Christmas Day for the NBA

Orlando (-4) over New Orleans

This is one of two games that I'm not too sure about and could go either way, so don't trust me entirely. My reasoning here is that the Magic are at home and I feel like this will be close throughout and you'll think "shit I shoul've taken the Hornets!" until the Magic pull away in the final 3 minutes culminated by either a Hedo Turkoglu/Rashard Lewis 3 and a huge Dwight Howard dunk as the crowd goes wild! Jesus, I got way too into that as I wrote that. I felt like good ol' JR right after Edge stole the title away from the Undertaker. IT'S EDGE! EDGE IS HERE! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY! THE UNDERTAKER JUST GOT SCREWED! Tease the Hornets and you should be good.

Phoenix (-2) over San Antonio

This is the second game I'm not so sure about. Trust me, this is it, every other game I'm reliable. All 4 of these teams are capable of beating one another on any given day. Really good scheduling by the NBA. This just makes me even more excited for tomorrow... er, later today. (It's 3:30 in the morning here in Denver, and I've decided to devote this night to Madden and betting... sounds like the perfect Christmas Eve/Morning to me... And not to brag but I've just made 2 straight oponents accept my offer for mercy. They weren't that good but hey, it boosts my self esteem. By the way what is this Gillette Champions of Gaming Tournament all about? I've made it my duty to spend the next 3 days endlessly playing and trying to qualify while i bet on sports... I love winter break.) Anyways, Jason Richardson presents matchup problems for San Antonio because Parker and Ginobli aren't good enough to contain both Nash and now Richardson. I like Phoenix at home on Christmas over a surprisingly shaky San An team as of late. Tease either one though and you shoudl be good, probably San An just because you can get more points out of them... it will be a close game.

Boston (+2) over LA Lakers

I'm pretty confident that the Celts will beat LA straight up here. I mean, Boston is too hot and you know they have had this game circled since the schedules came out. They've been ripping every other team apart all while they've probably been looking ahead to LA, so if this is a game where they're actually prepared to play and where they're psyched as shit... then I don't think an LA team that almost lost to Memphis will win. Tease Boston if you want (which would be a sure thing), but since they're underdogs take them to win moneyline and you're welcome.

Cleveland (-15.5) over Washington

That seems high, but when the Cavs are up by 10 after the first quarter you will be feeling good. Lebron will want to give the fans a good Christmas gift and send them home happy, and the only way to make the fans happy when you're playing a shitty team like the Wizards is to destroy them. Anything less is a moral victory for the Wizards and a slap in the face for the Cavs. Tease the Cavs and it's a sure thing, take them to win straight up if you can and it's a guarantee. I doubt there will be a moneyline, but if there is, you're booky is basically giving you money.

Portland (-4) over Dallas

At first glance, I didn't know if Portland could win by more than 4, but then I realized just how slow Jason Kidd is and just how quick and young Portland's guards are. Dirk will make this interesting, but think about this: living in Portland, you grow up to love the Blazers, you just do because that's all you've got. It's YOU'RE team. That's all you've got growing up. You could be a Cowboys fan or a Yankees fan, but when it comes to the NBA it's Blazers all the way. That's Portland's identity. So for kids and just anyone in Portland to wake up Blazers tickets for that night's game under the tree is just a great gift. What I'm trying to say is that everyone going to this game will be stoked. It's Christmas night, everyone has had a fun day and now they get this... talk about the perfect day for a Portlandite (it's my best guess). Brandon Roy will go OFF. I'm talking triple double type numbers. If he's on your fantasy team, get ready to talk trash. In fact, thinking about the type of game B Roy will have is making me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I5XXFqOUyA. That video will never get old, and neither will Andy Samberg. Him and Brandon Roy are two of my heroes... which reminds me of how great that paragraph was. I really do treat myself too well on Christmas. Tease Dallas for points or Portland if you're confident that they'll win. Both should happen, so it's a win win.