Announcement

**Udog** · 05-19-2015, 08:34 AM

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

-- Bruce Chen retired after 17 big league seasons with 11 different teams, where he proved that it pays to be lefthanded.

-- Angels' Matt Shoemaker has started seven games, all won by the road team.

-- Rough night for Randal Grichuk of St Louis; 0-6 with five K's. Oy.

-- Coming into this week, Miami's Dee Gordon had 15 more hits than anyone else in the National League.

-- Padres/Marlins have never had a player hit for the cycle; Arizona's Aaron Hill hit for the cycle twice, both in 2012.

-- Lightning 6, Rangers 2-- Tyler Johnson had a hat trick; series is 1-1.

**********

Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but.......

13) Tonight and tomorrow night are the last two nights for David Letterman's TV show; he has Bob Dylan on tongiht, making a rare TV appearance. Eddie Vedder was terrific at the end of last night's show.

12) When baseball teams own the TV stations their games are shown on, you get better stuff; Mets have in-game interviews with pitchers or subs in third inning of their home games.

Then there are the Marlins, who put their team president on the air after they made the GM the field manager Monday. He didn't have a lot to say.

11) Christopher Kamka from Chicago comes up with some great nuggets; this one is interesting.........

Last 33 times Chris Sale started for White Sox, Tyler Flowers was his catcher, thats 3,452 pitches thrown to the same catcher.

In Jeff Samardzija's last 41 starts, he's thrown to seven different catchers.

10) Miami Dolphins signed QB Ryan Tannehill up thru the 2020 season; now he has to play like he's worth it-- he hasn't to this point. Taneyhill was WR for half of his career at Texas A&M- this will be interesting to follow.

9) Corey Kluber struck out 12 White Sox; he has 30 strikeouts in his last two starts, but Chicago beat the Tribe 3-2 and Cleveland is now 1-7 this year when Kluber starts, after he won the Cy Young Award last year.

8) Mets scored four runs in Matt Harvey's last three starts; he left his last two starts with 1-0 leads, but the NY bullpen blew both leads- at some point, they will have to make a trade to bolster their lineup-- then we'll find out if Sandy Alderson deserved to have a book written about him.

7) Colorado catcher Nick Hundley got thrown out last night by the first base umpire when he argued a check-swing call against him; biggest problem there is that the first base ump last night works the plate tonight, so Hundley will be 18 inches in front of him for three hours tonight- that should be fun.

6) I hope this is just a weird coincidence; the Marlins fired Mike Redmond with a 16-22 record. Twelve years ago, the Marlins fired Jeff Torborg and re-hired Jack McKeon, who led the Marlins to a world title. The Marlins record when they made the Torborg/McKeon switch? 16-22.

5) Why are fedoras such a popular giveaway item at ball games this year?

4) Good baseball teams have starting pitchers who can be depended upon to go 6+ innings, takes the strain off the bullpen. Teams whose pitchers last less than six innings put a strain on the bullpen, which more often than not turns into a disaster. Building a good bullpen is a hit-and-miss proposition.

3) Seven baseball games Monday; six one-run games, three in extra innings, only three of 14 teams scored more than three runs.

2) Do the Phoenix Suns have the best trainers in the NBA? In five years with the Suns: Grant Hill played in 362/410 games (88.3%). During the rest of his NBA career, he played in 664/1148 games (57.8%).

1) NFL owners' meetings are this week; chances are the league will change how extra points are done, making them longer while giving the defense the chance to score two points, the way they can in college.

Imagine how bettors will feel when this happens; Team A is favored by 2.5 points; they trail by four with 0:12 left- they score a TD with 0:04 left to go up by two points. Instead of kicking the PAT (which could be blocked and run back for tying points), Team A takes a knee and wins but does not cover. I'd love to be in Las Vegas the first time that happens.

**Udog** · 05-19-2015, 08:40 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, May 19

Houston Rockets @ Golden State Warriors

Game 501-502
May 19, 2015 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Houston Rockets
127.249
Golden State Warr
132.833
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Golden State Warr
by 5 1/2
225
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Golden State Warr
by 10 1/2
219 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Houston Rockets
(+10 1/2); Over

NBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, May 19

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON (64 - 30) at GOLDEN STATE (75 - 17) - 5/19/2015, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 51-37 ATS (+10.3 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 47-31 ATS (+12.9 Units) as a favorite this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 28-16 ATS (+10.4 Units) in home games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 14-6 ATS (+7.4 Units) in a home game where the total is greater than or equal to 210 this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 31-17 ATS (+12.3 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 35-24 ATS (+8.6 Units) after scoring 105 points or more this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 28-19 ATS (+7.1 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 29-16 ATS (+11.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 62-47 ATS (+10.3 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 49-33 ATS (+12.7 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 30-18 ATS (+10.2 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 36-22 ATS (+11.8 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 55-38 ATS (+13.2 Units) in all games this season.
HOUSTON is 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) on Tuesday nights this season.
HOUSTON is 24-10 ATS (+13.0 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season.
HOUSTON is 27-18 ATS (+7.2 Units) after scoring 105 points or more this season.
HOUSTON is 34-23 ATS (+8.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
HOUSTON is 23-13 ATS (+8.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.
HOUSTON is 33-22 ATS (+8.8 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season.
HOUSTON is 24-15 ATS (+7.5 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
GOLDEN STATE is 6-5 against the spread versus HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 6-5 straight up against HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NBA
Short Sheet

Tuesday, May 19

Western Conference - Finals - Best of 7 - Game 1

Houston Rockets at Golden State, 9:05 ET
Houston: 7-19 ATS in road games revenging 2 straight losses vs opponent of 10 points or more
Golden State: 28-16 ATS as a home favorite

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, May 19

Warriors are 4-0 vs Houston this year; NBA teams who went 4-0 vs an opponent during season are 55-6 in playoff series against that team in playoffs that year. Golden State's wins vs Houston this year were all by 11+ points; six of last nine series games went under the total. Rockets came back from 3-1 down to beat Clippers with Game 7 in Houston two days ago- Warriors' last game was on Friday. Six of last seven Rocket games went over total; six of last seven Golden State games stayed under.

Hawks won seven of last eight games with Cleveland, winning last five played here, all by 8+ points; six of last seven series tilts went over the total. Atlanta won its first two series in six games each- they're 5-1 in home playoff games. Cleveland is 8-2 in playoffs with six of last nine games staying under total. Cavaliers last played on Thursday, Hawks on Friday Cleveland won last three games by 2-5-21 points after falling behind 2-1 in Chicago series.

NBA

Tuesday, May 19

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9:00 PM
HOUSTON vs. GOLDEN STATE
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Houston's last 19 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Houston is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing Golden State
Golden State is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games when playing Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Golden State's last 9 games when playing Houston

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 05-19-2015, 09:43 AM

NBA

Tuesday, May 19

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game of the Day: Rockets at Warriors
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors (-10, 219)
Series tied 0-0

The Houston Rockets waged an epic comeback to reach the Western Conference finals but now must figure out how to compete with the host Golden State Warriors, beginning with Tuesday’s opener. Houston became the ninth team to really from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in the semifinals but went 0-4 against the Warriors this season.

Second-seeded Houston looked like a team ready to call it a season when it trailed by 19 points with 14 minutes left in Game 6 but roared back to defeat Los Angeles and then outclassed the Clippers in the finale. “Ultimate confidence booster,” Rockets guard James Harden told reporters. “There are only a handful of teams that have done that. It gives us confidence.” Harden was the runner-up for NBA MVP honors behind Golden State guard Stephen Curry and both players will be under the microscope as they go head-to-head with an NBA Finals berth on the line. Top-seeded Golden State advanced to the conference finals with a six-game series win over Memphis, claiming the last three games after falling behind 2-1.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

LINE HISTORY: The Golden State -10 spread has held steady since opening, but the total has risen a half-point from 218.5 to 219 as of this writing.

INJURY REPORT: Houston - K. McDaniels (out indefinitely), D. Motiejunas (out for season), P. Beverley (out indefinitely). Golden State - O. Kuzmic (questionable), M. Speights (out Tuesday).

ABOUT THE ROCKETS: Harden averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists versus Golden State during the regular season and he has scored 20 or more points in all 12 games this postseason with a high of 42. Houston received a surprise when playoff disappointment Josh Smith emerged to average 17 points in the final two games against the Clippers while small forward Trevor Ariza made six 3-pointers in the series finale for his second 22-point effort in three games. Center Dwight Howard has been superb in the postseason with six double-doubles in the series against Los Angeles and nine overall.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Curry averaged 25.8 points, 8.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds in the four regular-season games against Houston and is coming off a superb outing in the finale against the Grizzlies in which he made eight 3-pointers while contributing 32 points and 10 assists. He has five 30-point outings in the postseason and Golden State is hoping shooting guard Klay Thompson will regain his shooting stroke after his high point total was just 21 against Memphis. Forward Draymond Green is averaging 13.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in the postseason, while center Andrew Bogut’s main job will be getting under the skin of the easy-to-frustrate Howard.

CONSENSUS: Per Consensus, 63 percent of users are backing the underdog Rockets.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 05-19-2015, 09:48 AM

NBA

Tuesday, May 19

Warriors owned the Rockets in the regular season

If the Houston Rockets are going to find any success in the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors, they'll need to put the regular season in the rear-view mirror.

James Harden and company dropped all four of their meetings with the Warriors in the 2014-15 NBA campaign. The Rockets fell by a combined 61 points during those contests.

Books are offering the Warriors as 10-point home favorites with a total of 219.

LeBron James, Cleveland - Prob Wed

James tweaked his back in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals but is expected to play in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Hawks.

Announcement

Tuesday's NBA and NCAAB Trends and Indexes - 5/19

Tuesday's NBA and NCAAB Trends and Indexes - 5/19

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment