Mike Cruz Articles - Page 17

The Oklahoma City Thunder tanked the entire 2021-22 season and scored the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. With a young core consisting of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and many more promising prospects, and the fact that they still have a boatload of draft picks over the next decade, there is no […]

The Houston Rockets landed the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft one year after selecting Jalen Green. Majority of mock drafts have pegged Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr., Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, and Duke’s Paolo Banchero as the three best prospects of this class. Most project Smith Jr. and Holmgren to go in the […]

The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors go at it again in San Francisco on Sunday night for Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Celtics-Warriors prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   The Celtics […]

A year after taking Jalen Green with the 2nd overall pick, the Houston Rockets landed the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. In this year’s class, three prospects are the consensus to go in the top three. These are Auburn Tigers star Jabari Smith Jr., Gonzaga Bulldogs stud Chet Holmgren, and Duke Blue […]

The draft gods rang the fortunes for the Orlando Magic as they landed the no. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. This is the fourth time Orlando has won the lottery. Their most recent selection was Dwight Howard when they picked him first overall out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in 2004. The […]

The Miami Heat were a Jimmy Butler three-pointer away from making their second NBA Finals in the span of three years. Miami may have come up short of reaching its ultimate goal of winning a championship. Still, the Heat should be proud of how their season went, especially with the way they fought for their […]

The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat are in for a fight in Game 7 Sunday night with a trip to the 2022 NBA Finals on the line. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Celtics-Heat prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below. […]

The Denver Nuggets will pick 21st in the 2022 NBA draft. With Denver looking to contend for a championship in the foreseeable future, they might just consider flipping that pick for a win-now piece, though the Stepien Rule complicates the timing for when such a trade could go down. The Nuggets were first-round exits in […]

The 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics will give us the two best words in all of professional sports: Game 7. With that, here are our bold predictions for the Heat in Game 7. Miami staved off elimination with a 111-103 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game […]

Jimmy Butler put on a masterclass performance in the Miami Heat’s 111-103 Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The full line for Butler: 47 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, four steals, one block, 16-of-29 shooting from the field, 4-of-8 from 3, and 11-of-11 from […]

The Atlanta Hawks took a step back this 2021-22 season after making the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago. Atlanta was eliminated in five games by the Miami Heat in the first round. It certainly isn’t an ideal trajectory for a team that came within two wins of making the NBA Finals just a year […]

The Dallas Mavericks are on the brink of elimination after a brutal 109-100 Game 3 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. Luka Doncic had another explosive night, dropping 40 points with 11 rebounds and three assists. But his efforts were simply not enough to overcome a team effort from the Warriors led by […]

The Golden State Warriors will look to take a commanding 3-0 over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022 NBA Western Conference Finals. Ahead of Sunday night’s game, we’ll be making out Warriors Game 3 bold predictions.   Golden State stormed back from a 19-point second-quarter deficit to defeat the Mavericks 126-117 in Game 2. Stephen […]

Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals shifts over to Texas as the Golden State Warriors on the Dallas Mavericks. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Warriors-Mavericks prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   The Warriors erased a 19-point second-quarter deficit and […]

The Miami Heat will look to bounce back as they visit TD Garden and take on the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Ahead of Saturday night’s game, we’ll be making out Heat Game 3 bold predictions.   Miami had a rough outing in Game 2 as the Celtics […]

The Miami Heat visit the Boston Celtics for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Heat-Celtics prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   Boston bounced back from a 118-107 Game 1 loss, where they squandered […]

The 2022 NBA Draft Lottery just concluded with the Orlando Magic winning the top pick. There is just a little over a month remaining before the draft, which is enough time for teams to strategize their selections. In this post we’ll discuss 2022 NBA Draft Lottery winners. In fact, we’ll also discuss 2022 NBA Draft […]

The Dallas Mavericks obliterated the no. 1 seeded Phoenix Suns to the tune of a 123-90 beatdown in Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference Finals, where they will take on the Golden State Warriors. Luka Doncic dropped 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the closeout match, while Spencer Dinwiddie provided a […]

The second Game 7 on Sunday will feature the Dallas Mavericks against the Phoenix Suns. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Mavericks-Suns prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   The Mavericks staved off elimination by taking a 113-86 victory over the […]

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics will give us the best two words in sports: Game 7. Milwaukee and Boston will square off Sunday afternoon for the right to face the no. 1 seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds […]

The NBA has yet to make it official, but Nikola Jokic is reportedly the 2021-22 Kia NBA MVP. With that, the Denver Nuggets superstar is poised to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy for the second straight year. That also makes him just the 13th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards. Jokic edged […]

The Miami Heat take on the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semi-finals series. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Heat-Sixers prediction and pick we have laid out below.   Philadelphia finally got its foot in the door of this series […]

The Phoenix Suns are set to take on the Dallas Mavericks for Game 4 of their Western Conference semi-finals series. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Suns-Mavericks prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   The Mavericks finally got their foot in […]

The Memphis Grizzlies visit San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors for Game 3 of their Western Conference semi-finals series. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Grizzlies-Warriors prediction and pick we have laid out below.   This Grizzlies-Warriors series has only gone […]

The Boston Celtics will take on the Milwaukee Bucks for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference best-of-seven series. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Celtics-Bucks prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   This series definitely had the makings of a classic. […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves had a disappointing exit in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies, 4-2 in the first round. While making the postseason alone is already a win for the young team, the Timberwolves blew multiple double-digit leads throughout the series that ultimately cost them. Nonetheless, their postseason run is certainly going […]

Game 1 between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies tips off at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Warriors-Grizzlies prediction, odds and pick we have laid out below. The Warriors and Grizzlies begin the next chapter of […]

Game 1 between the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks and the second-seeded Boston Celtics tips off at TD Garden on Sunday afternoon. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Bucks-Celtics prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   This series should be a […]

The Dallas Mavericks won its first playoff series in 11 years when they dispatched the Utah Jazz in six games. Up next for them is the top-seeded Phoenix Suns, who also had a challenging six-game series versus the New Orleans Pelicans. Dallas obviously enters this matchup as the underdog. The Suns may have taken a […]

For the second straight season, the Milwaukee Bucks are facing a huge hurdle in the second round of the playoffs. After taking down the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, the defending champs must now get through the hottest team in the NBA since the turn of the calendar year, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics […]

The Denver Nuggets survived Game 4 and defeated the Golden State Warriors, 126-121, to stay alive in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets visit Steph Curry and the Warriors in San Francisco for Game 5. Denver came up huge down the stretch with timely stops and made shots to survive Golden State’s […]

The Philadelphia 76ers once again failed to advance to the second round after the Raptors took a 103-88 win in Game 5 to bring the series back to Canada for Game 6. Philadelphia has lost two potential closeout games in a row, which has Sixers fans sweating buckets. The Sixers went up 3-0 when Joel […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves survived Game 4 with a 119-118 win to tie their best-of-seven first-round series versus the Memphis Grizzlies. Minnesota visits Memphis on Tuesday for a pivotal Game 5. Game 4 looked headed to a deja vu of Game 3 when Minnesota almost blew another double-digit lead. The Timberwolves led by as much as […]

The Phoenix Suns take the floor at Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans for Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Suns-Pelicans prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below. The Suns […]

The Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks square off for Game 4 at the State Farm Arena on Sunday. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Heat-Hawks prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   Trae Young made the game-winning floater with 4.4 seconds left […]

The Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls will square off at the United Center for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday afternoon. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Bucks-Bulls prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   The defending champion […]

The Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets square off once again for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Celtics-Nets prediction and pick we have laid out below.   The Celtics held down homecourt by winning […]

The Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz go at it for Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series in a 4:30 PM ET tip on Saturday. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Mavericks-Jazz prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.   Despite playing […]

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors face off once again for Game 4 in a 2 PM ET tip off at Scotiabank Arena! With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Sixers-Raptors prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below. The last time we saw […]