D GORDON
1. 200,000* Tulsa
2. 50,000* Jazz
3. 50,000* Braves
1. Tulsa- After the home team took the first two games of this Best of 3 Series, there's little reason not to expect more of the same tonight, as the Golden Hurricane clearly play their best ball in Tulsa, where they're 17-2 SU and 11-4 ATS (9-1 L10 ATS) at home this season!
Just pop in the tape, and you'll immediately see a more confident, defensively sound Golden Hurricane team in the first game of this series at Tulsa. Bradley shot 44% and committed 12 turnovers on the road, while back in Peoria for Game 2, they shot a blistering 52% (47% from 3-point) and committed only 7 turnovers all game... The numbers don't lie, plain and simple.
Another aspect of the game is the inside play of 6'11 Jerome Jordan, who looked much more comfortable at home, scoring 18 points, grabbing 13 boards, and swatting 4 shots. No surprise that as an underclassmen he plays better at home, remember he's just a kid, and kid's play better on friendly rims. Also, the Braves decided to use 7-foot freshman C Dave Collins against Jordan in the 2nd game, but don't expect the freshy to do nearly as well in very hostile territory tonight.
Finally, the reason the Golden Hurricane give the Braves so much trouble is they have the guards to match up with Bradley's talented backcourt. Ben Uzoh and McDade are both solid, while Glen Andrews has the talent, but is still only a freshman, and plays limited minutes in key situations.
Long story short, with Tulsa's dominance down-low behind Jordan, and their ability to match up along the perimeter with Bradley's guards (especially at home), look for the Golden Hurricane to win and cover this contest. Remember guys, Golden Hurricanes have won 9 of their last 10 ATS in Tulsa... Make it 10 of 11 after tonight!
Take Tulsa over Bradley as your top-rated play of the day.
2. Jazz- While I admit San Antonio has clearly regrouped and is back to playing winning basketball, the Jazz are simply too good at home to ignore in this spot. Utah is an outstanding 26-12 ATS in Salt Lake this season, while the Spurs have been anything but profitable on the road, leading their backers down a dark path, going 15-22 ATS away this season. But its more than just the trends...
There's little arguing with the Spurs defense, which is one of the best in the NBA year in and year out, problem for them is the Jazz actually play defense at home, allowing just 95 ppg there this season. Herein lies the problem, because when you take away the Spurs edge on defense, they become exceedingly vulnerable, especially when you consider the Jazz red-hot offense.
Speaking of offense, few teams are as consistently dominant at home as the Jazz, averaging a ridiculous 119 ppg on 56% shooting over their last 5 games in Salt Lake! That's up 10 points from their laready impressive season average of 109 ppg, and trust me, of you've seen this Jazz team play of late, they're absolutely rolling!
Finally, let's talk about the one trend that stand above all the rest - The fact the home team is 11-1 ATS over their last 12 meetings! Their last match up is a prefect example, as the Jazz won 97-91 in Utah back on January 28th... Jazz shot 50% from the field and turned the ball over only 9 times against an excellent Spurs defense.
Bottom line, in a clash between two Western Conference titans, clearly the home court has been the deciding factor. Look for that to be the difference here tonight, along with the scorching Jazz offense. In the end, its a close contest, but the Jazz protect their house, grabbing the cash along the way!
Take the Jazz over the Spurs in this NBA match up.
3. Braves- Let me get this straight? So the Braves lose 2 of their first 3 games of the season, and now everyone is jumping all over the Mets in this contest? Let me remind those people, that its a long season, and underestimating the Braves at Turner behind Tim Hudson is huge mistake and here's why:
First, did you guys see Hudson's first start of the season? If you did, its tough to go against him when he pitches a gem like he did at the Nationals in the Braves opener, allowing 2 runs on just 3 hits over 7 innings. Those two runs came in the 1st inning, and after he settled down he was great, retiring the last 19 batters he saw!
I can understand after watching the Mets pound the Marlins Wednesday, that some would expect another offensive explosion tonight, but not so fast. Its a lot easier when your facing the likes of Andrew Miller, but in this case, look for Hudson to throw a wet blanket on the Mets hitting parade tonight. Note he was 2-2 with a solid 3.33 ERA in 4 starts against the Mets last season!
Mets counter with John Maine, who many believe will anchor their pitching staff this season. While I don't disagree, I'm not ready to forget his inconsistencies last season, starting hot, cooling off considerably, and then ending the season on fire. Also, we all know he did extremely well in the Spring, but that doesn't always translate into guarateed early season success, despite what Mets fans will tell you!
Finally, everyone was surprised to see the Braves offense struggle in their loss to the Pirates yesterday, but if anything that loss will motivate them to come out swinging tonight. Southpaw Zach Duke pitched a good game, but look for the Braves to get back on track tonight against the righty Maine in this one. In the end, this one should be competitive, but there's no way the Braves let another team come in a push them around on their home field tonight.
Take the Braves behind Hudson over the NY Mets and Maine in this MLB match up.
Larry Ness
Washington Nationals @ St Louis Cardinals
PICK: St Louis Cardinals
REASON FOR PICK: There is little doubt one has to be careful in picking the spots in which to go against the Nationals. That may seem strange at first but the Nationals finished fifth in all of MLB against the moneyline in 2007 (plus-$1,622), despite their 73-89 record. Washington is off to a 3-1 (plus-$292) start this year and open a three-game series tonight in St Louis. The Cards have to be happy with their pitching, after taking two of three from the Rockies (got rained out on Monday after jumping all over Francis early in that one, which was a bad break). Colorado was fifth in all of MLB in both BA (.28) and runs scored (860) last year but pushed across only five runs in the three-game series with St Louis. The Nats will go with Odalis Perez, who pitched well in the team's season-opener, Sunday night vs Atlanta. However, I wouldn't get too excited just yet over the veteran left-hander, who began his career with the Braves (back in 1998) and had a couple of decent years for the Dodgers in 2002 and 2003 (27-22). Perez was traded to KC about halfway through the '06 season and went just 14-19 (5.87) these last two seasons, with his teams going only 18-28 in his starts. He's NEVER had any luck vs the Cards, posting an 8.66 ERA in 11 career games against them. St Louis counters with Braden Looper (12-12, 4.94 ERA), who like Wainwright is a converted reliever. Looper struggled down the stretch LY but overall, the Cards were 16-14 in his starts. His road ERA was 6.72 and appropriately, the Cards were 6-9 in his away starts. However, here in St Louis, Braden posted a 3.34 ERA, as the Cards went 10-5. Take the Cards in this one.
ATS Lock Club
10* GOY Atlanta Hawks
5* Utah Jazz
4* Golden State
ATS Financial
3* Indiana Pacers
3* Houston Rockets
Winning Points
Seattle -135 w/ Washburn
Bradley +3.5
Josh Dean
NBA
Utah -3
CBB
Brad/Tulsa Over 142.5
MLB
San Diego -115
AFL
Colorado -4
GOLD SHEET LATE TELEPHONE SERVICE
CBI TOURNAMENT
BRADLEY over Tulsa
NBA
DALLAS over LA Lakers
MARCH MADNESS SATURDAY, APRIL 5
UCLA over Memphis
NORTH CAROLINA over Kansas
ATS Lock Club
10* GOY Atlanta Hawks
5* Utah Jazz
4* Golden State3 Philly (NHL)
ATS Financial
3* Indiana Pacers
3* Houston Rockets
Winners Inc. Guaranteed Selections
$500,000 BASEBALL WINNER
LA ANGELS w/Moseley -142
$500,000 CBI TOURNAMENT TOTALS PLAY OF THE YEAR
OVER 144 Bradley and Tulsa
$500,000 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE GAME OF THE YEAR
557 Golden St -9.5
ROOT
Chairman - Dallas
Millionaire - Utah
MLB
Chairman - Blue Jays
Millionaire - Twins
Vegas Runner
2* ML WAGER ATL -120 vs NYM
2* TOTAL NYY / TAM Under 9.5
2* ML WAGER OAK +102 vs CLE
Vegas Runner 3* BEST BET of the DAY
Tulsa -3.0 vs Bradley
(BUY the 1/2 POINT to -3....I have already seen Cris and a few others go to 3 and many of the Locals we speak with are also using 3...but if your shop is using the hook, go ahead and lay the -120 to take it down to a very important 1 possession number)
Vegas Runner
2* TOTAL ATL / PHI Under 206.5
2* TOTAL LAL / DAL Under 209
Seabass
MLB
10 Balt, Tex, KC
20 Tor
NBA
10 Charlotte
20 Utah
50 Heat/Wiz Over
NHL
10 NJ/Phi over
100* Indians
Krugger
Hawks OVER 205
Akmens-
Tulsa OVER 144