Thursday’s Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Weather to watch
Los Angeles Dodgers at Oakland Athletics – 14 mph winds are expected to blow out to centerfield.
Who’s hot
NBA: Heat are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 home games.
MLB: Yankees are 31-9 in Phil Hughes' last 40 starts as a home favorite.
WNBA: The Indiana Fever are 16-6 ATS in their last 22 home games.
Who’s not
WNBA: Thunder are 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games following a ATS loss.
MLB: Mariners are 2-10 in their last 12 games with umpire Todd Tichenor behind home plate.
WNBA: Over is 1-6 in the Connecticut Sun's last seven road games.
Key stat
4 – Portugal has hit the post four times already in the Euro 2012 and only three teams have ever hit the woodwork five times in an entire European Championship tournament.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Tomas Rosicky, Czech Republic – The Czech Republic captain’s status is in doubt again as he tries to come back from an Achilles injury that kept him out of the club’s last group match. The playmaking midfielder did train lightly Tuesday, but the squad considers him a game-time decision.
Game of the day
Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat (-3, 193.5)
Notable quotable
“I just don’t understand why we start out the first quarter the way we did with the lineup we had, and all of a sudden we change and adjust to what they had going on. So they won the last three quarters and that’s what happened… If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” – Kendrick Perkins, wondering about the lineup changes Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks made after the club jumped out to a 13-3 early lead in Game 4.
Notes and tips
As expected, Jeremy Guthrie was pulled from the Colorado Rockies' rotation Tuesday. However, in a pitching move that shows desperate times call for desperate measures, manager Jim Tracy announced the Rockies would go with a four-man rotation and the starters would be on a limit of 75 pitches. The remaining starters are Alex White, Jeff Francis, Christian Friedrich and Josh Outman, who was pulled after 72 pitches and 4 1/3 innings Tuesday against Philadelphia. When their starter goes less than six innings, which is bound to happen more with this plan, the Rockies are 9-32 overall and 3-15 on the road.
The Minnesota Lynx set a WNBA record with their 10th consecutive win to start a season last week, but couldn’t keep it going in their last game. The Lynx scored a season-low 62 points in a three-point loss to Seattle, shooting just 37.5 percent from the floor and 25 percent from downtown. The Lynx look to get back to their winning ways Thursday as 14-point home favorites against New York.
After leaving late in Game 4 with leg cramps, LeBron James returned to practice with the Miami Heat Wednesday in preparation for Thursday’s Game 5. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says James wasn’t limited in the workout and that he expects the MVP to 100 percent as the club looks to finish off the Oklahoma City Thunder, who will have reserve James Harden available after he bruised his hand Tuesday.