Bobby Maxwell
Tim Duncan vs. Shaquille O'Neal and another rematch of a great series last season. Only thing is Shaq wasn't there last season and it was in the Western Conference semifinals.
We're siding with the Spurs in the opener today as it seems San Antonio always cruises in the regular season and turns up the heat in the postseason. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker always play the key roles in the postseason and Duncan always provides the stability in the middle.
San Antonio is 13-3-1 ATS in the last 17 playoff games as a favorite, 5-1 ATS in their last six playoff games at home and 4-0 ATS in the opening round of the playoffs.
Phoenix struggled when Shaq showed up from Miami but got things straightened out and became a factor late in the season and they are 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 Western Conference games. Amare Stoudemire made the biggest strides with Shaq in the middle, freeing him up to roam free. But as the defense tightens and scoring becomes more difficult, we like our odds with the Spurs to stop him.
San Antonio is at home and the Spurs know what they have to do to win in the playoffs. It's a different roster taking the court for the Suns. Let's play the familiarity of the Spurs and lay the chalk in this one as they get a 10-point win.
4* SAN ANTONIO
The Rockies are going for their fourth straight win and in less than 24 hours they wrapped up a 2-1 22-inning victory over the Padres in San Diego and then went to Houston and beat the Astros 11-5. Today, they will get the job done again against Houston and this is starting to look like the team we remember from last season.
After the marathon in San Diego, the Rockies scored six in the first inning in Houston en route to the easy win.
The Astros are just 7-10 on the season and been outscored 21-7 in their last two games. Wandy Rodriguez (1-0, 2.33 ERA) goes for Houston who is decent at home and horrible on the road. Meanwhile the Rockies have Aaron Cook (1-1, 3.79) on the mound. He held the D'Backs to three runs in six innings of a 13-5 win in Arizona.
Cook is 3-0 with a 3.99 ERA in seven career games against Houston and with the way the Rockies are playing, look for that to improve to 4-0. The bats are working and this team can certainly score some runs. Let's go ahead and back Cook and Colorado tonight.
3* COLORADO
Drew Gordon
Look guys, its easy to use past history as an indicator that the Spurs will circle the wagons and make their annual playoff run, but not so fast. You have to remember, the Suns specifically traded for Shaquille O'Neal in anticipation of this match up, and in both regular season games in which he played, the Suns easily won and covered! That includes their last match up, in San Antonio, where the Spurs got clobbered 96-79!
Critics will argue the Spurs will be in "revenge mode" after that embarassing home loss, which may be the case, but is it enough to overcome a highly motivated Suns team, that now has the personnel to match up with Duncan and company?! The answer is no, as Phoenix has been waiting for payback for an entire season, and will come out guns blazing in this one.
So, why is the Shaquille O'Neal trade so critical in tonight's match up? It has little to do with Shaq, and a lot more to do with moving Amare Stoudemire to his natural position - power forward - where he's arguablly the best in the league. Of course, having Shaq there doesn't hurt, but more than anything else, he provides a true center who can, in spurts, dominate Spurs C Fabricio Oberto, who simply doesn't have the size to stop O'Neal.
While we can all agree the Spurs defense is superior here, its the Suns offense which has become more dynamic, averaging 107 ppg on 51% shooting over their last 5 games! Last year's "run-and-gun" system played right into the Spurs hands, but this time around, we're going to see more halfcourt sets, coupled with oppurtunistic fast breaks. Long story short, look for the Suns to at the very least cover in this spot, but it wouldn't surprise me if they take Game 1 outright, sending a message to the Spurs: "We are not last year's Suns team!"
Take Phoenix plus the points over San Antonio in this Western Conference First Round match up.
3* PHOENIX
Despite the Rockies sudden offensive surge, we know better than to go against Wandy Rodriguez at Minute Maid Park. Since 2007 the Astros southpaw is 7-3 with 2.63 ERA in 17 home starts, and there's little reason to believe that'll change tonight. He's continued to have success there this season, going 1-0 with a miniscule 0.63 ERA in two home starts, including limiting a solid Marlins offense to just 1 run over 7 solid innings Sunday.
Granted, the Rockies Aaron Cook has also pitched well this season, but mind you, his only loss came on the road, at St. Louis, where he got knocked around for 4 runs over 6 innings. Both pitchers have solid numbers against their opponent tonight, but after getting shellacked yesterday, I expect the Astros to come out swinging in this one.
Also, its hard to ignore the Rockies futility in Houston, going 6-20 over their last 26 meetings there! Guys, you've got an Astros team looking to bounce back, behind one of their best arms at Minute Maid Park, against a Rockies team that had traditionally sturggled in Houston... What more can you ask for?! As a small side note: Think the Rockies offense is red-hot? Well, the fact their batting only .204 against lefties doesn't exactly instill fear in Rodriguez tonight!
Take Houston behind Rodriguez over Colorado and Cook in this MLB match up.
2* HOUSTON
Sports Gambling Hotline
Playoff basketball, and the hoops become more contested. Mark us down for the UNDER in Game One of this Suns-Spurs playoff rematch.
ALL 4 regular season series meetings this year between the teams landed UNDER the posted price.
The Suns closed the regular season by playing LOW in 5 of their final 7 games, while the Spurs did end the regular campaign with OVERS in their last 3, but San Antonio's previous 4 did stay UNDER the posted total.
Taking a look at last year's playoff series, 2 of the final 3 played between the teams did hold UNDER the total, with the series finale going OVER pretty much as expected when you get to an elimination game.
Look for the tone of the series to be set in this one, as the defense makes a statement, and this game stays UNDER the posted price.
Play on the UNDER.
3* UNDER
Chip Chirimbes
Megabucks
Wizards +2.5
Chip Shots
Spurs -4
Hornets -4.5
Jazz +1.5
Michael Cannon
Take the Pirates for the road win over the Cubs this afternoon in Wrigley.
The Bucos will send Tom Gorzelanny to the mound and the left-hander is coming off a solid start over the Reds last Sunday when he limited them to one run over 6 1-3 innings in the Pirates' 9-1 win.
That came off a disatrous home opener against these same Cubbies when Gorzelanny allowed seven runs in just 2 1-3 innings.
I expect the Pirates ace to make a statement this afternoon in Wrigley that that game was just a mirage.
Jason Marquis will start for the Cubs and I expect the Pirates offense to break out for more than the two runs they scored in yesterday's loss. Marquis is just 5-5 in his career against the Bucs.
Take the Pirates at the solid plus return for the win.
3* PITTSBURGH
Chris Jordan
Play the Snakes tonight against the Friars, as we saw the bats get going against Greg Maddux last night, and it will carry over to tonight.
I know the Padres had a legitimate excuse, after they played 22 innings the night before, caught a 2 a.m. flight and played roughly 12 hours after settling into their hotel. But trust me, the hangover continues, and this is pure value against Chris Young.
San Diego's prize right-hander is 0-1 on the road with a lofty 18.00 ERA after getting drilled in Los Angeles his last time out. He's also 0-3 in his last four starts against the Diamondbacks, allowing 16 earned runs over 19 innings
The Padres can't catch a break, and we'll see them falter tonight in the desert.
4* DIAMONDBACKS
Chuck Franklin
The Dallas Mavericks are a veteran team that made the mistake of disrespecting a young team like the New Orleans Hornets. The Mavs made it clear they are happy to be playing New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs. The Hornets will respond to that with an absolute blowout Game One victory.
Another reason the Hornets will come out of the gates with a strong opening game is the fact that they haven't beat the Mavericks in Dallas in over 10 years. They need to take advantage of having the home court to start this series. The home team is on a 4-0 ATS run in this series.
Dallas is 1-4 ATS the last five games played and they are on a 9-22 ATS run when playing on the road versus a team that has a winning record at home. The Hornets have covered the number nine of the last 11 games when listed as the home favorite and they are 7-3 ATS the last 10 games versus a Western Conference opponent.
3* NEW ORLEANS
Joel Tyson
The Phoenix Suns head to San Antonio today to face the Spurs in this first round match up.
The Suns have had great success this year versus the Spurs, as they won three of the four regular season match ups, including the last one here in San Antonio, 96-79 on April 9th.
The Suns find themselves entering today's match up winners of four of their last five. Phoenix this season has been little different than Phoenix teams in the past few years, as they still like to get out and run. The 110.1 ppg they have averaged on the season is indication to this. San Antonio on the other hand continues this year to strive on defense for their wins, as they have allowed just 90.6 ppg.
Something will have to give today, and I feel as I have said over and over again the last couple weeks, the Suns are possibly playing their best basketball of the year
Phoenix has put up an average of 107.0 ppg over their last five, and allowed 100.0 ppg to be scored against them. The Spurs on the other hand have averaged just 93.8 ppg in their last five, while yielding 90.8.
The Suns catch the points here today, and we will take the points with them.
Play the Suns to stay within.
5* SUNS
MadduxSports
New Orleans -4.5
Anthony Russo
Kansas City Royals
Jack Clayton
Mariners
PRIORITY SPORTS INFO
Boston Red Sox -175
ARTHUR RALPH
Sat Florida Marlins
HeadWaiter Sports
Houston Astros
ARMVIN SPORTS
MINN TWINS
The Fall Miracle
Rockets -1
#1 sports
FLORIDA MARLINS
Mike Wynn
Padres
Totals4u
Angels Under
Redzone Sports
Wizards
COMPUTER SPORTS
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
PLATINUM PLAYS
Mavericks & Hornets Over 193
RAZOR SHARP
UTAH/HOUSTON OVER 187
DR. VEGAS
Philly +110
NEVADA SHARP SHOOTER
SAN DIEGO
THE VEGAS STEAMLINE
Chicago White Sox
DARK HORSE
Kansas City -110
SCOUT
NY Yankees -145
TRACE ADAMS
Houston Rockets
Steve Janus
Cavs - 3.5
DELANEY
ANGELS
Templer's Sports Picks
Yankees/Baltimore Over 10.5
Beat Your Bookie
Florida
Lekota Sports
San Francisco/St. Louis Over 8
Scott Spreitzer
Blue Jays
Joe Wiz
Reds
Padres
Glen Mcgrew
Tigers
Joey Hannigan - Playmakers
New York Mets -114
Tom Coffaro
Arizona Diamondbacks -112
Frank Patron
Cavs -3.5
Paul Leiner
Phillies
Donald Tran
Washington at Cleveland Over 187.5
Jennifer Barry
San Francisco at St. Louis Over 8
2-Minute Warning
Cleveland Cavaliers
Insider Sports Report
4* Dallas/New Orleans (NBA) OVER 192.5
Range 191 to 194.5
4* N.Y. Mets (Perez) -120 over Philadelphia (Moyer) Range -105 to -140
3* Cleveland (Westbrook) -115 over Minnesota
(Blackburn) Range +105 to -135
Winners Inc. Guaranteed Selections
$500,000 NBA PLAYOFF OPENING ROUND GAME OF THE YEAR
San Antonio -4
$500,000 LATE STEAM BASEBALL WINNER
LA ANGELS with Santana -150
Frank Rosenthal
NBA PLAYOFFS
702 CAVS-2.5 SB
703 SUNS+4.5 SB
705 MAVS+5 SB+
OVER 192 SB+
708 ROCKETS-1 SB
OVER 186 SB+
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
952 CUBS-130 SB
955 GIANTS UNDER 8 SB+
963 NATS UNDER 9.5 SB+
966 DBACKS-1-5 SB
958 JAYS-110 SB
969 TRIBE-120 SB+
975 YANKS-145 SB
980 ANGELS OVER 9 SB+
Michael Cannon
Saturday's NBA Plays
20 Dime
SPURS
10 Dime
CAVALIERS
Saturday's MLB Plays
10 Dime
ASTROS (With Rodriguez as listed pitcher)
5 Dime
WHITE SOX (With Buehrle as listed pitcher)
PSYCHIC
NBA
3 units Cleveland -3.5
3 units New Orleans -4.5
3 units Houston -1
5 units Phoenix +4
WISEGUY
MLB
1 unit Detroit -102
2 unit Washington -105
DA STICK
NHL
5 units Philadelphia +115
10 units Montreal +155
MLB
5 units Cincinnati -130
5 units San Francisco Giants +105
20 units New York Yankees -150
Wunderdog
Washington at Cleveland
Pick: Washington +3.5
This will be the third straight time these teams have opened the playoffs in Cleveland. Washington has not done well at all here. The circumstances are much different this time around. Two years ago Cleveland came into this series off a season-ending 14-3 run and last year they entered off a 17-7 run. Two years ago Washington limped into the series with a season ending 9-10 run and a pathetic 2-8 to the close their '07 season. This year the roles are reversed and these teams are much closer. The Cavs come limping in at just 8-10 in their last 18, and Washington has closed at 13-7. The Cavs closed at just 1-6 ATS on their home court, and finished at just 15-26 ATS for the season. James simply does not have the supporting cast he has had in years past. As they got healthier, Washington closed at 12-6 ATS on the road. This one has the makings of a game coming down to the wire, so we will grab the points and back the Wizards here.