Nelly
Blazers at Clippers
Play: Clippers -8
With a pretty clear division in the Western Conference between the top three teams and the rest of the conference the Clippers didn’t have a lot of meaningful games down the stretch. The team seemed to put it all together late in the season however getting its roster back in order and closing the season with wins in 10 of the final 12 games. Los Angeles finished the season 7-0 S/U and 5-2 ATS in the final seven home games and while this is a 4/5 matchup the Clippers won nine more games and had an average point differential 3.5 points per game superior to Portland. The Blazers only won 16 road games all season, tied with Memphis for the fewest among any of the 16 playoff teams and the Clippers won three of four regular season meetings between these teams. Portland had a taxing finish to the season needing to hold off several teams for the #5 spot and the Blazers wound up with an 8-19 S/U record vs. the top 10 teams in the league this season. The Clippers went 23-14 ATS as a favorite of fewer than nine points this season and Los Angeles owns a 29-12 S/U mark at the Staples Center this season. In most seasons the Clippers would have the profile of a championship contender but they have been overshadowed by Golden State and San Antonio this season in a pointless chase on top of the Western Conference. All indications are that J.J. Redick will play and the Clippers have their full complement of players ready to deliver in finally a meaningful game.
OC Dooley
Tigers / Astros Under 8.5
At most offshore locations this total opened up at “nine” runs but has taken a slight dip even though the Detrroit juggernaut offense has scored 4+ runs in every game except ONE so far while going 5-1 “over” the number in “daytime” spots such as this. In addition Houston starter Mike Fiers (career 6.55 ERA) has never faired well when facing the Tigers attack led by Miguel Cabrera. One of the reasons for the declining spot has to do with Houston’s struggling offense which has scored just 10 runs in the past five games “combined”. Even with the team improved in the past couple of campaigns Houston is a resounding 12-2 UNDER in the month of April with the average offensive per-game production (2.6) awful
Wunderdog
Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Pick: Cleveland -10.5
Detroit beat Cleveland in overtime on Wednesday as both teams rested their starters. Surprisingly, the Pistons, have won and covered three of the four meetings this season. However, this is the first year since 2009 that the Pistons have made the postseason, so the Cavaliers obviously have a huge advantage not only in talent, but in experience. The Cavaliers lost three of their last four games, but that was after they had their playoff position locked up. LeBron James averaged 25.3 points this season and Kyrie Irving added 19.6 points per game. Reggie Jackson, the Pistons' leading scorer with 18.8 points per game, is probable for this game due to an abdominal strain. Andre Drummond averages 16.2 points and 14.8 rebounds, but has a woeful .355 free throw percentage, which could factor into the final pointspread.
Washington Nationals @ Philadelphia Phillies
Pick: Philadelphia Phillies +134
A battle of teams 1-2 in the NL East. This is the third straight road game for the Washington Nationals, on a seven-game trip. After facing a punchless Atlanta team at home, lefty Gio Gonzalez heads out on the road where he had an ERA almost one run higher last year than at home. The last three years he has been a .500 road pitcher (15-15), and the Nationals are 3-7 when Gonzalez starts against a team with a losing record. Philadelphia has a reliable veteran arm going in Charlie Morton, with 10 strikeouts in 10 innings, and only eight hits allowed. Morton threw 6+ scoreless innings against San Diego his last time out. The Phillies are 7-3 after scoring two runs or less in their previous game, so grab the home dog in this key, early division game. Play Philadelphia.