Animals Sports Picks Premium Picks for February 29, 2004
Modified Consensus for Sunday, February 29th Premium Plays in the NBA to follow. College and more from the Modified Consensus at 1:15PM ET
Nitro Plays: Rice 30-18-1
JB Sports: Toronto (opinion only)
Puck Profits: Top on Phoenix and Philadelphia (NHL)
Private Players of Pitt: 4* Wisconsin (no 5*'s)
Preferred Picks: 3* Florida State
California Sports: 4*'s on Pepperdine and Kentucky (no 5*'s)
Iceman: pass
Mike Lee: 8* NC State
Alatex: 20* Hawaii
NBA Basketball
4 Units on Miami Heat O 193 -110
With Dwyane Wade and Caron Butler in the lineup together, Miami has changed their style in recent weeks and are more of an up-tempo team. Needless to say, that suits me just fine in regard to yet another Milwaukee total at home. The Bucks, in case you weren't aware, have shattered the total in 11 consecutive home games (16-3 OVER anywhere in last 19). The last meeting produced 197 points on this floor back in January when Wade was out of the lineup with an injury. I just pulled the box score from that game. Miami was 35-of-93 while Milwaukee was 38-of-77 and the game still went 'OVER' the total. The Heat had a 15-point 2nd quarter. That total was 183. Obviously Vegas has made some adjustments today but it's not enough. Remember when the Heat consistently played games in the 160's or below. Not anymore. Miami is 11-4 'OVER' in their last 15.
3 Units on New York Knicks O 197½ -110
How do you give up 117 points to San Antonio without Tim Duncan in the lineup? That is the riddle Denver has to answer about themselves after last night's "mail it in" effort in Texas. The Nuggets haven't exactly been a fortress of defense recently as they've lost five straight and have yielded 117, 112, and 109 points in their last three games. Allan Houston returns to the New York lineup today which is great news for the offense and especially Stephon Marbury, who has had to shoulder much of the scoring load. Don't be misled by Friday night's 96-94 final against the Clippers in LA. Those two teams played a 30-point 4th quarter (17-13). That game was on pace to soar 'OVER' the total at the end of three quarters. Tonight marks the 4th consecutive road game for New York and fatigue generally leads to lackluster defense. The Knicks went 'OVER' in their first two stops on this trip and as mentioned, should be 'OVER' in three straight. The Knicks are 42-23 'OVER' the last three years when the total is in the 190's. They are 34-16 'OVER' as well the past three seasons following a defeat by six points or less. I'm not too thrilled with today's 'SIDE' selections in the NBA, but I do like a couple of totals.
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