With no football games, it’s hard to gamble, so, thankfully, we can throw our money away on NBA games that can really go either way. But it’s entertaining, right? And, in short, that’s the main reason we gamble. We don’t do it to win or lose — we do it because it takes an otherwise boring chunk of the night and becomes very, very entertaining, even if the entertainment is accompanied with many hours of grief afterwards. Enjoy my picks. I’m the best.

Last Night: 1-2
On the Season: 6-8-1

Portland Trail Blazers (-2) @ Minnesota T’Wolves: It’s too tempting to not bet. Any game where Minnesota is only a two-point dog should be an automatic bet.

Utah Jazz (-2.5) @ Chicago Bulls: The Jazz are rested, and outside of Kirilenko, they’ve got no injury issues. Their defense should be able to lock down Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, which is most of Chicago’s offense. Bet the Jazz heavy.

Memphis Grizzlies @ Phoenix Suns (-15): There’s a rule of thumb to never bet on an NBA team that’s favored by 15 or more, but that rule never saw these Grizzlies.

Toronto Raptors @ LA Lakers (-11): The Raptors have been struggling, and as much as I hate to bet the high spread, without Chris Bosh they don’t have their go-to guy and they don’t have anyone in the middle. Kobe kills it, covers.