Welcome, welcome, welcome. You've seen players make guarantees. Some pay off, some don't. But here at The Spread, we give you free picks and, in turn, free money. All you have to do is sack up and throw the money down. So instead of a long narrative about head to head matchups and who's playing well, the Mortal Moneymaker will offer just 5 (or so) quick points on why I'm right and you are wrong.
The Game: Clippers @ Blazers 10:30et
I'm out on the West Coast right now and have had the opportunity, no, honor, no privilege, to see Blake Griffin is even more amazing in person. No one puts out more effort-per-possession (which should be a quantifiable stat), no one is more explosive, and no one can finish in as many different ways around the rim as he can. If you are a Celtics fan or Knicks fan or WHATEVER and he comes to your town, he is worth the price of admission. Better get out there and see him fast though, before he dunks his way into a career-ending injury. Anyway...
- The Clippers always make me money. They always hit the over. The first bet I ever made was Clippers -1. Sure it was a push. Ok so they don't win me money every fucking time. But I gotta go with my boys.
- LaMarcus Aldridge is having an All-Star caliber season, though he won't be playing for the West February 20th. He's averaging 21 and 8 on the season. Last time out against the Clipshow at home, however, he fouled out in just 23 minutes and finished with 4 points and 5 boards and clearly struggled with a more physical Griffin. I'm also bitter that I had him on my fantasy team and dropped him. Sure he wasn't on a tear like he is now, but at the time the Clips weren't the hot team they are now. In fact they were 4-17 and 0-10 on the road.
- The 4-17 Clips are a distant memory. Like the 2005 Patriots Super Bowl win. They are now 16-25, have won 3 straight, and 7 of their last 10, and are averaging 99 ppg.
- The Blazers are 9th in points allowed. And that may be a little concerning considering the pace at which the Blazers play at home (slow as shit) and the fact that the Clips love to score. The Blake Show had 21 and 15 against 'em last time. The Magic and Hawks and ranked 7th and 8th respectively in Opponent PPG but Blake torched them for 27 and 16, and 31 and 15 against them. And those are teams with legit All-Star Centers in Horford and Dwight. I like Blake to have a big night and restart the double double streak.
- The Blazers are coming off a tough overtime win in SacTown last night where they won 94-90. With Camby missing the next 3 weeks with a knee injury, the Blazers starting lineup and suddenly very small, doesn't feature a lot of speed, and lacks a center. Blazers are already 20th in boards and with this smaller lineup that starts Batum, Dante Cunningham, and LaMarcus as their 'big men', I think DeAndre Jordan and Blake are going to dominate down low. Expect a rim-rattling, Rose Garden-style dunk contest.
- Point guard play. The Clipper backcourt composed of Eric Gordon and Baron Davis average 35 ppg (vs. 27 between Wes Matthews and Andre Miller.) BoomDizzle is feeling especially good in January, averaging 16ppg, up from his normal 11.
The picks:
Clippers +3Clippers OVER 96.5
See you in Pittsburgh
CANT WAIT
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