60-59

Showdown of '03 draftees at the Q

Denver over CLEVELAND (-7.5) - The Cavs haven't exactly been whacking people of late, and the Nuggets have yet to lose (albeit against inferior competition) since Chauncey Billups joined the lineup.  We say they keep this one close.

Dallas (-0.5) over CHICAGO - Two shaky teams, but we still think the Mavs are a bit better.

Detroit (-4.5) over GOLDEN STATE - Sure, the Pistons were shaky in their win over the Kings on Tuesday, and they remain 1-2 with Allen Iverson, but the Warriors' play has been nothing to write home about.

Last night: 4-7

Season: 59-57

Battle in the Big Easy

TORONTO (-5.5) over Philadelphia - No Deron Williams, no Memo Okur, and no win for the Sixers at home against Utah last night. Anyone else feeling underwhelmed by this team so far?

BOSTON (-10.5) over Atlanta - The defending champs should send the East's only remaining undefeated team to their first loss in a manner similar to the way they dealt with the Hawks in four home games during last year's first round playoff series.

Indiana (-2.5) over NEW JERSEY - We're not too excited about a fully healthy Nets team, much less one that could be without Devin Harris once more.

LA Lakers over NEW ORLEANS (-1.5) - Getting points with the Lakers is a rare opportunity, and we'll bite. This is the class of the West until proven otherwise, and the Hornets have been less than consistent of late, losing recently to Atlanta and Charlotte.

Orlando (-6.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY - The Magic aren't likely to play as poorly as they did against Portland on Monday, and this Thunder group is really quite bad.

MEMPHIS (-4.5) over New York - This Knicks team is already baffling us on a nightly basis, and when that happens, we've learned this decade that the way to deal is to start rolling the dice against the 'Bockers.

LA CLIPPERS (-6.5) over Sacramento - The Clips are finally healthy, and the Kings (sans Kevin Martin) aren't. Sacramento also plays the tail end of a back-to-back. This should be a bopping.

PHOENIX (-3.5) over Houston - The Rockets' offense looks particularly unimpressive thus far. Acks wonders if another turn-back-the-clock-to-2001 performance is in the cards for Shaq. Don't hold your breath on that part, though.

MIAMI (-2.5) over Portland - For those who haven't noticed, we really like the talent on this Miami team. Dwyane Wade ahs spent the first two weeks of this season making it loud and clear that he has returned in full force. Nice to see an aberration of a Portland victory in Orlando brought the line down, especially since Acks reports that Brandon Roy may sit with back issues.

MILWAUKEE (-2.5) over San Antonio - The tail end of a back-to-back seems like a tough task for an aging team with only one of its three stars healthy.

Utah (-2.5) over WASHINGTON - The Wizards have been putrid so far. The Jazz have been highly impressive without Deron Williams. We'll let those trends reverse themselves before we start picking in any other manner.

Last night: 5-3
Season: 55-50

Injuries abounding

Due to the high volume of impact players whose health remains in doubt, the full slate of lines wasn't available until midday today.  Despite the trickery pulled by the Nets last night (read: they lit it up against Miami even without Devin Harris), these situations play heavily into tonight's picks.

PHILADELPHIA (-4.5) over Utah - Deron Williams remains doubtful, and Memo Okur qualifies for that distinction as well.  The line is low enough to give with Philly given the two likely absences.

Denver (-2.5) over CHARLOTTE - We like Larry Brown well enough, and we're not high on the Nugs, but this still seems a bit low.

Atlanta over CHICAGO (-2.5) - Even without Josh Smith, we'll ride undefeated Atlanta...at least until they roll into Boston on Wednesday.

New York over SAN ANTONIO (-4.5) - No questions about injuries here.  Just the knowledge that Manu and TP won't participate.  Much as this pains me, we want no part of giving with this Spurs.

CLEVELAND (-12.5) over Milwaukee - Michael Redd is questionable.  LeBron James isn't.

LA Lakers (-5.5) over DALLAS - These guys are really good.  We continue to emphasize this.

Detroit (-7.5) over SACRAMENTO - No Kevin Martin means not so much interest in the Kings for us.

Minnesota over GOLDEN STATE (-6.5) - Corey Maggette has missed a few games in a row, and he is questionable for this one.  Al Harrington is likely out as well.

Last night: 1-4

Season: 50-47

UPDATE: MIAMI (-8.5) over New Jersey

The line is a bit high, but Devin Harris remains questionable.  He didn't play Saturday in Indy, and the Nets got wiped out.  We'll take our chances with that happening again.

Grizz drop altitude, probably another game

Oklahoma City over INDIANA (-11.5) - No doubt the Thunder could get wiped out, but we're still wary of giving so many points with an Indiana team we're unsure about.

ORLANDO (-7.5) over Portland - Dwight Howard keeps playing monstrous basketball, and Acks isn't excited about taking the Blazers under any circumstances, much less going across the country to play a superior team.

BOSTON (-8.5) over Toronto - The Celts made a statement against the new-look Pistons on the road last night, and here's guessing they will be looking to do the same to a Toronto team that has gotten off to a hot start.

PHOENIX (-12.5) over Memphis - The Grizz aren't too good to begin with, and playing the night after a game in Denver's high altitudes is always a challenge.  That combined with the Suns should be too much for O.J. Mayo et al.

Still waiting on a line for the New Jersey-Miami contest thanks to the fact that Devin Harris is questionable with an ankle problem.  We'll have an update here once we get a hold of a reliable spread for that game.

Last night: 3-5

Season: 49-43

Sunday Quick Picks

Hate to do this to you two days in a row, but we promise we're back for real with Monday's selections.  Here's what we've got for today:

Toronto (-3.5) over CHARLOTTE

Utah (-3.5) over NEW YORK

Dallas (-3.5) over LA CLIPPERS

Boston over DETROIT (-1.5)

Atlanta (-4.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY

Memphis over DENVER (-8.5)

SACRAMENTO (-4.5) over Golden State

Houston over LA LAKERS (-7.5)

Last night: 4-2

Season: 46-38

Running out the door...

...so let's make these real quickly today:

New Jersey over INDIANA (-7.5)

ORLANDO (-9.5) over Washington

Miami over NEW ORLEANS (-9.5)

Cleveland (-1.5) over CHICAGO

Minnesota over PORTLAND (-8.5)

Phoenix (-4.5) over MILWAUKEE

Last night: 4-9

Season: 42-36

November 7: A Full Night of Action

After a crazy night in the Association, capped by Acks' oh-so-beloved Portland Trailblazers stunning the Houston Rockets (now 3-2) on the strength of a huge 30-foot redemption jumper by Brandon Roy as time expired in overtime, let's get right into our take on tonight's action. It's sure to be an eventful and high-energy night around the league with both Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups making their respective debuts after the blockbuster trade that will look to provide Denver and Detroit with their own respective "answers."

THE PICKS:

New Orleans (-7.5) over CHARLOTTE - We're going with New Orleans, visiting their former home town here despite their ugly loss to Atlanta in their last game. Chris Paul delivered, as usual, and we're banking on him getting some help and support against this Bobcats team.

WASHINGTON (-5.5) over New York - The Wizards have led each and every one of their inaugural three match-ups this season at halftime. For those unaware though, they have yet to win a basketball game. Look for them to finally finish tonight against D'Antoni and Co. The Wizards got off to a slow start last year and reached the post-season.

Toronto over ATLANTA (-3.5) - Despite Atlanta's hot start, which has seemingly carried over from last year's improbable showing against the eventual World Champion Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, we're looking for the Raptors to come back strong and with a purpose after a disappointing loss to Detroit in their last game (their first loss of the season).

BOSTON (-13.5) over Milwaukee - Despite their loss to the Pacers, the Champs passed their next test with a reassuring win against the Rockets. At TD Banknorth Garden where they have dominated, we're banking on the C's.

CLEVELAND (-9.5) over Indiana - Despite the Pacers' upset of the defending champs, we're going with the Cavs here, who are 2-0 at home on the year thus far. They have won eight straight against the Pacers dating back multiple seasons. Lebron James is coming off a 41 point performance against the Bulls, a season high for him.

Detroit (-7.5) over NEW JERSEY - After shaking up their roster and bringing in Allen Iverson, we look for the Pistons to handle the Nets tonight at the Izod Center. Iverson's debut will represent a sort of new era in Detroit. Based on track record, we have to trust Joe Dumars' strategy until we have reason not to.

Miami over SAN ANTONIO (-6.5) - The Heat are leading the league in steals and turnovers-forced. We look for them to win for the first time in San Antonio in over 11 years.

Phoenix (-4.5) over CHICAGO - As proven Wednesday evening, Amare Stoudemire is still in his prime, as he dropped 49 points against Indiana.

Oklahoma City over UTAH (-11.5) - We're going to go with the Thunder here. Although the Jazz have gotten off to a 4-0 undefeated start, we must remember that they have accomplished that feat in 3 of the previous 5 NBA seasons.

SACRAMENTO (-3.5) over Minnesota - Look for Sacramento to fight for revenge on the Wolves who beat them in the season opener.

Dallas over DENVER (-1.5) - Despite the intrigue surrounding the debut of Chauncey Billups, a proven leader and a proven winner, we like Dallas here. The Mavs bounced back after a disastrous early week loss to the Cavs to beat the Spurs.

GOLDEN STATE (-6.5) over Memphis - The key here is going to be revenge. The Warriors were embarrassed against Memphis the other night, and are lucky enough to come right back out fighting with a quick rematch.

Houston (-6.5) over LOS ANGELES (Clippers) - The Rokets will not be the team to surrender the Clippers' first win of the year. The Clippers starting 5, together for the first time against the Lakers the other night, will require some more time to gel.

Big story-line tonight as we'll look to assess the early returns on the AI/Billups deal. Enjoy the games!

Last night - 1-1
Season to date - 38-27

Clipped

As utterly ludicrous as this sounds, we actually believed last night, with the Clippers up 81-79 over the Lakers and roughly seven minutes to play, that we had something better than an outside shot to cover a 15 1/2 point line.

Alas, only the truest of saps couldn't see what was to come next: 22 straight Laker points en route to a 106-88 final.

You can't make this stuff up.

On to Thursday's TNT doubleheader...

ORLANDO (-4.5) over Philadelphia - The Sixers have been shaky so far, particularly on the road. They blew a 23-point lead in Atlanta last week and got hammered from start to finish by Miami last night. We'll wait for them to get back home to the Wachovia Center.

Houston (-4.5) over PORTLAND - I present to you one Acks Minakyan, diehard Trail Blazers fan. His thoughts:

"I can get Houston for single digits? I love that Houston line. That's way too...low. Because apparently everyone and [his] mother loves Portland this season. Which is really...stupid, if I've mentioned that before. It's really...stupid. On a scale of one to really...stupid, it's off the charts. They suck. They're going to continue to suck for years to come."

Here's guessing the outlook for Kevin Pritchard's team is a bit rosier than Acks makes it seem. But we do like such a low line for a Houston team that is quite good.

Last night: 7-6

Season: 37-26

Wednesday Quicks

Phoenix (-3.5) over INDIANA

Charlotte over NEW YORK (-5.5)

Chicago over CLEVELAND (-8.5)

San Antonio (-3.5) over MINNESOTA

Boston (-8.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY

UTAH (-7.5) over Portland
(We know that Deron Williams won't be available.  Portland is just that bad. -Acks)

Memphis over SACRAMENTO (-3.5)

LA Clippers over LA LAKERS (-15.5)

Detroit over TORONTO (-2.5)

MIAMI over Philadelphia (-3.5)

NEW ORLEANS (-8.5) over Atlanta

Washington over MILWAUKEE (-1.5)

GOLDEN STATE (-3.5) over Denver

Last night: 3-0

Season: 30-20

The Picksix polls are closed

Phoenix (-4.5) over NEW JERSEY - Seems like plenty of respect from the oddsmakers for a Nets team that isn't expected to be any good and hasn't done much yet aside from beating a depleted Wizards group.

Boston over HOUSTON (-2.5) - The champs figure to be taking no prisoners after a bopping in Indiana on Saturday night.

Dallas over SAN ANTONIO (-3.5) - Acks describes Gregg Popovich's plan on the last play in Portland on Friday night as "Give Roger Mason the ball, and let him create."  The situation in San Antonio sans Manu Ginobili isn't too good right now.  Guys like Desmon Farmer and Matt Bonner are figuring prominently in the rotation at this point.  We're in no rush to give points here.

Last night: 4-2

Season: 27-20

Injuries keep Clips' start sluggish

Chicago over ORLANDO (-7.5) - Acks is super-high on Derrick Rose and can't seem to go a conference call without mentioning that he really thought his beloved Blazers should have tanked for a shot at him last season.  In the meantime, the Magic haven't looked particularly good so far save for a bopping of the lowly Kings at home.

Sacramento over PHILADELPHIA (-12.5) - Speaking of the Kings, they're really bad, but the line is a bit high for a Philly team whose players haven't quite gotten acclimated to each other yet.

Detroit (-5.5) over CHARLOTTE - We know it's on the road, and we know the 'Cats should improve this year under Larry Brown, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  It's the Pistons and Bobcats, and the line is less than a touchdown.

Golden State (-1.5) over MEMPHIS - Sometimes, it helps to just take the better team.

Cleveland over DALLAS (-2.5) - J wasn't available last night, and you'll note that with his exception, our excitement level for this Dallas group is hovering in the vicinity of "minimal."

Utah (-6.5) over LA CLIPPERS - The Clips haven't exactly been competitive thus far, and both Marcus Camby (questionable) and Baron Davis (doubtful) are listed on the injury report.  The Jazz smacked the Clips by 22 without Deron Williams on Saturday night, and he remains questionable for this evening as well.  We're buying the Clips as much improved from a season ago once everybody gets healthy, but the day has yet to come.

Last night: 1-1

Season: 23-18

Dog Day Sunday

Just two games in the Association on the first Sunday of the season.  We want no part of giving points with either favorite.

Milwaukee over NEW YORK (-5.5)

Minnesota over OKLAHOMA CITY (-2.5)

Last night: 9-5

Season: 22-17

Busy Saturday in the Association

So we're cruising along in the Clips-Nugs game...and then Baron Davis and Marcus Camby get hurt, leading to a double-digit collapse and overtime loss.  The tribulations of handicapping continue.  On to a 14-game Saturday night slate we go.

ATLANTA (-3.5) over Philadelphia - Apparently, Acks thinks that the Sixers are going to be tired after sleeping there way through a 29-point pounding of the new-look-same-result Knicks.

Boston (-5.5) over INDIANA - We thought the champs looked okay against Hicag last night.  We're not blown away by the Pacers.

ORLANDO (-9.5) over Sacramento - The Kings got bopped last night in Miami, and the Magic have to be a bit angry after a home loss to Atlanta and a Rudy Gay buzzer-beater in Memphis.

Miami over CHARLOTTE (-2.5) - Label us unexcited about giving any points with the Bobcats.

Golden State over NEW JERSEY (-5.5) - Ditto.

Washington over DETROIT (-10.5) - Too many points.

NEW ORLEANS (-4.5) over Cleveland - Chris Paul's supporting cast is better than LeBron James'.

Dallas (-3.5) over MINNESOTA - Sorry, we didn't get the memo that so many others seemed to regarding the Wolves suddenly being competitive in the West.  We'll believe it when we see it.

Memphis over CHICAGO (-9.5) - We like Derrick Rose and all, but let's not get too crazy with giving the big points with these guys yet.

Toronto over MILWAUKEE (-1.5) - Have you seen the Raps' sweet new black jerseys?  Those alone might scare the Bucks out of the building.

LA Lakers (-7.5) over DENVER - Really good.  Really good.  Really, really, really good.  That's the Lakers in three nutshells.

UTAH (-11.5) over LA Clippers - Davis doubtful, Camby questionable.  We're not even that concerned about Deron Williams' health here.  Carlos Boozer et al. should take care of this.

PHOENIX (-7.5) over Portland - "Aberration!" Acks screams, regarding last night's dramatic Portland victory over San Antonio.  Talk about a guy who is really down on his team.

HOUSTON (-14.5) over Oklahoma City - The Thunder got kibopped by the Bucks in their inaugural game.  Can't see things improving much on a trip to see the Rockets.

Last night: 2-5

Season: 13-12