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**Udog** · 04-26-2016, 08:39 AM

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

-- Mets have scored first in their last 12 games, a franchise record.

-- Brandon Phillips has hit safely in 33 straight games at Shea Stadium/Citi Field.

-- Golden State outscored the Rockets 41-20 in third quarter Sunday, after Stephen Curry left the game for good. What does that say about Houston?

-- Freddie Freeman was hitting .190, Braves dropped him to 6th in order last nite; they lost 1-0 at home to Boston. Going to be a long summer in Atlanta. .

-- Blues 3, Blackhawks 2-- St Louis avoids huge collapse by winning Game 7.

-- Blazers 98, Clippers 84-- Chris Paul broke bone in his hand, is done for series.

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

Pretty eventful day, for a Monday in April.........
13) Tom Brady will be suspended for the first four games of the season, after a federal appeals court overturned a lower court's ruling. Patriots have already jumped from 6-1 to 8-1 to win Super Bowl-- the average point spread for New England's first four games moved 3.5 to 4 points with Brady out of the lineup.

Those first four games? @Arizona, then Miami-Houston-Buffalo, all at home.

12) Stephen Curry has a Grade 1 sprained MCL, the lowest sprain possible; they are saying they'll re-evaluate in two weeks. If Golden State doesn't win the title, media will turn on Steve Kerr for playing Curry too much trying to get to the 73-9 regular season record and wearing him out.

11) ESPN's Mike Tirico, who is really good at calling every sport, is leaving ESPN for NBC, where he will call Thursday Night Football and PGA Tour. There are also rumors of Brad Nessler jumping to CBS to replace Verne Lundquist on SEC football when that day comes, as well as calling college basketball.

Sean McDonough was mentioned as a possible replacement for Tirico on Monday Night Football.

10) Former UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice signed on as an assistant coach with Eric Musselman at rival Nevada-Reno. Musselman makes less than a half million, so if he were to lead the Wolf Pack to the NCAAs next year, after a big season this year, he figures to move on to a higher profile job, leaving Rice as the logical successor in Reno.

9) Speaking of the Mountain West, they have 11 teams right now, which is a bad number; they're supposedly looking for a 12th school-- UTEP is being mentioned.

8) The April open recruiting period for college basketball ended this weekend; noticed that some teams offered kids in Class of '19 scholarships-- those are 9th graders. I'm not sure why teams do this-- difficult to project three years down the road.

7) Couple of graduate transfers: Avery Woodson jumps from Memphis to Butler; Ronnie Johnson bolts from Houston to Auburn.

6) Sam Bradford has requested a trade from the Eagles; this is the guy with a career won-lost record of 25-37-1, with 33 games missed due to injury-- he's already banked roughly $87M in six years, despite playing in zero playoff games, but he requested a trade, because Philly is going to draft a QB Thursday. That takes onions.

5) Bill Polian/Herm Edwards are very good in ESPN's studio during the day; they tell you stuff you don't know.

4) John Daly turns 50 this week; the Senior Golf Tour is about to get a little more interesting.

3) There were no radar gun readings at Citi Field last night with Noah Syndergaard pitching; doubt it is a coincidence, since there so few coincidences in this world. Mark Mulder never liked radar gun readings on the scoreboard when he pitched for the A's, so maybe it was a request from the pitcher himself.

2) As if the Presidential race couldn't get stranger, Bob Knight is going to endorse Donald Trump in Indianapolis Wednesday. Should make for good TV.

1) If you know me, you know when I call someone "a weasel" that is the worst possible insult coming from me. Well, this Cruz/Kasich alliance has weasel written all over it. No wonder people despise politicians- they're total sellouts and people are so disgusted with politicians that an egotistical billionaire that very few people like could wind up being the President of the United States. Awesome.

**Udog** · 04-26-2016, 08:43 AM

NBA

Tuesday, April 26

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Tuesday's NBA playoffs betting preview and odds
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Isaiah Thomas had a tough time scoring in the first two games but came alive at home with 42 points in Game 3 and 28 in Game 4, including the last five of overtime.

Two games on the board Tuesday night, both feature a pair of pivotal Game 5 matchups in Conference Quarterfinal series' tied 2-2. The Raptors host the Pacers and the Hawks welcome the Celtics back to town.

Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors (-6.5, 192)

Series ties 2-2

The Toronto Raptors continue to perform below the standard of a 56-win team and look to get their act together when they host the Indiana Pacers in Tuesday's Game 5 of the first-round series. The Pacers posted an impressive 100-83 victory in Game 4 to tie the series at 2-2 and a second win in Toronto would put seventh-seeded Indiana in the driver's seat.

The main issue for the second-seeded Raptors continues to be the subpar play of the All-Star backcourt of point guard Kyle Lowry and shooting guard DeMar DeRozan. Lowry is averaging just 15.5 points on 32.2 percent shooting and DeRozan is performing even worse with a 13.3 average and 29.6 percent shooting. "Give Indiana credit, they've done a good job on DeMar and Kyle," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "But we haven't seen their best, they know that and it may not be by scoring points, it may be by moving the basketball, it may be by helping defensively." Pacers All-Star forward Paul George has been superb in the series with a 26.3 average and finally received some help from his teammates as point guard George Hill (9-of-11 shooting) and center Ian Mahinmi (10 rebounds) each tallied 22 points in the Game 4 victory.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, TNT, Sportsnet (Toronto)

LINE HISTORY: The Raptors opened as seven-point favorites and the line was dropped slightly to -6.5. The total hit the board at 192 and hasn't moved up to this point. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE PACERS (47-39, 43-42-1 ATS, 37-49 O/U): George's 19 points on Saturday was his lowest output of the series but he was excited about receiving some offensive help along with the defensive effort that included twice holding Toronto to 16 points in a quarter. "This was how I wanted this team to respond, how I wanted us to respond to the Game 3 loss," George told reporters. "I thought we were very pissed off and very attentive and very focused to even the series out. We knew we let one go in Game 3 and had a great opportunity to go up in the series." Hill is averaging 17.5 points in the past two games while Mahinmi's contributions were stunning after he averaged 4.3 points and four rebounds over the first three games.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (58-28, 47-39 ATS, 42-43-1 O/U): Lowry (12 points) and DeRozan (eight) were a combined 8-of-27 from the field in the Game 4 defeat and Toronto can't find an offensive flow with both cornerstones shooting so poorly. "I would be lying to you if I said I'm not upset with how I'm playing," Lowry told reporters. "But I have to stay positive and lead these guys - and that's what I'm going to do no matter how I'm shooting the ball." DeRozan's aggressiveness is practically nonexistent as he has failed to attempt a free throw in two different games after averaging 8.4 attempts during the regular season.

TRENDS:

* Pacers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Raptors are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
* Under is 6-0 in Pacers last 6 overall.
* Underdog is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

Boston Celtics at Atlanta Hawks (-7, 199.5)

Series ties 2-2

The Boston Celtics managed to even the series on their home floor and are hoping for the same effort when the series shifts to Atlanta for Game 5 on Tuesday. The Hawks let a 16-point, second-half lead slip away before falling in overtime in Game 4 but have won five straight and 12 of their last 14 games at home going back to the regular season.

Celtics All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas had a tough time scoring in the first two games but came alive at home with 42 points in Game 3 and 28 in Game 4, including the last five of overtime. “The most important thing for us: we’ve got to start the games better, especially on the road,” Thomas told reporters. “Start the games better, start the halves better, and I think that will put us in a position to be able to win those games. If we just start halfway decent on the road, we’ll be alright.” Atlanta is a veteran group and doesn’t plan on rolling over now that the momentum has shifted. “It’s our turn to respond, that’s how the playoffs are,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. “They are hard and it’s never easy in the playoffs. … I think being at home is always helpful and I think our group knows that they are very capable.”

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)

LINE HISTORY: The Hawks opened as 6.5-point favorites at home for this pivotal Game 5 and the line was quickly bet up to -7. The total opened at 201 and was dropped down to 199.5 by Monday evening. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE CELTICS (50-36, 45-40-1 ATS, 40-46 O/U): Guard Marcus Smart broke out with his best game of the series on both ends of the floor Sunday, scoring 20 points and playing strong defense on All-Star forward Paul Millsap down the stretch and in overtime. Smart, who went 1-for-11 in Game 2 while starting in place of Avery Bradley (hamstring), was back to coming off the bench in the last two games but logged 42 minutes in Game 4 and scored 11 straight Boston points during a key stretch in the fourth quarter. “I thought Marcus just played a great game, period,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “We’ve talked about it before, Marcus has had his ups and downs but Marcus on this stage – and with his consistent work ethic and with his competitive spirit – you just really trust that good things will happen.”

ABOUT THE HAWKS (50-36, 43-42-1 ATS, 39-47 O/U): Millsap scored a career playoff-high 45 points in the 104-95 overtime loss but didn’t get a chance to take the final shot with a chance to win in regulation. Point guard Jeff Teague, who finished 4-of-18 from the field in the loss, had the ball in his hands with the clock winding down and fumbled it away at the last second with Thomas guarding. “You want to exhaust the clock in that situation, you want to take the last shot and I think Jeff just ended up mishandling it a little bit,” Budenholzer said. “But that was Jeff against (5-9) Isaiah Thomas and, you know, you obviously try to get a good look, get a good opportunity and not leave any time on the clock.”

TRENDS:

* Celtics are 3-13 ATS in their last 16 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Hawks are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
* Under is 11-1 in Celtics last 12 games following a ATS win.
* Under is 6-0 in Hawks last 6 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

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**Udog** · 04-26-2016, 08:45 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, April 26

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BOSTON (50 - 36) at ATLANTA (50 - 36) - 4/26/2016, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 98-82 ATS (+7.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 55-37 ATS (+14.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 35-25 ATS (+7.5 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season.
BOSTON is 93-76 ATS (+9.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 15-7 ATS (+7.3 Units) against Southeast division opponents this season.
BOSTON is 26-15 ATS (+9.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 59-45 ATS (+9.5 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 57-41 ATS (+11.9 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 8-7 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 9-6 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
9 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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INDIANA (47 - 39) at TORONTO (58 - 28) - 4/26/2016, 6:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 26-17 ATS (+7.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
INDIANA is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest this season.
INDIANA is 26-16 ATS (+8.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TORONTO is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 12-3 against the spread versus INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 10-5 straight up against INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
9 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, April 26

Indiana-Toronto (2-2)
Pacers made 10-42 on arc in losing Games 2-3, they made 17-37 in two series wins. Raptors won 8 of last 11 games against Indiana, taking three of last four here. Toronto covered 11 of last 14 series games- five of last six stayed under total.Toronto shot 38.0/36.5% in two losses, 43.8/41.5% in two wins. Pacers won eight of last 12 games overall, Raptors won nine of last 13 games overall, they are 7-4 vs spread in their last 11 games.

Boston-Atlanta (2-2)
Hawks were 12-43 on arc in Game 4, only 9-13 on foul line; they need to attack basket more. Millsaps had huge game in last game but other four Atlanta starters were 11-47. Home side won all four series games; Boston shot 46% in Game 3 win, 42.6% in Game 4, after shooting 36.3%/31.8% in two losses at Atlanta. Celtics lost five of last seven games with Atlanta, with four of seven going over the total. Seven of last ten Atlanta games stayed under the total, as did four of last five Celtic games.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 20-13, Over: 10-23

NBA

Tuesday, April 26

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Trend Report
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6:00 PM
INDIANA vs. TORONTO
Indiana is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto's last 7 games when playing Indiana

8:30 PM
BOSTON vs. ATLANTA
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Boston's last 16 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Boston is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Boston
Atlanta is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games

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**Udog** · 04-26-2016, 10:19 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, April 26

Boston @ Atlanta

Game 567-568
April 26, 2016 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
116.960
Atlanta
126.396
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Atlanta
by 9 1/2
195
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Atlanta
by 7
200
Dunkel Pick:
Atlanta
(-7); Under

Indiana @ Toronto

Game 569-570
April 26, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
116.327
Toronto
125.568
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 9
187
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
by 7
192
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto
(-7); Under

**Udog** · 04-26-2016, 02:52 PM

NBA
Short Sheet

Tuesday, April 26

Boston at Atlanta, 8:35 ET
Boston: 30-18 ATS off a home win
Atlanta: 26-41 ATS when playing 4 or less games in 10 days

Indiana at Toronto, 6:05 ET
Indiana: 15-5 ATS after playing a game as a home underdog
Toronto: 0-8 ATS after 4 or more consecutive unders

Announcement

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/26

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/26

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