The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off of arguably their most disappointing loss of the season. Kevin Durant managed to score 48 points, but the team lost by double digits to the last-place Utah Jazz. The Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, are riding high following a blowout over the Boston Celtics. Now, Denver will host OKC on national television Thursday night in a battle of Northwest Division rivals.
Cappers Picks Golf handicappers have all your latest golf news and information so be sure to make us your trusted source for up-to-the-minute golf details. PGA Golf betting fans will also have plenty golf action to focus on as this year’s PGA Majors are on the horizon.
For a while there it was looking like the Celtics were going to be a lot better than expected but they have lost their last 5 games and and some of them have been pretty ugly.
Rivalry Night – Rangers Visit Blackhawks Wednesday Night
Two Original Six clubs in the NHL square off on a light night in the NHL Wednesday when the New York Rangers play the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time this year.
The 18th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will make the trip out to Norman to open their conference schedule against the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Montreal Canadiens will make the trip down to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Philadelphia is riding high with wins in eight of their last 10 games, while Montreal looks for just their second win in Philadelphia in their last 12 trips.
The Dallas Mavericks will hit the road but get to stay in the state of Texas on Wednesday night as they will have a date with the San Antonio Spurs.
The Hurricanes had the pleasure of being the first ACC opponent for Syracuse and left the Carrier Dome with a loss but a respectable showing against the unbeaten Orange.
The Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings have already faced off twice during the 2013-14 NBA season, and they’re set to face off again Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Portland (26-8) at Sacramento (10-22)
Tuesday, Jan. 7 10:00 p.m. ET at Sleep Train Arena
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On the year, Portland has won the series 2-0. The team from the Pacific Northwest has won both games by an average margin of 12 points per contest, but Sacramento will look to make the third matchup a charm.
The Trail Blazers have been brilliant this season, but they’re coming off of a week that saw them go 2-2, losing twice in dramatic fashion. To the team’s credit, it did pull out a comeback win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, while also blowing out the Charlotte Bobcats; but two last-second losses to the New Orleans Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers have brought to light that this team is indeed mortal, and it can indeed lose games in the clutch.
If all goes according to plan, Portland won’t have to worry about performing in crunch time. It’s something it has done well almost all season, but the goal here is to win big despite being on the road.
The last time these two teams met, Rudy Gay was still with the Toronto Raptors. Additionally, Isaiah Thomas hadn’t quite broken onto the scene, and while the team knows it has to contain DeMarcus Cousins, these two could be big-time difference makers.
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If Portland sticks to its regular defensive schemes, look for Cousins to have a big game. The Blazers haven’t double teamed bigs all season long, instead opting to give up points down low in an effort to better defend the three-point line.
Speaking of defending the three-point line, that’s exactly what Sacramento will have to do to keep up in this one. Despite being underdogs, the Philadelphia 76ers held Portland under 100 points (the Blazers entered that game as the No. 1 scoring team in the NBA) by making them look downright awful from long range. The Kings are the second-worst team in the Association at defending the three-point line (they’re also the second-worst team in terms of points allowed), which is going to be a problem come Tuesday.
Cousins will be slated to have a big game, but if anyone else is going to join him, look for it to be Thomas. The point guard will be going up against Damian Lillard, and while he’ll be forced to expend a ton of energy on defense, the offensive end is where he’ll take advantage of a young point guard who is less focused on defensive production.
Despite having home-court advantage, look for the Blazers to bounce back following their loss. They know that sustaining success means winning the winnable games, and this qualifies as one of those contests. Expect a good showing from Portland, taking away the idea of a crunch time showing when it’s all said and done.
Prediction: Portland 107 – Sacramento 95
The NBA regular season enters the first full week of the New Year with a number of intriguing matchups on this Wednesday’s slate.
We have just hit the half way point of the NHL season and we are definitely starting to see some separation between the contenders and pretenders in the NHL.
Hot Panthers Visit Cooling Canadiens on Monday Night
The early season doormats of the NHL the Florida Panthers will attempt to continue their climb up the Eastern Conference standings Monday night when they visit the scuffling Montreal Canadiens.
This is the final BCS Championship Game. It might not be the matchup we thought we were getting for most of the season but it features an undefeated Heisman winner against a team from the SEC so we can’t be too shocked.
The Magic are not a good team. They have lost their last three games and have won only three of their last 10.
Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston will led No. 1 Florida State against No. 2 Auburn in the Vizio BCS National Championship Game on Monday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Tom Izzo will lead the fifth-ranked Michigan State Spartans into Bloomington to take on Tom Crean’s Indiana Hoosiers. The Spartans will be looking to win their sixth consecutive game, while Indiana will look to win their first Big Ten game after a devastating overtime loss in their conference opener.
