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

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NBA MONEYLINE

NBA > (537) MIAMI@ (538) TORONTO | 2016-05-11 20:05:00 - 2016-05-11 20:05:00
Play ON MIAMI using money line in Road games after 3 or more consecutive unders
The record is 14 Wins and 6 Losses for the last two seasons (+17.55 units)

NBA > (537) MIAMI@ (538) TORONTO | 2016-05-11 20:05:00 - 2016-05-11 20:05:00
Play ON TORONTO using money line in Home games when playing against a team with a winning record
The record is 21 Wins and 5 Losses for the this season (+14.9 units)

NBA > (539) PORTLAND@ (540) GOLDEN STATE | 2016-05-11 22:35:00 - 2016-05-11 22:35:00
Play ON GOLDEN STATE using money line in All games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game
The record is 87 Wins and 20 Losses for the last two seasons (+41.55 units)

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NBA TOTALS

NBA > (537) MIAMI@ (538) TORONTO | 2016-05-11 20:05:00 - 2016-05-11 20:05:00
Play UNDER MIAMI on the totalin Road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game
The record is 17 Overs and 38 Unders for the last two seasons (+19.3 units)

POWER LINES

NBA > (537) MIAMI @ (538) TORONTO | 2016-05-11 20:05:00 - 2016-05-11 20:05:00
Line: MIAMI BTB PowerLine: MIAMI-1
Edge On: MIAMI (3.5)

NBA > (539) PORTLAND @ (540) GOLDEN STATE | 2016-05-11 22:35:00 - 2016-05-11 22:35:00
Line: PORTLAND BTB PowerLine: PORTLAND-11
Edge On: PORTLAND (2)

[StarDust Bum]

5/10 - Yesterday's Results 2 - 0
Overall : 56 - 62

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

MIA at TOR 08:00 PM

TOR -4.5

O 188.5


POR at GS 10:30 PM

GS -13.0

O 217.5

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

-- Max Scherzer beat his old team (Detroit) 3-2 last night; he struck out 20 Tigers, tying Clemens/Johnson/Kerry Wood as guys with 20 Ks in one game.

-- Detroit manager Brad Ausmus was in uniform as a player for the Clemens/Wood 20-strikeout games.

-- Detroit hitters swung at 69 pitches, missed 33 times. Over the last 15 years, that is 2nd-highest misses in one game- Clayton Kershaw got 35 LY. Jeremy Bonderman also induced 33 misses in a 2004 game.

-- Bryce Harper was suspended for a game earlier in the day, but appealed; too bad he didn't sit this game out; only seven Detroit outs came on batted balls.

-- Raptors 99, Heat 91-- Toronto takes a 3-2 series lead.

-- Since 1929, A's are 4th team to allow 11+ runs in four straight games, joining the '51 Pirates, '86 Brewers and '07 Astros. Awesome.

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Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud......

13) Hard to believe not one person voted for Lebron James for MVP; Warriors won playoff games without Steph Curry. How many playoff games would Cleveland win if Lebron was hurt for a while?

12) Early NBA salary cap numbers for next year: Lakers ($62,298,562) have most room available, Clippers ($10,820,891) have the least.

11) Magic Johnson won NBA MVP in both 1989, 1990; thats the last time a player from a Big 14 college won the NBA MVP.

10) Arizona pitcher Daniel Hudson is only pitcher in big league history to have Tommy John surgery in consecutive years and make it back to the majors.

9) Los Angeles Angels are in trouble; they tried to patch some holes Wednesday by trading for P Jhoulys Chacin and SS Brandon Ryan.

8) Braves 5, Phillies 1-- Atlanta is now 2-16 at home.

7) Royals 7, Bronx 3-- Ventura went six innings for the win, just second time in KC's last 11 road games the Royals' starting pitcher went 6+ innings.

Lorenzo Cain hit three HRs Tuesday; he got drilled on the knee in his first AB here.

6) Injury-prone Stephen Matz (forearm) will miss his next start; he's only made 12 big league starts, for 70.1 innings.

5) You know how each ballpark has a person who brings out the headphones for umpires when there is an instant replay challenge? The guy who does it in Arlington at Ranger games is former big league pitcher Pete Falcone, who went 70-90, 4.07 in his 10-year career (1975-84), mostly with the Cardinals/Mets.

4) Astros 5, Indians 3 (16)-- Marwin Gonzalez sent fans home happy with a homer in 16th inning; three extra inning day games yesterday. Home side won all three.

3) Minnesota Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino is 16-38 in league games in his three years with the Gophers; he also overspent his $150K private plane allowance by double, spending $325K on private planes, which are used for recruiting.

You'd think Pitino's job would be in danger, but he has a $7.1M buyout that will keep him employed for at least another year- that deal was negotiated by an AD who later got fired by the school for other reasons. Not the best situation in Minnesota. .

2) World Series of Beer Pong is going to be at my second home, the Westgate Casino in Las Vegas, July 6-10. Had no idea there was professional beer pong.

1) Max Scherzer threw 119 pitches in his 20-strikeout win last night; he didn't walk anyone, and it wasn't a difficult decision for Dusty Baker to leave him in, especially in a 3-2 game. Both Detroit runs scored on home runs. It will be interesting to track him the next few weeks, but doubtful this game will have any ill effect on him.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA

Thursday, May 12

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NBA playoffs betting preview and odds: Spurs at Thunder
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The Thunder opened as 3-point home pups with a chance to end the series and have already been bet to +1.5.

San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder (+1.5, 195.5)

Thunder lead series 3-2

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one victory away from reaching the Western Conference finals and have two opportunities to get the job done. The Thunder, who lead the series 3-2, aim to end the festivities in Thursday's Game 6, while the San Antonio Spurs visit town in dire need of a victory to force a Game 7.

San Antonio has held double-digit leads in the each of the past two games before wilting under Oklahoma City's late-game siege. "I hope we respond a little angry, with a chip on our shoulder," Spurs guard Danny Green told reporters after Tuesday's 95-91 loss. "If you want to be a championship team, you have to win on the road. Simple as that." The Thunder surprisingly have won two games in San Antonio in the series - the Spurs lost just once at home during the regular season - and small forward Kevin Durant said another defensive effort like the showing in Game 5 is crucial. "Late in the fourth we did a good job of putting a hand up on shots, making them shoot mid-range and we didn't let them get in the paint a lot." Durant told reporters. "That’s what we have to do if we want to win the next one. We have to play defense like that throughout the whole game."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Thunder opened as 3-point home pups, but bettors like the way OKC has been trending and the line has already moved to +1.5. The total has been bet up one point from 194.5 to 195.5. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE SPURS (73-18, 49-42 ATS, 38-51-2 O/U): NBA MVP runner-up Kawhi Leonard (26 points, five steals in Game 5) and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (20 points, nine rebounds) have carried San Antonio during the series with occasional help from shooting guard Danny Green (six 3-pointers in Game 5) and point guard Tony Parker (good outings in Game 3 and 4). But the reserves have been below par and combined for just 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting in Game 5 and getting better efforts from players such as shooting guard Manu Ginobili and center Boris Diaw are a must if San Antonio is to win the next two games. "We haven't had great bench production," Popovich said after Game 5. "We need a couple more people to help us offensively. That would be great."

ABOUT THE THUNDER (62-30, 43-48-1 ATS, 44-48 O/U): Point guard Russell Westbrook had 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Game 5 and was so superb that everybody overlooked his eight turnovers. "He plays with such force and such passion," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "I think he's doing a really good job of realizing when he gets so intense, so competitive, so emotional, he's doing a good job of kind of bringing himself back together and understanding there's four other guys out there depending on him." Durant scored 23 points on a series-worst 8-of-21 shooting effort in a dropoff from his spectacular 41-point effort in Game 4.

TRENDS:

* Thunder are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games versus a team with a winning SU record.
* Spurs are 3-12 ATS in the last 15 meetings in Oklahoma City.
* Under is 4-0 in Spurs last four games following a SU loss.
* Under is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Oklahoma City.

CONSENSUS: The public is split almost down the middle for this huge Game 6, with 51 percent of wagers on the underdog Thunder. As for the total, 61 percent of wagers are on the Over.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 12

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SAN ANTONIO (73 - 18) at OKLAHOMA CITY (62 - 30) - 5/12/2016, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 17-26 ATS (-11.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 954-832 ATS (+38.8 Units) in all games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 48-36 ATS (+8.4 Units) as a favorite this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 31-17 ATS (+12.3 Units) off a upset loss as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 72-57 ATS (+9.3 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 14-8 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
OKLAHOMA CITY is 12-10 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
13 of 22 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Short Sheet

Thursday, May 12

San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 8:35 ET
San Antonio: 33-19 ATS after 1 or more consecutive unders
Oklahoma City: 15-25 ATS after a game where they covered the spread




NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, May 12

Oklahoma City-San Antonio (OC 3-2)
Thunder won last two series games despite trailing after three quarters; they outscored Spurs by 15-7 points in last two 4th quarters. Spurs are 1-3 in last four visits here; Popovich is 2-10 in his career in elimination games on road. Thunder won Game 5 despite turning ball over 20 times (-13). OC improved to 16-43 on arc in last two games, after going 21-72 on arc in frst three games. Seven of last ten series games stayed under. Thunder split their last four home games; Spurs won four of last five on the road.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 11-8, over: 10-9




NBA

Thursday, May 12

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Trend Report
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8:30 PM
SAN ANTONIO vs. OKLAHOMA CITY
San Antonio is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Oklahoma City
San Antonio is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City's last 6 games at home
Oklahoma City is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against San Antonio

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Dunkel

Thursday, May 12


San Antonio @ Oklahoma City

Game 543-544
May 12, 2016 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Antonio
131.405
Oklahoma City
125.566
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 6
204
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Antonio
by 1 1/2
195 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
San Antonio
(-1 1/2); Over

[StarDust Bum]

Game 6 - Spurs at Thunder
May 11, 2016


Western Conference Semifinals – Thunder lead 3-2
Game 6 – San Antonio at Oklahoma City – ESPN, 8:35 p.m. ET

For the second time in this series, Oklahoma City went into San Antonio and came out with a hard fought victory this past Tuesday. The Thunder captured a 96-91 win in Game 5 over the Spurs as a 7 ½-point road underdog and now own a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook led the charge for Thunder, finishing with 35 points, 11 rebounds while his partner in crime Kevin Durant added 23 points. Kawhi Leonard has 26 points for the Spurs while LaMarcus Aldridge posted 21 points in a losing effort.

The Spurs held a 48-43 lead at halftime and looked like they were going to pull away in the third quarter, leading by as many as 13 points but the Thunder kept chipping away and only trailed by three (72-69) entering the final 12 minutes. Oklahoma City outscored the Spurs 26-19 in the fourth quarter and that’s been the story of this series.

The Thunder was often defined as a team that couldn’t finish games but something has changed for the club in this series. In the first five games, OKC has outscored San Antonio by 31 points in the fourth quarter and a lot of that margin has been attributed to the inability of the Spurs scoring down the stretch.

San Antonio scored three points in the final four minutes of Game 5 and if you go back to Game 4, the Spurs only managed six points in the final seven minutes of that loss, which seems next to impossible for a team of their stature.

In Sunday’s piece, I noted that this best-of-seven matchup has become a game of 2-of-2 with each team pitting their two All-Stars against one another.

ALL-STAR MATCHUP - THUNDER VS. SPURS

Oklahoma City - Points Scored 1 2 3 4 5

Russell Westbrook 14 29 31 14 35

Kevin Durant 16 28 26 41 23

Total 30 57 57 55 58


San Antonio - Points Scored 1 2 3 4 5

LaMarcus Aldridge 38 41 24 20 20

Kawhi Leonard 25 14 31 21 26

Total 63 55 55 41 46

Looking above, you can see that Oklahoma City’s pair has won this battle so far but it’s evident what happens (Game 1) when the double-headed monster doesn’t show up for the Thunder.

What’s also clear through the first five games is that the supporting cast for the Thunder have outplayed the Spurs as well, especially in the paint. Oklahoma City outrebounded San Antonio 54-36 on Tuesday behind two youngsters in Enes Kanter (8 points, 13 boards) and Steven Adams (12 points, 11 rebounds).

While Kanter and Adams have been a nice boost for OKC, the Spurs haven’t had any magic from their role players and that’s something that has helped the dynasty during its championship years.

Danny Green has played well in two games but the team has receiving nothing from Manu Ginobili plus I’m wondering if Boris Diaw (4.4 PPG) and Patty Mills (3.8 PPG) are in the doghouse because they’re minutes and stats have both diminished in this series.

The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich is often considered the best coach in the NBA but for the second straight postseason, we’re seeing a rookie head coach (Billy Donovan) making noise again which certainly solidifies the “players trump coaches” argument.

Despite dropping two straight in this series, the Spurs opened as 2 ½-point road favorites over Thunder in Game 6. As of Wednesday evening, most shops have dropped that number to 1 ½ points.

VegasInsider.com NBA expert and playoff leader Kevin Rogers isn’t surprised by the shift to Oklahoma City. He said, “The Spurs haven’t performed well on the road in Game 6 of the playoffs trailing 3-2, losing in each of their last two opportunities. In 2011, the Grizzlies tripped up the top-seeded Spurs in the opening round, 99-91 as three-point favorites, while the Thunder ousted San Antonio in the 2012 conference finals, 107-99 as five-point favorite.”

Even though Oklahoma City has won two games outright as an underdog in this series, its overall record as a pup hasn’t been great this season. The club is 3-12 SU and 6-8-1 ATS and that includes a 0-2 mark at home, the loss in Game 3 of this series and earlier in the season to Golden State.

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While those stats could have you leaning to San Antonio to stay alive, Rogers doesn’t believe you should ignore the head-to-head encounters between the pair at this venue. “Oklahoma City has won six of its last eight home playoff games against San Antonio since the 2012 Western Conference Finals, but the Spurs have cashed in their only opportunity in this span as a road favorite at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Game 3 of this series, 100-96. The last time these teams played a Game 6 in the playoffs at Oklahoma City, the Spurs prevailed in overtime to win the 2014 Western Conference title, but San Antonio went into that contest leading 3-2,” said Rogers.

Including the outcomes that Rogers mentioned, Oklahoma City is 12-3 both SU and ATS in the last 15 encounters against San Antonio from Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The totals in the first five games of this series have ranged from 199 to 200 ½ points but oddsmakers sent out an opener of 195 for Game 6. The ‘under’ has cashed in three of the first five games and a lot of that has been attributed to San Antonio’s offense or lack thereof.

Since posting 124 points in Game 1, the Spurs have cracked the 100-point mark only once in the last four games, scoring exactly 100 points in their Game 3 victory at Oklahoma City.

Despite averaging 103.4 PPG at home in the playoffs, the Thunder have seen the ‘under’ go 3-2. Including the results from this series, the Spurs have watched the ‘under’ go 6-3 in the postseason.

Prior to Game 1, San Antonio was listed as a minus-275 favorite (Bet $100 to win $37) to win this series at the Las Vegas Westgate SuperBook while the takeback on Oklahoma City was plus-235 favorite (Bet $100 to win $225).

The Spurs ballooned to minus-900 favorites after blowout out the Thunder in the opener and were still minus-300 when the series was tied 2-2. Now facing elimination, San Antonio has been made a 6/5 underdog (Bet $100 to win $120) while the Thunder are a 5/7 favorite (Bet $100 to win $71) to advance.

If you like to lean to historical numbers in your handicapping, then Oklahoma City would get the nod in this situation. Since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, the Thunder have held a 3-2 series lead in the playoffs four times and they won all four of those best-of-seven matchups. Make a note that Oklahoma City closed out three of those series in six games while only being forced to a Game 7 once.

And, the Spurs have rallied from a 3-2 deficit only once in their playoff history which occurred in 2008 when they beat the New Orleans Hornets.

If San Antonio stays alive, Game 7 will take place on Sunday from the AT&T Center.

[StarDust Bum]

Duncan competing with 'Father Time'
May 11, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Father Time can be awfully sneaky.

San Antonio forward Tim Duncan turned 40 last month, and the basketball world marveled at his accomplishments. Sure, his minutes were scaled back this season, but he played a significant role in helping the Spurs have their best regular season ever.

Suddenly, though, Duncan looks his age.

He has struggled in the past two games of the Western Conference semifinals against Oklahoma City's young front line featuring Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. In Game 3, the 15-time All-Star, five-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP went scoreless in 12 minutes, committed four fouls in the first half and did not play in the fourth quarter. In Game 4, Duncan was 1 for 6 from the field and scored five points in 28 minutes.

Duncan likely will need to play more like his former self if the Spurs are to extend their season, and perhaps his career. Duncan has a player option for next season, and he hasn't made it clear what he will do.

When asked what he was doing to be effective against Duncan, Adams said ''Nothing,'' perhaps not wanting to give the future Hall of Famer any additional motivation.

Adams and Kanter also have slowed LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged 39.5 points on 75 percent shooting the first two games. That has dropped to 21.3 points per contest on 36.7 percent shooting the last three games.

''He had a lot of open looks,'' Kawhi Leonard said of Aldridge after Game 5. ''They just didn't fall. It's basketball. Once we play the right way and get the shots we take and play hard, that's all we could do.''

Adams, a 7-foot center from New Zealand, is averaging 10.2 points and 12.0 rebounds in the series. Kanter, a 6-foot-11 forward from Turkey, is averaging 9.0 points and 7.6 rebounds. They usually don't play together, but have been both been on the floor late in the past two games. Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Kanter and Adams have put in the time to make the experiment successful.

''I give them a lot of credit because, although we did it a little bit during the regular season, being able to get with those guys after practice and talk with those guys, seeing them work together to try to play off of each other - they've had to space the floor and work together.'' Donovan said. ''They've got a good bond going there.''

A look at Thursday's night's Game 6.

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Spurs at Thunder, Oklahoma City leads 3-2, 8:30 p.m. ET., ESPN

In Game 4, Kevin Durant went off. In Game 5, it was Russell Westbrook's turn.

If either - or both - get going in Game 6, the Spurs could be done for the year.

Both have struggled at times with their shots during playoffs, but there are signs that could be changing. In Game 4, Durant scored 29 of his 41 points in the second half. In Game 5, Westbrook made 12 of 27 shots and scored 35 points.

The Thunder want to bring their best effort in Game 6 because they're really not interested in going back to San Antonio for Game 7.

''Closeout games are the hardest,'' Durant said. ''We know they're going to try to force this Game 7. We can't rely too much on our crowd. We can't be relaxed knowing that we're going to be at home. And they beat us at home in Game 3.''

Even if Westbrook misses shots, the Thunder aren't concerned.

''Who cares about shooting percentage,'' Durant said earlier in the week. ''Obviously, we want him to - in a perfect world, we'd want him to shoot 65, 70 percent. But he's getting good shots. It's not like he's getting terrible shots. He's getting good looks. He's getting to the rim. It's just a matter of the ball going in and out of the basket.''

Westbrook is a major reason the Thunder are hurting the Spurs on the glass. Oklahoma City out rebounded San Antonio by an average of seven rebounds over the first five games, and has won that battle in each of the past four games. The Spurs feel they need to do better in Game 6 to have a chance.

''Control the boards,'' Spurs guard Tony Parker said. ''That's the key of the series. We have to control the boards. We can't keep giving them opportunities to score.''

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Spurs (67-15) at Thunder (55-27)
Date: May 12, 2016 8:30 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Father Time can be awfully sneaky.

San Antonio forward Tim Duncan turned 40 last month, and the basketball world marveled at his accomplishments. Sure, his minutes were scaled back this season, but he played a significant role in helping the Spurs have their best regular season ever.

Suddenly, though, Duncan looks his age.

He has struggled in the past two games of the Western Conference semifinals against Oklahoma City's young front line featuring Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. In Game 4, the 15-time All-Star, five-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP went scoreless in 12 minutes, committed four fouls in the first half and did not play in the fourth quarter. In Game 5, Duncan was 1 for 6 from the field and scored five points in 28 minutes.

Duncan likely will need to play more like his former self Thursday night in Oklahoma City if the Spurs are to extend their season, and perhaps his career. Duncan has a player option for next season, and he hasn't made it clear what he will do.

When asked what he was doing to be effective against Duncan, Adams said 'Nothing,' perhaps not wanting to give the future Hall of Famer any additional motivation.

Adams and Kanter also have slowed LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged 39.5 points on 75 percent shooting the first two games. That has dropped to 21.3 points per contest on 36.7 percent shooting the last three.

'He had a lot of open looks,' teammate Kawhi Leonard said of Aldridge after a 95-91 loss in Game 5 on Tuesday. 'They just didn't fall. It's basketball. Once we play the right way and get the shots we take and play hard, that's all we could do.'

Adams, a 7-foot center from New Zealand, is averaging 10.2 points and 12.0 rebounds in the series. Kanter, a 6-foot-11 forward from Turkey, is averaging 9.0 points and 7.6 rebounds. They usually don't play together, but have both been on the floor late in the past two games. Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Kanter and Adams have put in the time to make the experiment successful.

'I give them a lot of credit because, although we did it a little bit during the regular season, being able to get with those guys after practice and talk with those guys, seeing them work together to try to play off of each other - they've had to space the floor and work together,' Donovan said. 'They've got a good bond going there.'

In Game 4, Kevin Durant went off. In Game 5, it was Russell Westbrook's turn.

If either - or both - get going in Game 6, the Spurs could be done for the year.

Both have struggled at times with their shots during the playoffs, but there are signs that could be changing. In Game 4, Durant scored 29 of his 41 points in the second half. In Game 5, Westbrook made 12 of 27 shots and scored 35.

The Thunder want to bring their best effort in Game 6 because they're really not interested in going back to San Antonio for Game 7.

'Closeout games are the hardest,' Durant said. 'We know they're going to try to force this Game 7. We can't rely too much on our crowd. We can't be relaxed knowing that we're going to be at home. And they beat us at home in Game 3.'

Even if Westbrook misses shots, the Thunder aren't concerned.

'Who cares about shooting percentage,' Durant said earlier in the week. 'Obviously, we want him to - in a perfect world, we'd want him to shoot 65, 70 percent. But he's getting good shots. It's not like he's getting terrible shots. He's getting good looks. He's getting to the rim. It's just a matter of the ball going in and out of the basket.'

Westbrook is a major reason the Thunder are hurting the Spurs on the glass. Oklahoma City outrebounded San Antonio by an average of 7 over the first five games, and has won that battle in each of the past four. The Spurs feel they need to do better in Game 6 to have a chance.

'Control the boards,' guard Tony Parker said. 'That's the key of the series. We have to control the boards. We can't keep giving them opportunities to score.'


SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Thunder at Spurs
Sat, Apr 30 Final 92 to 124
Recaps

GAME 2
Thunder at Spurs
Mon, May 2 Final 98 to 97
Recaps

GAME 3
Spurs at Thunder
Fri, May 6 Final 100 to 96
Recaps

GAME 4
Spurs at Thunder
Sun, May 8 Final 97 to 111
Recaps

GAME 5
Thunder at Spurs
Tue, May 10 Final 95 to 91
Recaps

GAME 6
Spurs at Thunder
Thu, May 12 - 8:30PM EDT

GAME 7
Thunder at Spurs
Sun, May 15 - 8:00PM EDT

[StarDust Bum]

NBA MONEYLINE

NBA > (543) SAN ANTONIO@ (544) OKLAHOMA CITY | 2016-05-12 20:35:00 - 2016-05-12 20:35:00
Play ON OKLAHOMA CITY using money line in Home games against Southwest division opponents
The record is 11 Wins and 1 Losses for the this season (+10 units)

NBA > (543) SAN ANTONIO@ (544) OKLAHOMA CITY | 2016-05-12 20:35:00 - 2016-05-12 20:35:00
Play ON SAN ANTONIO using money line in All games off a upset loss as a favorite
The record is 34 Wins and 9 Losses for the last three seasons (+21.85 units)

NBA > (545) TORONTO@ (546) MIAMI | 2016-05-13 15:00:00 - 2016-05-13 15:00:00
Play ON TORONTO using money line in All games when playing against a team with a winning record
The record is 33 Wins and 17 Losses for the this season (+16.15 units)

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NBA FIRST HALF

NBA > (543) SAN ANTONIO@ (544) OKLAHOMA CITY | 2016-05-12 20:35:00 - 2016-05-12 20:35:00
Play ON SAN ANTONIO ?>in the first halfin Road games against Northwest division opponents
The record is 10 Wins and 0 Losses for the this season (+10 units)

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NBA TOTALS

NBA > (543) SAN ANTONIO@ (544) OKLAHOMA CITY | 2016-05-12 20:35:00 - 2016-05-12 20:35:00
Play UNDER SAN ANTONIO on the totalin Road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game
The record is 28 Overs and 71 Unders for the last three seasons (+40.2 units)


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NBA TOP POWERLINE

NBA > (543) SAN ANTONIO @ (544) OKLAHOMA CITY | 2016-05-12 20:35:00 - 2016-05-12 20:35:00
Line: OKLAHOMA CITY1.5 BTB PowerLine: OKLAHOMA CITY-5
Edge On: OKLAHOMA CITY (6.5)

[StarDust Bum]

5/11 - YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: 3 - 1
OVERALL : 59 - 63

THURSDAY, MAY 12

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

SA at OKC 08:30 PM

OKC +1.5

U 195.5

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

-- From Katie Sharp, pitch counts for the five 20-strikeout games: Clemens (1996) 151, Clemens (1986) 138, Randy Johnson 124, Kerry Wood 122, Scherzer 119

-- In those five games, pitchers struck out 100, didn't walk one batter.

-- Scherzer/Johnson are only pitchers with a 20-strikeout game and a no-hitter.

-- Nine of Scherzer's 20 Ks came on 3-pitch at-bats.

-- Only 20.7% of big league strikeouts come on 3-pitch at-bats.

-- Victor Martinez was 3-4 against his former teammate with no strikeouts.

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Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here.......

13) Its not that I'm old, its just that I'm not young anymore.

I'm watching TV the other night and a commercial for some reality dating show comes on; the host says to the contestant: "I need your swag level up to the tril!!!"

WTF does that even mean? When did I stop understanding English?

12) Kansas City Royals put two starting pitchers (Young/Medlen) on DL, as they continue to flounder, having lost 11 of their last 16 games.

11) Scott Skiles abruptly quit as coach of the Orlando Magic after only one season, during which the Magic improved 10 games from over last season.

10) Braves-Marlins are playing a game at Fort Bragg, NC on July 3 to honor our troops; they're putting up a new ballpark for the occasion.

9) UNLV added a couple of recruits from Chicago this week and now 6-11 Canadian Jordy Tshimanga will visit UNLV with his 7-1 brother Link Kabadyundi, a JC transfer who played a year at TCU. Rebels are up to nine players as they rebuild under Marvin Menzies, who had several Canadian players at New Mexico State.

8) Speaking of Las Vegas, WCC wisely decided to keep its postseason tourney at Orleans Arena thru 2019. Nice arena, good size for that league's tournament.

7) NBA Combine stuff is on TV this week on ESPN2 during the day; interesting to see the kids fightning hard as they try to impress NBA teams. Kids who are really good players in HS/college have to be shocked at how hard it is to make an NBA roster.

6) Nashville Predators are 21st NHL team to play two Game 7's in same season.

5) Noah Sydergaard homered twice in LA Wednesday night, first pitcher to do that since Micah Owings in 2007, first Met pitcher since Walt Terrell in '83.

4) Fernando Rodney saved two games Wednesday as Padres swept a twinbill; only other time a Padre reliever did that was Rollie Fingers at Candlestick in 1977.

3) Max Scherzer and John Lackey are only two active pitchers who've beaten all 30 major league teams.

2) It is odd that the Cowboys look like they're going into training camp with only two backup QBs, Kellen Moore and rookie Dak Prescott. Tony Romo is 36; he played in four games LY. Would be nice to have a competent backup QB.

1) RIP Dayton C Steve McAlvene, 20, who collapsed and died at his Indiana home this week. Very tragic to pass away so young.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Long Sheet

Friday, May 13

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TORONTO (63 - 31) at MIAMI (54 - 40) - 5/13/2016, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 175-218 ATS (-64.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
TORONTO is 48-62 ATS (-20.2 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
MIAMI is 33-24 ATS (+6.6 Units) as a favorite this season.
MIAMI is 41-31 ATS (+6.9 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
MIAMI is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
MIAMI is 8-8 against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI is 8-8 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
9 of 16 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Short Sheet

Friday, May 13

Toronto at Miami, 8:05 ET
Toronto: 14-24 ATS when the total is between 190 and 199.5 points
Miami: 21-12 ATS after playing a game as an underdog




NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, May 13

Miami-Toronto (T 3-2)
Five series games decided by total of 29 points; three went to OT. Heat lost seven of last 10 games with Toronto; they are 2-3 vs Raptors in last five played here. Home side won ten of last 14 series games overall. Eight of last ten Miami games stayed under total, as have 10 of last 13 Raptor games. Lowry had 33 points in Game 3 but is 21-71 in the other four games. Toronto lost three of last four road games; Miami is 4-6 in its last ten games, splitting its last four at home.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 12-8, over: 11-9




NBA

Friday, May 13

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
TORONTO vs. MIAMI
Toronto is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games
Toronto is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Miami's last 10 games
Miami is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing Toronto

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Dunkel

Friday, May 13


Toronto @ Miami

Game 545-546
May 13, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
119.156
Miami
125.760
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Miami
by 6 1/2
184
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Miami
by 4
189
Dunkel Pick:
Miami
(-4); Under

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Raptors (56-26) at Heat (48-34)
Date: May 13, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

MIAMI (AP) The centers are hobbled and sidelined. The starting point guards have seen their faces bloodied. Both teams have key forwards dealing with wrist injuries, and Toronto's leading scorer needs his super-tender thumb wrapped in something resembling a shoelace so he can play.

Someone will win this Toronto-Miami series.

Or more accurately, someone will survive this series.

The Raptors are leading 3-2 and therefore have two chances to be the ones who emerge, the first coming in Game 6 at Miami on Friday night. The Raptors know they're playing Sunday afternoon - either in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals in Cleveland, or back in Toronto for Game 7 of this East semifinal matchup.

'It's a seven-game series and these kind of series are very competitive,' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday. 'They're built to push you and stress you and put you in uncomfortable situations. And that's what this series is doing right now. It's a competitive series. Guys are embracing the competition. And we have a job to do tomorrow. We're just focused on tomorrow.'

Both teams got good news Thursday.

Tests performed on the injured wrists of Toronto's DeMarre Carroll and Miami's Luol Deng showed they were just dealing with bruises after getting hurt in the Raptors' Game 5 win on Wednesday night. Officially, Carroll and Deng are listed as questionable, but the expectation is that both will be available to go in Game 6.

'If it ain't broke, with me, I'm ready to play,' Carroll said.

Said Deng: 'I've had worse injuries than this.'

Miami center Hassan Whiteside (knee) and Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas (ankle) are both expected to miss their third consecutive games. DeMar DeRozan's right thumb - the one wrapped in a shoelace - is still painful, yet he and backcourt mate Kyle Lowry were still able to lead the Raptors to a win in Game 5.

'Right now there's nobody healthy in this league, totally healthy,' Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. 'There's something that's hurting on somebody. Kyle Lowry looks like a boxer, got cuts on both eyelids. This is the time you play through it. This is what you work in the summer for. This is what you prepare your professional career for - playoff time.'

Lowry has shed blood in this series, as has his point guard counterpart, Miami's Goran Dragic.

No one seems to mind the physicality. Lowry said it's just a byproduct of two teams fighting for their seasons.

'Everything's just been basketball,' Lowry said. 'It's been physical. It's just a fun game and it's that time of the year.'

A look at Friday's lone NBA game:

---

Raptors at Heat, Toronto leads 3-2. 8 p.m., ESPN.

This is already the longest postseason in Raptors' history, with Friday marking their 13th game of these playoffs. Toronto's previous mark was 12 playoff games in 2001.

Of course, the Raptors hope they're just getting started.

Their bags are already packed for Cleveland. That's not disrespect toward Miami, just smart planning considering the potentially very tight turnaround if the Raptors win on Friday. But history suggests it won't be easy - the Raptors are 1-4 all-time in road closeout chances, and only two East teams have won two games at Miami in the same series since Dwyane Wade was drafted in 2003.

'They are well-coached, they play really hard and they've got Dwyane Wade,' Lowry said. 'He's playing at a level that he's pretty much played at his whole career.'

Wade has been Miami's best player in the series, and he'll likely need to stay that way. He's avoided knockout blows plenty of times before - the Heat are 7-1 in their last eight games when facing elimination, including 2-0 this season.

'Our guys love this,' Spoelstra said. 'Our guys love this kind of competition.'

Miami got down by 20 in Wednesday's Game 5 loss, cut the deficit down to one but never got all the way over the hump. The Heat haven't scored more than 94 points in regulation yet game in this series, Joe Johnson is 1 for 17 from 3-point range and Miami is facing elimination even though Lowry and DeRozan are both shooting under 40 percent from the field.

And if the Heat are to get a chance to match up with former Miami star LeBron James in the East finals, they need to defy the odds. Teams that lose Game 5 of a tied best-of-seven go on to ultimately lose the series 82 percent of the time.

'Whatever it takes,' Spoelstra said. 'We have enough.'


SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Heat at Raptors
Tue, May 3 Final 102 to 96
Recaps

GAME 2
Heat at Raptors
Thu, May 5 Final 92 to 96
Recaps

GAME 3
Raptors at Heat
Sat, May 7 Final 95 to 91
Recaps

GAME 4
Raptors at Heat
Mon, May 9 Final 87 to 94
Recaps

GAME 5
Heat at Raptors
Wed, May 11 Final 91 to 99
Recaps

GAME 6
Raptors at Heat
Fri, May 13 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Heat at Raptors
Sun, May 15 - 3:30PM EDT