Big Al McMordie Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

At 10:35 pm, our selection is on the Portland Trail Blazers minus the points over the LA Lakers.  To say the Blazers have dominated the Lakers would be an understatement.  Since April 2014, Portland has won ALL 15 meetings, and has covered the point spread in 13 of the 15 games.  Admittedly, this is a different Lakers team, with LeBron James being the featured player.  But Portland has won and covered its last four home meetings vs. LeBron James, so I'm not dissuaded from taking the Blazers.  Even better:  Portland has a second streak at play tonight, which is more impressive than its 15-0 record vs. the Lakers.  And that's Portland's record in its home openers.  It's the longest win streak in NBA history, and currently sits at 17 games (14-3 ATS).  Lay the points with the Trail Blazers.  NBA Elite Info Winner. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8:05 pm, our selection is on the Winnipeg Jets over the Vancouver Canucks.  The Canucks finished the 2017-2018 season with a record of 31-40-11 and they've lost their two leaders (the Sedin twins) so it's hard to imagine they could get any better this season.  But they're off to a good start -- 4-2 -- with three road victories in a row including an OT win over the Penguins on Tuesday.  Can the Canucks keep it going?  To be blunt -- not likely.  Despite their success, they are not a very good team and they will continue to be without star rookie Elias Petterssen who suffered a concussion after a dirty hit by the Panthers' Michael Matheson.  The Jets finished last season with the second best record in the West and they should be even better this winter.  20-year-old winger Patrik Laine is a budding superstar who has been compared to Alex Ovechkin.  The Finnish sharpshooter is part of a group of young guns that includes Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey.  Vancouver is 0-5 in the last five meetings and 0-6 in the last six in Winnipeg.  With Vancouver playing its sixth straight road game tonight, and the Jets in the midst of a 6-game home stand, we'll back the home team.  Take the Jets.  NHL High Roller Winner.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie. 

At 8:20 pm, our selection is on the Denver Broncos minus the points over Arizona.  The Broncos have lost their last four games, and have been installed as a small favorite on the road vs. Arizona.  The knee-jerk reaction might be to go against the ice-cold Broncos.  But consider that NFL teams off back to back losses have gone 32-6 straight-up and 28-9-1 ATS (including 10-0-1 ATS since 2014) on Thursdays when installed as a favorite (or PK).  Moreover, Denver falls into terrific 211-118 and 306-210 ATS systems of mine that play on certain teams in non-division games.  Take the Broncos.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.