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New Orleans Hornets vs. L.A. Lakers Tuesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Hornets vs Lakers NBA Handicapping

In casino security rooms – those folks who spend all day staring at video monitors trying to find cheaters at blackjack and roulette tables – they refer to anything out of the ordinary as JDLR.

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Indiana Pacers vs. Denver Nuggets Monday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Pacers vs Nuggets NBA Handicapping

The top teams in the NBA all take care of business at home. San Antonio 20-2. Clippers 20-5. Oklahoma City 19-3. Miami 18-3. When the best teams lose at home, eyebrows are raised.

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L.A. Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns Cappers TNT NBA Preview & Free Pick

Clippers vs Suns NBA Basketball Spread/Handicapping

Whatever is going on in Phoenix, it’s not good. Coaching change, veterans with no interest in playing, assistant coaches not even showing up for practice.

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N.Y. Knicks vs. Boston Celtics Cappers TNT NBA Preview & Free Pick

Knicks vs Celtics NBA Basketball Spread/Handicapping

So how many shots do you think Carmelo Anthony will hoist up against the Celtics tonight? Twenty-five? Thirty?

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OKC Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors Wednesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Thunder vs Warriors NBA Handicapping

Much has changed for the Golden State Warriors since they last took on the Oklahoma City Thunder, way back on Nov. 18.

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NBA

OKC Thunder vs. L.A. Clippers Tuesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Thunder vs Clippers NBA Handicapping

Allow us to throw some ice water on what has easily been the most successful season in the history of the punch line known as the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Washington Wizards vs. Portland Trail Blazers Monday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Wizards vs Trail Blazers NBA Handicapping

Maybe John Wall should be in the conversation when we start to talk about voting for MVP in the NBA.

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NBA

Miami Heat vs. Golden State Warriors Cappers Wednesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Heat vs Warriors NBA Handicapping

Come playoff time all the problems that the Miami Heat are now experiencing may be long forgotten. No one will be worried about motivation, because it’ll be the playoffs and everyone will be “up.”

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Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets Cappers Tuesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Raptors vs Nets NBA Handicapping

The Brooklyn Nets are playing like they plan to run the table in 2013.

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Charlotte Bobcats vs. Boston Celtics Cappers Monday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Bobcats vs Celtics NBA Handicapping

You’d think that on a team piled high with veterans, coach Doc Rivers and front office boss Danny Ainge would know, by now, exactly what they have as the league steams toward the midpoint of the season.

Not quite.

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San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies Cappers Friday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Spurs vs Grizzlies NBA Handicapping

All the pieces are falling into place in Memphis.

The long-suffering Grizzlies have emerged as one of the top teams in the Western Conference, and while it’s difficult to see the team (as presently constructed, anyway) getting past the Thunder or Clippers in a seven-game playoff series, the operating philosophy in Memphis these days is seize the moment.

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N.Y. Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers Cappers TNT NBA Preview & Free Pick

Knicks vs Pacers NBA Basketball Spread/Handicapping

Life is more than good for the Indiana Pacers these days. Four wins in the last five games, including an 87-77 victory over Miami in their most recent game. Eight wins in the last 10.

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Miami Heat vs. Portland Trail Blazers Cappers TNT NBA Preview & Free Pick

Heat vs Trail Blazers NBA Basketball Spread/Handicapping

Has the league figured out a way to beat the Heat? Tuesday night against Indiana the Heat were crushed on the boards and lost by 10.

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Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers Cappers Tuesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Heat vs Pacers NBA Handicapping

The Knicks have hit a road bump. The rest of the Eastern Conference? Meh.

So it’s hardly a concern for Miami when the Heat don’t draw rave reviews, especially on the road. Miami is just 7-6 away from South Florida this season, and when the resume includes losses at Detroit and Washington, it’s a pretty good sign that the team has collective attention deficit disorder on occasion. .

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OKC Thunder vs. Washington Wizards Cappers Monday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Thunder vs Wizards NBA Handicapping

Good thing that the Oklahoma City Thunder make only one trip to D.C. this season. Their presence in the downtown section of the nation’s capital only serves to remind the few remaining basketball fans there of the difference between two franchises that were once pretty much on par.

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L.A. Lakers vs. L.A. Clippers Cappers Friday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Lakers vs Clippers NBA Handicapping

There’s still plenty of glitter, but tonight’s Lakers-Clippers strut could have been so much more had these two teams not hit a few icy patches in late December and early January.

Los Angeles Lakers (15-16) at Los Angeles Clippers (25-8)
Friday, Jan. 4
Staples Center, Los Angeles
10:30 p.m. EST
Spread – Clippers -4.5
O/U – 205.5 at SportsBettingOnline.ag

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Had they not run low on gas, the Clippers could be headed into tonight with 19 straight victories and perhaps taking aim at the Lakers’ 1972 NBA record of 33 victories in a row.

Road losses at Denver and Golden State put a small dent in the NBA’s new Lamborghini, however.

The Lakers have had a nice run of their own interrupted. That win over the Knicks on Christmas Day was the 5th straight for Kobe and his cast, but then they couldn’t stay airborne, losing at Denver (those pesky Nuggets!) and later crashing and burning at home against the mediocre 76ers.

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Now both teams will be trying to piece things together as they meet for the second time this season. The Clippers won by 10 way back on Nov. 2 in a game that for the first time indicated that there might be a changing of the guard at Staples Center this season. Chris Paul went off for 18 and 15 in that one, and Jamal Crawford had 21 off the bench for the Clips.

Bryant threw in an angry 40, but the Lakers got next to nothing from its bench, fell behind early and never recovered.

Hard to imagine on a team that has Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, but the Lakers would not be in the playoff mix if they were to start today.[ad-6571516]

Nobody thinks they’ll be golfing in mid-April, but there are plenty of warning signs, not the least of which is Bryant’s lament that the team is losing because it’s old. It’s hard to fix old.

Maybe Bryant is on to something. Nash is 37, Bryant himself 34 and Pau Gasol is 32. Dwight Howard is only 27 but has been having trouble getting comfortable, and may be holding back to stay healthy as he heads into free agency and a big payday this June.

To get fresh legs into the game, Laker coach Mike D’Antoni is bringing Metta World Peace off the bench and starting 21-year-old Darius Morris at the 2, Bryant moving to the 3.

As for the Clippers, the concern now is paying attention to details on a nightly basis and avoiding mental lapses. There’s no crime in losing on the road to an up-and-coming hungry team like the Warriors, but the new Showtimers need to be ready to play from the opening gun – they fell behind GS in the first period and never recovered.

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For fans in the East, this is one of the few NBA games worth staying up past midnight. Neither team will be mailing this one in, and even Howard should be somewhat focused.

Looking for a game that stays close deep into the fourth period, with a Laker cover.