James Quizon

The Spurs are just 3-5 in their last 8 games although they have won the last two against lowly teams New Orleans and Sacramento. Meanwhile, Washington is on a roll with surprisingly dominating wins over elite teams Oklahoma City and Portland.

The Philadelphia 76ers may not be tanking too hard in the first half of the season, but nearing the trade deadline, they may want to tank harder and deal one of their prized possessions in shooting guard Even Turner. The Charlotte Bobcats are going the other way and want a playoff spot making them a perfect trade partner with the rebuilding 76ers.

The Kansas Jayhawks had their season-high seven game winning streak snapped by Texas on Saturday after taking an 81-69 beating on the road. They'll be facing a Baylor Bears squad which snapped their season-high five-game losing streak with a win at Oklahoma State, 76-70.

Why the Pacers will win: The best defensive team in the land (Indiana only allows 90.3 points per game, best in the NBA) takes on an overachieving Hawks squad which has won back-to-back games-- perfect letdown game for the Hawks at home although they will still cover the spread.

From the grapevine, Kevin Love apparently is going to the Los Angeles Lakers he becomes a free agent. On Tuesday night, he’d rather torment them first when as his Minnesota Timberwolves take on the team which will be targeting him in the near future.

Could Carlos Boozer be next in line to be traded from the Chicago Bulls? With the power forward’s recent statements against his own coach Tom Thibodeau for lack of playing time, the veteran could very well be on his way out of the Bulls camp by trade deadline.

Finally, the countries participating in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup now know which nations they should prepare for the international basketball world championship set Aug 30 to Sept 13, 2014 after the official draw was announced by FIBA early on Tuesday.

After enduring a tough first half of the season, it looks like the Memphis Grizzlies are back to the form which made them a West contender in 2013. Without the other half of their superstar duo, the Oklahoma City Thunder are proving that indeed they are one of the elite teams in the league.

Even without star point guard Chris Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers have continued to rack up the wins at this point of the season. The same cannot be said for the Denver Nuggets, which has struggled with back-to-back losses sans their starting PG in Ty Lawson.

With the trade deadline roughly three weeks away, playoff contenders—and lottery-bound teams are looking for deals that will make them better either this season or in the long run.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded center Andrew Bynum and two draft picks to the Chicago Bulls for small forward Luol Deng early in January, they expected to at least contend for a playoff spot this season.

In simple terms, it’s the two best teams in football meeting in the finale of the National Football League (NFL) season. The Seattle Seahawks and their dreaded defense face the Denver Broncos and an exceptional offense in Super Bowl XLVIII in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, February 2, 2014 (Monday, February 3 in Australia at 9:25 a.m. AEDT).

The Memphis Grizzlies are finally rounding out to form this season and are shooting for a season-high five straight wins. On Friday night, they’ll be facing the Minnesota Timberwolves which are a bit of on a roll as well winning five of their last six games.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets are the hottest teams in the league at this point of the regular season. Thunder’s run is expected because they have the mighty and streaking Kevin Durant. The Nets? Who would have thought that they would be shooting for the league’s best win-loss mark in January?

With a budding superstar in Kyrie Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers had high hopes before the season started and that they will be one of the playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference.

First-timers and returning NBA All-Stars, the best of the best in the top basketball pro league in the world gets to show off their wares in the NBA’s midseason showcase set Feb. 14-16.

Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors were in gift-giving mood on Christmas Day. Not having the usual friendly gifts, however, they were more generous with more elbows and physical play as the Dec. 25 match-up featured technical fouls, flagrant fouls and ejects.

Who will come out on top of Super Bowl XLVIII? And more importantly, for sports bettors, which team will cover the spread after the NFL championship? Will the totals line go over or under? We’ve discussed the O/U possibilities in a previous article, and now it’s time to take a hard look at the spread-busting potential of both teams.

These are all tasty propositions but the general (betting) public only care for the important result and vital stat: which team will win the game? Will they cover and what is going to be the total score for the game? Will it go over/under the set totals line?

Even without their lead star James Harden, the Houston Rockets were able to handle a Texas rival, San Antonio Spurs at home. They take on another team from Texas Wednesday night when they face the Dallas Mavericks on the road.

It’s more than a marquee match-up when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat meet Wednesday night, it’s also a battle between the top two MVP-candidates so far this season and perhaps, the best players in the world.

The Los Angeles Lakers are well on their way to the lottery, and the Indiana Pacers are looking to add to their woes when Paul George and company visit the Staples Center on Tuesday night.

Are the grind-and-grit Memphis Grizzlies finally back? On Tuesday night, that defense will be tested by the league’s highest scoring team when they face the Portland Trail Blazers, which also happens to be one of the best teams in the league record-wise.

In this Texas rivalry, it appears that the Houston Rockets have the number of the San Antonio Spurs this season. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Houston, their third meeting in the teams’ season series, after the Rockets have taken the first two games in 2013.

Despite what is a great stretch of games by Kyle Lowry, the Toronto Raptors front office is apparently still not closed to the idea of trading away their starting point guard for fear of losing him for nothing when he hits free agency after this season.

Don’t look now but the Brooklyn Nets are the hottest team in the entire league owing to a great 2014 when they have gone 10-1 thus far. On Monday night, they will host the Toronto Raptors, which is to blame for their lone loss in this great stretch.

The franchise tried to make up for it with a video tribute to the pair when their new team, the Brooklyn Nets visited Boston on Sunday night.

Minnesota’s mission to gain a record above 0.500 hit a snag once again after the Timberwolves couldn’t handle the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. They’ll get a chance to return to an even record on Monday when they visit the Chicago Bulls, which have won four of their last five games.

In a recent road trip, the Portland Trail Blazers proved that they are no fluke going toe-to-toe with the best teams in the Western Conference. LaMarcus Aldridge and the rest of Rip City take on another contender from the conference in the Golden State Warriors, which are struggling of late after suffering back-to-back defeats to teams below them in the team standings.