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Free NBA Picks- (covers.com). are piston a better bet with webber.
It’s a crowded field, but some might call Chris Webber the most despicable player in the
NBA.
Few, though, would say the Detroit Pistons didn’t make a good move signing Webber. He still
has enough game, even at 33, to make the Pistons the team to beat in the East. He makes the
Pistons worthy of a futures book play at odds of 13-1 to win the championship.
But Webber also has enough baggage to further erode the team’s sinking morale.
Which Webber will it be for Detroit?
“He has been a loser everywhere he has been and has never had a walk-off basket since
junior high,” said Jim Catello, author of ‘The Complete Guide to the 2006-07 NBA Schedule.’
“He’s my least favorite player of all-time.
“He’s fine when nothing is at stake, but when the pressure is on he is the last person I
can think of that I would want with the ball with the game on the line. I’ve watched him
choke big time under pressure dozens and dozens of times.
“This is really a low-character guy and relatively friendless with a very fragile ego.”
Catello should know being based in Philadelphia. Webber’s scoring average was down from
20.2 points last year with the 76ers to 11 points this season. His rebounds per game had
shrunk from 9.9 to 8.3. The 76ers bought out Webber’s contract, waiving him this past
Thursday. Webber was scheduled to make a combined $43 million this season and next.
“When he (Webber) failed to produce with the Kings, Billy King of the 76ers unbelievably
picked him and his ridiculous contract up,” Catello said. “That led directly to the Allen
Iverson fiasco. I blame Billy King and Webber for the loss of Iverson.”
The way he poisoned first Golden State, then Sacramento and Philadelphia, it’s a wonder
Webber hasn’t changed his last name to Borgia.
The Pistons don’t care about Webber’s past stops. They don’t care either about his
involvement with deceased Michigan booster Ed Martin that led to NCAA sanctions against the
University of Michigan, or his lying to a grand jury investigating the mess.
All the Pistons care about is getting straightened out. They’ve lost seven of their past 10
and team chemistry hasn’t been good. Now with star point guard Chauncey Billups possibly
due back Wednesday and Webber, the Pistons are poised to make a move. The Pistons were 3-5
without Billups.
“That has to put them in the driver’s seat in the East," Minnesota coach Dwane Casey was
quoted as saying about the Pistons following the Webber signing. "It adds a lot.”
Webber is past his prime. Knee injuries prevent him from reaching his one-time superstar
status. You wonder how much defense he can play with his limited mobility on a team that
has always stressed defense. But if his left knee and right ankle hold up, Webber gives the
Pistons an inside presence, high-level experience, and a spark.
Webber ranked with Magic Johnson as one of the greatest prep players in Michigan history
when he came out of Country Day High School in Detroit. Webber is one of the greatest
passing big men in NBA history. He could have signed with a number of up-tempo teams,
including the Los Angeles Lakers.
He chose Detroit realizing it gives him a rare opportunity to reconnect with a hometown he
burned. He could make up for it and rehabilitate his horrible image with a championship,
something he has never achieved in the NBA or college.
“Where ever he’s been, he’s been asked to be a hero and a savior-type, something that is
directly counter to his personality and character,” Catello said. “His failures under that
role have been well-documented, with his choking in the NCAA finals as a member of the ‘Fab
Five’ probably being the most publicized.
“Once the 76ers unloaded Iverson, Webber was once again put in the position of being the
centerpiece of the new 76ers. It is not an accident that he immediately backed out of it
and feigned a number of injuries. He is the very last person I would want with the ball
with an important game on the line.
“I’m positive that his career-long list of chokes under pressure haunts him and is the
major reason why he is choosing the Pistons. There he will be relegated to coming off the
bench as the team is built around Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton. He’s hoping to get
a ring and not have to work very hard.”
Sometimes with age comes maturity. You would think Webber would be smarter now. If Rasheed
Wallace can become a winner with the Pistons, Webber certainly has a chance.
It just may work, especially if most of the pressure falls on the backcourt of Billups and
Hamilton.
“The Pistons’ modus operandi this year is to pace themselves and they can do that given the
really weak East,” Catello said. “I’m sure Joe Dumars has all of that in mind in their
quest for Webber. He will be a role-player, nothing more. It’s something that will fit his
talents and personality just fine.”
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): clippers slumping.
One look at the Los Angeles Clippers and you would think it was the `90s all over again.
Maybe that`s a stretch, but considering the club’s lofty preseason expectations, the Clips
might as well be the worst team in basketball.
Instead, they are just the worst team against the spread. Preseason hype – and a 5-1 (4-2
against the spread) start to the season – kept the Clippers overvalued for a long period of
time. Los Angeles lost 14 of its next 19 games straight up and 16 of 19 against the spread.
Things appeared to be looking up for a while as the Clippers rebounded to go 7-4 straight
up and 7-3-1 against the spread in their next 11 games, but back-to-back losses in their
last two have Los Angeles once again searching for answers.
“They have had a lot of issues early on but I don’t think it’s any that cannot be solved,”
says Covers Expert Matt Fargo. “Injuries have played a big role thus far. Sam Cassell has
missed 11 games, Chris Kaman has missed five games, Cuttino Mobley is playing banged up
while Zeljko Rebraca has yet to play this season. Even though it’s the NBA, team chemistry
is huge and with guys missing time here and there, that chemistry is hurt.”
Lack of a steady rotation has put the bulk of the load on star forward Elton Brand. Brand
is facing double and triple teams every time he touches the ball this season and his
numbers are suffering as a result. His 8.9 rebounds per game is the lowest total of his
eight-year career and his points per game (20.1) is slightly below his career average of
20.3 and well below the career high of 24.7 he set last season.
Then there is the Clippers schedule, which isn’t currently doing them any favors. Fargo
notes that 12 of the Clippers’ 19 road games have come against teams that are currently in
line to make the playoffs. The Clippers are just 2-10 in those games. They are 4-12-1
against the spread against teams with the 10 best records in the league and are 10-11
against everyone else, including a 10-5 record against teams outside the top 16.
“They have covered only five of 18 against teams with a winning record and are just 2-11
ATS as an underdog, showing they simply are not stepping up,” says Fargo.
The Clippers will have plenty of opportunities to beat up on bad teams in their next
stretch of games. They play 12 of their next 20 games against teams that are currently out
of the playoffs and they play 12 of their next 20 games against teams from the Eastern
Conference.
Though their immediate problems don’t get much better with a home game against Golden State
Warriors on Wednesday night. The Warriors beat the Clippers 108-93 on Monday night as a 2
½-point home favorites.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): kings the new team to fade.
There’s been a changing of the guard in the NBA’s Western Conference.
For years the Portland Trail Blazers were viewed as the most poisonous franchise in the
league, if not all of professional sports. But thanks to a Portland purge there’s a new
home for negativity on the left coast.
The Sacramento Kings are 0-6 straight up and against the spread over their last half-dozen
games, but the recent record might not be the worst thing in the California capital.
“Chemistry is the No. 1 thing I look for when I’m handicapping the NBA,” says Covers Expert
Ted Sevransky. “And it’s all about reading the local papers, watching pre-game and
post-game shows, putting in the time to figure out where a team really stands.”
Sevransky also points to the frequency with which the Kings are losing close games.
“When you have a team that’s struggling like that, you bet against them until either their
chemistry improves somehow or the linesmakers price them out of any value.”
Sacramento’s roster is littered with familiar veteran names, all of whom are
underachieving.
Ron Artest missed a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds remaining that ended the Kings’ hopes of a
win at Madison Square Garden on Monday afternoon, the most recent Sacramento loss. The
Sacramento Bee reports that head coach Eric Musselman called for a drag pick-and-roll, but
Artest did little but hoist his shot from the most convenient location.
Artest may have had other things on his mind, such as party-planning.
The rumor mill was jumping with the news that Artest was putting together a last-minute
bash at a downtown NYC club. It is his hometown and NBA players are certainly allowed to
socialize, but the fact that Artest frequently seems more concerned with his emcee skills
than being a good teammate underlines the problems in the Kings’ locker room.
Mike Bibby is another high-profile player whose play raises questions. The Kings’ losing
streak might have something to do with the fact that their starting point guard has taken
41 three-pointers over the six games while dishing only 28 assists. That would be fine if
he was on fire and surrounded by bums, but Bibby’s having easily his worst shooting year
and the Kings have scoring options both inside and out to ease his shooting load.
Brad Miller is another concern. He’s over his early-season foot issues, but missed Monday’s
game in New York for undisclosed personal reasons. He rejoined the team for the rest of the
Eastern swing, but bettors best watch Miller on Wednesday to see if his mind is on the task
at hand or elsewhere.
If it’s the latter, that creates another issue for the Kings with Shareef Abdur-Rahim or
Maurice Taylor playing center in Miller’s absence. Both are major contributors to
Sacramento’s defensive softness inside.
The interior defense is so dire that the Kings resigned Justin Williams to another 10-day
contract. He played 10 minutes against the Knicks on Monday and impressed observers with
his desire to rebound and alter shots. If the Kings start relying on the thin rookie from
Wyoming for more than energy minutes, however, it’s a further sign of how much Sacramento’s
stars are letting the team down.
“They have no depth whatsoever and they’re not defending despite Musselman’s reputation as
a defensive coach. I’m not seeing a lot of passion when I see Bibby on the floor,
Abdur-Rahim is obviously past his prime,” Sevransky says, running down a list of the Kings’
shortcomings.
And the Kings` second-half schedule doesn`t help matters. No one in the league has played
less road games than Sacramento`s 14, giving the team 27 opportunities to improve on its
current 4-10 road record.
The Kings take on the Toronto Raptors, the NBA’s top ATS team, on Wednesday night. The
Raptors are pegged as 4 1/2-point favorites and the total is set at 199 1/2 points. Tip-off
from the Air Canada Centre takes place at 7 p.m. ET.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): beware of charlotte getting healthy.
Being in last place is never easy. Being in last place when you’re in the same division as
the Atlanta Hawks must be downright embarrassing.
But a silver lining for Charlotte Bobcats backers can be found. The team`s poor record has
led to oversight from both opposing teams and bookmakers.
The double-underestimation has led to a 4-3 record straight up (SU) and against the spread
(ATS) over their last seven, hearkening back to last year when the Bobcats were bettors’
darlings at a league-best 46-33-3 ATS.
“Last year Charlotte always played hard and they were a really good underdog,” says Covers
Expert Ted Sevransky. “Earlier this year, you weren’t seeing the same effort and their
shooting was just horrible. If I’m pointing my finger at any one guy for the recent
success, it’s Matt Carroll. Suddenly they have a genuine threat from the outside.”
Carroll has seen at least 28 minutes of floor time in eight straight games. Before the
current stretch, Carroll hadn’t played more than 26 minutes in a game since the preseason.
He’s made the most of it, hitting 57 percent of his 3-pointers over the eight games and
averaging 19.9 points per game.
As a team, Charlotte connected on only 29 percent of its 3-pointers in November and only 32
percent in December.
Questions arise, however, as injured veterans get healthy again. The Charlotte Observer
reported on Tuesday afternoon that Gerald Wallace may return for Wednesday’s game against
the New Jersey Nets after missing six games with a separated shoulder. No one benefited
more from Wallace’s absence than Carroll.
The Bobcats opened as 3-point dogs in New Jersey with a total of 191.
There’s another similar situation brewing at the point guard position. Raymond Felton has
improved his play since shifting from shooting guard to his natural spot in Brevin Knight’s
absence. Knight is expected to return at the end of January.
Odds are that Derek Anderson, and not Carroll, will be the one losing minutes when Wallace
returns. And with the Bobcats picking up Jeff McInnis as insurance at the point, rumors are
whispering of a Knight-plus-Melvin Ely salary dump in Charlotte.
But Sevransky often sees a fade opportunity when any lineup changes occur.
“It’s always a case-by-case basis, but it’s not unusual for a team to take a step back when
injured players return,” says the veteran handicapper. “Anytime you disrupt the flow of a
basketball team, it’s a bad thing in the short term, even if the guys coming back are more
talented than the players they’re replacing.”
The Bobcats and Nets tip off in Charlotte at 7 p.m. ET. The Bobcats are 7-12 SU and ATS at
home, while the Nets are 5-10 SU and 7-7-1 ATS on the road.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): ats records as of 1/17/2007.
1. TOR
2. MIN
3. PHO
4. IND
5, LAL
6, DAL
7, SA
8, GS
9, MIA
10, MIL
NBA PLAYOFFS- (associated press): sun kurt thomas out with elbow injury.
Phoenix Suns center Kurt Thomas will be sidelined four to six weeks with an elbow injury,
the team said Tuesday.
Thomas, who comes off the bench, hyperextended his left elbow in the first quarter of
Monday's game at Memphis. He was examined in Phoenix and will wear a brace on his elbow to
help it heal.
He is averaging 5.7 points and 5.7 rebounds this season.
The Suns will play at Houston on Wednesday night.
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