The Miami Heat blew a 13-point lead in the 4th quarter allowing the 76ers to score 12 straight points. The Heat hit 31 if 39 free throws while the 76ers were just 12-15. The Heat won the rebound battle 52-39. Chris Bosh led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds. LeBron James hit just 4-14 shots but finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. The Heat is 4-0 versus the 76ers this season and has won 16 of 19 games overall. The 76ers bench came up big with 36 points. Andre Iguodala scored just 4 points on 2-7 shooting.

The Atlanta Hawks pulled the biggest upset of the day by knocking off the Orlando Magic 103-93. Dwight Howard was superman scoring 46 points and snatching 19 rebounds. Jameer Nelson did his part scoring 27 points but the remaining players scored a combined 20 points. The Hawks had a well-balanced attack that saw five players score at least 13 points. The Hawks shot an impressive 51% from the field and 72% from the free throw line. The Magic continue to struggle form the charity stripe hitting 19 of 31 free throws. The Hawks pressured the Magic into 18 turnovers and turned it over just nine times.  The Magic struggled from beyond the arc hitting six of 22 attempts.

The Dallas Mavericks received a big night from Jason Kidd, a career best six 3-pointers and 24 points, in route to an 89-81 victory. Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter after a very slow start. LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for the Trail Blazers with 27 points. The Trailblazers have lost 14 of their 16 road playoff games. The Mavericks hit 25-29 free throws while the Trailblazers hit just 9-13 free throws. Dallas hit 51% of their three point attempts while Portland was just 13%. The Trailblazers had 22 assists to just 14 for the Mavericks.

The 2nd day of the playoffs saw three favorites go down and the other favorite squeezed out a victory. The New Orleans Hornets set a record with only three turnovers in their 109-100 upset win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Chauncey Billups injured his leg in the final minute of the Boston Celtics 87-85 win over the New York Knicks. The Underdogs were a money making 7-1 over the first two days. There were controversial calls in two of the games that affected the outcome of the games.

The Memphis Grizzlies capitalized in their 101-98 win over the top seeded San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs missed the offense of Manu Ginobli. The Grizzlies pounder the ball inside and scored 40 points in the paint. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined for 49 points on 19-35 shooting and cleaned the glass with 19 rebounds. Point guard Mike Conley had 10 of the teams 22 assists.

Chris Paul struggled over his last 10 games shooting just 40% from the field. He shrugged it off and hit 11 of 18 shots and dished out 14 assists, as a team the Hornets shared the ball for 24 assists, with only two of the teams record setting three turnovers. The Hornet’s bench was a force scoring 39 points on the road while Lakers reserves only pitched in 21 points. The Lakers interior defense allowed for 52 points in the paint. The Lakers were not able to solve the pick and roll offense of the Hornets. Kobe Bryant had a minor head injury but finished with 34 points.

The New York Knicks were not happy with a late game offensive foul on Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was catching the basketball when called for the ticky tack foul in a physical game. Billups was missed at the end of the game as the as Anthony had two missed shots and two turnovers in his last four possessions. Kendrick Perkins scored a basket with just over a minute left in the game. The Celtics were efficient on the offensive end of the court with 20 assists and won the rebounding battle 39-29.

The Oklahoma Thunder went to their two all-stars to outlast the Denver Nuggets. Forward Kevin Durant scored a playoff career high 41 points and nine rebounds and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and dished out seven assists. The Nuggets had five players score in double digits but lacked a go-to- guy in the final seconds of the game. The Nuggets scored 46 points in the paint and dished out 23 assists. The Nuggets were horrible from beyond the arc hitting just 4-16 attempts while the Thunder looked sharp hitting 9-19 attempts.

Steve Janus – Rockets/Nuggets 5* NBA Top Play

Steve Janus came through for his clients with a big win in Super Bowl 45 on the Packers, and finished the day 3-1 in all his plays. Steve has you covered with an easy winner tonight in the Rockets/Nuggets game. Steve is 5-2 in his last 7 plays against the spread, and is ready to add to the total with this great play!

Tony Karpinski - Big Monday Super College Parlay of the Year

WHITE HOT TonyK is ready to deliver AGAIN on Monday. He’s on a WICKED TEAR showing a profit in 13 of the last 17 weeks.
Of course, that’s what regulars have come to expect. Tony is having another HUGE year & he’s been on a MASSIVE RUN for months. Get his Big Monday Super College Parlay of the Year now.

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Featured Free NBA Pick | Bryan Leonard

Charlotte Bobcats +5

Pick Analysis:

Terrible scheduling situation for the Celtics who are off Dallas and Orlando with the Lakers and Heat on deck. Boston played a physical game yesterday with the Magic and now must not only travel but win by a margin. The Celtics are an aging team that is not at it’s best in the second of a back to back situation. The team is short handed on the bench and the key starters played extended minutes yesterday.

This is a major revenge game for the Bobcats who lost by 31 points the last time the Celtics entered this building. This is the third and final game of the home stand and Charlotte lost the first two contests outright to Dallas and Miami. We will get a full effort tonight from the host who has more of an urgency for a victory than the tired Celtics.

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Steve Janus- 5* NBA UNDERDOG FRIDAY NIGHT SMASH

Steve crushed the college hardwood last night, going 5-2 in his premium plays, including his 5* play on Syracuse! Steve’s college basketball system is on fire, and you can join in on the fun and get his five highest rated plays for Thursday, including his exclusive 5* TOP PLAY!

Info Plays – **TOP PLAY** 10* NBA BOOKIE CRUSHER (3-1 L4 NBA TOP PLAYS)

Tom Freese is on 30-21 ATS NBA RUN!On Thursday Tom has 10* “NO BRAINER” PLAY from the NBA that has BLOWOUT WRITTEN ALL OVER IT! Don’t MISS OUT!

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Featured Free NBA Pick | Doc’s Sports

Charlotte Bobcats +9

Pick Analysis:

If you have followed our picks in the past, you know we think revenge is an overrated handicapping tool for the NBA. However, there are certain factors that do make revenge an angle in some games, and we think one of those is present tonight. Last time these teams met, in early December, the Celtics beat Charlotte by 31 on their home court. This was probably the beginning of the end for Coach Larry Brown and one of the definite low points of the season, if not the entire franchise history. This is a game the Bobcats will remember. Charlotte has a new outlook on the season after Brown was jettisoned in favor of Paul Silas and this team has really got a morale boost from their new coach and this team seems to be enjoying playing basketball again, according to all local media reports. It has paid off on the court where Charlotte has won four straight and six of their last eight. We think they will bring their A game tonight after the drubbing they took last time out and this team has a history of always getting up to play the best teams in the league and that is what has made them one of the best bets in the NBA the last few years.

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Steve Janus – 5* MAACO BOWL WINNER ***PERFECT 3-0 THIS BOWL SEASON***

Steve Janus is now a perfect 3-0 in bowl games this season, after coming out with a close win on the Cardinals last night. Steve has cashed in on 6 of his last 8 NCAAF plays, and is your No.3 ranked handicappers over the last 30 days! Steve has included a powerful 9-1 system in his analysis! Join Steve and his clients for a big tonight!

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Info Plays - 8* NBA NO-DOUBT BOOKE CRUSHER ***30-15 ATS SYSTEM***

Info Plays crushed it last night with a perfect 4-0 card, including a 3-0 run in the NBA. Info Plays was your No. 2 Ranked NBA Handicapping Service in 2008, and is starting to cash in on consistent basis this season! Get our top rated NBA play for Wednesday, that is backed by a powerful 30-15 ATS system! This package is GUARANTEED to CA$H or tomorrow is on the HOUSE!

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Featured Free NBA Pick | Steve Janus

Boston Celtics -9

Pick Analysis:

Philadelphia just got absolutely crushed on the road last night by Chicago, and now must go up against a Celtics team that has won a league-best 13 straight games. This is just the fourth game for the Celtics in the last 11 days, which really puts the 76ers at a disadvantage playing their second game of a back-to-back. The Celtics are 9-0 ATS in their last 9 games playing on 2 days rest.

Boston has won their last four home games by at least 11 points, and just recently got Shaq back in the lineup and could get Jermaine O’Neal back tonight. The Celtics are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game, and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5. BET THE CELTICS!

Steve Janus continues to win on the hardwood this season, and is your No.3 rated handicapper over the last 30 days! Steve has released two 4* NBA plays on tonight’s action, that is calling for a 2-0 SWEEP! Both plays are backed with powerful analysis that will have you cashing in big from your bookie tonight! Also check out Steve’s 5* MAACO BOWL WINNER on the Boise State/Utah game tonight!

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The Celtics are led offensively by forward Paul Pierce’s 19.6 points per game and point guard Rajon Rondo dishing out 14.8 assists.  Pierce was happy with Rondo stepping up to attempt a big shot at the end of the Dallas game, as team’s often leave him open outside the arc.  “I love the shot he took, I told him after the game,” he commented.  “I’ll take that shot from him every time.”  In the first meeting of the season, the former Kentucky Wildcats’ point guard delivered a game-high 17 assists, as the squad had 25 assists on 32 field goals on the night.

Miami enters Thursday night’s rematch with a 5-3 record, a mark that many experts are shocked about due to the talented trio in South Beach.  “We still have a way to go,” said LeBron James.  Even the opposing coach knows that championship teams are built over night.  “It’s just going to take time,” said Rivers.  “They’re going to have great nights and then they’re going to have nights where they struggle.”  The Heat were unable to hold a 22-point lead in a 116-114 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz at home, which is even more amazing due to a triple-double by James and 39 points by guard Dwyane Wade.  Miami stands at 4-4 ATS this season and 0-1 ATS as a favorite of 6.5 to 9 points.

The Heat have dished out 119 assists over their past five games, a stat that many are impressed by due the unfamiliarity of the players.  Leading the charge in that category is James, becoming just the fourth player in franchise history to record seven straight games with at least seven assists.  Wade has taken ownership of being the scorer, leading the team in that category in the past four games.  Teams around the league that possess a top-flight point guard should remain confident when facing the Heat, dishing out assists at an alarming rate.

Bettors are likely to back the Celtics due to their 6-0 ATS mark when playing on two days rest, while the Heat are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a favorite of 5.0 to 10.5 points.

Don’t forget to check out Jeff’s winning selections for Thursday night!

The Bucks will be relying heavily on point guard Brandon Jennings in matching up with the Celtics playmaker Rajon Rondo tonight.  Jennings managed just eight points on 2 of 7 shooting last night after getting his first career triple-double on Saturday versus Charlotte.  Head coach Scott Skiles hasn’t been happy with the offensive production of his squad thus far in 2010-11.  “It’s nowhere near where it needs to be,” Skiles said.  “We still have guys who don’t know what we’re trying to do and our approach isn’t where it needs to be.”  One player that may need to step up even further is center Andrew Bogut, who totaled 50 points and 31 rebounds in two meetings versus Boston last year.

Boston heads home after a solid 109-86 win in Detroit on Tuesday night and Rondo continues to amaze his teammates with his recent play.  “He’s unbelievable.  He played the perfect floor game,” forward Paul Pierce commented.  “He had 17 assists and no turnovers.  You can’t get any better than that.”  The former Kentucky Wildcats guard could enjoy yet another banner night, as he averaged 16.8 points and 11.0 assists in four meetings with the Bucks last year.  The Celtics and Bucks split the four regular season meetings last year, with each team winning a game on the others floor.  Boston is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 home games.

The Celtics have plenty of veteran scorers on the squad and Pierce currently leads the group by averaging 19.0 points per game.  Head coach Doc Rivers is wanting his “big trio” to start being more selfish on the offensive end.  “We’re trying to get the three scorers to be more aggressive offensively,” he commented.  “Half of our turnovers, we were turning over when we had a layup but threw the ball to someone else.”  Forward Kevin Garnett took it to the Pistons smallish frontcourt last night, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting.

Bettors will certainly be interested in backing the Bucks due to their 5-1-1 ATS mark in the last seven meetings, while the Celtics are 7-3 ATS with zero days rest.

Kyle Hunter - NBA Season Opening CRUSHER *19-8 last 27 Plays!*

The #1 ranked handicapper in the world finished last season on a HUGE 19-8 run in NBA action. There is one play on Wednesday that stands out to me. In this package you’ll get this season opening NBA Crusher. Get ahead of the books and get this NBA season off to a great start with the help of the top rated basketball capper from last year!

Craig Trapp - Craig’s dimaond club *World Series Game 1 winner*

Finally its here the World Series, and Craig has the HUGE winner in game 1. Don’t miss out as Craig is 3-0 overall the last three days including free play Celtics last night. Get on board as Craig is smoking in postseason 7-3 so far. ENJOY this easy MONEY WINNER!

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Featured Free MLB Pick | Matt Fargo

Heat/Celtics UNDER 189

Game Analysis:

To no surprise, the public is already all over the Celtics as Boston took out Miami last night. That game was a big one for both sides as the anticipation leading up to it was sickening and now we can go with a great situation coming from it and that is the day two letdown. While Miami clearly had a lack of early season chemistry, the Celtics still played with a lot of energy, especially on the defensive side of the ball, so matching anything close to that tonight will be a challenge.

Cleveland is picked by many to go from first to worst in the NBA Central and while that could happen, I don’t see that big of a dropoff. Sure the Cavaliers lost a ton of players and their head coach but they will be out to prove there is life after LeBron. With James out of the way, Cleveland players can now actually show they can play basketball instead of giving the ball to LeBron and letting him take over. There is to be a team basketball concept in Cleveland and believe it or not, that actually does work. The starting five does not have the same star power that it once had but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Cleveland is solid at all five positions and has a coach with a track record of overachieving. This team is still big and they can knock down three-pointers which will create space, something that would have been there in the past if James had distributed the ball more.On top of it, the defense will still be the strength and that helps with the matchup tonight.

It is pretty well known that the Cavaliers lost 13 of 14 games that James was absent from since 2007 but this is a completely different situation as they knew for months they were not going to be banking on him. “We see what people are saying,” Daniel Gibson said. “You better believe every night we step on the floor we’re looking to do something about it.” This is exactly the attitude Cleveland needs and while it is in question whether it will last all season, you can bet the opening game will be highly energized. Last season, Cleveland was favored between five and seven points against the Celtics on its home floor, so taking six as the average, we are seeing a 10-point swing going into this game. That is a huge swing and one that I think it simply too much based on this situation with Boston playing at home last night in the NBA opener. Don’t be surprised to see Paul Pierce see very limited minutes tonight after his back injury last night and it will be even worse today.

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Tony Karpinski – **Big Play Alert – 10* NBA Season Opener HEAVY HITTER

TonyK had a huge NBA and Basketball Season last year. TonyK is 11-2 his last 13 top 10* releases and he has his NBA Season Opener 10* HEAVY HITTER.
Jump on this play while the lines are soft and make a MAJOR SCORE on Tuesday night.
See why TONYK has become one of the nation’s most recognized and successful handicappers since entering the busines in 1991.

Rocky Atkinson - Rocketman Sports TOP RATED 5* CFB play Tuesday! 80% run!

Rocketman Sports is 8-2 80% last 10 football picks. Rocketman is 7-2 78% last 9 TOP football picks. Rocketman is 29-14 67% last 43 and 16-6 73% last 22 overall picks all sports. Rocketman has won 13 of 14 years in football in his history! WOW! Rocketman has a TOP RATED 5* CFB play for Tuesday night! Get on board now and WIN BIG!

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Featured Free MLB Pick | Doc’s Sports

Heat/Celtics UNDER 189

Game Analysis:

This was going to be a highly-rated play for us at the opening number of 193. However, there has been some heavy line movement and this number dropped more than three points. We do feel there is still some value here in this line, which we had handicapped at 187 ½ with a lean towards the under. This is going to be one of the most hyped games of the season and these will be two of the top defensive teams in the NBA once all is said and done and we expect these teams to defend every possession down the court. We think the Heat games will be shaded by the oddsmakers to the over early in the season because of the hype of the Big Three and the public’s perception of their offensive prowess. The truth of the matter, however, is that these guys really haven’t played together yet and there are going to be some chemistry issues and growing pains until this team starts to gel. Both teams could come out a bit rusty on offense but the players should be as fresh as they will all season and the defensive pressure should be there.

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It also hasn’t worked often, either. Since 1994 there have only been two seven-game Finals. Over the last ten years the Finals have gone 5, 6, 5, 4, 6, 5, 7, 6, 4, 6 and 5 games. Too many sweeps and five-game series, not exactly what television executives and ratings observers would like. It wasn’t always this way. The 2-3-2 format, which copies the World Series, was put into effect for the 1985 NBA Finals during an earlier series when the Celtics and Lakers met during the Bird/Magic years. Before that, the Finals had always been 2-2-1-1-1, which worked fine. In fact, from 1976-84 there were three 7th games in the Finals and five series that went six games. Since 1985 under the 2-3-2 format there have more sweeps (4) than seven-game NBA Finals (just three, 1988, 1994, 2005).

Some players have even suggested that the team with home court doesn’t really have an edge for the Finals, being forced to play three road games in a row in the middle of the Finals. Not having home court appeared to help the Pistons six years ago, as they got a split in LA in the first two games, then came home and swept the middle three for the title. Four years ago Miami got back in the series, down 2-0, then sweeping the middle three at home to take charge on the way to winning a title.

When the Celtics defeated the Lakers in seven games in 1984 (the last of the 2-2-1-1-1 format), they took a 3-2 series lead by winning the key fifth game at home. That’s an edge that won’t be possible this Finals. A year later (1985) when the two met again, the Lakers won the fifth game at home to take a 3-2 series lead and went on to win the series under the new 2-3-2 format. After the series, Celtics star Larry Bird commented that he didn’t like the format change, and didn’t like the fact that the all-important fifth game was on the road even though his team had earned the home court via a better regular season record.

You can argue the same thing happened four seasons ago when the Mavericks went up 2-0 at home, then had to play three in a row in Miami. The Heat won all three, including the pivotal fifth game, putting the pressure on Dallas. The Mavs surely would have preferred to come home for Game 5.

Not counting this current series, over the last ten years the home team is 42-13 SU, 33-21-1 ATS in the Finals, while the favorite is 37-19 SU/30-25-1 ATS. Recent results show the home team stepping up and getting the money, while the favorite often wins but doesn’t always cover. In fact, from 2001-2004 the home team went just 10-10 SU/6-13-1 ATS in the Finals

Defense often rules this time of the year. During the regular season the Celtics and Lakers finished 5^th and 9^th in the NBA in points and field goal shooting defense allowed. In 2008 the Celtics and Lakers were in the top six in defensive field goal percentage allowed, while Boston was second in points allowed. A year ago Orlando and LA had reputations of being all-offense, but Orlando was at 6th in points allowed and LA was 13th; plus the Lakers were sixth in field goal shooting defense while the Magic was third (43%).

Three years ago the Cavs and Spurs were in the Top 8 in field goal defense with the Spurs No. 1 allowing 89 ppg. Five years ago the Pistons and Spurs finished the regular season one and two in the NBA defensively and met in the Finals. This certainly adds to the long list of teams that have won titles with defense, supporting the old adage, “Defense wins championships.” Don’t discount the importance of defense this time of the year!

In the 2009-10 regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers finished seven games ahead of the Boston Celtics. From 1947 through the 2010 NBA Semifinals, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by seven regular-season games, they have won 23 of 27 times in all seven game series vs their looming opponents. Boston has a 59-19 series record, a 17-3 Finals-round series record, and a 55-23 Game 1 record, while the Los Angeles Lakers have a 65-28 series record, a 10-14 Finals-round record, and a 62-31 Game 1 record. This will be the eleventh time these two teams will be meeting in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series. Boston has won 8 of the previous 10 meetings including the last one in 2008. The last 3 times these teams have met every game has been decided by 1 point. They split the season series this season with the Lakers coming from behind to win in Boston by one point. The Celtics later returned the favor with a one point win in Los Angeles.

Looking at the two teams statistically to find some spread advantages we find the Lakers are 1-6 both straight up and against the spread when they score 90 or less points on the road. When they score 90 or less at home this season they are 0-7. Boston is 0-9 against the spread when they score 90 or less on the road this year and 1-9 at home in that same situation. The Celtics have played solid defense in the playoffs as evidenced by their 11-2 record when allowing less than 100 points. They have beaten two excellent teams in Cleveland and Orlando both times without the benefit of the home court advantage. The Lakers have taken out a hungry and talented Oklahoma City team and followed that up with an exciting run and gun style method against an undersized Phoenix team.

This should be a good series with highly competitive play from both teams especially on the defensive end. The Lakers have revenge for their Finals loss from 2 years ago against a Celtics team that was more talented and younger than this current group. Boston should be able to win at least 2 games here and may push it to a game seven, and will be aided by the 2-3-2 format. However the Lakers appear to be a tad more poised and in the end should win the series in six to seven games. Game 1 home teams in the NBA Finals are 47-16 a 74% proposition all time. Should the Lakers win game one we note the infamous coach Phil Jackson trend in which teams he coaches are 48-0 when winning game one.

Whichever team you root for, enjoy the series and good luck with all your wagering endeavors.

RV