Matt
Pretty much a regular
Well, not a ton of time to talk about the season today so let's get into the plays.
YTD: 0-0
- Ben Wallace will make an immediate impact on this young Bulls team. He brings a strong defensive mindset to the team and will improve the quality of a defense which was sound last season.
- Since Gary Payton is now starting in place of the injured Jason Williams, Miami will be much more defense minded, half-court style ball club. GP is aging, but was one of the elite defensive players in his prime and I believe he will still be able to cause some troubles with the Bulls inexperienced back-court.
- Shaq has publicly complained about the NBA's decision to use a new ball this season. Combine this with the struggles of being guarded by Mr. Defense (Ben Wallace) who has been known to cause Shaq problems as he can't simply muscle him around. This will be a key match-up and I believe Ben Wallace will be able to take the upper hand. I see Shaq struggled to get into a rhythm in this one.
- The Bulls are still a young team, and even though they are 2 deep at most positions I would not be surprised to see them take awhile to get into form. Neither of these two teams mind settling for jump shots, and I do not see either team coming out of the gates shooting the lights out.
- Another nice addition made by the Bulls in the off-season was acquiring PJ Brown from New Orleans. Although he battled through injuries last season he is still an all-star caliber player when healthy. I believe he will do a good job containing Udonis Haslem tonight. Combine this with Ben Wallace doing a good job containing Shaq and I believe the Bulls with be able to more then hold their own in the paint. This will put a ton of pressure on the NBA Finals MVP D-Wade. Although the man is basically a human highlight film I do not believe he will come out of the gates strong this season. The Bulls have a lot of quick guards which will cause match-up problems by throwing various defenders at Wade during different points of the game.
- One trend I noticed for this game that caught by eye was "Last year the Heat won 10 of their first 14 games at home, but only covered the spread in 4 of the 14 games".
Plays:
Under 191.5 5u @ -110
Chicago (+6) 3u @-105
Chicago (ml) 2u @+215
YTD: 0-0
Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat:
- Ben Wallace will make an immediate impact on this young Bulls team. He brings a strong defensive mindset to the team and will improve the quality of a defense which was sound last season.
- Since Gary Payton is now starting in place of the injured Jason Williams, Miami will be much more defense minded, half-court style ball club. GP is aging, but was one of the elite defensive players in his prime and I believe he will still be able to cause some troubles with the Bulls inexperienced back-court.
- Shaq has publicly complained about the NBA's decision to use a new ball this season. Combine this with the struggles of being guarded by Mr. Defense (Ben Wallace) who has been known to cause Shaq problems as he can't simply muscle him around. This will be a key match-up and I believe Ben Wallace will be able to take the upper hand. I see Shaq struggled to get into a rhythm in this one.
- The Bulls are still a young team, and even though they are 2 deep at most positions I would not be surprised to see them take awhile to get into form. Neither of these two teams mind settling for jump shots, and I do not see either team coming out of the gates shooting the lights out.
- Another nice addition made by the Bulls in the off-season was acquiring PJ Brown from New Orleans. Although he battled through injuries last season he is still an all-star caliber player when healthy. I believe he will do a good job containing Udonis Haslem tonight. Combine this with Ben Wallace doing a good job containing Shaq and I believe the Bulls with be able to more then hold their own in the paint. This will put a ton of pressure on the NBA Finals MVP D-Wade. Although the man is basically a human highlight film I do not believe he will come out of the gates strong this season. The Bulls have a lot of quick guards which will cause match-up problems by throwing various defenders at Wade during different points of the game.
- One trend I noticed for this game that caught by eye was "Last year the Heat won 10 of their first 14 games at home, but only covered the spread in 4 of the 14 games".
Plays:
Under 191.5 5u @ -110
Chicago (+6) 3u @-105
Chicago (ml) 2u @+215
Phoenix Suns vs. LA Lakers:
- Kobe Bryant is "avalible to play" tonight according to Phil Jackson. It is expected that he will play tonight, but see only liimited minutes. It is very early in the season and Phil will be very careful with his star player as he can not afford to see him re-injure his knee. He missed the whole pre-season and said that he was sore after participating in a full practice on Sunday; I do not see Kobe being his usual dominent self tonight in an uptempo game against Steve Nash and the Suns.
- Raja Bell will have the assignment of guarding Kobe when he is on the floor tonight and I believe he will be fully ready for this Western Conference rivalry game. After eliminating the Lakers in a hard fought 7 game play-off series they will be prepared for a tough task at hand in their season opener. They realise that the Lakers will still have a sour taste in their mouth over that game 7 loss, and the Suns will come to Staples ready to play tonight.
- Amare Stoudamire is expected to play coming off of the bench in this game as well. However, I see him being more of a help to his team tonight then Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are weak up front in this came with Kwame Brown out (back), Chris Mihm out (shoulder), and Vladamir Radmonovic playing but not 100% as he is nursing a hand injury. The Suns are a fast paced team, but Amare provides an excellent option in the low post for Phoenix when healthy. I see him being able to take advantage of the banged up Lakers, and make a solid contribution in this one.
- The Suns addition of Marcus Banks should make a positive impact as it will allow for Barbosa and Nash to play more shooting guard. All three of these players are excellent playmakers and I believe seeing 2 of them on the floor at most times can only be a positive thing for Phoenix. The Matrix (Shawn Marion) will be able to take advantage of the lack of defense played by Lamar Odom tonight as well.
Play:
Suns (-4) 5u @-105
:cheers:
- Raja Bell will have the assignment of guarding Kobe when he is on the floor tonight and I believe he will be fully ready for this Western Conference rivalry game. After eliminating the Lakers in a hard fought 7 game play-off series they will be prepared for a tough task at hand in their season opener. They realise that the Lakers will still have a sour taste in their mouth over that game 7 loss, and the Suns will come to Staples ready to play tonight.
- Amare Stoudamire is expected to play coming off of the bench in this game as well. However, I see him being more of a help to his team tonight then Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are weak up front in this came with Kwame Brown out (back), Chris Mihm out (shoulder), and Vladamir Radmonovic playing but not 100% as he is nursing a hand injury. The Suns are a fast paced team, but Amare provides an excellent option in the low post for Phoenix when healthy. I see him being able to take advantage of the banged up Lakers, and make a solid contribution in this one.
- The Suns addition of Marcus Banks should make a positive impact as it will allow for Barbosa and Nash to play more shooting guard. All three of these players are excellent playmakers and I believe seeing 2 of them on the floor at most times can only be a positive thing for Phoenix. The Matrix (Shawn Marion) will be able to take advantage of the lack of defense played by Lamar Odom tonight as well.
Play:
Suns (-4) 5u @-105
:cheers:
