Announcement

**Udog** · 04-22-2016, 08:19 AM

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

Some pointspreads on NFL games after Week 1- they were released Thursday:

Week 2-- Seahawks (-4) @ Rams-- Rams' first home game in Coliseum since 1979.

Week 2-- Packers @ Vikings (even)-- Minnesota's first game in its new dome.

Week 4-- Browns @ Redskins (-7.5)-- RGIII returns to Maryland.

Week 5-- Patriots (-7) @ Browns-- Belichick returns to Cleveland.

Week 7-- Texans @ Broncos (-6.5)-- Osweiler returns to Mile High City.

Week 10-- Seahawks @ Patriots (-2)-- Carroll returns to Foxboro.

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

13) Washington Wizards gave Scott Brooks $35M for five years to be their new coach; with Maryland native Kevin Durant a free agent this summer, I'm sure it is not a coincidence that the Wizards hired Durant's old coach.

12) Jake Arrieta no-hit the Reds 16-0 last night in Cincinnati, the most dramatic 16-0 game in MLB history. There were only nine starts between this game and Arrieta's other no-hitter last year.

11) If you care about such things, it was just the second no-hitter at Great American Ballpark; Homer Bailey had the first one.

10) If you care about such things, over is 14-5 in interleague games so far this season.

9) Oakland A's are much-improved so far over last year; A's are 7-2 if their starting pitcher finishes the 6th inning, 2-5 if he does not.

8) Tony Romo turned 36 years old Thursday; why haven't the Cowboys drafted a young QB they can groom to play after Romo finishes his career?

7) Rockets 97, Warriors 96-- I'm guessing Steph Curry's foot got a lot better once Houston won this game, making series 2-1 Golden State.

6) Chicago 4, St Louis 3 double OT-- Patrick Kane scored his 5th career OT playoff goal as Chicago stayed alive- they trail series 3-2. Only guys with more OT playoff goals than Kane are Joe Sakic (8), Rocket Richard (6)- Edmonton's Glenn Anderson also had five OT playoff goals.

Blackhawks are now 12-4 in elimination games under Joel Quenneville.

5) Tennessee-Martin head coach Heath Schroyer quit this week, to become an assistant coach at NC State, a kick in the teeth to the OVC school that gave Schroyer a chance to resurrect his career after he had been fired at Wyoming- he was later an assistant at UNLV. He'll make more money as an assistant at NC State than he was making at Tenn-Martin.

4) Adam Scott/Louis Oosthuizen already came out and said they'll skip the Olympics in South America this summer- they're both in top 15 in the world, so thats a blow to golf becoming a regular Olympic sport.

3) A 6-10 kid who plays hoop at Washington State but graduated from the school this spring wanted to transfer to San Diego State, where he could play one more season next year, for a much better team, but Wazzu coach Ernie Kent blocked the transfer, claiming the Aztecs tampered/poached the kid.

This happens more and more these days, bigtime schools filling holes in their roster by cherry-picking good players from lower-level schools. I applaud Kent for standing up to teams poaching his roster.

2) If you ever wondered how much a casino costs, Boyd Gaming bought Aliante Casino in North Las Vegas this week, for a reported $380M, a mere bag of shells. LOL That is one casino in Las Vegas I haven't been to yet.

1) I had no idea how wildly popular Prince was, until he passed away way too early Thursday at age 57. Apparently he had been ill for a while, but official word hasn't come out yet. I read yesterday that he was a prolific songwriter who has a ton of unreleased music that I'm sure we'll be hearing in the future.

**Udog** · 04-22-2016, 08:26 AM

NBA

Friday, April 22

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Friday's NBA playoffs betting preview and odds
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The Spurs roll into Memphis as huge double-digit favorites on the road after winning the first two games of the series easily on home court.

Friday night in the NBA features three matchups where teams are coming home with 2-0 series deficits. The Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and Memphis Grizzlies will all be trying to avoid going down 3-0.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons (+4.5, 200.5)

Cavaliers lead series 2-0

The Cleveland Cavaliers put on a spectacular shooting exhibition in Game 2 and attempt to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Cleveland drained 20 3-pointers in Wednesday's 107-90 victory over the Pistons to tie the NBA playoff record shared by the Seattle SuperSonics (1996), Dallas Mavericks (2011) and Golden State Warriors (2015).

The top-seeded Cavaliers received seven 3-pointers by shooting guard J.R. Smith and four from point guard Kyrie Irving in the 20-of-38 shooting effort. "I don't care if you're left by yourself, 20 of 38 is pretty good shooting," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters of the Cleveland shooting. Eighth-seeded Detroit has its back against the wall after the two road losses and faces a must-win situation in Game 3. The Pistons let a fourth-quarter lead get away in Game 1 and saw its hopes in Game 2 fade away with a 15-point third quarter.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Detroit

LINE HISTORY: Cleveland opened as 4-point road favorites and after only a few hours of betting action the books moved the line up to 4.5. The total opened at 200.5 and hasn't moved since its release. View complete line history here.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (59-25, 38-43-3 ATS, 42-42 O/U): Smith scored 21 points in Game 2 after struggling to nine points on 3-of-9 shooting in the opener. Consistent shooting from Smith would complement the trio of small forward LeBron James, power forward Kevin Love and point guard Kyrie Irving. "We have shooters and they are designated snipers and I'm not one of them," James told reporters. "I'm more like a tank or something like that."

ABOUT THE PISTONS (44-40, 43-39-2 ATS, 43-41 O/U): Detroit is playing a physical series with no interest in backing down and rookie forward Stanley Johnson mixed it up with James during Game 2. "Their whole team talks," Johnson told reporters. "All those guys on the bench, they're like cheerleaders. Only seven, eight guys are playing, but they're all talking. They might as well be in the stands." Starting forward Tobias Harris is struggling and averaging 11 points on 7-of-22 shooting in the series while forward Marcus Morris had just 11 points on 2-of-10 shooting in Game 2 after scoring 20 points in the series opener.

TRENDS:

* Cavaliers are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 vs. NBA Central.
* Pistons are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Over is 4-0 in Cavaliers last 4 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Over is 8-2 in Pistons last 10 Friday games.
* Road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics (-3, 200.5)

Hawks lead series 2-0

If the Boston Celtics hope to stay in their first-round series for more than two more games, they are going to need to solve the Atlanta Hawks’ stifling defense. The Hawks will try to build a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series behind that defense when they visit Boston on Friday.

The Celtics shot 23 percent from the field in the first half of Game 1 before overcoming a 19-point deficit and falling just short 102-101. Atlanta put together the same early effort defensively in Game 2 and this time did not let up, jumping out to a 24-3 lead and stifling Boston the rest of the way in an 89-72 triumph. “I think that (Game 2) had a different feel than even the other night,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “The other night it was one of those nights where we didn’t shoot it (well at first), like we had done some really good things and then once we started making shots we felt really good about our chances. Here, it never felt like we were at their level.” Boston is also dealing with a series of injuries and does not expect Avery Bradley (hamstring) back for Game 3 while Kelly Olynyk (shoulder) is questionable.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN New England (Boston)

LINE HISTORY: The Celtics opened as three-point favorites at home and the total opened at 200.5 - neither line has moved since hitting the betting board. View complete line history here.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE HAWKS (50-34, 43-40-1 ATS, 38-46 O/U): Atlanta recorded a franchise playoff-record 15 blocked shots in Game 2 and set an NBA playoff record by limiting the Celtics to seven first-quarter points. The Hawks weren’t as strong offensively – shooting 39 percent from the floor – but guard Kyle Korver bounced back from a 1-of-10 performance (0-of-7 from 3-point range) with 17 points in Game 2 on 6-of-9 shooting (5-of-7 from beyond the arc). Al Horford matched Korver with 17 points to go along with five blocks in Game 2 and is averaging 20.5 points in the series while helping Korver out beyond the arc, knocking down 4-of-6.

ABOUT THE CELTICS (48-36, 43-40-1 ATS, 39-45 O/U): Boston went 3-of-23 in that disastrous first quarter and was not much better the rest of the way. The absence of Bradley forced Marcus Smart into the starting lineup, and he went 1-of-11 from the floor while All-Star Isaiah Thomas regularly faced a swarm of defenders and seemed to have his shot swatted away every time he went into the paint. "There’s always two guys on me, at least, when I don’t have the ball,” Thomas told reporters. “They’re looking in my eyes, they’re face-guarding me. The best players figure it out. That’s just a sign of respect from (the Hawks), and I just gotta figure it out.”

TRENDS:

* Hawks are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Celtics are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games playing on 2 days rest.
* Under is 8-2 in Hawks last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Under is 4-1 in Celtics last 5 games playing on 2 days rest.
* Hawks are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

San Antonio Spurs at Memphis Grizzlies (+6, 217.5)

Spurs lead series 2-0

The San Antonio Spurs mauled Memphis in each of the first two games and look to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series when they visit the Grizzlies on Friday. Second-seeded San Antonio won the first two games by an average of 29 points and limited injury ravaged Memphis to an average of 71 points.

The Spurs were expected to roll over the seventh-seeded Grizzlies but All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard made it clear the series momentum can still change hands. "Yeah, but that's the thing you've got to fight," Leonard told reporters. "We've still got to execute. We turned over the ball a lot (17 in Game 2). They're physical, and they have great hands. But this is still an opportunity for us to improve. They're still an NBA team." Memphis hasn't always resembled an NBA team since season-ending injuries to center Marc Gasol (foot) and point guard Mike Conley (Achilles) and small forward Matt Barnes isn't putting a lot of stock into getting the next two games at home. "It doesn't matter where we play, we've just got to play better," Barnes told reporters. "We can play (in San Antonio), we can play at the YMCA, we can play in Memphis; it doesn't matter where we play at if we play the way we've been playing. The court doesn't matter. It's on the players - we've got to do a better job executing."

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), FSN Southeast (Memphis)

LINE HISTORY: The Spurs opened as 10.5-point road favorites and the public dictated that wasn't enough - the books adjusted their line to San Antonio -11.5 fairly quickly. The total opened at 181 and was bumped up slightly to 181.5. View complete line history here.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE SPURS (69-15, 46-38 ATS, 35-47-2 O/U): Fast starts on the defensive end have fueled the two blowout victories as San Antonio held Memphis to 13 points in the first quarter of the opener and just 11 in Game 2. All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is playing with a dislocated right pinky finger and has been a big factor in why Memphis power forward Zach Randolph has been unable to get on track. "I just think LaMarcus played excellent defense tonight," Popovich told reporters. "We didn't double-team him or anything like that. If he got in the lane, we tried to make a play I guess, but mostly L.A. gets the credit for doing a fine job on a great player."

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (42-42, 42-41-1 ATS, 45-37-2 O/U): Randolph is just 8-of-30 shooting while averaging 8.5 points in the series and Barnes is averaging only 5.5 points on 4-of-18 shooting. Barnes wasn't pleased to play only 30 minutes in the Game 2 loss and publicly expressed his frustration. "I don't want to play 20 minutes getting beat so bad," Barnes told reporters. "I want to play 40-45 minutes and swing every second we can. I don't want to save nothing, nothing should be in the tank. I'm not even tired right now, it's frustrating."

TRENDS:

* Spurs are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
* Grizzlies are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.
* Under is 12-1 in Spurs last 13 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Under is 6-1 in Grizzlies last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Favorite is 7-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
* Warriors are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Houston.

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**Udog** · 04-22-2016, 08:28 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Friday, April 22

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CLEVELAND (59 - 25) at DETROIT (44 - 40) - 4/22/2016, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CLEVELAND is 32-42 ATS (-14.2 Units) as a favorite this season.
CLEVELAND is 5-13 ATS (-9.3 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
DETROIT is 24-15 ATS (+7.5 Units) in home games this season.
DETROIT is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) after a division game this season.
DETROIT is 21-40 ATS (-23.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is between 200 and 204.5 points since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 7-7 against the spread versus CLEVELAND over the last 3 seasons
CLEVELAND is 9-5 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
7 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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ATLANTA (50 - 34) at BOSTON (48 - 36) - 4/22/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 16-33 ATS (-20.3 Units) in road games in all playoff games since 1996.
BOSTON is 91-76 ATS (+7.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 55-37 ATS (+14.3 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 55-41 ATS (+9.9 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 98-80 ATS (+10.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 24-12 ATS (+10.8 Units) on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 38-23 ATS (+12.7 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 55-35 ATS (+16.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 35-23 ATS (+9.7 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 7-6 against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 9-4 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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SAN ANTONIO (69 - 15) at MEMPHIS (42 - 42) - 4/22/2016, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 46-38 ATS (+4.2 Units) in all games this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 45-33 ATS (+8.7 Units) as a favorite this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 89-62 ATS (+20.8 Units) in a road game where where the total is between 180 and 184.5 points since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 69-53 ATS (+10.7 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 10-4 against the spread versus MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 12-2 straight up against MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
8 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Short Sheet

Friday, April 22

Cleveland at Detroit, 7:05 ET
Cleveland: 5-13 ATS vs. division opponents
Detroit: 12-3 ATS in home games after having lost 3 of their last 4 games

Atlanta at Boston, 8:05 ET
Atlanta: 29-17 ATS in a road game where the total is 200 to 209.5
Boston: 4-15 ATS at home after playing 2 consecutive games as an underdog

San Antonio at Memphis, 9:35 ET
San Antonio: 31-17 ATS after 1 or more consecutive unders
Memphis: 4-17 ATS after 2 games where opp was called for 18 or less fouls

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, April 22

Detroit-Cleveland (C 2-0)
Pistons lost Game 1 despite shooting 15-29 from arc; they were 4-17 in Game 2 and lost by 17 (Drummond's 4-16 on foul line didn't help any). Five of last seven series games went over total. Cavaliers won three of last four visits here, but lost last two road games overall; Detroit lost two of its last three at home. Six of last nine Cleveland games went over the total. Cleveland had only 16 turnovers total in Games 1-2.

Boston-Atlanta (A 2-0)
Hawks led 23-7, 43-28 at first two quarter breaks in Game 2, taking charge of game early after blowing 17-point halftime lead in close Game 1 win. Celtics lost last five games with Atlanta, with three of five going over total- Hawks split last four visits here, lost their last three road games overall. Six of last eight Atlanta games stayed under the total, as did last three Celtic games.

Memphis-San Antonio (S 2-0)
Grizzlies lost 11 of last 12 games, losing by 32-26 in first two games of series. Memphis lost its last seven games with Spurs (1-6 vs spread), six by 10+ points. Grizzlies lost three of last four series games played here. Six of last eight series games stayed under the total. Every Memphis guy was at least -7 in Game 2; seven of them were -11 or worse. Spurs split their last four road games with wins by 5 at Dallas, 2 at Utah.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 13-6, Over: 5-14

NBA

Friday, April 22

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
CLEVELAND vs. DETROIT
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland's last 6 games
Cleveland is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Detroit's last 7 games when playing Cleveland
Detroit is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games when playing Cleveland

8:00 PM
ATLANTA vs. BOSTON
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games
Atlanta is 5-19 SU in its last 24 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 19-5 SU in its last 24 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta

9:30 PM
SAN ANTONIO vs. MEMPHIS
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Antonio's last 6 games when playing on the road against Memphis
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Memphis
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Memphis's last 5 games
Memphis is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games

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**Udog** · 04-22-2016, 10:01 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Friday, April 22

Atlanta @ Boston

Game 541-542
April 22, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
115.947
Boston
121.409
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 5 1/2
206
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
by 2 1/2
200 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(-2 1/2); Over

San Antonio @ Memphis

Game 543-544
April 22, 2016 @ 9:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Antonio
121.839
Memphis
113.413
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 8 1/2
177
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Antonio
by 12
181 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Memphis
(+12); Under

Cleveland @ Detroit

Game 539-540
April 22, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cleveland
124.310
Detroit
117.258
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland
by 7
204
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Cleveland
by 4 1/2
200 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Cleveland
(-4 1/2); Over

Announcement

Friday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/22

Friday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/22

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