SFTC Soccer and NBA Picks, March 25

For now we only have our Soccer and NBA picks for Monday, March 25.  We apologize for not having the other picks completed.  Check back throughout the day and more picks should begin to appear.  Also, take a look at the basketball site (click here) our my opinion blog to read our review of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.  Good luck with your picks today.

1. Soccer: Brazil Win
• Brazil has a record 5 World Cup titles. Russia's best finish in the World Cup was 4th place back in 1966 when they were still the Soviet Union.  History makes this pick seem pretty black and white.  Well, it is an international friendly and with that comes the unknown of who is going to start the match for each side.  A manager will often try new young players to see how they fit with the squad.  Since Brazil automatically has qualified for the World Cup, it is likely that they will be testing out some of their young players to see if they have what it takes to play with the National Team.  I still expect Brazil to start Fernando, Dante, Fred, Neymar, Oscar, and if we're lucky, maybe Hulk will make an appearance.  First rule of soccer, the team with the most single-named players always wins the game, so this game goes to Brazil.
• Confidence:  75% 
2. NBA: Memphis Grizzlies
• Although the Wizards have looked better their last few games and are playing at home, it is hard to imagine them beating this Memphis team who can play with the best teams in the West.  The Grizzlies are fighting for playoff positioning and are hoping to overtake the Clippers for a top 4 seed and home court in the first round.  This game means much more to the Grizzlies and I expect them to come with the attitude that they cannot drop these "gimmie" games against one of the leagues worst teams.
• Confidence: 60%
3. NBA: Any Other Result
• So the Heat are going for their 27th straight win.  Most people have decided that they will be tested against the Bulls and the Spurs but the rest of these games should be cupcakes.  But tonight the Heat are playing the second leg of a back to back and are traveling to Orlando (albeit a 45 min plane ride).  In their two previous meetings this year, Orlando took the Heat to OT once and lost by a single point the other game.  Their combined losing margin in the first two meetings was only 3 points.  I think the Heat will win this game and get to 27 straight, but I also believe it will be a fight and a win tonight for the Magic could be a bright spot on an all but miserable season.
• Confidence: 60%
4. NBA: Magic: Number of players to score in the first half or tie
• The last 5 games of the Heat's current streak they have had to come from behind, trailing at one point in the game by 10 or more points.  During these games the Heat have been outscored by an average of 5.5 points in the first half.  I think the Magic can realistically get scoring from 7 players in the first half (5 starters and 2 bench players).  The Magic have had at least 9 players score in their previous 3 games.  I expect this to be a close game at the half and throughout but would not be surprised if the Heat were winning by single-digits or trailing at the half.
• Confidence: 60%
5. NBA: 53 or more points
• How many points will the Heat score in the second half? If you read my narrative above you'll see that the Heat have been outscored by 5.5 points in the first half.  But the second half has been a completely different story as the Heat have outscored their opponents by 18.3 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters.  Last night against the Bobcats the Heat scored 62 in the second half.  I think the Heat will need to score a lot in the second half tonight if they hope to win.
• Confidence: 50%
6. NBA: Los Angeles Lakers
• This game is a toss-up.  I honestly could see it going either way.  The Warriors started the season hot and have since started to cool off a bit, while the Lakers started the seasons freezing cold and is now about room temperature.  The Lakers have had some ugly losses to the Wizards and Suns this past week, but I think they will come out on top against the Warriors. At the same time, I would not be surprised one bit if the Warriors win this game at home.  Unless you have more insight than I do on this game, maybe hold off on making this pick.
• Confidence: 40%