NBA Pick One – Post 40 – December 6, 2010

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Before we dive into the normal routine, there are a few things that I want to mention.

First, I would like to apologize for missing yesterday’s post. The odds of that happening again are very slim.

Secondly, I would like to thank John for filling in for me on Saturday. After reading his post, I thought it would be a good idea to have a second person and their thoughts on here. So, John and I have decided to collaborate our Pick One thoughts for the rest of the season.

Here is how we stand for the season thus far:

Tim: 1,084 P1P, 6,715th ranking

John: 1,313 P1P, 2,925th ranking

Last Night’s Picks:

Tim – Andrea Bargnani – 25 P1P

John – Russell Westbrook – 39 P1P

Tim:

Andrea Bargnani is one of the most dynamic players in the league. Even with his size, he has the ability to drive to the bucket, shoot the jumper from beyond the arc, and rebound with the best of them. Because of that, he is averaging just shy of 28 P1P per night. Of course, yesterday, the big Italian only registered 25 P1P against a vulnerable New York team. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Knicks got wrecked by 17.

John:

I picked Russell Westbrook last night and he had 39 P1P’s against the Warriors. I was expecting more from Westbrook after he had been putting up huge numbers in the last few games. He finished with 19/7/13 and was close to recording a triple double which would have given me the bonus. Anyway, I can’t be upset with 39 P1P’s and it ended a pretty solid pick one week for me.

NBA.com’s Expert Pick for Tonight – Eric Gordon – Clippers

“I need a big rebound to kick off this new week after a disappointing weekend, and I like my chances to do that with Eric Gordon against the Kings tonight. Gordon leads the Clips in scoring, and the Kings are not known for their D at the moment. Just a couple weeks ago, he was able to pull in 38 PRAs against these guys, right up there with the best totals of his season. Including that night and games since, Eric has been averaging 33.3 PRAs, a click above his season long 30.4, which I’d gladly take but am hoping for the upward trend to continue. Additionally, he has a decent history against Sacramento, averaging 28.8 against them a year ago – again, among his best that season – when his numbers weren’t nearly what they are now. He has stepped up as a legit scorer on a team with a lot of potential going forward.”

Tim:

The Kings defense actually isn’t as bad as Carson makes it sound. Even though they are 1-7 in their last eight, the Kings have only allowed 96.4 points per game during that span, well below their season average of 101.7.

Actually, the Kings allow the 6th least field goals attempt per game with 78.6. If one stat should mean anything to you during Pick One, its field goals allowed per game.

I have a feeling that Carson looked at the Kings’ seven game losing streak and assumed defense was their issue. It really isn’t. Their inability to score, averaging only 94 points per game on the season and 75.8 per game in their last eight.

Additionally, Eric Gordon doesn’t seem to be in that much of an upward trend. He has scored 31, 29, 32, 29 in his last four games which just passes his 30.3 P1P average.

He had Luther Head guarding him when these two teams faced-off a few weeks ago. The Kings have been playing Beno Udrih at the two. Anything is better than Luther Head.

Our Picks for Tonight:

Tim: Landry Fields

John: Raymond Felton

Tim:

Good 'ole Stanford boy slates to take the Wolves to school tonight. Oh, and so does Raymond Felton...

Ladies and gentlemen, get your Landry Fields while he’s hot! He is average 48 P1P in his last five games (thats even while being brought down by a 28 performance against the boringly slow Hornets), a huge jump from his 39.7 average.

He is also averaging just under 39 minutes per game, another huge jump from his average of 30.

With John Wall inactive tonight and Blake Griffin playing a slow Kings team, there is a great chance that Fields is the high point getter against a Timberwolves team that thinks defense is a dirty word.

John:

Like many of you that play Pick One, I am going with Raymond Felton against the Timberwolves. Felton has played on a very high level for the Knicks of late scoring 28+ P1P in eight of New York ’s last nine games. This is also quite the favorable matchup for the Knicks going up against the Timberwolves. Minnesota is ranked 29^th in the NBA in scoring defense and now is as good a time as ever to take Felton. I’m expecting 30+ P1P tonight.