NBA System Play for tonight (sort of again)

[actionsportscentral]

OK - another dilemma tonight.....

Portland -4- over Indiana

As you all know, my system is based on rebounding, interior play and defense - which I view as the most important factors in capping an NBA game. Well...... Portland is the top rebounding team by a mile - but as you know, they no longer have Greg Oden. Indiana is a bad rebounding team, and even worse without Danny Granger - their primary do-everything stud. I always refrain from making a game with significant injuries like this an "official" pick, and usually bet about 1/2 what I normally would - which is what I did when Portland played the Knicks (which I lost). In a few weeks though, we'll have to acknowledge that Oden is out for the year and see if Portland is still crashing the boards. Sorting out Indiana without Granger is another story - and only temporary.

When I look at the Knicks vs. Portland game, the Blazers did still outrebound them - particularly in the 4th where they cut 14 points off of the lead. Portland was really victimized by the 13 3-pointers the Knicks hit (on 50% shooting) early in the game which dug them a big hole. They did dominate points in the paint - even without Oden, who never scored much anyway but was a big defensive presence.

As a result, while this is not an "official" pick (those are 1-2 so far this year), I'm still playing Portland tonight for better or worse.

[KellosJ]

Thanks for the write up...I agree with you, Portland should still handle the boards well even without Oden...taggin along.

[Ugly]

Took the ride tonight, also.

Thanks for posting these, ASC.

[bigtom]

nice pickings action. Hope this system gets back on track like years before