The Bulls are without a series lead and superstar guard Derrick Rose. After the first two games against the 76ers, they counted on having both. Torn anterior cruciate ligament for Rose cost him the postseason and it may dent any chance the Bulls had of sweeping the Sixers in the best-of-seven series.

To win a game on the road since 2003, Rose’s absence in Game 2 was the break the Sixers needed to became the first No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers believe more than ever they can beat the top team in the East and make a big march of their own through May and they are ready to show Philadelphia they are more than a minor speed bump in Chicago’s playoff run.

In Game 6, the Sixers had the type of production they needed to have a chance at beating the Bulls over the next three games. The Sixers shot 59 percent overall and Jrue Holiday was 11 of 15 from the field for 26 points. Chicago product Evan Turner chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists and, going 8 of 13 after hitting just 1 of 6 shots in the opener; Lou Williams was clutch off the bench. In the league this season, Holiday might have blossomed into one of the top five point guards, he had the lockout not shortened the schedule and robbed him of valuable practice time.

The Bulls do not have that kind of luxury to get production from Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng. They combined for only 17 points. They were anticipated to help carry the load without Rose in the lineup. The pair missed five of six shots and let the Sixers run wild around them in the second half. In the first two games, Boozer has 18 points and 12 rebounds. At that pace, the Bulls will find themselves in a series hole.

The Bulls’ inability to stop the Sixers, particularly in the third quarter was the most alarming factor. Philadelphia wiped out a 55-47 deficit and Turner scored 11 in the quarter. Turning an eight-point deficit into an 83-69 lead, the Sixers outscored Chicago 36-14 in the third. The Bulls were outrebounded 14-5 in the frame.

With the series tied, both teams seeking a lead, Game 3 is going to be an exciting contest. Worth a watch!

NBA – Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers – Game 3 by Sports Picks Reviews

At the other’s expense Monday night at Charlotte, the bottom feeders of the Eastern Conference have an opportunity to end losing streaks. 25 teams entered play Sunday with 20 or more victories to put the 19 combined wins of Washington and Charlotte in perspective. The Bobcats are mired in an 11-game losing streak – their second one to reach double digits in the compressed season, while the Wizards have dropped five straight and 10 of 11 heading into this matchup, while the Bobcats are mired in an 11-game losing streak.

Washington (12-44) has been idle since ending a stretch of games on back-to-back-to-back nights with a 110-98 defeat at New Jersey on Friday, although they are wrapping up a three-game road swing. The Wizards trailed by 13 after one quarter and allowed the Nets to shoot 56.3 percent. They never led in the game.

Slow starts are being outscored by an average of 7.8 points in the first quarter while averaging 21.8 points and they have plagued the Wizards during their current skid. Point guard John Wall thinks his team can build a foundation over the final 10 games. On Saturday, Charlotte (7-47) tied the third-worst record through 54 games in NBA history with its 116-96 home loss to Atlanta.

The Hawks shot 52.4 percent, since poor defense again was the Bobcats’ main undoing Saturday. The 11th time it gave up 110 or more points in regulation and it was the 21st time Charlotte has allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better. Offensively, the Bobcats have rarely put together four good quarters. In at least one quarter in nine of their 11 losses in this losing streak, they have been held under 20 points.

Guard D.J. Augustin (knee tendinitis) missed a second straight game, therefore, Cory Higgins, though, provided a bright spot Saturday with a career-high 22 points. In a four-day span, two of Washington’s wins have come against Charlotte, including a 102-99 road victory Jan. 28 in the most recent meeting. After dropping six of the previous seven, the Wizards have won three straight overall between the teams.

The best NBA betting odds as per various sportsbook have Washington Wizards (13/16) and for Charlotte Bobcats (1).

Wizards vs. Bobcats @ Time Warner Cable Arena by Sports Picks Reviews

The Magic will be looking to even things up before the series shifts to Boston, but if they do they are going to have to make a number of adjustments.

The Celtics for their part are sitting pretty. They’ve got someone who can guard Orlando’s best player and they’ve got Orlando scrambling to adjust to their game.

The Magic are 6.5-point NBA playoff odds favorites and the over/under is 189.

Lucky Lester picks the Boston Celtics

These teams have played some close games and Boston is playing championship-caliber basketball again so take all 7.5 of that lofty point spread.

PredictEm picks the Boston Celtics

The Celtics will continue to frustrate Dwight Howard and, while the Magic will adjust and use other weapons, the Magic won’t be able to cover the spread in this matchup.

The Sports Geek picks the Boston Celtics

The Magic will have a bounce-back game tonight, but the Celtics are bringing it night-in night-out and this game will come down to the wire.

Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic NBA Playoffs Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews

The Oklahoma City Thunder seized all of the momentum in this series with consecutive home wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, but they will need to find a way to win in LA if they want to take the series.

Kobe Bryant is coming off of one of his least inspiring performances of the playoffs scoring just 12 points while Kevin Durant just completely out-classed him. Kobe has taken nights off in the playoffs before only to bounce back with dominant performances, so don’t write him off. The big question is, does Durant deserve the credit for Kobe’s Game 4 stinker? or does Kobe deserve the blame?

The Lakers are 6.5-point NBA playoff odds favorites at betED and the over/under is 194.

BSN Sports Blog Picks the Los Angeles Lakers

The Thunder really fed off of the home crowd in Games 3 and 4. They won’t have that advantage in Game 5, so grab the Lakers

Lucky Lester Picks the Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe’s made a career of killing opponents’ momentum. He and the bug guys on the Lakers are going to get the momentum back for LA.

Cappers Picks Picks the Los Angeles Lakers

The old men on the Lakers will benefit more from two days rest than the young and spry Thunder and they have been monster on home-court this season.

Predictem Picks the Oklahoma City Thunder

Finally a dissenter. The Thunder look good enough to upset the Lakers outright, so take the points.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers NBA Playoffs Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews

The action shifts to San Antonio for Game 3 of the NBA Playoff Round 1 best of seven series with the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks tied with one game apiece.

Dirk Nowitzki owned the Spurs in Game 1 who simply could not stop him and the Mavs were rewarded with a win.

The Spurs put up a smoke screen ahead of Game 2 saying that they’d double-team Nowitzki, but the same players that couldn’t stop him in Game 1, were able to frustrate the big man in Game 2 and help the Spurs even up the series.

With the series shifting to San Antonio, the Spurs are now 3.5-point NBA Playoff odds favorites at betED and the over/under is 194.

NSA Wins Picks the Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs play just as well on the road as they do at home.

Sports Chat Place Picks the San Antonio Spurs

There is not a lot separating these two teams at the moment, but the Spurs get a slight edge as the home team.

Cappers Picks Picks the San Antonio Spurs

Dallas’s bench is struggling and home court will be enough of an advantage for the Spurs to cover.

Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs – NBA Playoff Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews

Game 2 of the NBA Playoff match-up between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks goes tonight in Dallas with the Mavericks leading the series 1-0.

The Mavs kept feeding Dirk Nowitzki the ball in Game 1 and Nowitzki was money scoring 36 points.

The Spurs have vowed not to let that happen again and are planning on double-teaming Nowitzki to force someone else to make a shot.

Offensively the Spurs shot over 50%, but most of that came from their top scorers. The bench needs to step up and keep them in the game.

The Mavs are 3-point NBA Playoff betting favorites at betED and the over/under is 194.5.

Lucky Lester Picks the Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs are the better team and they match up well against the Spurs.

Sports Chat Place Picks the San Antonio Spurs

Nowitzki won’t be able to duplicate his Game 1 performance so the Spurs should keep it close enough to cover and perhaps even win.

Cappers Picks Picks the Under

San Antonio will slow the game down to reduce the number of turnovers and neither team will shoot as well as they did in Game 1.

Predict’Em Picks the Dallas Mavericks

The ATS trends favor the Mavericks with the home team going 4-1 ATS in the L/5 head-to-head, the favorite going 9-4 ATS head-to-head, and the Spurs are 0-6 ATS in Dallas.

San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks NBA Playoff Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews

The Miami Heat look to take advantage of Kevin Garnett’s one-game suspension as they face the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of their First Round NBA Playoff series.

The Heat dropped Game 1 after a Celtics defensive clinic completely stalled Miami’s momentum in the second half. The Celtics got the cover even though they have a horrible 13-28-1 ATS home record and Miami has a solid 24-18-0 ATS road record.

The Celtics are 1-point NBA playoff odds favorites in this one and the over/under is 183.

Sports Chat Place Picks the Miami Heat

Miami’s kept up with the Celtics in every meeting this season only to let the game slip away late. Dwayne Wade will see his team through this time.

Lucky Lester Picks the Boston Celtics

Glenn Davis and Rasheed Wallace step it up with Kevin Garnett out of the lineup.

Cappers Picks Picks the Boston Celtics and Over

Both teams shot poorly in game 1 dropping the total for game 2, so jump on it now.

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics NBA Playoff Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews

The big news in this series is the number of injuries that the Utah Jazz have sustained. They have an uphill struggle with Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko both out for the series, but we’re mostly concerned with how they do against the spread.

The Nuggets are currently 6-point NBA odds favorites at betED.

Sports Chat Place Picks Over

The Jazz and Nuggets are two of the highest scoring teams and previous meeting have gone over the total.

Online Sports Handicapping Picks the Utah Jazz

The Nuggets are inconsistent, so take the points.

Bleacher Report Picks the Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets are 7-1-2 ATS in their L/10 vs the badly beaten up Jazz.

Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets NBA Playoff Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews

The end of the NBA season is a time where cappers really get to test their skills and tonight’s Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls game is a perfect example.

The Bulls are 2-point NBA odds favorites in this game even though they are playing the best team in the NBA because they need to win while the Cavs have locked up top spot.

There’s not a lot more to say about this game, so lets see what the experts think.

Lucky Lester: Chicago Bulls

He’d take Chicago at -5.

Doc Sports: Chicago Bulls

Same as everyone else, the Bulls have more to play for.

Betting Sports Review: Cleveland Cavaliers

Yay, a dissenting opinion. The Cavs would rather play a now Bosh-less Raptors team so they’re going to do their best to stop the Bulls from catching them.

Predictem: Chicago Bulls

Same as everyone else, Bulls have more to play for.

Cappers Picks: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs are the better team and have too much pride to play less than their best.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls NBA Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews

Another fine pick from the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are trying to avoid the season series sweep as they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Jazz have a lot going for them including an excellent home record ATS and three-days rest.

The Thunder last played on Sunday, but Kevin Durant was really pouring them in scoring 40 points and the Jazz haven’t had much luck slowing him down.

The Jazz are 6-point favorites at betED’s NBA lines with a total of 212.5.

Sports Untapped: Utah Jazz

The Jazz a rested and will want revenge after losing to the Thunder a little over a week ago.

Sports Chat Place: Utah Jazz

The Jazz have too much pride to get swept by the Thunder and too much rest to have any excuses.

Jeff Alex: Utah Jazz

In games like this one between teams with winning percentages between 60 and 75 percent where one team has lost three in a row head-to-head, the team that has lost three in a row is 75-36 ATS winning by an average of 7.6 points.

Lucky Lester: Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder have three in a row on the Jazz and they have one of the best scorers in the game so take the points.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Utah Jazz NBA Picks Review by Sports Picks Reviews