The Bum's National Basketball League Apri's Picks/Trends/News Thru the Playoffs !!

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NBA

Sunday, May 22

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Sunday's NBA Conference Finals betting preview and odds: Warriors at Thunder
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Kevin Durant bounced back from a tough shooting performance in Game 1 by going 11-of-18 from the field on Wednesday but watched most of the fourth quarter from the bench with the game already decided.

Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City Thunder (+2.5, 220)

Series tied 1-1

The Oklahoma City Thunder accomplished one goal by taking Game 1 at Golden State to begin the Western Conference finals but saw a different Warriors team in a Game 2 loss. The Thunder will try to protect home court when the series shifts to Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Sunday.

The Thunder dominated on the glass and at the free-throw line in Game 1, effectively keeping Golden State out of its offense in the second half as they surged to a 108-102 victory. The Warriors were the more aggressive group in Game 2 and made the necessary adjustments on the glass and on the offensive end to free up Stephen Curry for a third-quarter barrage that stunned Oklahoma City and propelled Golden State to a 118-91 triumph. "We've got to deal in the reality and the truth," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "The reality and the truth is, OK, here are the things that went wrong (in Game 2). Here are the corrections we need to make. Here are the adjustments we need to make. Here's what we need to do and the series right now is 1-1. That's the truth right now coming out of it.” Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant bounced back from a tough shooting performance in Game 1 by going 11-of-18 from the field on Wednesday but watched most of the fourth quarter from the bench with the game already decided.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as 2.5-point road favorites and, as of publication time of this preview, the line has not moved. The total hit the board at 219 and has been bumped up a full point to 220. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (82-12, 53-39-2 ATS, 50-43-1 O/U): Curry dove into the stands trying to save a loose ball in the first quarter of Game 2 and landed hard on his right elbow, leaving a giant knot that swelled out during the game. The knot didn’t seem to bother him much as he was scoring 15 points in under two minutes in the third quarter to finish with 28 points in 30 minutes for the game, and Curry doesn’t believe the injury will hamper his shooting moving forward. "It's sore, just because of the impact, but the spot it's at doesn't affect the range of motion, so I can shoot and dribble and do all I need to do," Curry told reporters after practice on Friday. "It's uncomfortable, but it's not necessarily painful."

ABOUT THE THUNDER (64-31, 45-49-1 ATS, 45-50 O/U): Oklahoma City was demolished 124-92 at San Antonio in Game 1 of its second-round series before bouncing back to win the series in six games, and the team fully believes it will recover against the Warriors. “It helps with our confidence knowing that we’ve been in this position before,” Durant told reporters. “It’s not foreign land to us. But the last series, we can’t really worry about that too much, we’ve got to focus on who we’ve got in front of us right now. We know it’s easier said than done. Just because we did it last time doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to happen again. We’ve got to make it happen.” Durant will try to “make it happen” by cutting down on the turnovers after committed eight of the team’s 16 in the Game 2 setback.

TRENDS:

* Warriors are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Sunday games.
* Thunder are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
* Under is 6-1 in Warriors last 7 Conference Finals games.
* Under is 6-1 in Thunder last 7 Conference Finals games.
* Home team is 8-1-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings.

CONSENSUS: As usual, the Warriors are picking up the majority of the betting action - even as road favorites. 62 percent of the Consensus picks are on the Dubs. Picks on the total are a little bit closer with 57 percent of the wagers coming in on the Over.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Dunkel

Sunday, May 22


Golden State @ Oklahoma City

Game 711-712
May 22, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Golden State
135.112
Oklahoma City
127.313
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Golden State
by 8
215
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Golden State
by 3
220 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Golden State
(-3); Under




NBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, May 22

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GOLDEN STATE (82 - 12) at OKLAHOMA CITY (64 - 31) - 5/22/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 157-114 ATS (+31.6 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent since 1996.
GOLDEN STATE is 52-39 ATS (+9.1 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 41-32 ATS (+5.8 Units) when the total is greater than or equal to 210 this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 49-38 ATS (+7.2 Units) as a favorite this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 60-41 ATS (+14.9 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 59-41 ATS (+13.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 41-27 ATS (+11.3 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 67-46 ATS (+16.4 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 20-29 ATS (-11.9 Units) when the total is greater than or equal to 210 this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 27-39 ATS (-15.9 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
GOLDEN STATE is 6-5 against the spread versus OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 8-4 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Short Sheet

Sunday, May 22

Golden State at Oklahoma City, 8:05 ET
Golden State: 27-18 ATS after 2 straight games with 26 or more assists
Oklahoma City: 11-22 ATS after having won 4 of their last 5




NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, May 22

Oklahoma City-Golden State (1-1)
Warriors led by 14-8 at half of first two games; they scored 61 in second half of Game 2, after being held to 41 in Game 1. Golden State won seven of last nine games with Oklahoma City; both games in this series stayed under. Warriors split last four visits here; three of those four games went over total. OC split pair in Oakland even though Westbrook/Durant combined to go 33-83 from floor. Thunder won three of last four home games. Golden State split its last four road games.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 13-8, over: 12-9
Conference final: Favorites: 3-2, over: 1-3-1




NBA

Sunday, May 22

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
GOLDEN STATE vs. OKLAHOMA CITY
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Golden State's last 7 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Golden State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Golden State
Oklahoma City is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Golden State

[StarDust Bum]

Game 3 - Warriors at Thunder
May 21, 2016


The 2016 Western Conference finals shift to Oklahoma City on Sunday night with the series knotted at 1-1. The Thunder overcame a 13-point intermission deficit to win Game 1 by a 108-102 count as a 7.5-point underdog, hooking up money-line supporters with a payout in the +325 range (risk $100 to win $325). Then in Game 2, Golden State (82-12 straight up, 53-39-2 against the spread) responded by smashing OKC 118-91 as a nine-point home ‘chalk.’

For Game 3, the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas opened the Warriors as 2.5-point road favorites. As of Saturday afternoon, most betting shops had Steve Kerr’s team favored by three points. The total was 219.5 on the send-out at the Westgate, but that number has been adjusted up to 220.5 points. Golden St. is -150 on the money line, leaving Billy Donovan’s squad as the +130 underdog (risk $100 to win $130) to win outright.

Let’s go back to the series opener. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were the catalysts in the comeback victory. Durant had 26 points to go with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. It was far from a vintage KD performance, however, as he made only 10-of-30 shots from the field and committed five turnovers.

Westbrook overcame a disastrous first half to heat up in the third quarter. He finished with 27 points, 12 assists, seven steals and six rebounds. Steven Adams contributed 16 points, 12 boards and a pair of blocked shots. Serge Ibaka produced a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Dion Waiters tallied 10 points and four assists without a turnover. He drained 4-of-6 shots, including both of his launces from long distance.

In the losing effort, Steph Curry finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, but he also committed seven turnovers. The Davidson University product went 9-of-22 from the field. Klay Thompson added 25 points, nine boards and four assists, while Draymond Green tallied 23 points, five boards, four assists, two blocks and one steal. Harrison Barnes was the only other Warrior in double figures with 12 points.

Curry responded in Game 2 with a much more efficient outing. He scored 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a 5-of-8 performance from 3-point range. Seven Warriors scored in double figures, including Thompson (15), Andre Iguodala (14), Mo Speights (13), Festus Ezeli (12), Barnes (11) and Green (10).

Green stuffed the stat sheet as usual, finished with eight rebounds, seven assists, two blocked shots and one steal. Speights scored 13 despite playing only nine minutes. The University of Florida product, who has won a ring in college and the NBA, hitting 5-of-6 shots, including both from downtown.

A late first-half run built Golden St.’s lead up to nine at halftime. Then the Warriors poured it on in a dominant third quarter, outscoring the Thunder 31-19. The blowout was on from there with both coaches resting their starters for the majority of the final stanza.

Even though he played only 35 minutes, Durant scored 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting. However, he had an atrocious 1/8 assists-to-turnovers ratio. Westbrook had 16 points and 12 assists.

After a split at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Sportsbook.ag has the Warriors as a -340 favorite for the updated series price. Gamblers can take OKC on the comeback for a lucrative +270 return (risk $100 to win $270).

As for the futures to win the NBA Championship, Golden St. is the -125 ‘chalk.’ Cleveland has the second-shortest odds (+160), followed by the Thunder (+750) and Raptors (200/1).

Oklahoma City (64-31 SU, 45-49-1 ATS) has been a home underdog only twice this season, producing a 0-1-1 spread record. The Thunder dropped a 100-96 decision to San Antonio as a 2.5-point home underdog in Game 3 of the West semifinals. The only other home ‘dog spot came in the regular season on Feb. 27 when the Warriors rallied to force overtime and then captured a 121-118 victory as three-point road ‘chalk.’

Golden St. owns a 36-9 SU record and a 25-18 ATS mark in its 45 road assignments this year. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City has posted a 36-11 SU record and a 23-23-1 ATS ledger in its home outings.

As VegasInsider.com’s Chris David points out, Golden State remained undefeated in bounce-back spots with its Game 2 win. OKC has been equally effective in such situations in these playoffs, albeit over a shorter span of time.

David said, “Golden State improved to 12-0 this season off a loss after defeating Oklahoma City in Game 2. What’s more impressive is that the Warriors have gone 8-3-1 ATS in those victories. To be fair to the Thunder, we should make a note that they haven’t dropped back-to-back games in the playoffs. OKC has gone 3-0 both straight up and against the spread and they’ve won those games by an average of 14.6 points per game and the offense has averaged 133.3 PPG in the victories.”

The ‘over’ is 50-43-1 overall for the Warriors, 25-20 in their road games.

The ‘under’ is 50-45 overall for the Thunder, 28-19 in its home contests.

After cashing in the first two games of this best-of-seven set, the ‘under’ is 4-1 in the five head-to-head meetings between these clubs this year. The combined scoring outputs have been 224, 239 (in overtime, 206 at the end of regulation), 227, 210 and 209.

VI’s David had this opinion on the Game 3 total: “The ‘under’ has gone 2-0 in the first two games of this series in totals that have ranged from 223 to 225. Game 3 opened at 219 ½ and has been bumped up to 220 ½ at most betting shops and the number is very doable, needing 55-56 points in every quarter. The pace for an up-tempo game was there in the opener but Oklahoma City tapped on the breaks in Game 2, only attempting 78 shots from the field and just 19 free throws. I’d expect Billy Donovan and company to be very aggressive on Sunday and that should increase both numbers. Whether the shots fall or not is anybody’s guess but the last two games played in OKC between the pair saw a combined 239 and 242 points, with one of those games going into overtime. Just based on the pace, I’d lean to the high side on Sunday.”

Tip-off on Sunday night is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT.

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Warriors' big men must come up big
May 21, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Warriors' big men might be just as important as the Splash Brothers right now.

''When the shot goes up, you can't be watching, looking for the rebound,'' Golden State forward Draymond Green said.

The Thunder won the battle of the boards by eight in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals and seized home-court advantage with a 108-102 win. Golden State bounced back in Game 2 and outrebounded Oklahoma City by nine in a 118-91 victory. The series shifts to Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Sunday.

Golden State's Game 2 effort on the glass was a surprising development. The Warriors are a smaller team; the Thunder were the league's top rebounding team during the season.

The 3-point wizardry of Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson does provide some margin for error. But not all that much considering Oklahoma City was just behind the Warriors as the league's No. 2 scoring team this season.

Green, Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights need to mix it up underneath for Golden State. Otherwise, there will be fewer opportunities for the Warriors to shoot those 3s and more opportunities for the Thunder in transition.

The Warriors insist they'll be ready to take on Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, Serge Ibaka and the rest of the Thunder in Game 3.

They're ''always flying in there, trying to get the rebound,'' Green said. ''So you've got to hit bodies.''

The Warriors went all out on the offensive boards in Game 2, risking fast breaks by the Thunder. Golden State finished with 15 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points.

''I think they just got all the 50-50 balls on the offensive glass,'' Thunder forward Kevin Durant said. ''It kind of surprises when guys are running in there because we're so good in transition. But they were in there and able to get their hands on some basketballs, so you have to give them credit.''

Now that the Thunder have seen Golden State's approach, they need to respond.

''It's on us to make adjustments, boxing guys out and putting bodies on them and getting those rebounds,'' Durant said. ''As simple as that. So we can't have that next game.''

The Thunder use their size and rebounding as an equalizer. In Golden State's 121-118 overtime victory at Oklahoma City during the season, the Thunder countered Curry's 46 points and 12 3-pointers by outrebounding the Warriors 62-32.

The rebounding prowess goes beyond Oklahoma City's power forwards and centers. Durant often has double-figures rebounds, Westbrook is one of the best rebounding point guards in league history and shooting guard Andre Roberson is a 6-foot-7 leaper.

Adams, an emerging star for the Thunder, took some hits in Game 2 and had to leave the game briefly. The 7-foot center finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. But he but didn't have the impact he had in Game 1 when he had 16 points and 12 rebounds and set the tone with physical play. Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Friday that Adams will be ready to go.

''I was a little bit concerned when he kind of went down in the first half, but he was fine,'' Donovan said. ''He was able to get back in the game, and I think he feels good.''

Ezeli understands the challenge no matter which Oklahoma City players are on the floor.

''We know they're a very tough team,'' he said. ''It's going to be a battle of the rest of the series, that's for sure. We just have to keep focusing on what we do and playing the right way, and hopefully it works out in our favor.''

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Mark Cuban tells 'Meet The Press' Thunder are his title pick
May 22, 2016

Mark Cuban is picking the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA's biggest prize.

The owner of the Dallas Mavericks gave a wide-ranging interview for NBC's ''Meet The Press,'' and host Chuck Todd ended the sit-down by asking Cuban if he was picking Cleveland, Golden State or Oklahoma City to win the NBA title.

''You know, I'm going to take a little bit of a long shot here and go with the Thunder,'' Cuban said, according to a transcript provided by NBC.

Toronto wasn't one of the options Todd presented to Cuban.

''I've already eliminated the Raptors,'' Todd said, though it bears noting that the interview with Cuban was taped before Toronto's win over Cleveland in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night. The Cavs still lead that series, 2-1.

Basketball was a secondary topic in the interview, of course.

Cuban spoke on a number of non-NBA issues , including the likely presidential showdown between Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, and likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

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Donovan, Kerr took very different paths
May 21, 2016

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Billy Donovan is trying to accomplish the improbable and lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship as a first-year NBA coach, just as Steve Kerr did guiding Golden State to its first title in 40 years last June in his rookie season running the Warriors.

These two have become friends along the way during their drastically different journeys to the NBA bench. Their personalities are polar opposites, too, with Kerr cracking jokes and even stopping his press conferences to give writers time to post important Warriors news to their Twitter followers. Donovan is typically straight-faced and serious.

While working as a television analyst for TNT, Kerr enjoyed getting to know Donovan while covering his Florida squad in the NCAA Tournament and made an effort to keep in touch - even as Donovan began the daunting process of leaving the college game for the next level.

Now, their teams are knotted at 1-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals, which resume Sunday night at Oklahoma City.

''Billy's a great coach. I got to know him when I was doing NCAA Tournament games at TNT, and I did a few Florida games and had a chance to visit with him,'' Kerr said. ''We actually stayed in touch before he took that other job in the last couple of years, just on random coaching thoughts. If either one of us had any possible coaching positions that we were looking at, we tended to call each other.''

The Thunder hired Donovan after his successful two-decade college coaching career that included two national championships, four trips to the Final Four and 14 NCAA Tournament berths.

Kerr, on the other hand, had never been a head coach at any level when the Warriors grabbed him from his TV gig. He just won Coach of the Year in his second season despite missing the initial 43 games while on a leave of absence recovering from complications after two back surgeries. Defending champion Golden State had an NBA-record 24-0 start and finished with 73 wins to top the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team that Kerr was on alongside Michael Jordan.

Kerr has shared his experiences with Donovan about working in the front office as general manager of the Phoenix Suns before returning to television and then entering the coaching ranks with no experience.

Both former point guards, Kerr won five championships in 15 years as a player. Donovan appeared in 44 career games total with no starts and 105 points in his one NBA season with the Knicks in 1987-88. He preaches to his players about the importance of a tough-minded approach at this high-stakes stage of the season - especially in a raucous road environment.

''Steve's been a great friend. Someone that I've been able to build a relationship with for a long period of time,'' Donovan said. ''I've always liked Steve. We've talked about different things. Talked about the NBA, and even talked about himself maybe going into coaching and himself being in the front office. ... He's just a great, down-to-earth guy, and just through being in college coaching and him covering and doing games we've just kind of been able to build a relationship over the years.''

These two could have long NBA careers, a positive for the league going forward with two young coaching faces.

Well, young, relatively speaking. They're both 50.

''Young? How old are they? They've got gray hairs,'' Oklahoma City center Steve Adams cracked. ''It's always good to see anyone do well, especially if it's a coach on your team. I'm just really happy that all of us have just embraced him and he's come out and helped us out a lot. That's all you can really ask for, really. The NBA definitely appreciates it.''

[StarDust Bum]

Curry's sore right elbow not limiting him
May 20, 2016

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) A black sleeve protecting his sore right elbow, MVP Stephen Curry insists he's fine after yet another postseason injury.

Curry banged his right elbow on what he thought was a metal platform after diving into the stands at the 2:54 mark of the first quarter during Wednesday night's 118-91 Game 2 win over the Thunder. That evened the best-of-seven Western Conference finals at one game apiece as the series shifts to Oklahoma City for Sunday night's Game 3.

''It's fine. The swelling went down, so no worries,'' he said following Friday's practice. ''It's sore just because of the impact. The spot it's at doesn't affect the range of motion, so I can shoot and dribble and do all I need to do. It's uncomfortable but not necessarily pain. ... It's nice to have three days in between to get your body right.''

Curry said after the game the elbow was so swollen ''it looks like it has a tennis ball on top of it.''

Yet Curry had plenty left, scoring 15 straight points in less than 2 minutes during a third-quarter frenzy on his way to 28 points. He made 5 of 8 3-pointers and shot 9 for 15 overall.

''It's fine. Nothing wrong,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''There doesn't appear to be any swelling.''

Curry has watched the replay of his plunge, and still seems quite surprised nobody tried to catch him, and one fan clicked a photo.

''I saw it once. Not a lot of help, that's all I'll say,'' he said, noting the front row, ''they're the first responders. It's kind of coming at them pretty quick. The row behind ... I wanted to do a crowd surfing kind of deal. They weren't ready.''

After already losing their superstar point guard for parts of the first two rounds because of ankle and knee injuries, nobody wants him hurt again.

Some teammates and others in the organization have suggested Curry not repeat that frightening dive, and it did take him a while to get up - silencing Oracle Arena.

''For the most part other than split decisions you don't really weigh the options or the risks when you're chasing a loose ball,'' he said. ''Obviously I would rather stay on the floor as much as possible. It's kind of dangerous but I don't know how you can play hard and do what you need to do in those situations, 50-50 balls, with any doubt in your mind, `all right, protect yourself,' especially in a playoff situation.''

Thunder star Kevin Durant thought the MVP did all he could once it was clear he was going into the seats.

''It's kind of a weird thing because you don't want to fall on the fans, but you don't want to fall straight to the ground. So he did a good job protecting himself,'' Durant said. ''I thought he didn't have to jump over. I thought he could have leaned into the fans in the front row. But it looks good when you jump over. I understand that.''

[StarDust Bum]

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Thunder at Warriors
Mon, May 16 Final 108 to 102
Recaps

GAME 2
Thunder at Warriors
Wed, May 18 Final 91 to 118
Recaps

GAME 3
Warriors at Thunder
Sun, May 22 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 4
Warriors at Thunder
Tue, May 24 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 5
Thunder at Warriors
Thu, May 26 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 6
Warriors at Thunder
Sat, May 28 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Thunder at Warriors
Mon, May 30 - 9:00PM EDT

[StarDust Bum]

NBA BEST BETS: 66 - 70

SUNDAY, MAY 22

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

GS at OKC 08:00 PM

GS -2.5

O 220.5

[StarDust Bum]

NBA MONEYLINE

NBA > (711) GOLDEN STATE@ (712) OKLAHOMA CITY | 2016-05-22 20:05:00 - 2016-05-22 20:05:00
Play ON GOLDEN STATE using money line in All games after a win by 10 points or more
The record is 62 Wins and 12 Losses for the last two seasons (+36.7 units)

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TOP POWERLINE

NBA > (711) GOLDEN STATE @ (712) OKLAHOMA CITY | 2016-05-22 20:05:00 - 2016-05-22 20:05:00
Line: OKLAHOMA CITY3 BTB PowerLine: OKLAHOMA CITY-3
Edge On: OKLAHOMA CITY (6)

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Odds on six of the NFL's more interesting games this fall...........

-- Week 2-- Eagles @ Bears (-3)-- Monday night in Windy City.

-- Week 3-- Falcons @ Saints (-1)-- Monday night on Bourbn Street.

-- Week 4-- Dolphins @ Bengals (-6.5)-- Thursday night in Queen City.

-- Week 5-- Bucs @ Panthers (-8.5)-- Monday night in Charlotte.

-- Week 6-- Jets @ Cardinals (-6)-- Monday night in the desert.

-- Week 7-- Texans @ Broncos (-3.5)-- Osweiler against his old team.

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Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend.......

13) Blue Jays manager John Gibbons had an interesting week;
Sunday: ejected, Monday: ejected.
Tuesday-Thursday: suspended in connection with Sunday's ejection
Friday/Saturday: He actually managed the whole game both days.
Sunday: ejected-- good work if you can get it.

12) Washington Nationals played 13 of their first 44 games against Miami; now the teams will play only six more times the rest of this season. .

11) Albuquerque Isotopes are the Rockies' AAA team; they're having a bad year, losing six games in a row and 10 of last 12.

Things are so bad that the team employee who wears the "jar of salsa" costume during the Chile Race promotion pulled a leg muscle this weekend nad is now out of action.

10) From 2013-15, Hillary Clinton made 94 speaking engagements, earned $21.6M doing so. Thats million, with an M. Yikes.

9) Phil Mickelson agreed to forfeit nearly $1 million that the Securities/Exchange Commission said was unfairly earned on a tip from an insider trading scheme run by a former corporate director and a professional gambler.

Who plays Mickelson in the movie that will inevitably be made about this?

8) Thunder 133, Warriors 105-- This makes Game 4 a very interesting game. if the Spurs/Warriors go a combined 140-24 in the regular season and neither makes the NBA Finals, teams will be resting players constantly next season. No bueno.

7) I'm sitting here watching the 1995 movie Jury Duty, a movie so stunningly bad that I can't turn it off. For some reason, Dick Vitale was in this movie as a TV leegal analyst, basically playing his TV role, yelling and screaming. 21 years later, this movie is still on pay TV-- is this a great country or what?

6) I was watching the 1991 movie Forget Paris the other night, where Billy Crystal is an NBA ref; in the opening scene, he makes a critical call in a playoff game against the Phoenix Suns, who had Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle.

25 years later, Barkley is the best studio analyst the NBA has; Majerle is the coach at Grand Canyon College an up-and-coming D-I team and Johnson somehow is mayor of Sacramento, where he has saved the NBA's Kings from moving several times.

Real life is often stranger than fiction.

5) Then there is the 1973 movie "World's Greatest Athlete", where Seahawk coach Pete Carroll had an untitled role as a college football player. Also in this fine movie are the guy who played Mr Whipple in the old Charmin TV commercials, the guy who played General Burkhalter on Hogan's Heroes and former Viking QB Joe Kapp.

4) Why do the Texas Rangers want a new stadium? The one they play in is only 22 years old- teams should have to stay at least 40 years in a new stadium.

3) Tim Lincecum signed with the Angels for $2.5M; Halos are in even worse shape than the A's- their payroll is $164,673,333, compared to Oakland's $86,806,234.

2) While I am on this subject, the A's are 19-26 this year with a starting pitching rotation that is totally in shambles with Sonny Gray ineffective/hurt. After making the playoffs in 2012-14, the Ivy League genuses in the Oakland front office decided to trade Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester so they could win the 2014 World Series. The plan failed.....miserably.

109-154, thats the A's record since July 31, 2014- they pay Billy Butler $10M a year, Jed Lowrie $7M, Coco Crisp $11M. People talk about Moneyball all the time, but the 2001-03 A's were good for three reasons-- Hudson, Mulder, Zito. Starting pitchers.

Without solid starting pitchers (6+ innings most every night) your team has absolutely zero chance to contend. None. Pitching is the most critical element in baseball.

1) Congratulations to my friend Gary DiNola for being inducted into the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame last night. I spent four years (1994-98) as one of his assistants and it one was one of the most interesting/fun eperiences of my life.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA

Monday, May 23

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Monday's NBA Conference Finals betting preview and odds: Cavaliers at Raptors
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Raptors' center Bismack Biyombo was a rebounding beast in Game 3 with 26 total boards (eight offensive and 18 defensive) - he also added four blocks and a couple of finger wags.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors (+6, 197)

Cavaliers lead series 2-1

Everybody was writing off the Toronto Raptors after they lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals by an average of 25 points. Toronto countered with a superb Game 3 performance and aims to tie the series at 2-2 when it host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.

The Raptors posted a 99-84 home victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday when they limited Cleveland to 35.4 percent shooting from the field while center Bismack Biyombo was busy setting a franchise playoff record with 26 rebounds. "It's a long series," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters afterward. "It's not over with yet, but everybody thought we were going to get swept. I think that fuels us and if that's what it takes, so be it." The Cavaliers won their first 10 games of the postseason before Saturday's mediocre showing and forward LeBron James attributed the result to a combination of Toronto's stellar play and his own club's shortcomings. "We didn't play our game, and they made us pay for it," James said at his postgame press conference. "It is a little adversity. Why not? It's the postseason, and you lose a game. This is our first loss of the postseason. I would count it as a little adversity."

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

LINE HISTORY: The Rapors hit the board for this pivotal Game 4 as 6-point home dogs and, at the time of publication of this preview, the line hasn't moved off that number. The total opened at 197 and has also yet to move. Check out the up-to-date and complete line history here.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (67-26, 44-46-3 ATS, 46-47 O/U): James scored 24 points in Game 3 but point guard Kyrie Irving (13 points on 3-of-19 shooting) and power forward Kevin Love (three points, 1-of-9) both had awful shooting nights. Love, who didn't play in the fourth quarter, is averaging just 12 points and 4.3 rebounds in the series and said the following to reporters: "I felt like I was a little passive. From a mentality standpoint, it's an easy fix." Irving averaged 26.5 points in the first two games before a woeful performance that included a 1-of-7 showing from 3-point range.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (65-34, 51-48 ATS, 48-50-1 O/U): Biyombo has an increased role with starting center Jonas Valanciunas (ankle) sidelined and he averaged just 4.5 rebounds over the first two games before going on a board rage - including eight offensive - in Game 3. Biyombo set the tone by collecting 10 rebounds in the first quarter and had 16 at halftime as Toronto finished with a 54-40 rebounding edge. "I'm playing for my teammates, honestly, and for us it's just that we're going to play hard no matter what, and we're going to play our game," Biyombo told reporters after Game 3. "I've been saying that since we started the series, and our game is to protect the paint. And my job is to make sure that I protect the paint no matter what."

TRENDS:

* Cavaliers are 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points.
* Raptors are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Under is 9-2 in Raptors last 11 games following a ATS win.
* Home team is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
* Under is 22-5-1 in the last 28 meetings in Toronto.

CONSENSUS: Early Consensus data is showing a massive shift in public opinion. For Saturday's game it seemed like the entire world was picking the Cavaliers to win and cover the spread but the current numbers are drastically different with only 54 percent thinking that the Cavs can cover the six points on the road. Total wagering is, pretty much, where it's been all series with 63 percent of Covers users picking the Over.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Long Sheet

Monday, May 23

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CLEVELAND (67 - 26) at TORONTO (65 - 34) - 5/23/2016, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CLEVELAND is 2-11 ATS (-10.1 Units) after scoring 85 points or less over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 19-10 ATS (+8.0 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TORONTO is 8-19 ATS (-12.9 Units) in all playoff games over the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 23-37 ATS (-17.7 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 177-221 ATS (-66.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
TORONTO is 50-65 ATS (-21.5 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CLEVELAND is 7-6 against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
CLEVELAND is 7-6 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Short Sheet

Monday, May 23

Cleveland at Toronto, 8:35 ET
Cleveland: 8-1 ATS revenging a straight up loss vs opponent as a road favorite
Toronto: 8-19 ATS in all playoff games




NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, May 23

Toronto-Cleveland (C 2-1)
Cavaliers won six of last nine games with Toronto; over is 5-3-1 in last nine series games. Raptors kept series alive by winning Game 3 99-84; Lowry/Derozan combined for 52 points, Biyombo had 26 rebounds and was as dominant as a guy can be while scoring 7 points- Raptors are 7-2 at home in playoffs. Cavs are 10-1 SU in playoffs, 7-4 vs spread (over 5-5-1); how will they react after their first loss? . Toronto won five of last six home games; three of last five went over.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 13-8, over: 12-9
Conference final: Favorites: 3-3, over: 2-3-1




NBA

Monday, May 23

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Trend Report
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8:30 PM
CLEVELAND vs. TORONTO
Cleveland is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Cleveland is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
Toronto is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games


NBA
Dunkel

Monday, May 23


Cleveland @ Toronto

Game 713-714
May 23, 2016 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cleveland
132.655
Toronto
122.426
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland
by 10
192
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Cleveland
by 5 1/2
197
Dunkel Pick:
Cleveland
(-5 1/2); Under

[StarDust Bum]

Game 4 - Cavaliers at Raptors
May 23, 2016

Cleveland’s undefeated run in the playoffs came to an end in Saturday’s Game 3 loss at Toronto as the Cavaliers are guaranteed another home game in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Raptors are going to take advantage of their home court and look to even up this series at 2-2 with a victory at the Air Canada Center on Monday.

Toronto was wiped out in the first two contests of this series as double-digit underdogs, but rebounded with a wire-to-wire 99-84 triumph as six-point underdogs in Game 3. The Cavaliers put together their worst shooting performance of the postseason by hitting 35% of their shots from the field, as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined to make 4-of-28 attempts, including a 3-of-19 performance from Irving for 13 points. Cleveland hoisted 41 attempts from three-point range, converting 14 treys, including six from J.R. Smith. The Cavs were paced by LeBron James’ 24 points, but Cleveland suffered its fourth ATS loss in the playoffs in 11 tries.

The Raptors received a huge boost from the struggling Kyle Lowry, who shot 1-of-15 from three-point range in the first two losses. The Toronto point guard knocked down 4-of-8 from downtown in Game 3, while putting up 20 points after scoring a total of 18 points in the first two games. DeMar DeRozan continued to play well for Toronto in this series by posting his best game against Cleveland by scoring 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting. Cory Joseph and Patrick Patterson combined for 24 points off the bench, while Bismack Biyombo pulled down 26 rebounds as Toronto out-boarded Cleveland, 54-40.

Game 3 was on a good pace to finish ‘over’ the total of 199 ½, but the two teams combined for 33 points in the final quarter to cash the second straight ‘under.’ Three of five road playoff games for Tyronn Lue’s club have stayed ‘under’ the total, while Cleveland scored fewer than 100 points for the first time in this postseason. The Raptors are now 5-4 to the ‘over’ in nine home playoff games, while scoring 99 points or less in seven of those contests.

Dwane Casey’s team hasn’t responded well off a victory in the playoffs by owning a 2-6 SU/ATS record off a win, while not winning consecutive games at Air Canada Center in the postseason. Toronto hasn’t covered back-to-back home games in the playoffs since the opening round of the 2002 postseason against Detroit. The Raptors owned a dreadful 1-10-1 ATS record at home in the playoffs from 2014 through Game 2 of the conference semifinals against Miami, but Toronto is riding a 3-0 ATS mark the last three home playoff contests.

Cleveland opened as a six-point road favorite for Game 4 and Chris David of VegasInsider.com believes that bettors shouldn’t be afraid to lay the wood if you’re leaning to the Cavaliers.

He explained, “It was nice to see Toronto show a good effort at home on Saturday and I’m not sure if we’ll see a repeat effort from the team in Game 4. The Raptors are front-runners and they’re very tough to beat when they’re ahead but when they’re down, it’s been lights out. They’ve dropped eight games in this year’s playoffs by an average of 15 points with the closest margins being six and seven points. If you do believe Toronto can win the game, you’re better option is to take the Raptors on the money-line (+225) since the point-spread hasn’t mattered in the playoffs when it’s been listed as an underdog. Just pick the winner!”

Toronto is now 5-2 SU and 6-1 ATS as a home underdog this season following Saturday’s victory. The Raptors have beaten the Cavaliers three times at home, all in the ‘dog role, while limiting Cleveland to less than 100 points in all three victories. The Cavaliers never lost consecutive road games during its run to the NBA Finals last season, winning by two points over Chicago in the second round (86-84) and edging Golden State by two points in overtime in Game 2 of the NBA Finals (95-93).

David feels that the oddsmakers have done a great job with the totals in this series and another sweatshop should be expected Monday. “Depending when you bet and where you shop, you could’ve cashed the ‘under’ in the first three games of this series. These outcomes have been tight and although Game 3 was the lowest-scoring matchup thus far, you could argue that the ‘over’ was the right side. You had a great first-half (107 points) but the final 24 minutes only saw a combined 76 points and that kind of production usually leans to ‘under’ tickets.”

Despite the poor offensive effort from Cleveland, David is expecting the offense to rebound in Game 4. He said, “Since Lue took over as head coach of the Cavaliers, the offense has only scored in the eighties three times and that includes a 96-83 loss to Chicago in his head coaching debut. In the three following games, Cleveland has posted 114, 114 and 99 points. Along with a poor shooting night from 3-point land on Saturday, the Cavs only got to the free throw line 16 times. Toronto has allowed 100-plus points in seven of its eight playoff losses and I believe Cleveland’s team total of 101 ½ for Game 4 is the right lean.”

From the days of the week department, Cleveland has gone 11-4 on Mondays this season, which includes a 1-0 record in the playoffs and 3-1 overall mark on the road. Toronto has struggled to a 5-7 ledger on Mondays this season, including a 1-1 record in the playoffs.

[StarDust Bum]

Intensity picks up between Cavs, Raptors
May 22, 2016

TORONTO (AP) DeMar DeRozan remembers the angry emotions Raptors teammate Bismack Biyombo once stirred in him as an opponent.

''I hated him,'' DeRozan said Sunday.

The Cavaliers likely feel a little anger toward Biyombo after his pivotal performance Saturday, when he helped stop Cleveland's 10-0 start to the playoffs in Toronto's 99-84 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. Game 4 is Monday night at Air Canada Centre.

Biyombo hauled down a Raptors' playoff-record 26 rebounds, blocked four shots, and scored six of his seven points in a quick fourth-quarter spurt that helped seal Toronto's win.

That wasn't all. Biyombo was involved in a first-half skirmish that saw LeBron James take a tumble after catching an accidental elbow from his own teammate, Tristan Thompson. Late in the fourth, Biyombo drew a flagrant foul after he collared a driving James, sending the Cavs' star sprawling again.

DeRozan hasn't forgotten what all that feels like.

''I hated Biz,'' Toronto's All-Star guard said. ''He was a fouler, always blocking shots. He always went for the pump fake, though, but I hated Biz. Now by far he's one of my favorite teammates of all-time.''

Raptors coach Dwane Casey understands Biyombo can be both a ''nightmare'' and a ''nuisance'' to play against, whether it's the center's habit of finger-wagging after blocks, or flexing his muscles after big dunks.

To Biyombo, being a nuisance is no big deal. It's the way it's got to be.

''Until you really get to know the real side of me, then you know who I am,'' he said. ''But on the floor I don't have friends.''

At the final buzzer Saturday, Biyombo lay crumpled in pain in Cleveland's paint after being struck below the belt while battling Dahntay Jones for a loose ball. Biyombo took the hit while tapping the ball to a teammate, his eighth offensive rebound of the night.

Casey was upset at the referees after the game, complaining that Biyombo wasn't getting calls and citing Cleveland's 86-51 edge in free throw attempts in the series. On Sunday, Casey declined to say whether those comments had drawn league discipline.

''I'm not trying to get anybody,'' Casey said. ''It's over with. I said what I had to say last night. I'm not trying to send a message. It was a comment about the game last night and it's over with.''

After a testy, physical Game 3, the Cavaliers were also wondering whether they were getting a fair shake from the referees. Asked whether James and the Cavs had to sell calls, coach Tyronn Lue said it's tough for his star because defenders ''tend to bounce off'' a driving James.

''If you don't foul him hard, he's going to get an and-one and a three-point play,'' Lue said. ''You've got to try to be physical with him so he can't take the contact and finish at the rim. When you get around the neck, like Biyombo did last night, that's different. But when teams hard-foul, you're supposed to get hard-fouled when you're going to the basket, especially being that strong and that powerful.''

Speaking before the Cavs held a film session at their Toronto hotel Sunday, James didn't want to say whether he's getting the whistles he deserves.

''I really don't get involved in it too much,'' James said. ''I just play the game and let the referees decide what the call may be and move on. I can't have my focus go somewhere else. That allows my energy to be somewhere it shouldn't be.''

With Cleveland's run over, Richard Jefferson said the mood was a little down when several Cavs gathered for a postgame meal Saturday night.

''That's the first time in a month the dinner conversation wasn't joyous and excited and having fun,'' Jefferson said. ''We were just kind of talking about the things that we needed to do. We were trying to keep our minds off of it, but you could see that everybody was a little off.''

Shooting-wise, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were more than a little off in Game 3, going a combined 4 for 28. Lue said Irving, who got the worst of a collision with Toronto's Cory Joseph late in Saturday's game, was feeling fine after having the wind knocked out of him.

Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas, out since Game 3 of the Miami series after spraining his right ankle, is listed as doubtful for Game 4. Valanciunas is progressing slowly and will be re-evaluated Monday, Casey said.