It’s New Year's Eve, and my recent picks have been tighter than Ryan Seacrest’s Botoxed face on television hosting the Times Square Ball Drop… Speaking of balls dropping, Julius Randle looked like a MAN this past week and made me feel more blistered than the Nets. The Milwaukee Bucks were torching with their 29 threes against the Miami Heat. 29? A 47-point loss? Bet the over on every Bucks game from here on out. Unless they play the Knicks on a Sunday in the future, of course.

Speaking of the Knicks, I went 2-2 on my picks Tuesday – losing on the Knicks/Cavs, as I did not expect to see both teams fail to reach 100 points. Luckily, the Clippers bounced back and ran the Wolves off the court. And if you took the under as I said with no Kawhi, we broke even on the day. But now let’s end this shit-show of a year with a couple of Ws on New Year's Eve. Nothing will say goodbye to 2020 better than a fat clip of cash in your pocket after taking Zach to the Rack’s advice… And as much liquor as you can take down. I’m going with Mad Dog 20/20.

Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Indiana -8 (+102)

Point Totals: Under 217.5 (+120)

Watching the Knicks take out the Cavs by 9, I canceled my reservation at “Sexton and Garland” for the next few games. Maybe it was because Kevin Love was out, but I dunno. The Cavs may have a better year than we think, but the lack of consistency is gonna be a real thing all year. Charles Barkley once said that the first two weeks of the NBA season can be tough because “The (lousy) teams don’t know they’re (lousy) yet.”

The Pacers are not lousy and recently split a pair of games with the mighty Celtics. Domantas Sabonis is a bonafide NBA superstar and the best thing to come out of Lithuania since the Reuben sandwich. (Yes, the Reuben sandwich was invented in Lithuania – look it up.) What we saw from T.J. Warren in the Bubble was mythical, and I keep waiting for him to turn on that scoring ability and help this team beat everybody in their path. I might put money on the Pacers making the Eastern Conference Finals this year. First, however, let me put money on them beating Cleveland on Thursday. This starting five is as impressive as any team in the league. Warren, Sabonis, Oladipo, Brogdon, and Turner? SOLID. Look for them to win big.

Point totals-wise – I’d say 217.5 is possible – but if there is a blowout you have to think that the second unit will play the majority of the second half and keep the scoring low. Bet on Indiana and take the under… You might want to toss some cash on Sabonis getting another triple-double too – he’s been on a Jokić-like tear lately.

Phoenix Suns vs. Utah Jazz: Phoenix +3.5 (-109)

Point Totals: Under 218 (+115)

I wasn’t sure how Chris Paul would fit in at Phoenix. But now I see that he is helping an already talented team get much better. The Suns held the Pelicans to 86 points on Tuesday night and I expect them to handle Utah as well. Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton match up with Rudy Gobert down low. And Booker/Mitchell is about as great of an offensive one-on-one matchup as it gets in the NBA. Phoenix’s chemistry is growing faster than my gut following the two-week See’s Candies bender I’ve been on over the holidays. Cam Johnson is turning into a real player, and I think the Suns will win this one by 5-8 points.

Remember when the Suns won all of their Bubble games and Devin Booker had a Jenner sister in his DMs like he was Derek Jeter giving out gift baskets in the 2000s? Booker was held to 8 points in their win against New Orleans, and they still won by 25. They will beat the Jazz too but not blow them out. So, Phoenix, rise up and take us out of 2020 the way we need – with some cash money in our pockets.

I’m actually writing this column from Arizona at my mother’s house right now, so if you take down Utah, I will go out and buy one of those dope “The Valley” City Edition jerseys y’all released this year. Will they score 218 points? Not in my mind… Both teams play decent defense… Take the under and keep some champagne nearby to celebrate your New Year's Eve win and the end of this dumpster fire of a year.