VegasSportsPics.com

Each and every Wednesday all selections are free and posted at the main site.

Sunday Jan.28th

(Selections are rated on a 5 star system , with 5 being the best bet.)

Baltimore Ravens - 3***** over New York Giants

The Giants looked good beating Minnesota , but it was somewhat of a
fluke.Everything clicked for the Giant's offense against a Viking's defense
that has been not good for most of the season.And dome teams are something like
5-30 all-time outdoors in the playoffs. And it was fluky the Vikings were shut
out - the Giant's defense , while good , can not be confused with great.The
opponent : It's obvious the Ravens are well coached. Baltimore's offense while
not flashy is solid.The Ravens are disciplined and take care of the ball.On the
other side , Baltimore's defense is the best, most dominating unit I have seen
since the '85 Super Bowl Shuffling Chicago Bears -- I'm on Baltimore minus the
points , period.

Philadelphia 76ers - 2**** over Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia (33-10) at Indiana (20-22) - Indiana is 14-9 vs. Eastern
Conference rivals , while the Sixers are 23-8 vs. the East. - This is the first
meeting since Indiana beat the Sixers, four games to two, to reach the Eastern
Conference finals last season.But the Sixers have won four of the last six
regular-season meetings vs. the Pacers.-- The Sixers are a league-best 33-10
overall , and are a league-best 19-4 on the road. They have won 15 of their
last 17 contests.Phily is also riding a franchise-record 12-game road win
streak.-- The rebuilding Pacers continue to say they can play with anyone, but
up until now they have talked the talk but have not walked the walk.I truly
believe the big headed Pacers think they can turn it on when ready. I don't
think so. A 92-82 home loss to Portland on Thursday supports my stance as the
Pacers also talked a good game before Portland.- Indiana is 11-8 at home.
Overall the Pacers are a bigtime losing 7-17 against teams with a winning
record.Indiana is also 0-3 as the home dog this season.- To continue to reign
as the supreme team in the Eastern Conference , Phily needs to come up big in
this game.And they figure to!

Los Angeles Lakers - 2**** over New York Knicks

Los Angeles (27-14) at New York (26-16) - New York has held a record 33
straight opponents to under 100 points.The Knicks are on pace to set another
NBA record this season -- for least points allowed in a season. Their opponents
are averaging 83.7. The record is 83.4 But after winning 11 of 12 games , the
Knicks have now lost 3 straight. They averaged just 77.3 points in the losses.
Included in the skid a 87-74 loss at home to Struggling Indiana The Knicks
remain without Marcus Camby (fifth game of five-game suspension - NY lost 3)
The Knicks have missed Camby's presence on the offensive boards bigtime.The
Lakers beat New York in both meetings last season on their NBA championship run
, 92-85 in NY , and 106-82 in LA.The Lakers have won six of their last eight
games overall against the Knicks. Shaquille O'Neal averaged 38 points against
the Knicks last season.The Lakers , 4-4 in their last 8 games , are a team
somewhat in turmoil with some in-house bickering between their big time star
players.Overall the Lakers are 10-8 on the road and 8-2 vs. the Eastern
Conference , while the Knicks are 13-8 at home and 10-5 vs. the West..---With
the national audience the struggling Lakers figure to make a statement in this
game- That they remain the defending NBA champions.And with Camby out , O'Neal
figures to come up big.----Dear Members : As you are aware I am mired in a 4
day slump going 6-9. - I 100% believe I break it today.

[This message has been edited by senatorjm (edited 28 January 2001).]