NBA Rankings - 2 Dec

The Golden State Warriors lost to a bottom 3 team this week, and it knocked the defending champs from the top spot in the rankings, which allowed the Houston Rockets to slide up and fill the void. The Rockets have the best record in the West, and are only a game behind Boston for the best record in the league, despite not having Chris Paul for most of the season so far. Other teams making strong moves this week are the Jazz, who have won 5 in a row, and Cleveland, which is up to 10 straight. Here are my full current rankings and playoff picks:

				Rec		Proj
TW	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	MOV	SOS	PO Seed
1	2	Houston	-11.7	17	4	67	15	1	21	W1
2	1	Golden State	-11.5	17	6	65	17	2	16	W2
3	4	Toronto	-9.24	14	7	60	22	4	5	E2
4	3	Boston	-8.55	19	4	61	21	3	19	E1
5	7	Washington	-5.26	12	10	49	33	5	20	E5
6	5	Philadelphia	-5.17	12	9	51	31	13	1	E3
7	8	Detroit	-4.28	14	7	50	32	10	13	E4
8	12	San Antonio	-3.97	15	7	48	34	6	29	W3
9	10	Denver	-3.96	12	9	47	35	11	24	W4
10	6	Oklahoma City	-3.7	9	12	43	39	8	23	W8
11	16	Cleveland	-3.54	15	7	48	34	9	22	E6
12	9	Indiana	-3.41	12	11	46	36	15	2	E7
13	20	Utah	-3.32	12	11	43	39	12	26	W7
14	11	Portland	-2.96	13	9	44	38	7	30	W5
15	14	New York	-2.5	11	10	43	39	16	6	E8
16	17	Minnesota	-2.2	13	10	43	39	14	18	W6
17	23	Milwaukee	-1.09	11	9	40	42	17	17
18	15	Charlotte	-0.97	8	13	37	45	19	8
19	13	New Orleans	-0.9	11	11	39	43	18	14
20	19	Miami	-0.03	11	11	38	44	21	11
21	18	Memphis	0.471	7	14	33	49	25	4
22	25	Brooklyn	0.727	8	13	33	49	23	10
23	21	LA Clippers	0.746	8	12	33	49	20	25
24	22	Orlando	0.772	9	14	34	48	24	3
25	24	LA Lakers	1.382	8	13	31	51	22	27
26	27	Dallas	2.94	5	17	25	57	26	12
27	26	Atlanta	3.554	4	17	23	59	27	7
28	28	Sacramento	6.439	7	15	21	61	29	9
29	29	Phoenix	7.24	8	15	20	62	28	28
30	30	Chicago	7.783	3	18	14	68	30	15

Playoff Picks

First Round

(1) Celtics over (8) Knicks
(2) Raptors over (7) Pacers
(6) Cavaliers over (3) 76ers
(5) Wizards over (4) Pistons
(1) Rockets over (8) Thunder
(2) Warriors over (7) Jazz
(3) Spurs over (6) Timberwolves
(5) Trail Blazers over (4) Nuggets

Second Round

(1) Celtics over (5) Wizards
(2) Raptors over (6) Cavaliers
(1) Rockets over (5) Trail Blazers
(2) Warriors over (3) Spurs

Conference Finals

(2) Raptors over (1) Celtics
(2) Warriors over (1) Rockets

NBA Finals

(2) Warriors over (2) Raptors

Basketball Predictions - 2 Dec

Upset picks are in italics.
Pick of the Day in bold.

Phoenix at Boston - Celtics by 18
LA Clippers at Dallas - Mavericks by 0.5
Atlanta at Brooklyn - Nets by 5
Memphis at Cleveland - Cavaliers by 5.5
Detroit at Philadelphia - 76ers by 2.5
Sacramento at Milwaukee - Bucks by 10
LA Lakers at Denver - Nuggets by 7.5
New Orleans at Portland - Trail Blazers by 4.5

La Salle vs. Holy Cross - Explorers by 11.5
(11) Cincinnati at (21) Xavier - Musketeers by 9
Lehigh at (18) Virginia - Cavaliers by 30.5
South Carolina State at NC State - Wolfpack by 33
Manhattan vs. Towson - Tigers by 21
Indiana at Michigan - Wolverines by 17
Colorado at Colorado State - Buffaloes by 8
Radford at VMI - Keydets by 7.5
UNC Greensboro at Liberty - Flames by 3.5
Bryant at New Hampshire - Wildcats by 14
Fairleigh Dickinson at Iona - Gaels by 13.5
(8) Wichita State at (16) Baylor - Bears by 2
Virginia Tech at Ole Miss - Hokies by 6.5
Massachusetts at South Carolina - Gamecocks by 20
Georgia at Marquette - Golden Eagles by 9.5
Saint Louis at Butler - Bulldogs by 11
Youngstown State at DePaul - Blue Demons by 16.5
Oakland City at Evansville - Aces by 26
Maine at Fordham - Rams by 20
St. Bonaventure at Buffalo - Bulls by 5
Colgate at Binghamton - Bearcats by 1
IUPUI at Ball State - Cardinals by 7
Oakland at Western Michigan - Broncos by 9.5
Central Connecticut at Brown - Bears by 5.5
Robert Morris at Siena - Colonials by 3
Green Bay at Belmont - Bruins by 15.5
Quinnipiac at Lafayette - Leopards by 7.5
Reinhardt at Winthrop - Eagles by 26
UC Davis at Washington State - Cougars by 8
Williams Baptist at New Orleans - Privateers by 17.5
Air Force at Denver - Pioneers by 6
UT Rio Grande at Rice - Vaqueros by 2.5
USC Upstate at Gardner-Webb - Bulldogs by 3
Fayetteville State at Longwood - Lancers by 13
UMBC at Citadel - Bulldogs by 3
Northern Illinois at Chicago State - Cougars by 5
South Dakota at (1) Duke - Blue Devils by 15.5
Harvard at (7) Kentucky - Wildcats by 25
Richmond at Wake Forest - Demon Deacons by 13.5
Monmouth at Connecticut - Huskies by 6.5
Tulsa at Illinois State - Redbirds by 6.5
Oral Roberts at Little Rock - Trojans by 1.5
San Jose State at Southern Illinois - Salukis by 12
UIC at Loyola Chicago - Ramblers by 15.5
Loyola (MD) at Mt. St. Mary's - Greyhounds by 3
Dartmouth at Canisius - Griffins by 13.5
Rider at Drexel - Broncs by 9
Portland Bible at Portland State - Vikings by 30.5
Montana State at Milwaukee - Panthers by 0.5
Cornell at Northeastern - Huskies by by 7
William & Mary at Savannah State - Tribe by 1
American at Maryland-Eastern Shore - Eagles by 6
North Carolina A&T at Presbyterian - Aggies by 1
Sacred Heart at St. John's - Red Storm by 20.5
UL Monroe at Stephen F Austin - Lumberjacks by 11.5
Alabama A&M at Austin Peay - Governors by 21.5
Yale at (23) TCU - Horned Frogs by 9.5
Ohio State at Wisconsin - Badgers by 9.5
Penn State at Iowa - Nittany Lions by 1.5
Loyola Marymount at Oregon State - Beavers by Beavers by 4.5
Delaware State at East Carolina - Pirates by 12.5
Mercer at Memphis - Bears by 6.5
Providence at Rhode Island - Rams by 9
UT Martin at Chattanooga - Mocs by 10
Tennessee Tech at Furman - Paladins by 1
Schreiner at Abilene Christian - Wildcats by 21.5
Tennessee Wesleyan at Georgia Southern - Eagles by 34
Wright State at Western Kentucky - Hilltoppers by 17
Army vs. Marist - Black Knights by 18
(2) Kansas vs. Syracuse - Jayhawks by 13
(4) Villanova at Saint Joseph's - Wildcats by 18
Drake at Wyoming - Cowboys by 4
Bowling Green at Norfolk State - Falcons by 9
Jacksonville at Eastern Kentucky - Colonels by 9.5
Boston College at Hartford - Eagles by 8.5
South Florida at Appalachian State - Mountaineers by 18
Hawaii at Utah - Utes by 22.5
Lamar at Coastal Carolina - Chanticleers by 5
Old Dominion at VCU - Rams by 0.5
Columbia at Albany - Great Danes by 7
Texas Southern at Toledo - Rockets by 4.5
Cleveland State at Kent State - Golden Flashes by 11.5
Akron at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 5
South Alabama at FIU - Jaguars by 3.5
St. Francis (PA) at Stony Brook - Seawolves by 3
SE Missouri State at NC Central - Eagles by 8
Morehead State at Northern Kentucky - Norse by 18
Saint Peter's at Elon - Phoenix by 4
Vermont at Bucknell - Bison by 1
Fresno State at Long Beach State - Bulldogs by 4
Middle Tennessee at Florida Gulf Coast - Eagles by 3.5
Trinity Baptist at North Florida - Ospreys by 20
Miles at Louisiana Tech - Bulldogs by 29.5
Bethune-Cookman at FAU - Owls by 5
Arkansas at Houston - Razorbacks by 6
Princeton at (10) Miami - Hurricanes by 26.5
Texas State at Houston Baptist - Huskies by 2.5
Sacramento State at Incarnate Word - Cardinals by 9.5
Miami (OH) at Western Illinois - Leathernecks by 10
Missouri State at South Dakota State - Jackrabbits by 5.5
North Texas at UT Arlington - Mavericks by 17
Florida A&M at Murray State - Racers by 21
Lipscomb at Tennessee State - Tigers by 2.5
San Diego Christian at Southern Utah - Thunderbirds by 21.5
Charlotte at James Madison - Dukes by 5
San Francisco at (20) Arizona State - Sun Devils by 26.5
BYU at Utah State - Aggies by 7.5
UC Riverside at Grand Canyon - Antelopes by 13.5
UTSA at Utah Valley - Wolverines by 4
New Mexico at UTEP - Lobos by 3.5
Cal Lutheran at CS Fullerton - Titans by 17.5
(14) USC at SMU - Mustangs by 6.5
Pepperdine at Cal Poly - Mustangs by 8
San Diego at UC Santa Barbara - Gauchos by 7.5
Arkansas Pine Bluff at Santa Clara - Broncos by 12.5
Arizona at UNLV - Rebels by 12.5
Northern Arizona at CSU Bakersfield - Roadrunners by 23
Nevada at UC Irvine - Wolf Pack by 15.5
Saint Mary's at California - Gaels by 12.5

Results

NBA: 7-1 (.875) 202-123 overall (.622)
Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 26-36 overall (.419)
College Basketball: 17-5 (.773) 1133-240 overall (.825)
Upsets: 1-2 (.333) 58-58 overall (.500)
Pick of the Day: 22-0

Basketball Predictions - 1 Dec

Upset picks are in italics.
Pick of the Day in bold.

Golden State at Orlando - Warriors by 9
Detroit at Washington - Wizards by 1.5
Indiana at Toronto - Raptors by 8
Charlotte at Miami - Heat by 1
Sacramento at Chicago - Bulls by 1
San Antonio at Memphis - Spurs by 0.5
Minnesota at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 4
New Orleans at Utah - Jazz by 4.5

Holy Cross vs. Manhattan - Crusaders by 1
Towson vs. La Salle - Tigers by 8.5
Marist at Citadel - Bulldogs by 15
Army vs. UMBC - Black Knights by 6
Duquesne vs. Pittsburgh - Panthers by 5.5
Purdue at Maryland - Boilermakers by 3
Coppin State at Ohio - Bobcats by 14
Jackson State at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 19
Fairfield at Wagner - Seahawks by 8.5
Delaware at Navy - Midshipmen by 8.5
Edward Waters at Stetson - Hatters by 18
Johnson & Wales (NC) at High Point - Panthers by 25.5
Grambling at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 10.5
(13) North Carolina at Davidson - Tar Heels by 2
Texas Lutheran at Texas A&M-CC - Islanders by 16
Louisiana at Nicholls - Colonels by 8
Eastern Illinois at Bradley - Braves by 9
Rust at Alcorn State - Braves by 16
Illinois at Northwestern - Wildcats by 3
Bethesda at Idaho State - Bengals by 18.5
Boise State at Oregon - Ducks by 5.5
(25) Creighton at (15) Gonzaga - Bulldogs by 9

Results

NBA: 4-1 (.800) 195-122 overall (.615)
Upsets: 25-36 overall (.410)
College Basketball: 32-4 (.889) 1116-235 overall (.826)
Upsets: 4-2 (.667) 57-56 overall (.504)
Pick of the Day: 21-0