The Bum's Best Bets For Friday April 10th - MLB - NBA -NHL !

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NHL

Friday, April 10


Bobrovsky confirmed for red-hot Blue Jackets

According to Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start between the pipes as the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Buffalo Sabres Friday evening.

The Jackets have been a red-hot bet of late, recording 10 wins - seven of which came as underdogs - in their past 11 games.

Bobrovsky is 29-17-3 with a 2.70 goals against average and .918 save percentage this season.


Islanders a hot bet versus Penguins of late

The New York Islanders have been a hot play in head-to-head meetings with the Pittsburgh Penguins of late, winning the previous three matchups with their Metropolitan Division rivals.

The Isles have cashed as +152, +110 and -119 options over the past three games versus the Pens. Pittsburgh won the first meeting by a score of 3-1 this season.

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Spurs, Rockets hook up

April 10, 2015


SAN ANTONIO SPURS (53-26) at HOUSTON ROCKETS (53-25)

Tip-off: Friday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line and Total: San Antonio -2.5, Total: 204.0

The Spurs and Rockets meet in Houston Friday and these teams will be battling one another for their postseason positioning in this one.

These two teams met on Wednesday and San Antonio came away with a 110-98 home victory as a 6.5-point favorite. The Spurs picked up their ninth straight win-and-cover in that game and the Rockets’ loss snapped a three-game SU winning streak. In three meetings between these teams this season, the Spurs are 2-1 both SU and ATS but it has been the home team that has won-and-covered in every game. Over the past three seasons, the Rockets are 6-5 SU and 7-4 ATS versus the Spurs. Houston is also 4-1 both SU and ATS when hosting San Antonio over the past three seasons.

San Antonio is 13-3 ATS after covering in eight or more of its past 10 games over the past two seasons. The team is also 14-4 ATS after eight or more consecutive wins over the past two seasons. Houston, however, is 11-2 ATS after a loss by 10 points or more this season and 32-16 ATS when revenging a loss where an opponent scored 110 points or more over the past three seasons. SG Marco Belinelli (Groin) and C Tiago Splitter (Calf) are questionable for the Spurs and the Rockets are without PF Donatas Motiejunas (Back) and PG Patrick Beverley (Wrist) for the season.

The Spurs are the hottest team in the league and PG Tony Parker (14.5 PPG, 4.9 APG) had one of his best games of the season against the Rockets on Wednesday. Parker had been the lone player on this team that wasn’t playing up to his potential and he poured in 27 points in 26 minutes against Houston in that game. With Patrick Beverley out for the Rockets, Parker should be able to dominate whoever is guarding him on Friday. SF Kawhi Leonard (16.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.3 SPG) continues to play at a high level offensively and is now averaging 23.0 PPG over his past four contests. He has also come away with 14 steals over the past three games and should see some time guarding James Harden in this one.

PF Tim Duncan (13.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.0 BPG) has been a monster defensively over the past two games, averaging 9.5 RPG and 4.0 BPG in just 25.5 MPG in those contests. Duncan is, however, averaging just 9.0 PPG in those contests and has taken just 5.4 shots per game over the past five contests. The Spurs are going to need to start getting Duncan some touches towards the end of the season, as they do not want him to be rusty when the postseason comes around. He’ll need to be really active defensively on Friday if he spends some time guarding Dwight Howard.

The Rockets were unable to beat this same Spurs team on Wednesday and SG James Harden (27.6 PPG, 6.9 APG, 5.7 RPG, 1.9 SPG) had an inefficient shooting game, finishing with 22 points (6-for-15 FG) in 35 minutes. Harden will need to be better in this game or his team will not have much of a chance of beating San Antonio. C Dwight Howard (15.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.2 BPG) is starting to look like himself recently, averaging 19.0 PPG and 9.5 RPG in 22.5 MPG over the past two games. His minutes should start to increase moving forward and he’ll need to protect the rim against the Spurs on Friday.

SF Trevor Ariza (12.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.9 SPG) had 19 points against the Spurs on Wednedsay and shot the ball extremely well, going 5-for-6 from the outside. Ariza will need to knock down some outside shots in this one as well. SF Josh Smith (12.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.1 SPG) will need to be on his game on Friday as well. Smith is a huge player off the bench for this team and can help on both ends of the floor. He had 13 points, five assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes of action on Wednesday and will need to make things difficult on whomever he is guarding in this rematch.

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Friday's Tip Sheet

April 9, 2015

Celtics at Cavaliers – 7:35 PM EST

Cleveland has wrapped up the second seed in the Eastern Conference and the Central Division title, as the Cavs are playing out the string the final four games of the regular season. LeBron James was expected to sit in the first of a home-and-home set with the Celtics, but will suit up tonight. The Cavs held off the Bucks on Wednesday to capture their first division championship since 2010 in a 104-99 victory, but failed to cash as 6 ½-point road favorites. David Blatt’s club owns a 1-4 ATS record the past five games, but the Cavaliers have won 18 straight games at Quicken Loans Arena, while covering 13 times in this span.

The Celtics are riding a five-game road winning streak after Wednesday’s 113-103 victory at Detroit as two-point favorites. Isaiah Thomas came off the bench to pump in 34 points for Boston, who is tied with Brooklyn for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with four games remaining. Since the All-Star break, the C’s have covered 10 of 14 times in the underdog role, but one of those losses came in blowout fashion at Cleveland in early March, 110-79 as 11-point ‘dogs.

Wizards at Nets – 7:35 PM EST

Washington took care of business without John Wall in Wednesday’s 119-90 rout of Philadelphia to pick up its fourth straight win. The Wizards easily covered as 4 ½-point favorites, as Randy Wittman’s club has an outside shot at grabbing the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but lose the tiebreaker with the Raptors. Washington is on track to finish fifth, where it would likely face Chicago for the second straight postseason after knocking the Bulls out of the first round in 2014.

The Nets suffered a tough defeat to the Hawks on Wednesday night, 114-111 as 4 ½-point favorites, but Brooklyn is still holding onto the eighth spot in the East. In spite of that setback, Brooklyn owns a solid 9-3 SU and 6-4-2 ATS record the past 12 games, which includes a 6-1 run to the ‘over’ the last seven contests. The Nets have lost two of three matchups with the Wizards this season, including a 99-90 defeat at Barclays Center in mid-January as 5 ½-point underdogs.

Suns at Pelicans – 8:05 PM EST

Phoenix’s slim playoff hopes evaporated in Wednesday’s 107-104 loss at Dallas as the Suns won’t be heading to the postseason for the fifth straight season. Jeff Hornacek’s squad covered as 8 ½-point underdogs, but the Suns have lost seven of their last eight games, including four straight on the highway. Even though Phoenix’s roster has seen plenty of turnover the past few seasons, the Suns have taken six of the last seven matchups with New Orleans, while the home team has split a pair of meetings this season.

The Pelicans rallied past the Warriors on Tuesday as a home underdog in a 103-100 triumph, but were humbled the next night in a 110-74 rout at the hands of the Grizzlies. New Orleans has won nine of its previous 12 games at Smoothie King Center since the All-Star break, but own a 3-5 ATS record as a home favorite in this stretch. The Pelicans begin Friday’s action tied with the Thunder for the eighth playoff spot in the West, as New Orleans owns the tiebreaker, beating Oklahoma City in three of four tries.

Spurs at Rockets – 8:05 PM EST

Don’t ever count out San Antonio, even if they are heading to the playoffs. The Spurs seemed to be locked into the sixth seed in the West, but the defending champions have run off nine consecutive wins to pull within one-half game of both Memphis and Houston for the top spot in the Southwest Division. The latest victory came at home on Wednesday over the Rockets, 110-98, as the Spurs easily covered as 6 ½-point favorites. San Antonio erased an early nine-point deficit thanks to Tony Parker’s 27 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the floor, as the Spurs shot 50% from the field.

The Rockets had four players score in double-figures at San Antonio, led by James Harden’s 22 points. However, Houston put up a combined 38 points in the second and third quarters as Kevin McHale’s squad saw its three-game winning streak snapped. The Rockets couldn’t quite pull off the three-game sweep on their road trip, coming off impressive victories at Dallas and Oklahoma City. Houston has played well at home of late, winning five of the past six at the Toyota Center, but all five of those victories came against teams that will not be headed to the playoffs (Sacramento, Minnesota, Denver, Orlando, and Detroit).

Houston has claimed each of the past four matchups at home against San Antonio, including a 98-81 triumph in early November as 6 ½-point favorites. The Spurs haven’t busted the 98-point mark in their previous four visits to the Toyota Center, as San Antonio’s last win in Houston came in overtime back in December 2012 in a 134-126 victory.

Total Notes

Chris David of VegasInsider.com provides us with his quick handicap on Friday’s totals.

Since we only have seven days left in the regular season, I would strong advise you to tread lightly since a lot of these games are next to impossible to handicap.

With that being said, I jotted down quick total notes on six of the 12 matchups.

Charlotte and Atlanta have met twice this season and both games easily went ‘over’ with a combined 241 and 215 points scored. These outcomes weren’t a coincidence either. Including these results, the ‘over’ is 12-2 in the last 14 matchups between the pair. The game opened 193 ½ and quickly got pushed up to 196. Al Jefferson still ‘doubtful’ for Charlotte and that should open up the paint and keep the pace moving.

The Nets and Wizards have seen the ‘under’ go 7-2 in their last nine meetings, which includes two winning ‘under’ tickets this season. Those results were blowouts, which helped the cause. John Wall missed the last game for Washington and could sit again on Friday.

The Kings and Thunder have seen the ‘under’ cash in their last six meetings and neither team is at full strength for this matchup. Sacramento has gone up-tempo since the All-Star break when George Karl took over the coaching duties, which has translated into a 16-8 ‘over’ record. This is the highest total for Friday and if the shots fall, it’s doable.

I thought the Spurs and Rockets would tighten up their defense on Wednesday when they met at AT&T Center but that wasn’t the case. San Antonio earned a 110-98 win, its second time beating Houston this season and also the second time they scored 110. This game is very important for playoff seeding with the winner improving their chances to claim the No. 2 seed. With that being said, I would expect a tighter contest but it’s hard to bet the ‘under’ in Houston matchups just based on their 3-point philosophy. The Rockets lead the league with 33 attempts per game and they’re connecting at a respectable 34.8 percent. The total opened 205 and has dropped a tad (204) which tells me the early money agrees with my thoughts.

It’s rare to see a NBA total listed in the seventies but that’s the case with the Grizzlies-Jazz on Friday and this number is actually justified. The opener was 178 ½ and it’s been bet up to 180. Memphis enters this game on a 5-0-1 run to the ‘under’ in its last six games and the defense has really clamped down the last four games (85.2 PPG). Utah has scored 100-plus in its last two games albeit against Sacramento. Playing the Grizzlies is a big step-up in class defensively and I’d be surprised if the Jazz get over 90 in this game. The ‘under’ has gone 2-1 in the three encounters between the pair this season.

If you’re looking for the “Roll the Ball Out” game on Friday, then check out the Wolves-Lakers game. The total opened 204 ½ and is already up to 206 ½. My feel is that this is a game that could see 180 points or 240. It’s just a matter of making shots, which will be open, because neither team plays defense. The Timberwolves (106.2 PPG) are ranked last in scoring defense and the Lakers are ranked 29th (105 PPG). If you like the ‘over’ like I do, play it now, because once again the Lakers are on national television (NBATV) and these games usually get juiced up.

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Hoop Trends - Friday

April 10, 2015


ATS TREND OF THE DAY:

-- The Nuggets are 14-0 ATS (13.71 ppg) since Nov 26, 1999 as a home dog after a double digit win in which they had an assist to turnover ratio of at least two.

OU TREND OF THE DAY:

-- The Knicks are 12-0 OU (15.67 ppg) since Nov 22, 2008 with at most one day of rest after a loss in which they shot less than 35% from the field.

PLAYER TREND OF THE DAY:

-- The Spurs are 0-10 OU (-21.15 ppg) since Jan 27, 2012 on the road after Tim Duncan had more rebounds than points in a home win.

NBA BIBLE ACTIVE TREND:

-- The Hornets are 2-13 when Gerald Henderson’s scoring dropped by at least 15 points over their past two games.

ACTIVE TRENDS:

-- The Mavericks are 0-8 ATS (-11.50 ppg) since Feb 25, 2015 after Rajon Rondo was not the Mavericks’ high scorer in a win.

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NHL

Friday, April 10

Game Score Status Pick Amount

NY Islanders - 7:00 PM ET NY Islanders +144 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Pittsburgh - Over 5.5 500

Buffalo - 7:00 PM ET Buffalo +310 500 *****
Columbus - Over 5.5 500

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NBA

Friday, April 10

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Toronto - 7:00 PM ET Toronto -5.5 500 *****
Orlando - Under 202.5 500

Charlotte - 7:30 PM ET Charlotte +10 500
Atlanta - Over 194.5 500 DOUBLE PLAY

Washington - 7:30 PM ET Washington +4.5 500 *****
Brooklyn - Over 199.5 500

Boston - 7:30 PM ET Cleveland -7.5 500 SLAM DUNK
Cleveland - Under 210.5 500

Indiana - 7:30 PM ET Indiana -5.5 500 TRIPLE PLAY
Detroit - Over 193 500

Milwaukee - 7:30 PM ET New York +11 500
New York - Under 189.5 500

San Antonio - 8:00 PM ET Houston +3.5 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Houston - Under 205 500

Phoenix - 8:00 PM ET Phoenix +8.5 500 *****
New Orleans - Under 193.5 500 SLAM DUNK

Sacramento - 8:00 PM ET Oklahoma City -13.5 500 *****
Oklahoma City - Under 219.5 500

Dallas - 9:00 PM ET Denver -2 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Denver - Under 212 500

Memphis - 9:00 PM ET Memphis -3.5 500
Utah - Under 176 500 *****

Minnesota - 10:30 PM ET L.A. Lakers -5.5 500
L.A. Lakers - Under 202.5 500

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MLB

Friday, April 10

Game Score Status Pick Amount

Boston - 7:05 PM ET NY Yankees +106 500 TRIPLE PLAY
NY Yankees - Under 8 500

Washington - 7:05 PM ET Washington -153 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Philadelphia - Over 7.5 500

Tampa Bay - 7:10 PM ET Miami -120 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Miami - Under 7.5 500

St. Louis - 7:10 PM ET St. Louis -141 500
Cincinnati - Under 8 500

NY Mets - 7:35 PM ET NY Mets -113 500 *****
Atlanta - Under 7 500

Pittsburgh - 8:10 PM ET Pittsburgh +122 500
Milwaukee - Under 7.5 500

LA Dodgers - 9:40 PM ET Arizona +106 500 *****
Arizona - Over 8.5 500

Kansas City - 10:05 PM ET Kansas City +115 500 GRAND SLAM
LA Angels - Over 7.5 500

Seattle - 10:05 PM ET Seattle +101 500 GRAND SLAM
Oakland - Under 7 500

San Francisco - 10:10 PM ET San Francisco +106 500 TRIPLE PLAY
San Diego - Over 7 500