Daily Sports Roundup April 17
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Cavs begin their quest for the NBA title, while the Caps take on the Canadiens, and the Red Sox play host to the Rays.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday with four games on the schedule: Milwaukee at Atlanta, Miami at Boston, Utah at Denver, and Chicago at Cleveland. The Cavaliers coasted for the last two weeks of the regular season, resting many of their starters (including LeBron James); as a result they enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak. However, the top seeds in the Eastern Conference are still pegged as big 11-point home favorites against the Bulls for Game 1 on Saturday afternoon, with the total at 191.5 points. Chicago won each of its last three games to hold off the Raptors for the final playoff berth in the East.
Meeting up on the diamond . . .
Action in the American League on Saturday includes Texas at the Yankees, the Angels at Toronto, Kansas City at Minnesota, Baltimore at Oakland, the White Sox at Cleveland, and Detroit at Seattle. As well, it'll be Tampa Bay at Boston, with James Shields (0-0, 3.97 ERA) taking on Clay Buchholz (1-0, 3.60 ERA). Righthander Shields has picked up a pair of no-decisions so far this season against the Orioles and Yankees despite giving up just five earned runs on 13 hits over his 11 1-3 innings of work. Righthander Buchholz beat the Royals in his first start of the season last week, allowing two earned runs over his five innings.
Meanwhile, the National League on Saturday has Milwaukee at Washington, Houston at the Cubs, the Mets at St. Louis, Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, Florida at Philadelphia, Colorado at Atlanta, Arizona at San Diego, and San Francisco at the Dodgers. Giants ace Tim Lincecum (2-0, 1.29 ERA) will get the start in that last contest; righthander Lincecum is already in midseason form for San Francisco, surrendering just two earned runs over 14 innings of work against the Braves and Astros. The Dodgers counter with Charlie Haeger (0-0, 3.86 ERA); the righthander has given up three earned runs over seven innings this season.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL playoffs continue Saturday with three games: Boston at Buffalo, Los Angeles at Vancouver, and Montreal at Washington. The Sabres, Canucks, and Canadiens all won the openers of their series on Thursday night, with Montreal upsetting top-seeded Washington 3-2 in overtime on the road to grab home-ice advantage in the set. Tomas Plekanec had the winner in the extra frame in that contest, while Michael Cammalleri and Scott Gomez scored in regulation time. Joe Corvo and Nicklas Backstrom replied for the Caps. Jaroslav Halak made 45 saves for Montreal, Jose Theodore had 35 saves for Washington.
Saturday's Wagering Tips
Lines off the board
The total in the Astros-Cubs game hasn’t been posted because the wind direction at Wrigley can never be predicted.
Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates – Starting pitcher Ross Ohlendorf was scratched from Monday’s game and is doubtful to pitch on Saturday for the Pirates.
Lines to keep an eye on
The Bucks-Hawks total has plummeted since opening at 188.5. Some shops are dealing two points lower at 186.5 and a few are as low as 186. Eight straight games between these two have gone over.
Boston has dropped to 4-point home favorites over the Heat after opening as 5-point chalk. The Celtics have covered in 7-of-10 against Miami.
The Jazz-Nuggets total has been bet down to 207.5 after opening at 209. The over has cashed in four of the last five games between these squads.
The Brewers-Nationals total has dropped from an opener of 9.5 down to 9 at most shops. Nine of the last 10 games in this series have gone over.
The total in the White Sox-Indians game has dropped a half run from its opener and now stands at 8. The last five games in this series (not including a push) have gone under.
Most markets are working with a total of 10 in the Marlins-Phillies matchup after opening the number at 9.5. Both teams have only played to the under twice in their last 10 games.
In a rare occurrence, an NHL total has dropped a half point. The Bruins-Sabres total is down to 5 and the under is 10-1-1 in the last 12 meeting of this series in Buffalo.
Weather report
There is a 30 percent chance of rain throughout the Rangers-Yankees early game on Saturday. Wind is expected to blow in from left-center field at 15 mph and the high temperature for the day is 55 degrees.
It’s going to be chilly for the Rays-Red Sox affair Saturday. The high temperature for the day is 41 degrees and the wind chill will be around 34 degrees. A 50 percent chance of rain will not make it any warmer.
Who’s hot
The Rays have won three straight heading into Friday and Boston has a couple of outfield bats absent from the lineup.
Chicago is 3-0 ATS in its last three games while the Cavs are 0-3 ATS.
Who’s not
Baltimore has dropped seven straight going into Friday and lost 10 of the last 11 games versus the A’s.
The Celtics are 3-7 SU and ATS in their last 10 games.
Key stat
3-11-1 – Against the spread record of No. 8 seeds in the NBA playoffs when getting double digit points. The Bulls are 11-point dogs against Cleveland on Saturday.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman did not play in Friday's game against the Brewers due to an ailing hamstring. Big Z hasn’t played since last Saturday. Team reports said that Zimmerman is going to run the bases on Saturday and see how he feels so he might play. Zimmerman is the Nats primary offensive weapon and came off the bench Thursday to deliver a pinch-hit, two-run home run in a victory over Philadelphia.
Games of the Day
Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets (-5, 209)
Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals (-325, 6)
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks (-177, 5)
Notable quotable
"I almost died last year from blood clots in my legs, both of my legs. I had to stay in St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City for 20 days (in the offseason) just lying in bed. My legs were so big, so swollen up. They were purple. I couldn't even walk on them. I couldn't feel my legs. That was right after my ankle surgery and the surgery on my lower back."
Royals outfielder Jose Guillen said on Friday. Guillen is hitting .361 with five home runs and nine runs batted in this season.
Tips and notes
Mehmet Okur doesn’t sound exactly enthused about playing in the playoffs and bettors should be wary. When asked if he was planning on playing in the FIBA World Championships, Okur called it the “biggest basketball event of the year” and said “I hope that during the [NBA] playoffs, I will not get injured.” That doesn’t sound like a guy that’s going to go all out for his team.
Jim Furyk is tied for the lead at the Verizon Heritage through two rounds of play. Furyk has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead 17 times on the PGA Tour but only went on to win twice. He already won a tournament this year and Furyk has won more than once in a season only two times in his 18-year career. Furyk is the adjusted favorite to win this week at +405 while the other co-leaders, Charles Howell III (+945) and Greg Owen (+1815), are getting much better odds.
With a week left in the season, Carlos Boozer talked about how important home-court advantage was to the Jazz (32-9 at home, 21-20 on the road this year). Well, Utah had a chance to lock up that position in the regular season finale but Boozer sat out and the team got blown out by Phoenix. The Nuggets have won and covered in four straight at home versus the Jazz. Andrei Kirilenko will not play in the game while Boozer is a game-time decision.