Expert Football Picks

The Oklahoma City Thunder has been rolling through the first quarter of this shortened season, jumping out to the best record in the NBA (by percentage points over Chicago). Golden State is trying to turn the corner and be an exciting and relevant team again in the Western Conference, touting some young talent. The Thunder will look to continue their early-season dominance when they pay a visit to the Bay Area Friday night to meet the Warriors. This will be the first of three meetings between these two teams this season. Here’s a quick look at my NBA picks on this matchup. Oklahoma City Thunder (15-3) @ Golden State Warriors (6-11), 10:30 p.m. ET The Thunder hasn’t done much wrong lately, winning their last three games and 10 of 11 after a two-game losing streak. OKC posted a 101-91... 

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won 10 of their last 11 games and now find themselves with the best record in the NBA. We all know that they can light up the scoreboard offensively with the combination of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but it’s been their increased efforts on defense that have propelled them to a 15-3 start. Basketball experts had predicted another big season for the Thunder, but I’m almost certain that none of them had any idea that they would be so dominate. Friday’s match-up against the Golden St Warriors may seem like nothing but a formality, but as many teams have found out in the past, the Warriors have the ability to blow teams out at home. Despite having the best record in the league Oklahoma City has just a 2 game lead in what many NBA experts consider the... 

The Wisconsin Badgers and Indiana Hoosiers find themselves falling quickly out of the top-25, but they have got to this point in tow totally different ways. The Badgers were expected to contend for a Big Ten title as they were listed as the 15th ranked team in the country prior to the start of the season. Indiana on the other hand got off to a phenomenal 12-0 start, including a win over #1 Kentucky to sky-rocket up the rankings. However, both teams have gone through tough a tough stretch over their last 7 games, and are now a loss or two from dropping out of the AP top-25. NCAA basketball experts still feel strongly about Wisky’s ability to compete at a high level throughout the remainder of the season, but the jury on the Hoosiers is still out. It’s been the way the Hoosiers are winning... 

The Michigan St Spartans are one of the best teams in the country despite being ranked 10th in the country. Of their four losses, three of them are to top-25 opponents, and the other was at the hands of a much improved Northwestern squad. Now they will take on an over-achieving Minnesota Golden Gophers team that recently beat 8th ranked Indiana on the road. College basketball experts still figure this Spartans team to be at or near the top of the difficult Big-10, and potentially make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Games like this one will really show how focused and determined this Michigan St team is. What makes MSU so hard to beat it their balance on both sides of the ball. They play tremendous defense, but are ranked 38th in the country in scoring, 14th in assists and 22nd in field... 

The Orlando Magic are expected to be competitive and possibly make a splash in this years’ playoffs, but the distractions surrounding Dwight Howard and his possible trade have made it difficult for this team to stay focused on winning basketball games. They will need to be completely focused when they take on an Indiana Pacers team that is exceeding NBA experts predictions, and are just 3 games back of the Chicago Bulls for the Central division lead in the Eastern conference. Indiana is using the old school approach of rebounding and solid defense to win games, but they have shown the ability to put up points when needed as well. Danny Granger is quickly becoming one of the best player that no one knows. He doesn’t receive nearly the attention he should, but has been putting up All-Star...