XMAS DAY

We shall be adding to the blog through the night focusing on a very exciting day tomorrow in the NBA. Xmas Day is probably the best regular season day of Basketball and we are determined to give our followers a profitable day.

We will be doing a preview of each match and more importantly our researched tips when the odds become available, so here goes:

Boston Celtics @ Brooklyn Nets

In the early start on Xmas day we start with a derby game which will certainly be hard fought! Boston have had a very mixed start to the year and it just seems that the simple reality for Doc Rivers is that the ageing Paul Pierce is starting to feel the pinch. KG, much like Tim Duncan, is rolling back the years but still cannot do somethings he used to! Ray Allen seems to be quite a loss and Rajon Rondo is trying to carry the team on his own shoulders with mixed success. Rajon is great at gaining dishes but he simply needs to now improve his jump shot and rack PPG up to 18-20. What has always defined a good Boston team is their active hustle in D but that, worryingly, seems to be lacking this year.

Brooklyn under new direction and coming out o New York have had a positive start to the season. Deron Williams, Brooklyn's all-star player has been satisfactory at point guard but there are still others in that 1 position across the league who are having a far more successful year. In my opinion, the reason for their success is brook Lopez at the 5. He has been instrumental in leading them and when injured, you could visibly tell the difference. Joe Johnson is also a much talked about player and on such an important day he needs to step up to the point scoring plate. Whilst Brooklyn's starting 5 gets a lot of attention it was their bench in November that tore Boston's bench apart. It will be very interesting to witness whether this happens again or not?

With regards to the match-up I can see fairly high points and on Xmas Day I simply cannot look past the home team.

Score prediction:  I see Brooklyn taking this one 98-92.

Selections to take: Over 184.5 points, 1.90 LOST and Brooklyn money line 1.66 LOST

OKC Thunder @ Miami Heat

With a replay of last year's NBA final this is a mouth watering prospect for all Basketball fans. Both teams are top of their respective conferences, which whilst expected of the Heat, OKC have outperformed a much fancied Lakers early in the season. Miami have not been at their best this year which could be partly down to the dip in form of Dwayne Wade as well as Miami not giving 100% effort on the defensive end. Lebron has been as superb as you would expect from the current MVP producing consistent numbers and is sharing the basketball more than ever. Chris Bosh has been playing at a solid level but has continued to struggle against the bigger centres in the league. The addition of Ray Allen early in the season was a fruitful one, however, just recently he has been going off the boil.

OKC have been playing to a very high level this year and one particular advantage they have over the Heat at the moment is consistent form. Whether or not this is linked in to effort levels is almost impossible to tell. KD is once again striving for an MVP season and Russell Westbrook is proving once again to be an able side-kick. Serge Ibaka is consistently improving and Kevin Martin is filling James Harden's sixth man boots well. Kendrick Perkins remains, for me, somewhat of the weak link in the team.

With regards to the match-up we all know Heat had the better of OKC last year and this was mainly down to a severe hustle on KD and Russell Westbrook having a very poor final. Perkins and Ibaka need to severely dominate the paint against the Heat and provide some secure screens to open up KD and Westbrook for mid range jumpers and open drives to the lane.

I just feel, once again, at home the Heat will have too much firepower but I will expect the points line to be high. Tips will be announced once the odds are revealed but I hope you have enjoyed this preview.

Score prediction: I can see Miami taking this one 109 - 104

Selections: Over 205.5 points 1.90 LOST, Miami Heat -2.5 points 1.90 WON

Houston Rockets @ Chicago Bulls

Wow! Another amazing match up on Xmas day. A free scoring offensive machine vs the best defense in he league. Obviously being a Bulls fan I cannot wait for this game. But fan bias aside this is a very intriguing match up.  Also the Bulls will be welcoming Asik back to the United Center for the 1st time since his departure.

As far as the match goes I think we will see a fairly tight affair, with Houston being a mixed bag away from home, recently putting a poor display at Toronto. However at home they are strong scoring well over 100 points a game. Harden seems to have adjusted well as being the main man on his new team putting up a good points average on a reasonable efficiency.  Asik has demonstrated he can put some points on the board and remain a defensive monster. What will be interesting is to see how Harden does against such a strong defense in Chicago. The Bulls seems to have finally started to find their feet with the new players and accustomed to Rose's long term absence.  Belinelli has grown into his starting roll since rip hamilton's injury and has thrived putting up great numbers which has really helped the Bulls offensively.

The way I see this game going is if Bulls can play well on the offensive end I see them shutting down Houston and not allowing them to score as freely as they usually like to and rely upon. The Bulls will need to defend the perimeter well and make sure they have a decent night around the 3 point line as well.  Against New York we saw that Nate had an impressive day from beyond the arc which really helped the bulls get past a below par Knicks team. I may be a little biased however I like the bulls at home in this match up and will be looking to back them if the line/odds permit.

Selection: Bulls to win on moneyline 1.52 LOST

Denver Nuggets @ LA Clippers

Denver have had a fairly mixed start to the start of the year - probably not as positive as their fans had hoped in the pre-season. The acquisition of Iguodala has been a fairly productive one with Iggy averaging around 18 points a game. Denver, as we know, like to play fast-break Basketball and it seems like Denver match up well against teams that struggle with transition defence. Ty Lawson has had a very strong start to the year and is expected to be back tonight after an achilles issue on Saturday. Denver traditionally are very strong at home, however, travelling to the Staples Centre is going to be a very tough ask.

LA Clippers are currently sitting at number 1 on the NBA power rankings and deservedly so after going on a 13 match winning streak. All star players Chris Paul (who is currently sitting number 3 on the race to the MVP title) and Blake Griffin have had a highlight-reel full season however what we need to do is go beyond that to really ascertain why the Clippers are faring so well. Quite simply, at the moment, the Clips have the strongest bench in the NBA and are filled with possible sixth man of the year contenders such as Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes and Eric Bledsoe.

WIth regards to this match-up I simply see the Clips outscoring Denver's bench quite considerably. I honestly believe that Denver will not try and defend LA out of the game and simply just try and score heavily. If Denver shoot hot from beyond the arc this could be a close tie, however I feel LA will take this fairly comfortably in a high scoring affair.

Score prediction: Clippers to take this 108-99

Selections: Clippers - 7.0 points WON, 1.90, Over 201 points, 1.90 WON

Knicks @ Lakers

Another game I'm looking forward to with immense interest is down on the west coast with the Knicks going to LA. A game preview will become available shortly. In the mean time the tip is over 212 points at 1.90

Selection: Over 212 points 1.90 LOST