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Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns NBA Picks & Predictions 10/17/2018
by Tony Sink - 10/13/2018

The Dallas Mavericks play the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena (10:30 pm ET). This matchup features DeAndre Jordan of the Mavericks and Devin Booker of the Suns. This report includes betting odds and our expert NBA picks for todays game.

2018 Memphis Grizzlies Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/9/2018

It wasn't too long ago that the Grizzlies were a reliable, stable playoff team in the West. Boring, almost. But last year Phoenix was the only team in the entire league with a worse record - and only by one loss. It was a quick descent - the team had made the playoffs for seven straight years until last season. And it isn't hard to figure out what was at the core of the troubles - injuries.

2018 Houston Rockets Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/9/2018

The Rockets came as close as any Western Conference team has to knocking off the Warriors last year. Better shooting in the Game 7 and they probably would have done it. But as close as they came, they know that their window is small and that they had to continue to make changes to try and close the gap further and make the finals. And they did make changes.

2018 Dallas Mavericks Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/9/2018

Grab a young European pro on draft day and ride him for two decades. It's a strategy that Don Nelson executed to perfection on behalf of the team (Nelson traded for Nowitzki and Steve Nash is separate trades on that day, which is one of the best trading days in league history), and the Mavs haven't had a second of regret since. Now they are attempting it again with Luka Doncic, with Nowitzki still coming off the bench and acting as a mentor.

2018 Sacramento Kings Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/9/2018

Think of all the bad teams in the NBA - the ones that can't seem to get anything working and haven't been able to for years. Every one of those teams has been in the playoffs more recently than the Kings. Sacramento has a league-worst, 12-year streak of playoff futility, and it is all but a lock that it will extend another year. Heck, it's a decent bet it will stretch another five or 10 years given how things are being run. There is not a worse-run franchise in the league, and that's really saying something.

2018 Golden State Warriors Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/8/2018

Seriously, is there anything more boring than reading a Golden State preview at this point? I can think of one thing - writing one. They are a stunningly dominant team with four all-stars in their prime on the roster, and they kept everyone and added another all-star for good measure. They were the best team in the league by a wide margin last year - at least when it mattered - and they probably will be again. The West is deep and getting tougher, but they are still well positioned to come out on top.

2018 New Orleans Pelicans Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/8/2018

This feels like a really, really important year for the New Orleans Pelicans. Of course, we said the same thing last year. And the year before that. And the year before that. But this time it feels different. They have escaped the DeMarcus Cousins diversion without too much pain, and they have the most talented - or at least most logically assembled - roster they have had in a long time. Maybe ever.

2018 Utah Jazz Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/8/2018

This past spring, we took my son, who is eight-years-old, to a Utah Jazz game. It was his second NBA game, but the first was in Orlando, so that barely counts. As we sat there gorging ourselves on snacks, I was struck by one thing above all else - this team is so easy to like. They have star power and they play selflessly. And they really seem to like playing together.

2018 San Antonio Spurs Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/8/2018

How you feel about the Spurs right now depends on your perspective. If you just look at the headlines then things could be seen as really, really bleak. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were longtime cornerstones of a championship franchise, and now both are gone. Seeing Parker in San Antonio wearing a different jersey will take a whole lot of getting used to.

2018 Denver Nuggets Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/8/2018

Like scoring? Find defense to be a waste of time? Then the Nuggets are your team. A precocious young team that missed the playoffs just because they lost their final game last year, this team has taken steps to be even more explosive offensively this season. And they certainly aren't going to waste a lot of time playing pesky defense. This team should be much improved and is just another example of how good and deep the West is right now.

2018 Portland Trail Blazers Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/8/2018

Portland won 49 games to take the Northwest Division last year. And they deserved it - this is a good team. But when they were swept by New Orleans in the opening round of the playoffs - in lopsided fashion - it was as if all of the team's issues were exposed, and suddenly hope was lost. This team can be a solid regular-season team as built, but in the Western Conference being pretty good isn't good enough, and it is tough to see a path from where they are now to somewhere better - not without tearing things down and finding a new path.

2018 Phoenix Suns Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/8/2018

Want to know how to judge if a franchise is in a good place? Here's a simple test - they're not if they fire their general manager eight days before the start of the regular season. Now, I'm not shedding too many tears for Ryan McDonough. He took over in 2013 charged with rebuilding in the post-Steve Nash era, and five years later they are not much further ahead than they were.

2018 Los Angeles Lakers Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/5/2018

This is not going to be the most positive preview of the Lakers you will read. If you want rainbows and unicorns then you will have to go somewhere else. I obviously respect LeBron James immensely. He's the best player in the league and probably the best player ever. And the consistency with which he goes to the finals is remarkable. He's a phenomenon, and we are lucky to be witnessing his career.

2018 Toronto Raptors Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2018

Things have been weird since the regular season ended in Toronto. Bold, but weird. They won 59 games to become the No. 1 seed in the conference in the playoffs, but once the playoffs started things went downhill fast. They struggled far more than they should have to get past Washington in the first round in six games and just rolled over and died against the Cavaliers.

2018 Oklahoma City Thunder Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2018

The Thunder made some big moves heading into last season, assembling their own Big 3 to try to contend with the Warriors and the rest of the arms race in the league. And it didn't really work out. Paul George worked well, but Carmelo Anthony was a mess who never fit in, and the team was a disappointing first-round loser - albeit to a Utah team that is very good, so there was not a ton of shame in the loss.

2018 Detroit Pistons Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2018

The Pistons are the latest team to prove one of the biggest truths in sports - that hiring a genius doesn't always, or even often, lead to brilliant results. It seemed like the Pistons had solved all of their problems when they hired Stan Van Gundy to coach and run the team four seasons ago. But he could never recapture the magic of year's past, and the team never took a step forward.

2018 Indiana Pacers Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2018

It's amazing how much things can change in just one year. No one expected much of anything from the Pacers coming into the season last year. The playoffs seemed almost impossible. They looked like an also-ran. But then Victor Oladipo, to the shock of everyone, including his own mother I'm sure, suddenly turned into a legitimate superstar, the roster around him evolved nicely, and suddenly the team not only won 48 games, and not only took Cleveland to seven games in the first round of the playoffs, but very nearly beat them in the decider. It was the most surprising positive result in the league last year.

2018 Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2018

It's obvious what is going to happen with the Cavaliers this year. They will endure rough spots during the season when they seem doomed, and in the playoffs as well, but when it matters LeBron will rise up, put them on his back, and carry them to the finals where they will lose to the Warriors. That's how it always happens. Oh wait, the old and reliable script doesn't work anymore.

2018 Chicago Bulls Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/4/2018

I'm not sure that I understand the Bulls right now. They have taken a bunch of players, thrown them together, and hoped that they will turn into a core to build around. And it could work - they certainly have amassed a lot of offensive talent. But in the NBA the whole is often much less than the sum of the parts, and there is a good chance that that could be the case here. There is some upside - not a ton, and probably not enough to get into the playoffs, but some.

2018 Boston Celtics Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/3/2018

The Boston Celtics basically didn't do any roster moves of note this offseason. They took care of Marcus Smart's contract, which was the highlight, but mostly they stood pat. Yet they are going to be one of the more changed contenders in the league. Kyrie Irving is healthy and should be able to play more than the 60 games he played last year.