Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
NBA Pick: Under 195.5 (December 29th 2011)
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When we were making the odds for this game we had this totals line at about 191. While the Knicks are still an offensive team, they aren’t following the Phoenix Suns blueprint anymore and Mike D’Antoni wants to concentrate on defense this season. That’s one of the main reasons they brought in Tyson Chandler to provide an intimidating presence down low. Last night against Golden State this team allowed only 92 points to the Warriors, a team that likes to run a lot more than the Lakers will tonight. LA has been superb on defense in two of three games, and in their one ‘off’ game of the season, they allowed only 100 to a Sacramento team that clearly had their number that night. We just think this high number is more about hype than reality. This is a “showtime” matchup and the public wants to bet the over here, especially with the Knicks reputation for offense (they managed only 78 last night against a horrible Golden State defense). These teams don’t play that often, but three of the last four meetings have stayed under the posted number. Of the five games these two teams have played collectively thus far four have gone under and that is the way we see this one going as well. Get more NBA picks for December 29th 2011 from Doc’s Sports at Touthouse.com

Florida State vs. Notre Dame
Prediction: Florida State -3.5 (December 29th 2011)
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My money is on the Seminoles to take down the Fighting Irish by at least 4-poitns in today’s Champ Sports Bowl. Both of these teams finished the regular season with a disappointing 8-4 record, but Florida State struggles were more of a result of injuries than the talent they sent out on the field.

Notre Dame had an impressive 31-13 win over Michigan State, but also lost to Michigan, USC, and Stanford. The losses against the Trojans and Cardinal were both by 14-points. Their win over the Spartans is a bit misleading, as they only had 265 yards of total offense.

I believe the difference in this game will be the Florida State defense, which comes in ranked 4th in the country, allowing just 15.2 ppg. The Seminoles are very strong against both the run and the pass. They allowed just 81.8 ypg (2nd) on the ground and only 192.8 ypg through the air.

Notre Dame has made some solid progress under head coach Chip Kelly, but this is a very inconsistent team that has struggled to put up points against the top defenses they have faced. The Fighting Irish managed just 17-points in a 17-31 loss at home to USC and only 14-points in a 14-28 loss at Stanford.

Florida State 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 neutral site games, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 0.5-3.0, and 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 bowl games. BET THE SEMINOLES -3.5! If you enjoyed this Florida State vs. Notre Dame prediction from Steve Janus, be sure to check back ofter at Touthouse.com for more bowl picks.

NBA Picks: December 28th 2011
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NBA Pick: Phoenix Suns +2
The Suns opened the season with a tough 84-85 loss at home to the Hornets. Phoenix hasn’t started out 0-2 since the 1996-97 season. The 76ers lost 103-107 at Portland on Monday, despite shooting 48% from the field. Philadelphia is a team a lot of people are expecting to show big improvements this season, but I don’t believe they deserve to be favored in Phoenix. Dating back to last season, Philadelphia is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite. The Suns shot just 38.5% in the loss to New Orleans. Phoenix is primarily a team who shoots a lot of jump shots. If they aren’t falling, any team in the NBA can beat them regardless of where the game is. My money is on the Suns to shoot a much higher percentage tonight and win this game as a live underdog. BET THE SUNS +2! -Steve Janus

NBA Pick: San Antonio Spurs -4
The Clippers played a good second half against Golden State, but they’ll have to put together two good halves to get past the Spurs and I don’t see it happening. With so many new faces, the Clippers will have chemistry issues early on. The Spurs, who have a nucleus of guys that have played together a long time will have no such issues with chemistry. Many forget San Antonio finished last year’s regular season with the best record in the West. The Clippers have lost 46 of 51 meetings with the Spurs since Dec. 10, 1997, including 16 in a row in San Antonio by an average of 14.3 points. Chris Paul is one of the best point guards in the league, but even he has struggled in San Antonio, losing 11 of his 13 visits there while with the Hornets. The Spurs, who handled Memphis by 13 in their opener, are 25-11 ATS in their last 36 games following a win of more than 10 points. We’ll lay the number. -Jimmy Boyd. Get more NBA picks for December 28th 2011 from Jimmy and Steve at Touthouse.com.

Atlanta Hawks vs. New Jersey Nets
NBA Pick: Atlanta Hawks -4.5 (December 27th 2011)
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Atlanta is the last team to take the floor in the Eastern Conference this season as all other teams have played at least one game. I think this is an advantage as any extra preparation time this season is a big edge because of the limited preparation time heading in. There have been a few changes to the Hawks roster, notably the loss of Jamal Crawford but most everything else is in place. Atlanta will be without Kirk Hinrich for a while but point guard Jeff Teague is in control to run the floor.

New Jersey is coming off a win last night at Washington and I think it provides a perfect letdown opportunity. The Nets trailed by as many as 21 points before rallying to win thanks to a massive edge on the glass including an 18-8 advantage with offensive rebounds. The Nets shot only 39.5 percent from the floor including 23.1 percent from long range (6-26) and despite being the home opener and only the second game of the season, New Jersey could be mentally drained after last night.

The Hawks fell off last year as their regular season win total dropped by nine victories but despite bowing out in the second round yet again in the playoffs, they were able to finally take out nemesis Orlando in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Whether they can carry that over into this season remains to be seen but this is a confident team. “We have a sign in the locker room, ‘No more excuses,’” coach Larry Drew said. “We’re at a point in our careers now where it’s time to take that next step.”

Getting off to a good start is priority number one for Atlanta and while it lost both meetings in New Jersey last season, the situation is much better here. The Nets closed last season by going 0-7 ATS in their last seven home games while going 2-8 ATS in their final 10 games when playing with no rest. The Hawks were just a game under .500 on the road last season which was their best road record in years so winning on the road is no longer an issue. 3* (501) Atlanta Hawks. Get more NBA picks for December 27th 2011 from Matt Fargo at Touthouse.com.