FRANK ROSENTHAL
NBA PLAYOFFS
505 MAVS+4 SB+
OVER 193 SB
508 MAGIC-5.5 SB
OVER 198 SB+
509 SUNS+2.5 SB
UNDER 191.5 SB+
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
901 VARDS+110 SB
903 NYM+105 SB
908 REDS UNDER 9 SB+
910 BRAVES-205 SB
911 PADRES-145 SB
916 DBACKS-235 SB
918 BOSOX-170 SB
923 TRIBE-125 SB+
928 A'S-145 SB
Drew Gordon
Toronto at ORLANDO -5'
Sorry Toronto backers, but your team is in BIG trouble once again tonight. The Magic proved two things in Game 1: A. why they're the best scoring team in the East, dropping in 114 point on a blazing 53% shooting. And B. when at home, that they can dominate you defensively, allowing the Raptors 100 points on just 37% shooting! The disparity stastistically in Game 1 was staggering in and of itself, but you know I'm not going to rely on just stats for Game 2...
You also have to consider match ups, which clearly favor the Magic. First of all, starting Bargnani over Moon to better guard Turkoglu in the post sounds like a good idea, but it didn't really turn out that way, as Hedo went 9 of 15 for 21 points and looked damn comfortable doing it. Its also clear that Toronto has no answer for Howard, who when motivated is far and away the best center in the league.
While their assist to turnover ratio was great, TJ Ford and Jose Calderon struggled mightily against this Orlando perimeter defense, going a combined 4 of 20 for 14 points. Hard to believe Jameer Nelson won that match up, but there's no question he did. With Maurice Evans bombing away from beyond the arc, the Raptors defense will be tested early and often tonight.
Finally, there's some strong trends that back my play here, including the fact the Raptors are just 1-10 ATS over their last 11 road games & went a dismal 16-26 SU & 17-24 ATS away this season! Consider this: The last game the Raptors won on the road was against Charlotte March 31st, the next SU road win after that... March 5th against the sorry Heat! Raptors can't beat anyone on the road, let alone the Magic!
Take Orlando comfortably over Toronto in Game 2 of this Eastern Conference Playoff series.
3* ORLANDO
Michael Cannon
Phoenix at SAN ANTONIO -2
Take the Spurs minus the small number over the Suns in Game 2 of their playoff series.
The first game was a classic battle between heavyweights. A double-overtime thriller in which San Antonio finally prevailed when the Suns got into foul trouble.
It wouldn?t surprise me if it was another nail biter tonight, but I fully expect the Spurs to defend their home court and to walk away with the win and cover when all is said and done.
I know the Spurs haven?t been good against the spread recently, but this line is much more manageable for them in that they really only need to win and most likely they will cover, or at least push.
There?s just no substitute for the big-game experience players like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili bring to the table in matchups like this one. This team has been through all the battles before, so there?s nothing that may happen tonight that they can?t deal with.
Take the Spurs as the small home chalk for the Game Two win.
3* SAN ANTONIO
ATS Basketball Lock Club
4 units Suns
3 units Magic
ATS Hockey Lock Club
3 units Washington
Powerplaywins
Power Play of the Day
Yankees -135
Karl Garrett
20 DIMES
ORLANDO MAGIC
10 DIMES
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
COLORADO ROCKIES
NY YANKEES
Drew Gordon
1. 200,000* Hornets
2. 50,000* Royals
3. 50,000* Rockies
Larry Ness
Dallas / New Orleans
Play New Orleans
The Dallas players made comments that the Mavs wanted the Hornets in the first round but New Orleans' center Tyson Chandler was quoted as saying, "They wanted us. They got us now, and good for them. Sometimes you've got to give people what they want." Well the Mavs were "looking good" at the half in Game 1 (led 52-40) but the Hornets outscored them 64-40 in the second half, while the Mavs shot 9-of-36 from the floor. That's some effort. I had the Hornets in that game and will take them again here, as I "rehash" my Game 1 write-up, as it still applies. The Mavs were up two games-to-none in the '06 NBA Finals and had a 10-point 4th-quarter lead on the Heat at Miami in Game 3. However, the Heat rallied to win that game as well as the next three-in-a-row. The Mavs seemingly got over that disappointment by going 67-15 in last year's regular season, the best mark in the league. However, the Mavs were totally outplayed by the Warriors in the first round and became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed (Warriors) in the current seven-game format. The Mavs were not 'right' all season this year, losing their 17th game (as many as they had lost ALL of the previous season) by Feb 13. In response to the Lakers getting Gasol from Memphis, the Mavs completed a trade with the Nets (basically Harris for Kidd). Most felt the deal mortgaged their future for a chance "to win it all," right now! However, that's hardly been the case. The Mavs lost their first 10 games vs winning teams with Kidd replacing Harris in the lineup and finished 16-13 (.552) with Kidd, after going 35-18 (.660) prior to his acquisition. The team's future is still in question and one must wonder how bright the team's playoff 'picture' is as well! On the plus side, Dallas did beat these same Hornets 111-98 on the final day of the regular season, avoiding a No. 8 seed and the Lakers in the first round. Instead, they draw the Hornets, a team which owns little playoff experience among its key players (Peja is an exception). The Mavs also know that the Hornets have not won in Dallas since January 1998. That puts an awful lot of pressure on the Hornets to win BOTH of the first two games of the series. However, I'm not sure the Mavs get how well the Hornets played at home this year. I've seen many previews of this series claim the Hornets look tired or that they "stumbled down the stretch" losing four of their last six. Hold on. The Hornets have made a remarkable turnaround these last few years under Byron Scott, who has proven his coaching ability once again, with a second team. Remember, he led the Nets to the NBA Finals in both 2001 and 2002. The Hornets opened this season by playing better on the road than at home but after a 9-7 start at home, the Hornets finished the season by going 21-4 over their last 25 home games. New Orleans finished the season on an 11-1 run at home, going 10-2 ATS. During that final stretch, they beat the Suns (120-103), the Jazz (110-98), the Spurs (100-75), the Lakers (108-98), the Rockets (90-69), the Celtics (113-106) and the Warriors (108-96). That's a very impressive list. Paul (21.1-4.0-11.6) is a legitimate MVP candidate, while West (20.6-8.9), Peja (16.4-4.3) and Chandler (11.8-11.7) form an excellent frontline. They have some depth problems up front but Pargo (8.1-2.4 APG) has backed up Paul well at PG (plus played alongside of him at times) plus shooting guards Peterson (8.0) and Wells (9.1-4.5) can both be dangerous scorers. Kidd averaged 10.8-7.5-10.1 on the year (his numbers with Dallas alone were slightly lower than that) and is too old and slow to guard Paul. Howard (19.9-8.6) and Terry (15.5) are quality players plus the Mavs still have vets like Stackhouse and Dampier, plus the 6-8 Bass (8.3-4.4) came into his own this year (had averaged 2.2 PPG his first two with New Orleans). There is always Nowitzki (23.6-8.6) but after his play in LY's first round loss, do you really want to count on him? Now I realize the Mavs have a huge edge in playoff experience, so it would not surprise me if they won the series (especially with the Hornets terrible history in Dallas) but as for this first game, I see the Hornets "coming up big." Paul led the way in Game 1 with 35 points and 10 assists and Kidd couldn't guard this guy with a net! Things may be different once the series shifts to Dallas but tonight, it's "second verse, same as the first." Take New Orleans.
John Ryan 7* NBA
Ai Simulator 7* graded play on Toronto . AiS shows an 85% probability that Toronto will lose this game by 5 or fewer points. In terms of the supporting cast of data I have not found many meaningful systems and angles and this is a good opportunity to reiterate the following about my methodology. The supporting cast of game matchup analysis, systems, and angles serve only to reinforce the grading of the play. The dominant reason we are making any play is attributed to the AiS grading. Note that Toronto is 62-42 ATS (+15.8 Units) versus teams who average 7 or less steals/game on the season over the last 3 seasons. Orlando is not a high pressure defense and relies instead on solid rebounding and transition offense to defeat teams. Toronto lost game 1 by 14 points, but that places them into a very strong role. Note that Toronto is 25-12 ATS (+11.8 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent of 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons; 27-13 ATS (+12.7 Units) in road games after playing 2 consecutive games as an underdog over the last 3 seasons. I also like taking no more than a 3* amount on the money line. This money line play is reinforced by the following system hitting 54% for a 65-55 record making 34.1 units since 1996. Play on road teams versus the money line that is an excellent free throw shooting team hitting >=79% and is now facing an average free throw shooting team hitting 72-76% and after a game making 12 or more 3 point shots. Ryan is on an 80% ATS run with his L5 7*NBA Monster releases and here is one you can’t afford to miss out on. This is a DOG that Ryan also believes may win the game opening up a bonus wager on the money line as well. Includes the ML system plus more.
Chuck Franklin comp
Toronto at ORLANDO -6
The Cubs and Carlos Zambrano easily shut down the Mets last night as my Free Pick winner. That's now six of the last eight Free Picks in the bank! Huge Profits with the Inside Edge on the Odds!
How is this point spread not in double-digits? The Raptors are a .500 team and the Magic finished the regular season 22 games above the .500 mark!
Just like in Game One this will be no contest. Toronto coach Sam Mitchell decided to make changes in his line-up and insert some new plays for the playoffs. Too late for adjustments Sam, that's what the previous 82 games were for. If you are relying on Andrea Bargnani to be the difference for your team, you are in trouble. The Raptors are in trouble!
Toronto has covered only seven of their last 27 games played. They are 1-10 ATS the last 11 road games and 0-9 ATS the last nine as a road underdog. The Magic are on an 11-1-2 ATS run when playing at home against a team with a less than .400 road record. They have covered 13 of the last 16 home games when they are favored by at least five points but less than 11 points.
This will be an absolute blowout!
3* ORLANDO
Mike Rose
New York Yankees -135
Getting the starting nod for Joe Girardi’s club will be Chien-Ming Wang. The righty’s 3-0 with a 3.81 ERA, but he was roughed up badly in his last start at home against Boston. He was unable to make it past the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium for the first time in his big league career, and overall, it was just the fifth time in 84 career starts that he wasn’t able to go at least five. He allowed nine hits and eight earned runs in just four innings of work earning the no decision. He is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.048 WHIP in three career starts at U.S. Cellular Field.
Contreras picked up his first victory in 2008 with a dominating performance that had Chicago management grinning from ear-to-ear his last time out. His offense put three on the board in the first inning after Jim Thome blasted his 510th career HR, and he made the lead stand over seven strong innings. He only threw 91 pitches allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out six, but most importantly, he didn’t issue a single walk. Contreras, who pitched for the Yankees during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, has a 2-4 record against his original big-league employer with a 3.96 ERA and 1.241 WHIP.
The Yankees are yet to cash as a –125 to –150 road favorites this season going 0-2, and their 1-5 their L/6 as a road favorite of –110 to –150. However, they’re 16-5 in Wang’s L/21 road starts and 5-1 the L/6 meetings with the White Sox. Chicago is surprisingly 0-3 with a days rest this season, 0-4 in Contreras’ L/4 starts against the Yankees, and a woeful 1-7 the L/8 times Contreras was installed a home underdog. This has also been a lower scoring series as the under has cashed in 15 of the L/22 meetings, and it’s 5-1-2 the L/8 times they’ve squared off at “The Cell”.
Mr. A's
New Orleans Hornets - 4
Orlando Magic -6
JB's Computer Picks
Boston Red Sox - 170
Atlanta Braves - 220 * * * Best Bet
San Diego Padres - 150
Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
NBA Game of the Year
Raptors +6 over Magic
Game one of this series was over before it started. Toronto was down by 20 going into the second quarter. The Raptors did a great job to get back into that game, but the deficit was just too much. The Raptors have pure shooters that can drain the three ball. The Raptors also shot awesome from the line. Orlando got a little lucky with a huge first quarter surge last game. Look for tonight's game to be a lot of closer. The betting public is all over Orlando. Look for the Raptors to cover the spread. Good Luck!
Spurs -2 over Suns
The Suns had a perfect opportunity to win the last game not once, but numerous times. Getting wins in the playoffs are hard for any team and the Suns blew their chance to set the tone. The Spurs now have nothing to lose going into the next game. The Suns however need a huge win or this series looks grim for them. I do feel this is a series that will be won mostly by the home teams. There is something about these Spurs that just cannot lose in the playoffs. Don't look for another ESPN Classic type of game tonight. The Spurs should play great with less pressure off their backs. Take San Antonio.
Major League Baseball
Indians -130 over Royals
Sabathia/Meche
Savannah Sports
2 Units on Philadelphia +115
Wolkosky Milan
10* TORONTO +6
10* PHO/SAS OVER 191
5* CINCINNATI -103
5* LAD/CIN UNDER 9