BeatYourBookie
100* Play Boston (-270) over Baltimore
50* Play Tampa Bay (-160) over Chicago White Sox
50* Play Toronto (-140) over Oakland
100* Play Dallas (+4) over San Antonio (NBA)
San Antonio is 3-10 ATS in home games when the total is between 185 and 189.5
San Antonio is 4-10 ATS coming off a division game this season
San Antonio is 6-14 ATS coming off three or more wins this season
100* Play Houston (+4.5) over Portland (NBA)
Houston is 8-2 ATS coming off a loss by 10 points or more
Houston is 7-2 ATS after scoring 85 points or less this season
Houston is 7-2 ATS in road games when the total is between 180 and 184.5
Other Hoops & Hockey Plays
50* Play Boston (-230) over Montreal (NHL)
ATS LOCK CLUB
4 Units Boston
3 Units Dallas
Brandon Lang
15 Dime Celtics - Not sold on the defending Eastern Conference champs bowing out as easily as everyone believes. Do you realize the odds to win the NBA title never wavered when the announcement about Kevin Garnett came out? Not one bit, and that's because of the experience this team has, and the stars that are on this team.
Let's not forget that Boston enters the postseason on runs of 12-2 straight-up and 9-5 against the books, while it has won nine consecutive home games. And since the Celtics are a perfect 4-0 both SU and ATS the last four times they've hosted Chicago the past two seasons, winning by margins of 18, 16, 23 and 25 points, and the fact the favorite is 6-1 in the last seven series meetings.
15 Dime Cavaliers - Cleveland has all the momentum in the world right now, and with a presumable collision course with L.A. looming, I don't see LeBron James opening the playoffs with anything less than spectacular today. The Cavaliers were 39-2 straight up and 28-13 against the spread at home this past regular season. And keep this in mind, the straight-up losses came against the Lakers and in the season finale against the Sixers ... the latter of which four Cavaliers regulars didn’t suit up, including James.
Back to full strength, nothing will stop this team, not even a Pistons squad that has made it to six straight Eastern Conference Finals. Cleveland was an impressive 10-3 versus the books in the playoffs last season, including a stellar 5-1 ATS at home. On the other hand, the Pistons hobble into the postseason on slides of 0-3 on the hardwood and 0-4 against the number. The Cavaliers have covered 11 of the last 16 meetings with Detroit, and that included a 5-2 run in Cleveland. Finally, the favorite is on an 8-1 ATS the last nine battles, so lay the chalk with the No. 1 seed.
15 Dime Mavericks - Meeting for the fourth time in the postseason since 2001, these two Texas rivals might finally be the closest they’ve ever been at this point. The Spurs obviously have the more impressive postseason resume, sporting three NBA titles, but the absence of injured swingman Manu Ginobili levels the playing field a tad. Both teams roll into the postseason playing well, as Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki is peaking at the right time, and since the health of Tim Duncan remains a question for the Spurs, could very well give Dallas the advantage in this Texas tussle.
The Mavericks certainly have the stronger bench, led by Jason Terry, and that’s an intangible that will come into play late in the game when the physicality of this rivalry kicks in. The underdog has covered 15 of the last 20 meetings, while the road team is on a 14-6 ATS run. With veteran Jason Kidd running the show, the Mavs have a strong chance to steal Game 1. They come in on a 9-2 spread streak the last 11 times they’ve been to San Antonio, so I’ll grab the points with the Mavs.
FREE - Trail Blazers
Ben Burns
Blue Jays
OVER Celtics
Under Rockets
BIG AL
At 8:05pm our Major League Baseball Game of the Month is on the Texas Rangers over the Kansas City Royals.
At 12:35pm our selection is on the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Atlanta Braves.
At 3:40 pm (time change) our selection is on the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers 'under' the total.
At 8 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs 'under' the total.
Anthony Redd
25 Dime Bulls-Celtics Over
25 Dime Mavericks (Game)
25 Dime Rockets (Game)
5 Dime Bulls (Game)
5 Dime Rockets-Trail Blazers Under
Kent Elola
20 units on Chicago-Boston UNDER 197
25 units on Cavs -6 FIRST HALF over Detroit
30 units on Mavericks +5 over Spurs
30 units on Blazers -4 over Rockets
Erin Rynning
Playmaker: Seattle
Playmaker: Houston Rockets
STEVE BUDIN
SATURDAY'S PICKS CALI-CARTEL
25 DIME SERIES RELEASE
Houston Rockets
FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY WISE GUYS
25 DIME RUN LINE RELEASE
Boston Red Sox (Beckett) -1 1/2 Runs over Baltimore (Eaton)
ROOT
Chairman - Seattle Mariners
Millionaire - Houston Rockets
No Limit - Minn. Twins
Master Sports
3* Pistons/ Cavs Under
SEABASS
Pucks
20* NYR/Was over
NBA
20* Chi/Bos over
50* Det
50* Dallas
50* (Series play) Dallas
100* Hou/Port under
100* (Series play) Houston
Bases
20* Cinn
20* SF
50* Tex
100* Bos -1.5
100* LAA/Minn over
Reply With Quote
PowerPlayWins
Cleveland Cavs -12
Yankees -123
Cardinals +120
Mariners -120
Dr Bob
Saturday NBA Analysis
I'm not going to post too much free analysis during the playoffs, but I don't have much on Saturday that's worth buying either, so I thought I'd post my Saturday analysis.
Chicago (+8 ½) over BOSTON
Boston will be without star big man Kevin Garnett for this game and most likely for the rest of the playoffs and the Celtics have not been nearly as good without him. Boston is a pretty good 18-7 straight up in 25 games without Garnett this season, but the Celts are just 10-15 ATS in those games and they’re not winning by big margins as often. Boston has out-scored their opponents by only 3.8 points per game without Garnett, which is much worse than the +9.1 scoring margin in 57 games with their star forward. The Celtics are only 2-9 ATS laying 7 points or more without Garnett and the Bulls are certainly capable of hanging tough in this game given that they are 14-8 straight up and 13-9 ATS with their current nucleus of players (i.e. since Luol Deng has been out). Chicago beat Boston 127-121 at home in their only game against the Celtics without Garnett and there was nothing fluky about that win given that Boston made 11 of their 20 3-point shots (compared to just 6 of 16 for Chicago) and still lost the game. I’ll consider Chicago a Strong Opinion at +8 or more (a regular opinion at +7 ½) and I’d take the Bulls in a 2-Star Best Bet at +9 or more.
I also see value in taking Chicago at +4.50 to 1 in the series (the series price is between +400 and +475) - consider it a Strong Opinion.
CLEVELAND (-12) versus Detroit
Detroit is just 6-12 straight up in their last 18 games, but the Pistons were without Rasheed Wallace for many of those losses and they are 9-5 with Wallace playing and without Allen Iverson (since the trade for Iverson in early November). Detroit is also 12-3-1 ATS the last 6 seasons as a road underdog of 7 points or more, including 7-2 ATS this season (6-0 ATS more recently). Cleveland has been a good bet at home over the course of the season (27-14 ATS) and they are 9-0 ATS at home after a loss – indicating that they can turn up their level of play with properly motivated. I’ll pass on this game.
SAN ANTONIO (-4) versus Dallas
The Spurs aren’t quite as good without Manu Ginobili and Dallas is a bit better with Josh Howard playing, and these teams are pretty evenly matched with their current lineups. I’d favor San Antonio by 3 ½ points, but ½ a point of line value isn’t enough to cover the juice, so I have no opinion at +4 and I’d lean with Dallas at +4 ½ or more.
PORTLAND (-4 ½) versus Houston
Houston blew their chance for home field advantage in round 1 by dropping their regular season finale at Dallas on Wednesday, but the Rockets are a resilient team (18-10 ATS after a loss this season) and should play well. Portland, however, is rolling along with 10 wins in their last 11 games (and 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games) and the Blazers have been good at home all season (27-14 ATS). My ratings favor Portland by 5 ½ points, which is too close to the number to have a lean on either side. I’d lean with Portland at -4 or less and I’d lean with Houston at +6 or more.
ANTON WINS
3 units Oakland/Trevor Cahill +120.