Zack's Picks (5 Live)
The Kansas City Chiefs are essentially eliminated from the playoffs after last week’s loss to the Texans. …
The NBA Cup semi-finals are here in Las Vegas. Both games have big favorites for a neutral site NBA game. New York has won eight out of their last nine games, with one of those a six point win over the Orlando Magic. In their latest win Jalen Brunson corrected his issues beyond the three point line by going six of nine against the Raptors. Lay the number here with the Knicks.
For the Atlanta Hawks no player has more attention than Jalen Johnson. Johnson is averaging 30 points and 14 rebounds over his last five games. This included a 29 and 13 performance against the Pistons on December 1st. Look for Detroit to center their game plan on limiting Johnson, and for Okongwu to take advantage. Okongwu has averaged 21 points in the two matchups against the Pistons, this included scoring 20 of their 98 points in the December matchup. Take Okongwu over.
Being undefeated at this stage of the season in college basketball, and barely slipping into the top twenty five is a red flag in my opinion. That is the case for the Nebraska Cornhuskers who have a 9 and 0 record, and are coming off a blowout win over Creighton. Conference play can open the door on team issues. We saw this a year ago when Nebraska started 6-1, and were blown out by the Spartans in their first Big Ten game. The Badgers also limited them to 55 points in last year’s matchup. Grab the points with Wisconsin.
On the season Delaware has lost just one game by today’s point spread against George Washington, and that was exactly 23 points. They even went into BYU and lost by just 17 points. Yet, as I mentioned on HQ this team is depleted with pre-season injuries, that has caused them to have to overplay their starters. Christian Bliss leads the country in minutes per game and Macon Emory is ninth. Expect the impact to be to much of a burden tonight off an overtime game on Saturday, and road travel. Lay the large number.
A player that should have a two way chip on his shoulder is Desmond Bane. He is coming off being fined $35,000 for throwing the basketball off of OG Anunoby. Additionally, he struggled the last time facing the Miami Heat on December 5th when he went 2 of 16 from the floor and finished with five points. Expect a bounce back performance from Bane who will need to score more with Franz Wagner out with a sprained ankle.
Monday is a very light slate in college hoops, where I’ll venture into the Southland conference for a small play on New Orleans. The Privateers were embroiled in a gambling scandal last season, and come into tonight with six straight losses. They’ll face an Incarnate Word team that is playing 48 hours later after losing to winless Nicholls. Also, their winning record is masked by three wins against non division one schools. Take the home team plus the points with New Orleans.
The Indiana Pacers are showing life with a 3 and 2 record over their last five games. With that has garnered attention back to the prop market for certain players, in particular Pascal Siakam. When he is on the floor for his normal minutes he is playing at a high level. He’s coming off a season high thirty six points in his last game, and faces a Kings team that is fifth worst defensively in the NBA. Take Siakam’s over.
The Miami Dolphins have won three straight games and one can’t argue their ATS success in the division this season. They covered in both matchups against Buffalo, including an outright win. They got their first win of the season against the Jets on Monday Night Football, and had a break away De’Vone Achane touchdown against the Patriots brought back with a foot out of bounds. Even with that, the Jets have been a bit under valued at home recently. They’ve won each of their last two home games, and the prior two home games their opponent scored just thirteen points. Grab the points here with the Jets.
Earlier in the week I gave the Atlanta Falcons an outside chance to pull off an upset Sunday if Drake London was available. With him out I have opposite views. Yes, Sam Darnold has had issues protecting the football in two out of his last three games, but Atlanta is coming off a bad stinging loss to the New York Jets. It’s the type of loss that takes away the fight on a losing season. Although each of their last four losses have been by six points or less, take Seattle to deliver in a big way.
Ohio State’s dominance this year is in question due to their Big Ten schedule overall. We saw the defense have their issues early on last week against Michigan, where the Wolverines red zone non execution resulted in two field goals. Indiana has been waiting for this moment and I expect a tight finish, where the victory is decided by three points or less. Grab Indiana.