WILL COVER
3*Bobcats
2*Golden St.
2*Portland
JAMES PATRICK
3*Jazz
2*White Sox
2*Det Tigers Over
Drew Gordon
1. 200,000* Pacers
2. 50,000* Bradley
3. 50,000* Devil Rays
1. Pacers- Several reasons to like the Pacers in this spot, but let's start with the return of Jermaine O'Neal. Not only does his presence give the team a much needed morale booster, but let's not forget, when healthy, O'Neal is one of the better bigmen in the East. He's still playing limited minutes, but when he's in the game, he's a huge upgrade over Jeff Foster, who's been holding down the fort since O'Neal went out.
The single largest motivational factor has to be the playoff race. While Boston has locked down the # 1 seed and home court throughout the playoffs, the Pacers are on the outside looking in, sitting 3 games back from the Hawks and 8th and final playoff spot with just 8 games to go. In other words, while unlikely, Indiana must win this game... And even if they don't, a all-out "max-effort" can and will keep this game close enough for them to cover the bloated number.
One thing I like about the Pacers, is they didn't give up when both O'Neal and Tinsely went down. Instead, players adjusted, and now the Pacers have learned to play without their stars, getting consistent contributions from Grangers, Murhpy, and Dunleavy. Also, Marquis Daniels and Flip Murray have slid into their roles nicely in Tinsley's stead. Because of the balance, Indiana's offense has taken off, averaging 111 ppg on 45% shooting (46% from 3-point) over their last 5 games. Granted, their defense has been shaky, but the return of O'Neal should help shore up their interior D when he's on the floor.
Finally, I honestly believe we're entering the part of the season that becomes the dangerzone for Boston-backers. With 8 games remaining, and not a winning team left on their schedule, what motivation do the Celtics have to go all-out? Sure, they destroyed sorry-ass teams like the Heat the other day, but Indiana is still in the playoff hunt, and will come out fired up for this one. Indiana's won 6 of its last 8 games SUATS, and while they may not win this game outright, they sure as hell will keep it within the number!
Take the Pacers plus the points over the Celtics as your top-rated play of the day.
2. Bradley- The best of 3 format of the CBI offers a unique opportunity here, as the losing team (in this case Bradley), not only gets to exact their revenge, but also gets to do it AT HOME. This is huge in this particular match up because Tulsa has proven excellent at home, but extremely vulnerable on the road, winning just 3 of its 13 true road games this season!
Statistically, the answer lies in the Golden Hurricane defense, which falls apart when they travel, allowing 76 ppg on 46% shooting on the highway this season... Up a whopping 12 points per game from their season average of 64 ppg allowed! That's bad news for Tulsa, because like most college teams, the Braves offense is much more fluid at home, dropping 76 ppg on 45% shooting in Peoria this season.
We learned a lot from their first meeting in this best of 3 series, but most importantly three things: First, that the Bradley guards, Crouch and Ruffin, had little trouble beating the Golden Hurricane defense. Second, Bradely has trouble adjusting to Tulsa's 6'11 Jerome Jordan, who was dominant down-low. And thirdly, Tulsa won because of a tremendous disparity in fouls (Tulsa attempted 37 to Bradley's 18 free throws).
There isn't much the Braves can about Jerome Jordan, but you have to believe seeing him for the second time in 3 days is going to benefit the Braves and coach Les, who'll devise a better gameplan to stop him. Also, don't underestimate the free throw disparity, as clearly the home team will benefit in this series.
Bottom line, look for the Braves to bounce back hard in this one, as Tulsa is more like a "Golden Breeze" than a "Hurricane" on the road this season. Motivational and home court edges have all signs pointing to the Braves, as they regroup and even this series at 1 apiece with a convincing victory tonight in Peoria.
Take Bradley comfortably over Tulsa in Game 2 of the CBI Finals Best of Three series.
3. Devil Rays- I hear everyone is the media spouting off about Daniel Cabrera's career numbers against the D-Rays, going 6-0 with a 3.04 ERA, however I'm not convinced. First of all, until he proves otherwise, he remains wildly inconsistent, with his control more than anything else (led the Majors in walks L2 seasons). And second, he'll be facing a Tampa Bay batting order that you do best not to underestimate. They got 10 hits Monday of off Gurthrie, with Crawford, Pena, and Upton all contributing (a good sign).
Opposing Cabrera will be the Rays new addition, Matt Garza, who's youth (24 years old) and upside are tremendous. He went 5-7 with a solid 3.69 ERA in 16 appearances for the Twins last season. Garza appears to save his best for the Orioles, going 3-0 with a lockdown 2.16 ERA in 3 career starts (all at Camden Yards) against the them.
Unlike Tampa Bay which does have some solid bats in their lineup, the Orioles batting order is far less potent. They did all their damage in the first inning of Monday's 6-2 loss, and after Shields settled down, we didn't hear much from their offense after that. Garza is by far the more consistent pitcher in this one, and making his debut for his new team will only motivate him more in this contest.
Bottom line, look for the Devil Rays to make it 2 for 2 tonight, as I'll take Garza over Cabrera any day. Sure, Cabrera is capable of some pretty great stuff, but then again, he's also capable of some bone-headed pitching. Take the Rays, who will be looking to start this season right, and have the offense to do it in this one.
Take the Devil Rays behind Garza over the Orioles and Cabrera in this MLB match up.
Ernie Wallace
Atlanta-120
Big Al
Oakland/Boston OVER
DUKE'S NEWSLETTER
NBA
*Best Bet* New York Over (216) for 3 Units
Knicks/Grizzlies 8:00: Both of these teams won't be advancing to post-season play; normally, when NBA teams are riding out a year in April with little incentive to play for, the defensive intensity diminishes; certainly, signs of that have occurred: over the last five games, the Knicks have allowed 107.6 ppg while the Grizzlies have allowed nearly 113 ppg. The Knicks are 20-9 O/U in the second half of the season, including 4-0 O/U in their last 4 games; Memphis is 3-0 O/U in their last 3 games. The Knicks will be looking to avenge their earlier season home loss; NY is 28-18 O/U with revenge and 16-5 O/U as a dog. NY has picked up their scoring average a bit (nearly 103 ppg over last 5 games) and surely the Memphis' defense will be accommodating to allow NY to trade baskets. Seven of the last 10 in this series at Memphis has gone "over" and we'll stay on the "over" here.
Golden State (+3') for 2 Units
Golden State/Dallas 9:30: Golden State has played this series tough, going 11-5 SU/13-3 ATS in the last 16 matchups. And with Nowitzki still out, we'll grab the Warriors, which are sitting in the ninth spot of the WC, 1/2 game behind Denver and one full game behind Dallas. The Warriors have shown resilience alternating wins and losses over their last 12 games, losing yesterday to San Antonio. Golden State is 11-8 SU unrested and 8-3 SU after a loss by 10+. As for Dallas, the Jason Kidd experiment has been a miserable flop so far - with Dallas going 0-10 SU vs teams above .500 since the acquisition of Kidd. Dallas, which is on a current 1-6 ATS slide, sports a miserable 9-20 ATS mark vs good offensive teams (those averaging 99+). Golden State the call.
MLB
Los Angeles Angels (-125) [Saunders over Blackburn] for 2 Units
Angels/Twins 8:10: The Angels should continue to take control of this series; Los Angeles, after winning yesterday, has now claimed 5 of the last 6 in this series. Tonight, we like the pitching matchup with lefty - Joe Saunders who did a respectable job for the Angels last year (8-5 4.44 ERA). In fact, Saunders was very strong in his first 11 starts last year (7-1 3.25 ERA) before struggling in his final seven (1-4 6.63 ERA). We'll look for his mates to jump on the Twins' Nick Blackburn, a converted reliever who struggled through his rookie campaign, gets his first Major League start. Sure, Blackburn had a decent spring, but he should run into some serious live bats here. The Angels have won 7 of the last 10 road starts with Saunders on the hill and should deliver here.
Wolkosky Milan
10* NEW YORK +8½
10* TOR/ATL UNDER 205
10* CLE/CHA OVER 194
LAS VEGAS TECH REPORT (LVTR)
Play: TORONTO +3(NBA)
Play: ATLANTA / J Jurrjens (RIGHT HANDED) (MLB)
ROOT
Chairman - Tulsa
Millionaire - Miami Heat
Insider Circle - Dallas Mavs
Teddy June’s MLB Two Game Package (6-1 Last 7 Selections)
My 5* MLB Game of the Day is the Chicago White Sox over the Cleveland Indians.
My 5* MLB Total of the Day is the San Francisco Giants/LA Dodgers Under the posted total.
GOLD SHEET LATE TELEPHONE SERVICE
COLLEGE HOOPS
BRADLEY (-5) -home over Tulsa
NBA
CHARLOTTE (+3)-home over Cleveland
ATLANTA (-2)-home over Toronto
WASHINGTON (-10 1/2)-home over
EddieMush Service Plays ;D
Here are EddieMush.com service plays for tonight. These are paid for and confirmed. Over the last week they are 21-8(72%) and up over 65+ units.
These are their client's basketball picks for tonight (remember this is a different type of handicapping website .... we bet on the 1st team listed because Eddie likes the 2nd team). For example, in tonight's games, Eddie likes the Hawks, Bobcats, Warriors, and Bradley, so we are going to bet on the Raptors, Cavs, Mavs, and Tulsa.
8 units on Raptors +2.5 over Hawks
6 units on Cavaliers -3.5 over Bobcats
4 units on Mavericks -3 over Warriors
4 units on Tulsa +5.5 over Bradley
Strike Point
2 Phil -1.5 RL
2 NY Mets
2 Los Angeles A
Jeffersonsports
Texas+132
Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
Pacers +12 over Celtics
College Basketball
Tulsa +5.5 over Bradley
Major League Baseball
Padres -140 over Astros
Maddux/Rodriquez
Larry Ness
20* Bradley
20*Atlanta Hawks
The 'Sportsmen'
5* Indiana + 1 unit
5* Bradley - 1 unit