Nick Parsons Premium Picks

This is a CBB SHOCKER on Texas Southern.

Texas Southern is already "battle-tested" after a humbling 98-43 loss at Gonzaga to open the year.

But I think the Tigers can sneak in under the radar and snag a comfortable ATS cover here against a Texas A&M side that I believe will take the foot off the gas in the second half as it prepares and gets caught looking ahead to its upcoming game at Oklahoma State on Sunday.

The Aggies posted the 98-68 win over Northwestern State to open the season, but I think Texas Southern experience can keep it much more competitive here on Thursday night.

A great overall "situational" play, so grab the points with TEXAS SOUTHERN.

Good luck, NP

This is a TOTAL PUNISHER on the UNDER Clippers/Suns.

This is the first of two games between the clubs, as they'll play again in LA on Saturday.

The Suns are off a 118-107 loss to Golden State and are now 3-5, while the Clippers are off two straight losses, most recently falling 126-107 at home to Oklahoma City.

Neither team has gotten out to the start it had hoped for, and each will be hungry for a victory here.

Chemistry has been an issue for each side in the early going offensively, and with each team playing more aggressively on the defensive side like I anticipate they will be, I have a hard time seeing them combining to exceed this O/U line; this number is high in my opinion, so I'm on the UNDER.

Good luck, NP

This is a FREE PLAY on the Florida Panthers.

I think at this price that the defending champs are worth a "second look" in this matchup in LA on Thursday night.

Florida is 6-6-1 overall, including just 1-5 on the road. I had the Panthers in their last game in Anaheim, and the Ducks skated away with a convincing 7-3 victory in the end. I've played on Anaheim a couple of times already this year, and they continue to surprise, as I really did like the way that one set up for Florida.

That was at a steeper price, but now I actually feel that the value on the Panthers has increased from their last game.

LA is 6-4-4, but the Kings are only 1-3-2 at home this year.

This is the end of a four-game home stand for the Kings, and after losing the first two games, they bounced back with a 3-0 win over Winnipeg last time out.

But with a six-game road trip upcoming, I think LA is going to get caught "looking ahead" here.

It's a great spot for the Panthers to finally bounce back in. They still have two road games at San Jose and Las Vegas and won't be looking past the Kings whatsoever as they now desperately try to correct the issues they're having closing out games on the road.

Sergei Bobrovsky is expected in net for the Panthers, and he's 6-4 with a 2.81 goals against, while LA turns to Darcy Kuemper, who is 4-3-3 with a 2.57 GAA.

These guys are evenly matched, so they're essentially a "wash."

The difference for me comes down to the intangible and off-ice factors, like the scheduling, and I believe those small things will add up to a solid win for FLORIDA, finally in LA on Thursday night.

Consider the Panthers.

Good luck, NP

This is an AFC WEST TOM on the UNDER Raiders/Broncos.

We have an interesting AFC West matchup here on Thursday night, but as  primarily situational capper, I love the way this one sets up to be more of a lower-scoring defensive battle, rather than a high-scoring shootout.

This is obviously a really low number, but not nearly low enough in my estimation.

Las Vegas is 2-6, including just 1-3 straight up and against the spread on the road.

Denver is 7-2, including 4-0 straight up at home and 2-2 against the spread. The Raiders have been decent at home, but really bad on the road.

They threw their best shot at Jacksonville at home last week and still came up short in the 30-29 OT loss. They went for it in OT to get the one-point victory, but Geno Smith came up short once again, and it would now clearly take a miracle for the Raiders to even make the playoffs.

In their four road games, they've scored a combined 43 points. And that includes a 31-0 shutout loss in their most recent divisional road game at Kansas City.

Now a double-digit underdog on the road against the hottest team in the league, I have a hard time seeing Smith and the Raiders having any sort of significant offensive production.

Denver is coming off a tight 18-15 road win at Houston as a 2.5-point underdog, and there's no reason not to think that the Broncos will be able to carry that defensive momentum over here, in my opinion.

I also look at the Bronco's schedule of course when making my decision, and it doesn't take Biff Tannen to be able to predict that Denver is going to already be looking and planning ahead for its big home game against Kansas City on November 16th (the last time the Broncos played KC at home, was last January 5th, and Denver won 38-0).

It's clearly the biggest game of the season so far from Denver, and it's almost impossible not to see the Broncos getting caught "looking ahead."

And so the game plan will be to control the clock, limit mistakes, and grind out a victory against this putrid Raiders team, and at the same time put the final nail in the coffin for their playoff aspirations this season.

But with a game plan like that, I'm not comfortable laying this larger spread, and that's why I really love this total.

When taking into account all the different situational factors I listed above, everything points to the UNDER as the correct call, in my opinion, for the total.

Good luck, NP