Karl Garrett
For the second year in a row, the Rockets and Jazz could meet in the first round of the playoffs if the standings over the next 3 days remain unchanged. That being the case, I will grab the points with Houston, as the Rockets need to show the Jazz that this year's postseason is going to be a bit different than last year's playoffs where the Jazz eliminated the Rockets in a hard-faught 7-game set.
Houston did get clobbered at Denver last night, but they are a tough 16-7 against the spread their last 23 games played on the road, and the Rockets are also a profitable 35-16-1 against the spread their last 52 games overall.
These teams have split a pair of regular season meetings with the visitor winning outright in both meetings. Maybe the outright is too much to ask, but the cover should definitely be in order.
Take the points.
2* HOUSTON
Drew Gordon
Houston +8' at UTAH
Had this been just another regular season game, I might be inclined to side with Utah, who's been downright dominant in Salt Lake City. However, when you factor in the Rockets ugly loss at Denver last night, and the Suns being hot on their tails in the West Conference playoff standings, I expect the Rockets to respond accordingly tonight.
Let's not forget, Houston already won in Salt Lake this season, beating the Jazz outright 106-95 as 3'-point dogs! In that game, T-Mac was untstoppable, dropping 47 points on the Jazz, who tried a lot different tactics to slow him down, but none worked. More of the same tonight, and despite injuries to several Houston players, after yesterday's embarassment at the hand of the Nuggets, T-Mac and company will be ready tonight.
We all saw the Jazz crush the Nuggets in their last home game 124-97 (My Top Play release Saturday), however this contest is much different. Denver plays absolutely ZERO defense, allowing Utah to score at will. You'll see a hell of a lot more defensive intensity tonight from Houston, as no one can argue against their defense, which is allowing 85 ppg on 40% shooting over their last 5 games!
Finally, for all you hear about Utah's excellent numbers at home, its hard to ignore the fact the Rockets are 16-7 ATS over their last 23 road games! They lost badly yesterday, and that will only serve as further motivation in what could easily be a preview of their first round match up tonight. Expect a much better effort from Houston tonight, as they may lose SU, but their defense keeps this game well within the number.
Take Houston plus the points over Utah in this NBA match up.
2* HOUSTON
Joel Tyson
Golden State at PHOENIX -5'
The Phoenix Suns return home tonight, after a three game road trip in which they posted a 2-1 mark. The Suns despite losing last time out to the Houston Rockets still appear to me to be poised to make a strong statement in the upcoming NBA playoffs.
Tonight the Suns face the Golden State Warriors, who they defeated here in Phoenix back on March 13th 123-115. The Warriors come in losers of four of their last seven, and two of their last four. Golden State has failed to beat the number seven times out of their last nine tries versus Pacific Division teams, while the Suns have covered seven of their last eight at home, and are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 Monday evening games.
The Suns over their last five games have put up an average of 116.00 ppg, compared to the Warriors who have averaged 105.6 in the same span. On the defensive end lately the Suns have showed signs they can play a little defense as well over their last five, as they have allowed just 97.2 ppg, compared to Golden State who has yielded 111.2 ppg.
Play the Suns here in the desert to get the win and cover
4* SUNS
Sports Gambling Hotline
Tonight we play the Yankees-Rays UNDER the posted total.
Sure, last night's Yankees-Red Sox game made its way OVER the posted price, but high-scoring games have been a rarity this season for New York. The Yankees have played 13 games thus far this season, and 11 of the 13 have played UNDER the total. Included is 3 of 4 UNDER the price just last week at home against Tampa Bay.
As for the Rays, Tampa has been LOW in their last pair of games, and 4 of their last 5 games.
We know Kennedy and Sonnanstine had rough outings against the other's team just last week, as Kennedy allowed 6 runs in 2 innings to Tampa, while Sonnanstine allowed 4 runs in 6 innings to the Yanks, but the UNDER numbers these teams have produced thus far are too overwhelming to ignore.
Play on the UNDER
5* UNDER
Brian Hansen
Boston has dominated most of the NBA this season as well as the Knicks beating them three times by an average of 23 points per game and I look for that dominance to continue in this one. The Knicks seem to have quit on the season months ago going just 5-15 in their last 20 games overall. Boston, on the other hand, has rested their starters of late but has still continued to win. The Celtics are 27-13 ATS on the road this season and 15-4 ATS their last 19 games versus teams with losing records. Look for the Celtics to control this one yet again as they move to 12-2 ATS versus division opponents this season. Good luck - Brian Hansen.
Play on: Boston
THE POWER INDEX
NHL
Pittsburgh (-116) even with Ottawa* (+116)
Detroit (-106) even with Nashville* (+106)
Colorado* (-140) .5 over Minnesota (+140)
WINNERS EDGE
Tampa D Rays +110 , 2 units
LA Angels - 115 , 2 units
Kansas City Royals even , 1 unit
Bryan Leonard
Los Angeles Angels @ Texas Rangers
PICK: Over
The Angels trot out to the hill Ervin Santana who has been a disaster on the road in his young career. He has especially been bad at Arlington Stadium with an 8.92 career ERA in this building. Last year the Rangers knocked him around for a .324 batting average and a huge .718 slugging percentage here. He faced 71 batters in this ballpark and 7 of them took him deep.
Jason Jennings played for Houston last year but he did face the Angels once in Anaheim. LA hit him well with a .423 average and .538 slugging percentage. All but one starter in the lineup against him had a hit.
In Santana's road starts the game has gone over the posted total to the tune of 22-7-3. Overall 8 of his last 10 starts against the Rangers have gone over the posted total. Both teams have produced more runs this year against righties as opposed to left-handed starters. We expect another high scoring game against two questionable hurlers.
PLAY OVER
Jack Clayton
Celtics
Glen Mcgrew
Jazz
Totals4u
As/ White Sox Under
BeatYourBookie
Kansas City
Scott Spreitzer
DBacks/ Giants Over
RedZone Sports
Texas Rangers
Mighty Quinn
Jazz
Tv Hotline
Mariners
Joe Wiz
Angels
Bob Donahue
Blue Jays
ARTHUR RALPH
Kansas City Royals
MIKE WYNN
Oakland w/Smith +135
NEVADA SHARPSHOOTER
ANGELS -115
HUDDLE UP
Baltimore Albers +120
COMPUTER SPORTS
SEATTLE-125 W/WASHBURN
PLATINUM PLAYS
RAPTORS - 17.5
RAZOR SHARP
GOLDEN ST/PHOENIX OVER the total of 233
#1 SPORTS
BULLS
BIG TIME SPORTS
CELTICS/KNICKS UNDER 199
THE VEGAS STEAMLINE
Boston/New York UNDER the total of 201
Hot Lock sports
Pittsburgh Penguins -138
Brandon Banks
Baltimore Orioles +116
Las Vegas Sports Picks
Miami +17.5
Las Vegas Sports Advisors
Pittsburgh Penguins
VEGAS SPORTS PICS
LA Angels (Santana) - 105
NICK JONES
New York Knicks +9
Anthony Russo
Utah Jazz -8.5
USA Sports Consulting
Cleveland -118
Big Al Mcmordie
MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL ROUND-TRIPPER
Anaheim Angels
NBA GAME OF THE WEEK
Philadelphia 76ers
SportsKingz
MLB
ARIZONA -145
TORONTO -130
MINNESOTA +140
KANSAS CITY -105
NBA
SAN ANTONIO -4
GOLDEN ST. OVER 230
Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Chicago White Sox -155 (listing Buehrle)
I'll lay some juice here to get Buehrle at home. First off, the Athletics are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in Chicago. The White Sox are an unbelievable 72-34 in Buehrle's last 106 starts as a home favorite and 39-13 in Buehrle's last 52 starts as a favorite of -151 to -200. The White Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 home games and 7-2 in their last 9 overall. The Athletics have struggled their way to a 6-14 record in their last 20 games on grass and are 4-10 in their last 14 after scoring 2 runs or less in their previous game. Take the Sox with their ace on the hill.
Paul Leiner
25* NBA Under 199 NYK/Bos
10* MLB Blue Jays -130
10* MLB Over 10 NYY/TB
5* MLB Indians -125
Yankee Capper
2 Units - Oakland Athletics
2 Units - Utah Jazz -9
2 Units - Penguins/Senators Under 5'
GamblersWorld TIP OF THE DAY
Sport:Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche
Prediction: Colorado Avalanche
Current Line: -150 Over/Under: 5 Reason: The Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche will both be gunning for a postseason victory on Monday night when they hit the ice at Pepsi Center. Oddsmakers currently have the Avalanche listed as 150-moneyline favorites versus the Wild, while the game's total is sitting at 5. Keith Carney scored the OT winner on Friday as the Wild defeated the Avalanche 3-2 in Game 2 of their first-round series. Minnesota won the game as -130 favorties, while the five goals went as a PUSH against the posted over/under (5). Pavol Demitra and Mikko Koivu scored in regulation for the Wild. Niklas Backstrom stopped 24 shots in the win. Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk scored for the Avalanche, who were +110 underdogs in the contest. Jose Theodore made 28 saves in the loss. Team records: Minnesota: 44-28-10 Colorado: 44-31-7 Minnesota most recently: When playing on Monday are 5-5 Before playing Florida are 3-3-2 After playing Colorado are 4-6 After a win are 6-4 Colorado most recently: When playing on Monday are 6-4 Before playing Buffalo are 8-8-1 After playing Minnesota are 6-4 After a loss are 5-5 A few trends to consider: The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road Minnesota is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Colorado Minnesota is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games The total has gone OVER in 15 of Minnesota's last 23 games when playing on the road against Colorado Colorado is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 6 games at home Colorado is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota Colorado is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
Brandon Lang
100 DIME - UTAH JAZZ
FREE - WARRIORS