Daily Three 1/20

  Hello,

   We had another 2-1 night yesterday thanks to great individual efforts from Issac Hamilton and Karl-Anthony Towns. Although the Rangers gave us our only "L" last night, it is encouraging to know that the blog has gotten out to NHL players. After bashing him for abandoning his goalie, Brady Skeji went out and got a goal and an assist last night. Way to prove your worth Brady, now stand up for the King. Anyway, we got three games tonight, 2 NBA and 1 NHL.

NHL
Montreal Canadiens at New Jersey Devils +120 

Look, I really don't have much here, I am just taking a gut shot. And if you aren't going to trust my gut shot, then you might as well ignore the rest of my picks that have resulted into a 65% success rate thus far. If you need some reasoning, the Devils are a fairly good home team who are coming off three pretty big wins on the road at Calgary, Vancouver, and Minnesota. Montreal is starting a backup and have had trouble scoring goals lately. The Habs have scored a goal or less in 4 of their last six games. In the other two games, they played Winnipeg and the Rangers, who have been doing wonderful sieve impressions the past couple of weeks. The Canadiens will probably struggle to score goals again tonight, and the Devils will do just enough to get a W.

NBA
Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets Over 239.5

Over Over Over. There is a reason Vegas put up this number. Honestly, I think Vegas is scared that they couldn't make it higher. America loves its scoring, and tonight it will get it. So, cheer for ten second possessions that lead to multiple three point baskets. It will happen a lot tonight in Houston.

Indiana Pacers at Los Angeles Lakers +3.5

Bang bang, bang bang, bang bang. The late night hammer just keeps on banging. Tonight, the Lakers will be the hammering away, but first, we must address our stupid NBA nickname of the day, which is of course the Lakers. The Lakers originated in Minneapolis where the name made complete sense. For those coasties out there, Minnesota is known as "the land of 10,000 lakes. With so many lakes in the state of Minnesota, it essentially made every citizen "a laker." Thus, the name aptly represented the people of Minnesota and gave the people much pride. However, like many great things, the good times had to end as the franchise left Minnesota and headed to Los Angeles. Once in LA, the franchise didn't care to change the name and severely disrespected both their old fan base and their new fan base (there are very few lakes in LA). The Clippers must have been influenced by the Lakers decision. Although the name is remarkably stupid, I will give them a pass that I have not given to the Pistons or the Clippers. First, the Lakers are the nickname for my high school (the school was on Lake Ave. and surrounded by a lake). Second, unlike many franchises that refuse to change their name and then end up being terrible organizations, the Lakers were a powerhouse in the league for a long time with Kareem, Magic, Worthy, Shaq, Kobe, and many others. They ran the league and could essentially do whatever they want. So, congrats Buss Family, the name of your team is stupid, but it is acceptable. In regards to the game, what was the NBA thinking? The Pacers played a game in London last Thursday, then got to fly back to Indiana and play a game, then had to fly cross-country for a west coast road trip. That is just awful scheduling. Yes, the Pacers won in Sacramento on Wednesday, but the legs are probably going to start wearing down in LA tonight. Stay up late for the Lake Show starring Julius Randle and enjoy the W you will be rewarded with for doing so.

Yesterday: 2-1
Overall: 24-13-2 (64.9%)