[VegasDave]

8-1 (89%) RUN* EARLY *ROUT* from SCOTT RICKENBACH!:

Scott Rickenbach’s NBA 1* (regular play) Atlanta Hawks (+) @ Philadelphia @ 7:05 PM ET – With Atlanta coming off of a big win over the Lakers on Sunday and the Sixers off of a tight loss to Detroit on the same day, the “knee jerk” reaction here will be to back the Sixers at home. While that strategy (taking a decent team off of a loss or fading a good team off of a win over a better team) does work at certain times during this season, this is not the right time for that! When it’s late in the season and teams are battling for playoff position, it’s truly “crunch time”. This is why, even though the Hawks are off of an impressive win over the Lakers, this will certainly not be a flat spot for them here. The Hawks are trying to hang onto their playoff seeding and they will be taking on a Sixers team that is not playing it’s best ball right now. Also, Samuel Dalembert’s injury is another concern for Philly as he got hurt at Detroit on Sunday.

The Hawks had lost three of four before beating the Lakers and this is what is helping to give us so much line value here. The key is that those three Hawks losses came against Cleveland, Boston, and San Antonio. The Cavaliers, Celtics, and Spurs are all NBA Title contenders! So, what had the Hawks done before losing three of their last four games? They had won seven straight! They won’t let losses to three strong teams stand in the way of future success and they proved that by knocking off the Lakers on Sunday. There certainly will be no “let up” against the Sixers either. The Hawks lost to Philly by 15 points in their most recent meeting and that game was played in Atlanta. Also, the Hawks are still trying to secure the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference and, until they do, there will certainly be no letting up for Atlanta as they try to secure the home court edge for their first round match-up.

The Sixers are battling just to make sure they get into the playoffs. However, they haven’t really proven that with the way they’ve been playing. They’ve lost back to back games to Charlotte and Detroit and they had the home court edge against the Bobcats and the Pistons were a team that had been struggling badly. As for the Sixers, their defense is a real concern as they’ve allowed at least 100 points in six of their last seven games. In fact, in their last seven games they’ve allowed an average of 106 points per game. They’re facing a Hawks team that hasn’t allowed a team to score more than 102 against them in their last 13 games. Over their last 17 games, the Hawks have allowed just 91 points per game and they held the Lakers to just 35% shooting from the field on Sunday. This is why, even though they shot poorly too, the Hawks still won the game by double digits. One of the keys was Atlanta’s three point shooting and Atlanta is nailing about 37% of their threes this season while the Sixers, at 32%, are the worst three-point shooting team in the league. With the Sixers Dalembert hurting, the Hawks could take advantage in the paint and they should hold the edge with their perimeter shooting as well. The road team holds the value in this one and they get their revenge. Play Atlanta plus the points as a regular selection

[yisman]

he also has an NHL pick:

Dallas/LA OVER

[VegasDave]

Thanks Yis

[Imgoinhungry]

he also has an NHL pick:

Dallas/LA UNDER

If you are going to posts picks, at least get the right info.

Scott Rickenbach's Free Pick (Opinion Only): OVER the total in Los Angeles vs Dallas @ 10:35 PM ET

[yisman]

REASON FOR PICK: Tuesday’s pick looks like a particularly strong situation! It doesn't get much better than this set-up.When a team starts to "shut off" the intensity as a result of falling out of the playoff race, we often get line value with totals. Last night the Stars lost 6 to 5 in overtime at Phoenix. Those 11 goals scored are a sign of things to come. With Dallas seeing their playoff hopes slip through their fingers, their defense is no longer able to pull together with the kind of solid efforts they were providing back when the Stars were rolling. Mentally, it's just about impossible to maintain this level when a team is slumping at the end of a season. This results in crazy, more "care-free" games and, with the Kings soon joining the Stars on the golf courses rather than in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the expectation here is a higher scoring game. We realize Los Angeles isn't known for high scoring games but at this time of the season and on home ice and catching the Stars in back to back spot, we absolutely expect the Kings to push the pace here! Consider a small play on OVER the total in Los Angeles in the NHL on Tuesday night.

[Imgoinhungry]

I follow rickenbach and play his plays. Sucks that I already took under. Hawks lost, so the law of averages says he will get this pick right.

[canuck]

I follow rickenbach and play his plays. Sucks that I already took under. Hawks lost, so the law of averages says he will get this pick right.

Hungry.....Looks like you eat...5 goals should be a winnah!!

[Imgoinhungry]

Lol yes.