Nite Owl's Side/Total BCS Title Game Twin Killing (Thu 8PM)
We like this game so much that we have picks on both our side and the total, for a total of 5 UNITS. And we also have a strong side/total teaser play, a side/total parlay recommendation, and likely strong individual team totals play(s) on one or both teams, once those lines are released on Game Day -- a total of 5 or 6 plays for10-13 UNITS, all for just $35, when you either buy this pick or our One Day CFB Pass. This pick comes with our typical detailed match-up analysis and full betting attack strategy, much like in Outback Bowl on NY Day, where WE "CLEANED UP" WITH IOWA AS OUR COLLEGE FB BOWL GAME OF THE YEAR. And we are sizzling hot for the past month -- 31-11 (73%) for +58 units L42 PODs, 33-20/+44 units L53 NBA, 8-4/+13 units L12 five unit NFL, and 8-4/+20 units L12 GOY/GOM picks.
$35 | 
Add to Cart
COMBO
Season
NBA + CBB Season Package
Full season of our premium NBA picks with detailed analysis and our full game betting "attack" strategy, all the way through end of March Madness and end of NBA playoffs. -- these picks are guaranteed to win! But realize that TY we will be concentrating primarily on football and NBA until the college FB bowls are mostly done with (after Jan 2). And note that through Dec 27, we are 26-16 (62%) in our last 42 NBA picks, and recall that we closed very strong LY in NBA playoffs, winning more than 60% of our picks in NBA finals and conference finals.
$489 |
Add to Cart
NFL + CFB Season Package
This full CFB and NFL playoff combo package gets you all of our remaining CFB bowl picks through BCS Title game, and all of our 2009 NFL playoff picks, from the opening kickoff on Sat Jan 3 through the Super Bowl, all for just $150. And who could forget our incredible run through the NFL playoffs LY, where we hit > 60% of our sides picks, culminating in our huge double winner with NY Giants over NE Pats in Super Bowl, winning 3 units ATS at +13 points, and 4 units with our money line pick on G-Men at +400?
$150 |
Add to Cart
Monthly
All Sports 30 Day Package
One month of premium picks for all sports, with our typical detailed supporting write ups for all picks - guaranteed to win! This service presently includes NFL, CFB, MLB and even WNBA.
$250 |
Add to Cart
NFL + CFB 30 Day Package
This 30 day CFB/ NFL combo package gets you all of our remaining CFB bowl picks through BCS Title game, and all of our 2009 NFL playoff picks, from the opening kickoff on Sat Jan 3 through the Super Bowl, all for just $150. And who could forget our incredible run through the NFL playoffs LY, where we hit > 60% of our sides picks, culminating in our huge double winner with NY Giants over NE Pats in Super Bowl, winning 3 units ATS at +13 points, and 4 units with our money line pick on G-Men at +400?
$150 |
Add to Cart
Weekly
All Sports 7 Day Package
One week of premium picks for all sports, with our typical detailed supporting write ups for all picks - guaranteed to win! This service presently includes NFL, CFB, MLB and even WNBA.
$129 | Add to Cart
NFL + CFB 7 Day Package
Seven days of premium college football bowl picks, and a full WE of NFL Playoff picks, with our typical in depth analysis and full betting attack strategy - guaranteed to win!
$79 | Add to Cart
All Sports 3 Day Package
Three consecutive days of premium picks for all sports, at special promo rate, with our typical detailed write ups for all picks - guaranteed to win! This service presently includes NFL, CFB, and NBA.
$79 | Add to Cart
NFL + CFB 3 Day Package
Three days of premium college football bowl picks, and (if you take your three days as Friday thru Sunday or Sat thru Monday) a full WE of NFL Playoff picks, with our typical in depth analysis and full betting attack strategy - guaranteed to win!
$69 | Add to Cart
Daily
All Sports 1 Day Package
This is our special "short card" price for "slow" sports days with few games, or for most late Sunday afternoons. With it you get today's premium picks for all sports, with our typical detailed supporting write ups for all picks - guaranteed to win! This service presently includes NFL, CFB and NBA.
$35 | Add to Cart
NFL
This full playoff package gets you all of our 2009 NFL playoff picks, from the opening kickoff on Sat Jan 3 through the Super Bowl, for just $99. And who could forget our incredible run through the playoffs LY, where we hit > 60% of our sides picks, culminating in our huge double winner with NY Giants over NE Pats in Super Bowl, winning 3 units ATS at +13 points, and 4 units with our money line pick on G-Men at +400?
NFL Football Season Package
$99 |
Add to Cart
Our price for a full WE of premium NFL football playoff picks (with all NFL playoff games being played Saturday and Sunday), with our typical in-depth analysis and full betting attack strategy - includes all picks for current round of NFL playoff games, and. guaranteed to win!! But for just $49 more, why not get even better value, with our full playoff package through the Super Bowl, for just $99?
NFL Football 3 Day Package
$50 |
Add to Cart
Our price for one day of premium NFL football playoff picks, with our typical in-depth analysis and full betting attack strategy - includes all picks for Saturday or Sunday playoff games, and. guaranteed to have you "in the black" (end up with plus units) for the day. But for just $15 more at $50, why not get all of our NFL playoff picks for the full WE? Or better yet, our full playoff package through the Super Bowl, for just $99?
NFL Football 1 Day Package
$35 |
Add to Cart
CFB
Full college football bowl package, with our premium picks and our typical detailed analysis, including our trademark full game betting attack strategy, for entire CFB "second season" (the bowls), through the final play of the BCS title game in January - guaranteed to win!
College Football Season Package
$79 |
Add to Cart
One weekof our college football picks, with our typical detailed analysis -- guaranteed to win!!
College Football 7 Day Package
$65 |
Add to Cart
Three days of premium college football picks during bowl season, with our typical in depth analysis for all of our picks - guaranteed to win (have you end up plus units for the 3 days in CFB!)
College Football 3 Day Package
$50 |
Add to Cart
This is our typical one day CFB price for remainder of the (bowls) post-season, with our trademark in-depth analysis and full game betting attack strategy. And our picks are guaranteed to have you "in the black" (end up with plus units) for the day.
College Football 1 Day Package
$35 |
Add to Cart
NBA
Full season of our premium NBA picks with detailed analysis and our full game betting "attack" strategy, all the way until a new NBA champ is crowned next June. -- these picks are guaranteed to win. Note that through Dec 27, we are 26-16 (62%) in our last 42 NBA picks, and recall that we closed very strong LY in NBA playoffs, winning more than 60% of our picks in NBA finals and conference finals.
NBA Basketball Season Package
$489 |
Add to Cart
Three months of our premium NBA picks with detailed analysis and our full game betting "attack" strategy, all the way until All Star break in February -- these picks are guaranteed to win. Note that through Dec 27, we are 26-16 (62%) in our last 42 NBA picks, and recall that we closed very strong LY in NBA playoffs, winning more than 60% of our picks in NBA finals and conference finals.
NBA Basketball 90 Day Package
$349 |
Add to Cart
One month of premium NBA playoff picks, with detailed analysis and our trademark full betting attack strategy - guaranteed to win!
NBA Basketball 30 Day Package
$199 |
Add to Cart
One week of premium NBA picks with detailed analysis and trademark full game betting "attack" strategy -- these picks are guaranteed to win!.
NBA Basketball 7 Day Package
$99 |
Add to Cart
3 consecutive days of premium NBA picks with detailed analysis and our trademark full game betting "attack" strategy -- these picks are guaranteed to win!
NBA Basketball 3 Day Package
$65 |
Add to Cart
Today's premium NBA picks with detailed analysis and trademark full game betting "attack" strategy -- these picks are guaranteed to win!
NBA Basketball 1 Day Package
$35 |
Add to Cart
CBB
Covers entire college hoops season, including all of March Madness - premium College Basketball picks with detailed analysis and our trademark full game betting "attack" strategy, all the way until a new NCAA champ is crowned on Magic Monday -- these picks are guaranteed to win.
NCAA Basketball Season Package
$399 |
Add to Cart
One day of premium college hoops picks, with our typical detailed analysis and betting attack strategy.
NCAA Basketball 1 Day Package
$35 |
Add to Cart
Monitoring Player Availability & Injuries in the NBA
by: Nite Owl Sports
It’s amazing how quickly things can fall apart or come together for NBA teams, based on what weapons they do (or don’t) have at their disposal. In a league often criticized as being full of overpaid, self-indulgent “slackers” who really “bring it” only about every other game, the other side of the coin in the NBA is that these guys play a sport which is physically very demanding, not just in terms of the game itself but also with the sheer number of games -- sometimes as many as five games in a week, with an occasional “four game delight” (four games in five nights, playing two of those games back to back, with travel and no rest the night before). So it’s not surprising that NBA teams get bitten by the “injury bug” from time to time during the season, and it’s our job as handicappers to recognize those situations, gauge the impact of injuries to one or more key players on a team, and not just avoid being victimized by it, but take advantage of it at the “pay window.” The other side of that coin is to spot teams which are “getting back” one or more of their key players, and gauge the impact of that as well as hopefully take advantage of it. That is one of the many things we do at Nite Owl Sports in handicapping the NBA, which has been largely responsible for our ability to consistently maintain a winning percentage in the neighborhood of 60% (some years above that, others just below it) year in, year out in the NBA, this year being no exception (see our spots on Top Ten’s NBA and Play of the Day leader boards).To illustrate the foregoing, note the following two team “case studies” below:
Case study #1 - LA Lakers and impact of losing Andrew Bynum to injury
Before Sunday night, Jan 13, the Los Angeles Lakers were cruising along on a five-game winning streak, but it wasn’t just that recent hot steak, as the Lakers had piled up their recent wins (17-4 SU, 13-7 ATS since the beginning of December) by employing an actual Phil Jackson triangle offense, complete with inside-out scoring, plus solid interior defense. In fact, the Lakers hadn’t looked this “complete” since Shaq was patrolling the paint. Obviously, Bynum is no Shaq (when Shaq was in his prime) but he was growing into an effective scoring threat in the paint as well as a good defender and rebounder. As a result, thoughts of a serious playoff run were starting to infiltrate even the thickest skulls in La-La Land.
But one snap of a knee was all it took to temporarily derail this Laker playoff train. Just when Andrew Bynum was starting to play like the franchise center Phil Jackson and Mitch Kupchak always wanted, the big fella went down with a dislocated patella and won’t be back for eight weeks. But you already knew that; however, the big story for bettors is that until their win Monday night against a weak defending Denver team, the Lakers had not been able to cover a point spread since the injury. The change in the team and their play on the court without their young center has been both quick and painful, not only for the Lakers but also for those bettors backing them. In fact, at home against a Memphis team they had recently throttled by 17 on the road when playing with a “full deck,” they blew a healthy 11-point lead after Bynum left the game, getting outscored 29-20 in the fourth quarter and winning by just one point, as their backers gave up hope of covering the 11 point spread. Then the following night, without their “big guy” to clog up the middle and patrol the area around the basket on defense, they needed overtime to get past a struggling Seattle squad that had been held to just 70 points in a recent home game against Dallas, failing to cover as 5-point favorites in a game they would have lost outright if not for an amazing display of shooting by Kobe Bryant, and getting “eaten alive” inside by both Nick Collison and even guard/small forward Luke Ridenour on his continual drives down the lane and successful off balance shots.
Then, with the Phoenix Suns coming to town for a Thursday night TNT showcase, and looking to avenge two upset losses to LA earlier this season, we envisioned the carnage that would likely take place at the Staples Center when Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire got a shot at this depleted (especially on defense) lineup, figuring that Kobe could, after all, only do so much. But alas, when we saw that the Suns were 2.5 to 3 point road faves over LA, coupled with the way Phoenix had been playing lately (hadn’t covered in their last four games and were ATS losers in seven of their last 10), culminating with a 7 point loss on this same court (Staples Center) to the woeful Clippers in their last game, we “tabled” Phoenix as an official pick on this site, settling for a small play on them ourselves. Well, you saw the result, an 8 point win by Phoenix, which wasn’t really even that “close.” And on offense, the Lakers were forced back into the old Kobe-goes-for-broke strategy which was on display in that Seattle game, when Bryant hoisted 52 shots and easily outscored the rest of the starting lineup with 48 points.
Without Bynum, the triangle loses its shape. Kwame Brown can’t even compare with Bynum’s touch and smoothness in the low post and they also lose a lot on the defensive end with Brown. Ronny Turiaf isn’t even close to possessing the makeup of an NBA center. Lamar Odom is supposed to be another option, but come on, let’s get ”real” here, as the only consistent thing about his play is that he shoots alot (good for Lakers when he’s hot, but bad when he’s not, as the only way to get him to stop hoisting up bricks on a cold night is for coach Phil to take him off the floor and sit him on the bench) The “bottom line” here is that the Lakers lost the only quality post player they had, and Phil Jackson’s triangle offense can’t work without a scoring threat in the paint. They blew a big lead as soon as he left the game when he was first injured. They barely squeaked out a win in Seattle against a team that has won only nine games all season, and it wasn’t pretty. Then they lost convincingly at home to a phoenix team they had twice beaten soundly earlier this season (including once in Phoenix) with Bynum in the line-up, before coming out of their “funk” (temporarily, we believe) with a solid win Monday night over a Denver team they have dominated (3-0 SU and ATS) this year. The difference in this team without Bynum is impossible to ignore, and it will be interesting to see how the Lakers fare without him tonite in San Antonio against a now healthy Spurs team anxious to avenge a loss in LA the last time these two played.
Case study #2 - Sacramento Kings getting their stars back in the line-up
Now we take a look at the opposite type of injury situation, that involving the Sacto Kings, who started out the season playing OK even without their captain and all-star guard Mike Bibby, at least at home, where they won 8 of their first 12,despite continually getting “lost” on the road, going 0-9 both SU and ATS in their first nine away games. But then star shooting guard Kevin Martin (and his 25 ppg) went down at the end of a typical Sacto home win (117-107 over Utah Jazz) on Dec 4, and then the “wheels fell off” for the Kings. When they lost their next game to the woeful Clippers by 10 (at home, no less), it was an early warning sign of bad times ahead for Sacto, and we capitalized on that, with several winning picks against the Kings, while they were playing like “queens” without their two top guards.
Now “fast forward” to early January, with Sacto in the midst of a home stand, welcoming back shooting guard Kevin Martin for their game against Indiana. We knew he was coming back, but passed on the game, as it often takes a team a few games to get even one of their stars back “into the flow,” especially on offense, after a prolonged absence. Sacto lost the game by 5, but the offense played well, with Kings scoring 105 points and Martin chipping in his season average of 25, hitting 7 of 9 shots from the field and a perfect 10-10 on free throws. So things looked promising, but we were not quite ready yet, with a strong Dallas team (which had annihilated Sacto earlier in the season, albeit in Dallas) coming to town next. Well, Kmart dropped in 39 as the kings upset the favored Mavs, 122-120. So, with Kings clearly on the upswing with this impressive home win, we were ready to back them, except they were done with their home stand and scheduled to leave for a three game road trip through the Midwest and into Canada (Toronto), and their road record TY had been pretty bad to that point, so we figured we would just keep an eye on them. In their first game of the trip (in Toronto), the Kings also welcomed back their captain and all-star guard Mike Bibby, after a season long absence recovering from off-season surgery. They lost to a hot Raptors team, but signs were encouraging, with both Martin and Bibby playing well. Next was a major challenge, facing the always tough Detroit Pistons on the road. Well, they passed that test with flying colors, winning 100-93 and shooting over 50% as a team, with both Bibby and KMart again playing well. But next night was a date with a rested Pacers team in Indiana, a team which had just beaten Kings (with KMart playing) by 5 in Sacto a week before, so we passed again, but the kings won again, 110-104.
After these impressive road wins in Detroit and Indy in their last two games, we figured that it was time to start backing the suddenly hot Kings, as they returned home for a single home game against the NJ Nets, sandwiched between six road games. But when we looked at Sacto’s 3-6 record as a home fave of 2-6 points TY, as well as NJ’s 5-1 record as a road dog in the same point spread range, we again decided to pass on Sacto as an official pick on this site, although we did bet them ourselves , and recommended them as part of a teaser to our winning official pick last night on Air Force over Colo State. The result? A resounding 128-94 Sacto win over a decent NJ team with all of its key players healthy and on the court., with Kings shooting an incredible 46-80 (56.5%) from the floor, including 15-24 (62.5%) from treyland, and 21-24 from the “charity stripe” – a virtually “perfect game” in a situation where they had done poorly so far TY and their opponent had done well – in other words, a very strong “buy sign” for Sacto
Tonite the Kings play on no rest against a rested LA Clippers team, seeking revenge for the aforementioned 10 point home loss in their first game after Kmart went down with his injury. So, is this a good enough situation for us to finally step out with an official pick on the Kings? To find out, you’ll have to buy at least a one day NBA pass or one day NBA/college hoops combo pack from Nite Owl Sports, which will include a number of other picks from today’s large hoops card, even if it does not include one on the Kings-Clippers game. We hope to have you with us tonite.
This article copyrighted by Nite Owl Sports for its exclusive use and that of Top Ten Cappers
Nite Owl Sports Past Articles
The Annual Heisman Hoax
The Heisman trophy will be handed out this evening, but the "tarnish" on that once prestigious trophy resulting from (i) the premature determination ... read more
Let’s Get the BS out of the BCS
Ever since I can remember, talk starts to heat up in November about which team is #1 in college football, and reaches new heights during the bowl selection ... read more
2008 MLB World Series Preview
This article is the final sequel to Nite Owl's two earlier MLB playoff previews (of the four divisional playoff series, and then both league championship ... read more
Red Sox on the Ropes
The Tampa Rays are now one game away from a World Series "date" with the Philadelphia Phillies, after pounding the defending World Champion ... read more
2008 MLB Championship Series Playoff Preview
2008 MLB Championship Series Playoff Preview This article is a sequel to Nite Owl's MLB playoff preview (of the four divisional playoff series) published ... read more
All Nite Owl Sports Past Articles
Nite Owl Sports Recent Past Picks
NBA Basketball
New Orleans Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday January 6, 2009 10:30 pm
Game update -- see end of write up for strong team totals playWe like LA Lakers in this match-up, mostly because they seem to play their best aginst the better (.500> win %) teams, with a 9-3 ATS record TY against such teams, incl 6-2 at home. And NO is just the opposite, with ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
College Basketball
Northern Iowa Panthers @ Creighton Blue Jays Tuesday January 6, 2009 8:05 pm
We like Bluejays here for two units at this high but not unfair price, as they are 3-0 ATS TY at home vs A and B teams (NI being a B-), with average MOV of 13, while NI is 1-3 ATS TY in its 4 lined roadies (all vs B teams, while Creighton is an A team), with one of those losses by ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
NBA Basketball
New York Knicks @ Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday January 6, 2009 8:00 pm
Game update -- see end of write up for indiv team totals playWhile we like Knicks in this match-up, and will play them, we'd like them more if they weren't not only starting a road trip here but also coming off odf their biggest win of the season, a 12 point upset win over hated ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
College Football
Ball State Cardinals @ Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tuesday January 6, 2009 8:00 pm
Final Game update -- see end of write upOriginal write up -- While both teams are fairly even stats wise and both have prolific offenses, the "intangibles" strongly favor Tulsa here, enough that we will take them at -2 over Ball St, whose "dream season" pretty ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
College Football
Ball State Cardinals @ Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tuesday January 6, 2009 8:00 pm
With ML at -130 to -135, we also like Tulsa at that price, just to win SU. And it's not that we are taking them on ML because we have doubts that they will cover the small spot of -2 or 2.5, but rather because with games in this price range, we often split our bets between ML and ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
NBA Basketball
Boston Celtics @ Charlotte Bobcats Tuesday January 6, 2009 7:00 pm
Game update -- see end of write upWe are going to use a 5 unit phase in approach to betting Boston in this game, by making three small plays on Celtics -- one for two units vs FG line, one for two units vs first quarter line, and one for one unit vs first half line (this one). This ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
NBA Basketball
Boston Celtics @ Charlotte Bobcats Tuesday January 6, 2009 7:00 pm
We are using a 5 unit phase in approach to betting Boston in this game, by making three small plays on Celtics -- one for two units vs FG line, one for two units vs first quarter line (this one), and one for one unit vs first half line. This strategy is based not on just some ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
NBA Basketball
Washington Wizards @ Orlando Magic Tuesday January 6, 2009 7:00 pm
We like Magic to blow out wash in this game, coming off embarrassing loss at Toronto Sunday, much like they did Cicago Bulls on road after their last upset loss.Magicg has easily beaten wash twice TY, by 15 and 25 (the latter in orlando), with Dwight Howard dominating both times ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
NBA Basketball
Boston Celtics @ Charlotte Bobcats Tuesday January 6, 2009 7:00 pm
We like Boston in this spot, the main reason being that they are coming off of a big upset loss, to the lowly NY Knicks. And while Celtics are just 3-2 ATS after a loss TY, Boston is 3-0 ATS after an upset loss where they are playing on at least one day's rest, the situation here, ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
College Football
Ohio State Buckeyes @ Texas Longhorns Monday January 5, 2009 8:00 pm
Game update -- see end of write up for first half playThis game is an interesting match-up -- on the one hand, we have a Texas team still steaming from being snubbed (no, actually screwed) by the strange Big 12 tie breaker system, which allowed Oklahoma to go to the Conference Championship ... read more
Nite Owl Sports Bio and Picks | Articles By Nite Owl Sports
All Nite Owl Sports Past Picks