Boston has to be pissed they were snubbed for the Christmas Day game after playing in that game the past eight years. This team has shown they are still elite and deserved to be there. We think they will take it out on the lowly Pacers. The Pacers are a dumpster fire and their home court advantage has evaporated as they have lost three straight here. Indiana has one of the worst offenses in the league and they only managed 95 points when these teams played on Monday. They followed that up with a 94-point effort against Milwaukee on Tuesday. We dont see them doing much better than they did Monday, but Boston has a chance to put up more points on offense.

3 Unit Play. Take #222 Minnesota Golden Gophers over New Mexico Lobos (4:30p.m., Friday, November 23 ESPN) Minnesota and their head coach care about these lesser bowl games and they will enter Phoenix having won their last 5 bowl games. New Mexico had a remarkable turnaround and closed the season winning six straight games. We have seen that the MWC is not very good this season with Boise State and Utah State getting blown out already this bowl season. New Mexico tries to play like Minnesota and thus the Gophers will be prepared for them. Minnesota struggles against speed and athleticism, and New Mexico is not that type of team. Goldy and company win this bowl game in Phoenix.

The Nets are a team we always thought would be a sneaky good ATS team this season but early in the season they were on the wrong end of a lot of blowouts. But this team has been improving over the course of the early season and we are starting to see the team we envisioned at the outset. They have covered in four straight games and five of six. They have won two straight outright, and three of four. Minnesota is going to be overvalued by the oddsmakers almost every night. They have been one of the worst teams in the NBA ATS this season. And this team often plays down to its competition in games like this and doesnt give 100 percent effort. They usually wind up with a win but not the cover. We could see a hangover also from their epic OT Christmas game against the Nuggets, and we think the Nets keep this one within double digits.

This is of course a major rivalry, and the Rangers have gotten the better of the Islanders in seven of the last nine meetings, including two straight at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. The Rangers have won three of four and are playing extremely well right now. Last time out they beat the Capitals in Washington, 7-3. The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 home win over the banged-up Devils, but this team lost three straight before that and they havent scored more than two goals in a game in their last four. The Rangers have been much better on the road than at home this season, and if they can fix their home ice problems this team will be a factor in the playoff race. The Rangers are in better form, they have done much better in this rivalry recently, and they are very strong on the road. All signs point to a Rangers win today, and this line is packed with betting value.

2 Unit Play. Take #410 Green Bay Packers -3 over Baltimore Ravens (8p.m., Saturday, December 27 Peacock) Quarterback issues for both teams, but the line tells me Green Bay should have the edge in that department, and they have a much better chance to make the playoffs than does Baltimore. Green Bay was close to 98% chance to win last week against Chicago, but a cluster of events did them in (could not recover an onside kick). Baltimore has a weak offensive coordinator that appears to be in over his head and I see Green Bay clinching a playoff spot this weekend.