From the Desk of an industry Icon
Monday: Time to hit the Boards
January was simply dismal, as bad of a month as we have turned in nearly three decades of being involved in the daily sports market, but that just means time to work even harder to get the portfolio back where it belongs. Patience and Persistence get the job done at times like this
Let me just update those dismal numbers for today
January 2010 all sports MINUS 98.4 units
NBA Year to Date MINUS 82.6 units
CBB Year to Date MINUS 71.4 units
4* #702 WASHINGTON over BOSTON
The Celtics just went through the toughest schedule stretch any team in the NBA has faced this season – the Magic and Hawks on the road, and the Lakers at home, in the span of four days. And what did they look like at crunch time of each game? An old and tired team. While they still have a lot of pride and play savvy basketball, they were out-scored in the fourth quarter of those games by a remarkable 85-56 count. Now having been through that grinder, and failed in the way that they have, a 4-in-5 setting that includes a court change each time is absolutely not what the doctor ordered. Instead of a bounce-back here we believe a team that is 2-6 over their last eight games, with one of those wins coming at home in O.T. vs. short-handed Portland, falls again.The Wizards are at an entirely different level in terms of freshness and confidence. This will only be their third game in six days, and having won the first two there is an entirely different attitude in the locker room (perhaps knowing that Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton will not return this season is actually a bonus from a focus standpoint). Now Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler provide major matchup headaches for a tired defense, and with Mike Miller now becoming a key cog in the rotation (47 points, 13 assists and 26 rebounds in the last three games) they have added a perimeter threat that helps to loosen up even more room for their stars. We call for the outright win in this one, and the points being offered bring an excellent cushion
