“The Picker” begins his second week with three picks

I got the distinct impression that “the Picker” did not like being challenged yesterday by Gus Forrest, who put his pinkie ring into play but did not acquit himself well by going 4-4 while  “The Picker” went 2-1.

But I also got the distinct impression that “the Picker” is now feeling a little extra motivated, which I credit to his editor knowing which buttons to push, and how hard to push them. (Having worked in the past for editors with the managerial skills of Kim Jong-Il, I know how not to go overboard).

Some background for those of you new to this site feature.

I do a lot of conversing with followers via direct messaging on Twitter, even though I only follow one guy.

“The Picker” has been sending me messages throughout the season when he has been particularly good with his picks, which is quite often. So I challenged him to make his picks public, and we’d see where going down that road together would take us.

His record over one week is 8-5-1 — although one of those wins was a money-line pick on the Rockets when they were giving 3 points, so his earning percentage is a little higher than his record would indicate. The “Picker went 2-1 last night by taking LeBron James over 26 and the Mavericks giving 9.5 points to the Kings. He lost on Miami, and his Bulls pick was cancelled when Derrick Rose did not play.

His picks for tonight are below, but first an important few words: Do what you want with his information, but understand that we do not condone or endorse illegal gambling. For those of you in Nevada or outside of the United States, different standards apply.

Click here to see how tonight’s lines have moved.

Tonight, “The Picker” likes Indiana giving 8 1/2 points to Cleveland, the Knicks getting 4 1/2 points from the Bucks, and the Celtics on the money line (5/3 odds).