There are a pair of games on ESPN tonight that are sure to impress. The humiliated Bulls, who lost to the Knicks at home last night, travel to Boston to play the Celtics. In the night cap, Blake Griffin and the Clippers travel to the mile high city to play Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets. Both should be good games, but the one I wanted to see was the Heat going up against the surprisingly 4-0 Hornets. It will be interesting to see how the Heat match up with quite possibly the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul.

So without further ado, here are my picks for each of the 12 games on the Friday night slate.

Bucks over Pacers
Scott Skiles is having a hard time getting their opponents to fear the deer in this early season. They’ve stumbled out of the gate at 1-4 and are facing Granger and the steady 2-2 Pacers. I like the Bucks to get the road win against another East team who is still trying to find their way. Indiana looks pretty good though with the improvement of Roy Hibbert and the arrival of Darren Collison.

Magic over Nets
Stan Van Gundy’s crew is fresh off a butt-wooping they put on the lowly Timberwolves in which they scored 78 points by halftime. They get this win at home tonight over a Nets team that is still figuring out who they are with all of the new pieces.

76ers over Cavaliers
This was a tough one, but I’m going with the home team. I’m still waiting to see what Evan Turner has to offer this team. I had high expectations for him, but with Andre Iguodala still in Philly, it will be tough to figure out where he fits in on this team. Still, I like them over the reeling Cavaliers, losers of three straight after their opening win over Boston. Antawn Jamison is likely out but Mo Williams will play and start for the first time this year.

Bobcats over Pistons
Will this be the game where the Pistons get their first win? I don’t think so. After stumbling out of the gate a bit, the 1-3 Bobcats eked out a win against the Nets on Wednesday. I look for them to keep it going against the hapless Pistons.

Wizards over Knicks
I like the wiz kid, John Wall, to lead them to victory over the three-point happy Knicks who coming off a big win in the Windy City last night. This is the type of up and down game Wall should thrive in tonight. Don’t be surprised if he does a lot of the things he did against the Sixers on Tuesday where he almost got a triple-double.

Celtics over Bulls
Boston’s not good on back-to-backs. That was made evident in their loss to Cleveland after beating the Heat. Going on two days rest and a grind-out win over the Bucks, I think the Celtics get the win at home in a tightly contested battle of two top teams in the East.

Hornets over Heat
The undefeated “Nawlins” Hornets are at home for the slightly hobbled LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Chris Paul will impose his will whoever is guarding him. Which begs the question: who will that be? It should be interesting. On the flip side, who accounts for James and Dwyane Wade?

Hawks over Timberwolves
The Wolves are just bad. They’ve given up at least 100 points in each of their four losses, including 129 and 128 to the Heat and Magic respectively. The Hawks are undefeated at 5-0. They’ll easily win this one despite not having Marvin Williams.

Suns over Grizzlies
Steve Nash and the boys are coming off a close home loss to the Spurs. I think their bench gets it done against the Grizz with Zach Randolph questionable to return to the lineup.

Clippers over Nuggets
In the ESPN night cap game, I like the Clippers upsetting the Nuggets on the road. They played well against the Thunder a few nights ago and I think they will play well enough together to get this win. The Nuggets continue to be without post presence with the absences of Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson. Griffin should be able to have a field day on the glass.

Warriors over Jazz
Golden State is a surprising 3-1 to start the season. They are at home for the Jazz, a team that just can’t win on the road. They do have an impressive road win against the Thunder, but they also got blown out by the Suns. Monta Ellis will continue his hot shooting streak in this one. I believe the Dubs get the upset win.

Lakers over Raptors
I don’t really have to explain this. Toronto is at the bottom of the East and L.A. is at the top of the West. It should be a blowout in a game where Kobe Bryant is done by the fourth quarter, maybe even sooner.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

Now that the individual awards have been doled out, it’s time to look forward to overall team performances. There are a handful of teams in the league that are considered to be contenders for the title. But each year there are squads that fly under the radar or exceed expectations. Last year’s teams included the 50-win Thunder, the overachieving, Scott Skiles’ led Bucks and even the Grizzlies. This year could yield NBA fans more unexpected playoff berths from annual cellar dwellers. Let’s check out some of those squads.

The Sixers have been pretty busy this year. They have hired a new coach in the defense-oriented Doug Collins. They acquired the number two draft choice in Ohio State standout Evan Turner, who I believe could have went number one in the draft as well (I know… shocking!). They have also shipped Sam Dalembert to the Kings for Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes. I like their chances to make a spirited run for the 7th or 8th seed in the East. They’ve got a promising core in Turner, Iguodala, Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, and Jrue Holiday. If only they knew what they were getting in Elton Brand they’d be set. It should be an interesting year for this bunch.

IF Chris Paul can stay happy and healthy and IF the newly acquired head coach in Monty Williams can successfully coach all of the new guys and IF all of the newcomers like Trevor Ariza can make a big enough impact, then the Hornets are in good shape. That is a lot of ifs, but I like their chances at sneaking into the playoffs. Paul is driven to succeed on whatever team he stars for, and it won’t be any different with the Hornets. Marcus Thornton is sure to improve on his surprising play from last year. The frontcourt tandem of David West and Emeka Okafor should continue to gobble up rebounds and produce effectively. A lot of people are claiming this team is dead in the water, but I like their chances to sneak in with the 8th seed in a suffocating Western conference. I don’t know about that Darren Collison trade though.

The Nets have done the best that could possibly do this offseason without landing LeBron James. Derrick Favors should be a nice, developing young talent for them this season with Troy Murphy likely getting the start. Brook Lopez will likely duplicate his production last season, as will Devin Harris. The difference is, they have more scoring options this time. Three-point shooters in Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw, and Troy Murphy all should make them more of a threat on the offensive end. I love the hiring of Avery Johnson as coach. He was great as a player and a great coach for the Mavericks. Cuban shouldn’t have let him go in the first place. And let’s face it, the Nets were the best 12-win team in NBA history last year. They will surely win more games this year, especially if guys can stay healthy, which was one of their problems last year. In the top heavy East, the Nets have a great chance for the 8th seed. And who knows what’s going on these days with the Carmelo Anthony trade talks.

While there are other surprise eligible teams, I picked these three. The Clippers, Kings, and Rockets are others that have been pegged as such. I like the prospect of Blake Griffin, but don’t know if he can stay healthy. And there’s always the Baron Davis conundrum. The Kings have the 2010 ROY in Tyreke Evans and a young promising talent in DeMarcus Cousins, but we’ll have to see how that pans out. The Rockets are never easy to predict due to the fact that Yao Ming can never stay healthy, but Rick Adelman puts out a very competitive group on the court regardless.

We’ll see how it all pans out. This year should be a good one though for teams looking to cash in on their higher than usual expectations.

Stay tuned for my forecast on the 16 playoff teams.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

This year’s sixth man of the year award will be a good race. Jamal Crawford took home the award last year with the Hawks in averaging 18 points a game. There are a couple of mainstays in this department that could win this year with an especially successful season both for the team and individually.

Manu Ginobili is always a candidate for this award every year. He won the award during the 2007-08 season and is a constant favorite to win. He spurred (no pun intended) the Spurs second half rally last year after a sluggish start to the season. Look for him to provide a spark off the bench with Tony Parker and George Hill being the likely starters.

Jason Terry is another sharpshooter for the Mavericks who has won the award before. His shooting can get the Mavs back into a game. He is a focal asset off their bench and can catch fire quickly.

With Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap likely starting for the Utah Jazz frontcourt, Mehmet Okur has an opportunity to shine off the bench. The 6’11 Turk can light it up from three. He shot 38.5% from behind the arc last year in averaging 13.5 points per game. I think he can be very effective in his new role off the bench.

I am tempted to put Al-Farouq Amino of the Clippers in the conversation for the sole purpose of being a homer. I’m a Wake Forest fan and I think he will be a serviceable pro. Maybe he won’t win it this year, but down the road, he has a shot to be a solid piece to this team’s puzzle.

Ben Gordon of the Pistons is another interesting pick. Coming off of an injury-plagued season, Gordon says he’s coming back healthy and with a renewed focus on attacking the basket more. He scored 13.8 points per game last year after averaging 20 for Chicago, so don’t be surprised if he as a bounce back year.

My winner for this award is Anthony Randolph of the Knicks. He is the perfect guy for Mike D’Antoni’s run and gun system in New York. He will be a key cog next to Amare Stoudemire and has the potential to actually live up to his potential in this new opportunity.

Up next, my prediction for the winner of the most valuable player award.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

Throughout the coming days, I will take a look at the upcoming 2010-2011 NBA season. Among the topics being covered include individual awards such as rookie of the year, sixth man of the year, defensive player of the year, most improved player, and most valuable player. Following these awards, I will try my hand at some teams that are poised to surprise some people as well as predict the eight playoff spots for each conference. Finally, I will assess the conference champions and delve into the NBA champion, which seems to be a two team race for the crown at this point, or so everyone says.

Up first is the always unpredictable rookie of the year. Blake Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Wesley Johnson, Derrick Favors, Evan Turner… One could go insane trying to predict who will actually win it. A lot of experts like Griffin, who was last year’s number one pick, but he has to stay healthy first. He doesn’t have the easiest competition either. John Wall is the sexy pick, but I think Evan Turner is an excellent pro prospect. It will be interesting to see how he will play alongside near replica Andre Iguodala in Philly. There is always the wild cards in Cousins, Johnson, and Favors to consider as well.

I want to say Evan Turner will win the ROY, but the team he was drafted by is preventing me from doing so. Unless new coach Doug Collins plays Turner and Iguodala at the same time, it will be tough for both players to get 40+ minutes. I am going to go with Blake Griffin. He will do all he can to revive the Clippers. He’s such a physical specimen. He is poised to play well after sitting out all of last year. Let’s just hope he can stay healthy or we will be seeing a Greg Oden-esque career.

Stay tuned for my pick for the defensive player of the year.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

The Los Angeles Clippers may not have won the NBA draft lottery for the second year in a row, but they are getting the No. 1 pick.

Blake Griffin, the Oklahoma star who missed all of his rookie season with a stress fracture in his left kneecap, has been fully cleared for all basketball activities.

“Right now Blake is working out with no restrictions, at full speed, 100 percent to the point where [strength coach] Rich Williams asked me to talk to Blake about dialing it back a little bit,” Clippers general manager Neil Olshey said.

“He’s working out in May like we were ready to tip off in October. The only guy I feel bad for is the first one of his teammates that shows up and wants to play one-on-one with him.”

Griffin injured his knee in the Clippers’ final preseason game on October 23. He rested for a few weeks and was hoping to return by the middle of the season. But the recovery process did not go as hoped and he was forced to have season-ending surgery.

Click here to read the full article – By Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com

The top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers will take on their Staples Center co-tenant tonight, the Los Angeles Clippers, in a tuneup before the playoffs.

The Lakers haven’t been playing like a playoff team, however, having lost three of their last five games, but are coming off Tuesday’s 106-100 win versus the Sacramento Kings in Hollywood. With Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum sitting out the final games of the regular season for the Lakers, Pau Gasol stepped up with 28 points and Shannon Brown added 24 in the win.

Sasha Vujacic added 13 points for LA, which is slated to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.

“We got the ball moving tonight, everybody got touches,” Brown said. “I am taking shots, what’s given to me. I’m just trying to get a nice rhythm for the playoffs.”

The Pacific Division-champion Lakers are 23-17 as the guest this season.

Click here to read the full article – By of http://www.sportsnetwork.com