Predictions for Dec. 4
Boston @ New Jersey - Boston by 12
New York @ Toronto - New York by 2
Cleveland @ Detroit - Cleveland by 1
Golden State @ Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City by 7
New Orleans @ San Antonio - San Antonio by 4
Memphis @ Denver - Denver by 6
Washington @ Phoenix - Phoenix by 6
LA Clippers @ Portland - Portland by 5
My Take
Boston has been playing well lately, and I expect them to win, but I wouldn't be surprised to see New Jersey give them a run for their money, similar to the 3OT game against OKC.
New York and Toronto are two teams that finally seem to be finding some chemistry. They both have surprise wins in their last games with New York beating New Orleans and Toronto beating OKC. This one should be close just like the predictions suggest.
Unlike the previous two teams, Cleveland and Detroit are two teams that are falling apart. Cleveland has lost their last three by an average of 27 points while Detroit has lost their last three by an average of 16. This is going to be a battle of who can play less bad for an excruciating 48 minutes.
If Kevin Durant plays tonight, OKC shouldn't have much of a problem. Westbrook has stepped up in his absence and shown he's definitely one of the team's leaders. The two are the highest-scoring duo in the league right now.
San Antonio has remained hot while New Orleans has fallen off the map in regards to elite teams. After starting 11-1, they have since gone 2-5. San Antonio has been perfect, though, losing a recent game to the Clippers and letting Minnesota stay close in the game after that. New Orleans has a chance to knock off a heavyweight tonight.
After sitting around .500 through the first 12 games, Denver has strung together six wins. Albeit, all but one of those was against a struggling team, but Memphis fits right into that category.
Washington has been a soft team so far this season. Phoenix should be able to play their style; just watch out for Arenas getting hot from deep.
Blake Griffin is a monster and Portland is lacking some size down low. If Griffin takes control down low, Clippers could be looking at their first road win of the season.
Results from Dec. 3
3/6 (50%) last night; 28/44 (63.6%) overall
Atlanta @ Miami - Miami by 1 (Actual: Miami by 12)
Charlotte @ Philadelphia - Charlotte by 3 (Actual: Philadelphia by 18)
Houston @ Chicago - Chicago by 5 (Actual: Chicago by 3)
Cleveland @ Minnesota - Cleveland by 4 (Actual: Minnesota by 34)
Orlando @ Milwaukee - Orlando by 10 (Actual: Milwaukee by 11)
Dallas @ Sacramento - Dallas by 15 (Actual: Dallas by 2)
About Last Night
On the three games the predictions missed, it was no less than 21 points off, and a whopping 38 points off in the Cleveland/Minnesota match-up. So what happened?
The Atlanta/Miami game turned out just about as I expected.
Philadelphia looked at Charlotte as someone they could actually beat, and took the opportunity to pick up another win.
Houston is showing better signs of life lately and managed to force overtime against a good team, but Boozer and Rose combining for 55 points, 16 rebounds, and 12 assists is a lot to handle.
Turned out Cleveland couldn't contain Kevin Love as he went off on them for 28 and 19. Cleveland is quickly falling off into oblivion, losing their last three by a total of 81 points.
Similar story in Milwaukee as the short-handed Magic couldn't contain Andrew Bogut. He had 31 and 18.
Win streaks get harder and harder to maintain the longer you go, even when you play the easier teams in the league, but Dallas managed to hold out for the victory.
