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N.Y. Knicks vs. Boston Celtics NBA Game 3 Preview & Free Pick

Knicks vs Celtics NBA Handicapping

It’s possible that we are seeing the final few games of Kevin Garnett’s career.

Garnett and the Celtics take on the Knicks tonight in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference playoff quarterfinals, and the blood and guts of Boston’s defense is hardly at 100 percent in the most important few games of the season.

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Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks NBA Game 3 Preview & Free Pick

Heat vs Bucks NBA Handicapping

Unless the letters A, C and L are prominent in upcoming stories about the Miami Heat, LeBron James and the supporting cast will soon take care of the Milwaukee Bucks on their way toward a probable berth in the NBA Finals.

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Brooklyn Nets vs. Chicago Bulls Game 3 NBA Preview & Free Pick

Nets vs Bulls NBA Handicapping

After a dominating performance at home in Game 1, Brooklyn came out flat in Game 2 and ceded home-court advantage to the Bulls with a Game 2 effort that could only be compared to a noontime YMCA pickup game.

Eastern Conference
Brooklyn Nets (1-1) at Chicago Bulls (1-1)
Thursday, April 25
United Center, Chicago
8:30 p.m. EST
Spread – Bulls -3.5 at Bovada
O/U – 181

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We were waiting to see which team would be the first to blink in the playoffs, and in the Eastern Conference it was the Nets.

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With Joe Johnson (who laid a 6-for-18 egg) leading the way, the Nets shot 35 percent from the field and 4 for 21 from 3-point turf, and now find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to find a way to win in Chicago in order to advance to the conference semis.

The Bulls are hardly a lock at the United Center, where they found a way to lose 17 games this season. But Chicago will never go down for lack of effort, and the Nets know they have to tighten things up considerably when they take the court tonight.

Nets fans are still trying to figure out what’s going on with Gerald Wallace. In Game 1 Wallace played rock solid defense on Luol Deng and scored 14 points. In the 36-plus minutes he was on the court, the Nets outscored the Bulls by 22 points. But Wallace disappeared in Game 2, going 1 for 7 from the field in 19 unproductive minutes while Brooklyn was outscored by 16 points. [ad-6571516]

Of course, Chicago’s choke-hold defense had a lot to do with the Nets’ troubles. Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah all had double-digit rebound totals, taking turns checking Nets board machine Reggie Evans. Evans usually has 10 rebounds before lunch, but was held to just 8 in Game 2.

Things can change on a dime in the playoffs, but with the Bulls coming home, Brooklyn has its hands full. The key for the Nets is putting Game 2 behind them and concentrating on the task at hand, namely figuring out a way to steal back home-court advantage.

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Chicago’s less-than-dominating 24-17 record at home and Brooklyn’s solid 23-18 road record would seem to indicate that the Nets have a shot at turning things around, but we like Brooklyn’s chances better in a Game 4 in Chicago. Home teams tend to dominate in emotion-changed first home games, and the Bulls seem to have found something that disrupts the Nets offense.

Looking for Chicago to make it two in a row with a cover in this one, with the winner of Game 4 taking control of the series.

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L.A. Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs Game 2 NBA Preview & Free Pick

Lakers vs Spurs NBA Handicapping

Oh, what this series could have been. Just imagine a healthy Kobe Bryant, eyes piercing. A focused Dwight Howard itching to be recognized as the best big man in the league.

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Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers Game 2 NBA Preview & Free Pick

Hawks vs Pacers NBA Handicapping

Minutes don’t matter a lot in the playoffs. Adrenaline is flowing, the games finally mean something and there is usually ample rest between battles.

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Houston Rockets vs. OKC Thunder Game 2 NBA Preview & Free Pick

Rockets vs Thunder NBA Handicapping

Oklahoma City playing at home in the playoffs is about as close to a lock as there is in the NBA.

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Boston Celtics vs. N.Y. Knicks Game 2 NBA Preview & Free Pick

Celtics vs Knicks NBA Handicapping

So much for prevailing thought. The Celtics went into this series feeling that they had a pretty good shot at taking out the No. 2-seed Knicks.

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Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat Game 2 NBA Preview & Free Pick

Bulls vs Nets NBA Handicapping

Besides and Act of Congress, an Act of God or the Stanford band marching onto the court whenever the Heat have the ball, what will it take for the Milwaukee Bucks to make this series even remotely competitive?

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Chicago Bulls vs. Brooklyn Nets Game 2 NBA Preview & Free Pick

Bulls vs Nets NBA Handicapping

So much for the playoffs providing the Bulls with a fresh start. The 17-point beatdown that the Brooklyn Nets applied to Chicago on Saturday night in Game 1 of their playoff series was just a continuation of the struggles that the Bulls experienced over the final few weeks of the regular season.

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Utah Jazz vs. Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Jazz vs Grizz NBA Handicapping

How did it come to this?

How did the Utah Jazz have a playoff spot pretty much in hand less than two months ago, win 8 of their last 10 games, and still find themselves in must-win pickle tonight on the road against a good team that has also plenty of incentive?

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Houston Rockets vs. L.A. Lakers Wednesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Rockets vs Lakers NBA Handicapping

Is Wednesday, April 17 the day that Dwight Howard finally grows up?

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Portland Trail Blazers vs. L.A. Clippers Tuesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Blazers vs Clippers NBA Handicapping

Let’s see. There’s the Heat and all that firepower.

And San Antonio, with all that experience.

Don’t forget the Thunder. Any team with Durant and Westbrook can do some damage.

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Denver Nuggets vs. Milwaukee Bucks Monday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Nuggets vs Bucks NBA Handicapping

All in all, it’s been one heck of a year for the Denver Nuggets, who need only a victory in one of their final two regular season games (tonight in Milwaukee or home on Wednesday against the lowly Phoenix Suns) to clinch home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

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Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat Friday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Celtics vs Heat NBA Handicapping

This one looked pretty juicy when the schedule came out last summer, but since the coach of just about every NBA playoff team has started channeling Gregg Popovich and has been sitting out stars to keep them fresh for the playoffs, Boston at Miami now has the look and feel of a September baseball game littered with minor league call-ups.

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

Thunder vs Warriors NBA Handicapping

The Oklahoma City Thunder are holding a slight advantage over San Antonio as they enter the final week of the season dead spanking even at 57-21.

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N.Y. Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls Thursday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Knicks vs Bulls NBA Handicapping

The Knicks are either a powerhouse team just starting to come in to its own and ready to obliterate inferior competition in the first two rounds of the playoffs before giving Miami all it can handle in the Eastern Conference finals.