JeffMoney
Blue Jays -130 (pod)
Rangers -115
Royals +120
Red Sox -120
Bob Akmens
4* Boston -125
John Ryan
5* Utah+8.5
5* Det UNer 5 (NHL)
3* Phillies
Cash & Profit Experts
NBA
Cavs/Celts Under 177 (pod)
MLB
Texas -112 (comp)
Mr. A's
NBA Playoffs
Cleveland Cavaliers + 9
Los Angeles Lakers - 8½
MLB
Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks
The struggling Colorado Rockies have lost three in a row, nine of its last 11 on the road and have not been successful against the Diamondbacks thus far this year, dropping six of the last seven.
Colorado will send left-hander Jorge De La Rosa to the hill. The southpaw is 1-1 with a 10.24 ERA, in two starts this season. Arizona counters with Micah Owings. The right-hander is 4-1 with a 4.33 ERA, in seven starts this season.
Take the Diamondbacks to outscore the Rockies at Chase Field. Colorado has played poorly on the road and is struggling on offense.
Arizona Diamondbacks - 160
Black Magic Sports
1 Unit on Washington Nationals +135
The key to the Nationals showing so much value today will be Tim Redding (4-3, 3.83 ERA), who will be trying to remain perfect away from home this season. Redding is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA on the road this year. Claudio Vargas has yet to pitch this season for the Mets, but somehow he is nearly a -150 favorite. Now you can see why there is so much value on the Nationals to win tonight, especially with their Ace in Tim Redding on the hill. Also Washington has won 12 of their last 23 games at New York so they are not intimidated by Shea Stadium one bit. Cash in with Washington as the underdog.
Dr. Bob
3 Star Selection: BOSTON (-9) over Cleveland
Boston suddenly can't win on the road after posting the NBA's best road record in the regular season, but the Celtics are having no problems winning at home. Boston is 11-1 ATS in their last 12 home games (5-1 ATS in post-season home games) and they're 9-3 ATS at home after a loss this season (3-0 ATS after consecutive losses). Boston applies to an 11-0 ATS subset of a 51-18-4 ATS playoff situation and the Celtics defense continues to give Cavaliers star LeBron James fits. James has made just 49 of 148 shots (33%) against Boston this season, including 20 of 78 in this series (26%) and the Cavs supporting cast isn't likely to play as well on the road as they have at home especially after playing well in consecutive games. Cleveland is only 2-12 ATS this season after covering the spread in consecutive games, including 0-7 ATS recently and 1-11 ATS on the road. Cleveland is 28-15 ATS in the post-season in the James era, but they're just 1-4 ATS after beating their opponent by a double-digit margin. My ratings favor Boston by 11 points in this game and I'll take Boston in a 3-Star Best Bet at -10 points or less and for 2-Stars at -10 or -11 points.3-Stars at -10 or less, 2-Stars at -10 1/2 or -11.
Opinion: L.A. LAKERS (-8½) vs. Utah
Kobe Bryant tweaked his back early in game 4 and was obviously lacking his normal explosiveness, but the Lakers still managed to force overtime on the road without Bryant at his best. That does not bode well for the Jazz here in Los Angeles, where the Lakers won the first two games of this series by 11 points and 10 points. My ratings favor the Lakers by 9.2 points here at home, but Bryant still may be limited by his bad back, so a line of 8 or 8½ points is about right. There are no strong situations favoring either team and I have no opinion on this game.
Michael Cannon
Utah +8½ at LA LAKERS
Take the points with the Jazz for Game 5 tonight against the Lakers.
I don't think the Jazz will win this game, but to be honest with you they barely missed cashing the ticket in the first two games of this series at Staples and they're playing much better now after winning the last two at home.
Add in the fact that Kobe Bryant is fighting through back pain, and you have all the ingredients for a Utah cover here tonight.
I love the way Deron Williams has stepped up in this series.His 29-point, 14-assist effort in Game 4 was the difference and I expect him to carry that over into tonight.
The Jazz got out to slow starts both times in losing the first two games of this series, so look for an inspired effort right out of the gates.
Take the points with the Jazz as they stay within the number.
2* UTAH
Chuck Franklin
Utah at LOS ANGELES -8½
This has been a lopsided series when played in Los Angeles.The Lakers have won six in a row and are 16-3 against the Jazz at Staples Center. The only home team that has lost in the second round of the playoffs was Orlando by 1-point against Detroit.The home teams are 17-1.Homecourt advantage is obviously huge!
Los Angeles will win this Game 5 easily, even with Kobe nursing a sore back.Utah has lost plenty of road games this season and they are only 3-7 ATS the last 10 games when listed as the underdog.They have only covered the spread twice in the last eight games played. The Lakers have beat the spread six in a row at home and they are 8-1-1 ATS the last 10 games played overall.
The Lakers win tonight and it will be an absolute blowout!
3* LOS ANGELES
Drew Gordon
Toronto -130 at MINNESOTA
Two words: Roy Halladay. The Blue Jays is 1-2 over his last 3 starts, but has posted an excellent 2.45 ERA over that span. One loss was in a 1-0 pitcher's duel he lost to Boston's Jon Lester. And his last one, to the Indians, was really 6 lockdown innings, followed by one bad inning. Needless to say, Halladay is the man, and coming off a ugly loss, I expect he'll be razor sharp tonight. And if past history is the judge, he'll be great, having gone 6-0 with a 2.66 ERA in 10 career games against the Twins!
The Twins Boof Bonser has been anything but razor sharp over his last 2 starts, getting tagged for 11 runs over his last 10 innings! Although the Twins ended up winning both games, it was thanks in no part to Bonser, and things aren't looking good for him tonight either. Bonser is 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in 2 career starts against Toronto. Not to mention he's allowed 5 runs or more in 3 of his last 4 home starts!
Bottom line, in a battle between two pitchers who rank near the bottom in run support, I'll take Halladay, who's consistently pitched well despite the Blue Jays issues at the plate. He gets rewarded tonight, as the Jays will once again have plenty of oppurtunities against the struggling Bonser, who's gotten rocked in 3 of his last 4 starts at the Metrodome.
Take Toronto behind Halladay over Minnesota and Bonser in this MLB match up.
3* TORONTO
Brandon Lang
15 Dime - Diamondbacks (Run Line)
5 - Dime - Celtics
GINA
Conference Semifinals
Let's go with the home teams again tonight. The home teams have now won 17 of the 18 postseason games and are 14-3-1 ATS. Tonight's home teams have won all four games in this series.
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers (2-2) at (1) Boston Celtics (2-2)
The Boston Celtics are 6-0 at home in the playoffs, going 5-1 against the spread.
(4) Utah Jazz (2-2) at (1) Los Angeles Lakers (2-2)
The Los Angeles Lakers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 home games and 6-0 ATS verus the Jazz in Los Angeles.
Boston Celtics - 9
Los Angeles Lakers -8½
Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
Cavs +9 over Celtics
Boston plays great at home, but horrible on the road. To me that is not a good sign of a winning basketball team. Sooner or later someone is going to beat them at home and then what? Cleveland clearly has the momentum back and are playing great defense. LeBron isn't even having his best series and still the Cavs have them tied at two. This spread is way too high. Take Cleveland.
Jazz +8.5 over Lakers
The Jazz now have the momentum. The Lakers have lost two in a row after steam rolling their opponents in the first six games of the playoffs. Kobe has a bad back and that is not an injury that heals in two games. Kobe will need the off season to straighten that out. Utah has the offense to stick with any team in this league. This will be a good one, but again this spread is too high.
Major League Baseball
Bluejays -130 over Twins
Halladay/Bonser
Savannah Sports
2 Units on St Louis -154
Evan Altemus
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Pick: Under
These teams have been under machines recently. The Yankees have had tremendous problems scoring, while Tampa Bay’s starting and relief pitching have completely shutdown teams. The Ray’s best starter, Scott Shields, gets the start today. He has allowed only 0.78 baserunners per inning in his last three starts, while going 21 innings total in those outings. He has also only allowed 13 hits while posting a 2.91 ERA in his last three starts. Mike Mussina has also pitched very well, as he has been able to establish a different approach to pitching as he has become older. His location has been outstanding, and he has approached each start with a terrific game plan. In the eight games these teams have played against each other this season, the under has gone 6-2. I look for another low scoring game today. The under has gone 8-1 in the Yankees last nine games and 5-2 in the Rays last seven games. Look for a low scoring game tonight.
San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs
Pick: Chicago Cubs
Chicago is one of the best home teams in baseball with a record of 15-7 at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are unbeatable at home when they face struggling opposing pitchers, as their offense is able to really crush them. Jake Peavy hasn’t had his best stuff recently. Ted Lilly has pitched very well at home recently, as most of the Cubs pitchers have done. He has allowed teams to less than one base runner per inning and posted a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts. He has allowed only 13 hits and gone 20 innings total in those starts. San Diego also hits significantly worse against left handed pitching. Chicago is hitting .300 at home against right handed pitching this season. They will hit Peavy and the Padres bullpen hard enough to get an easy win.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics
Pick: Under
These teams have become very predictable in the playoffs, but especially in this series. Boston’s defense is significantly better at home than on the road. They have limited Cleveland to below 80 points in both games at home, while allowing them to average well over 80 points in both road games. Boston’s offense has been fairly stagnant though, as they haven’t had any breakout performances in this series. The reason for their low scoring offense is that Cleveland is a decent defensive team, and they play a slower paced style, similar to Boston. The Celtics don’t get as many chances to score against Cleveland as opposed to other teams. I expect Boston to really ratchet down on defense tonight, and this game will be played at a slow enough pace to go under the total.
Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Pick: Utah Jazz
Kobe Bryant is dealing with significant back pain going into game four. His ailing back is going to play a substantial role in this game. Bryant is the catalyst to the Lakers, and the younger role players feed off his play. Utah has become accustomed to playing in Los Angeles after games 1 and 2. In both of those games the Jazz fell behind early but showed resiliency in almost covering in both games. After winning two straight games and having much more confidence, I don’t expect them to fall behind by such a significant margin in the first two quarters. In addition, as the game goes on, Bryant will not be as effective with his injury. The Jazz will play him very physical as in games three and four. I look for this game to be very close and come down to the wire.
Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona D-Backs
Pick: Arizona D-Backs
Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals
Pick: Under
MONEY LOCK OF THE DAY
DIGGER'S PICK
DETROIT REDWINGS -170
JUNIOR'S PICK
FLORIDA MARLINS +120