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**Udog** · 04-29-2016, 08:28 AM

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

-- Phillies 3, Nationals 0-- Suprising Phils won six of last seven, are 12-10.

-- Hawks 104, Celtics 92-- Atlanta moves on to the second round.

-- Capitals 4, Penguins 3 OT-- Washington wins first game in series.

-- Marlins 5, Dodgers 3-- Miami sweeps four games in Chavez Ravine, but 2B Dee Gordon got benched for 80 games afterwards for flunking a PED test. .

-- Giancarlo Stanton has 22 RBI in 19 career games in Dodger Stadium.

-- '93 Buffalo Bills are last Super Bowl loser to make Super Bowl the next year.

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Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Quick thoughts after the NFL Draft......

13) Very bad night to be Ole Miss T Laremy Tunsil; someone hacked his Twitter account, posted a picture of Tunsil smoking pot while wearing a gas mask. No bueno. It definitely was Tunsil in the picture and it is going to cost him millions of dollars. Apparently he ticked off the wrong person.

Tunsil wound up taken #13 by Miami; hope he learned his lesson. Dolphins may have gotten a great value if he has his life in order- before the Rams got the #1 pick in that big trade, Tunsil was rumored to be the Titans' #1 choice. .

12) Jared Goff's dad hit .215 in 250 PA as a backup catcher for three teams in the 90's. I have no idea how Jared will do, but I'll be rooting like hell for him and I know this-- Bill Parcells never wanted to draft a QB unless he played for three years in college, and Goff started three years at Cal. In the Pac-12.

11) This is a little bit random, but I'm wondering if quarterbacks with lot of siblings fare better leading a team than a guy who was an only child. When you grow up in a big family, you have to deal more with different types of personailities; with all the due diligence these professional teams do on prospects, I wonder if that plays into it at all.

10) This was the fifth year in a row Jacksonville drafted in the top 5; its not good for a coach's job security when that happens. Jalen Ramsey figures to help out a defense that was 29th against the pass LY.

9) Leonard Floyd (#9 to Chicago) was first SEC player taken; this was only third time in last 31 years no SEC player was taken in the first five picks of the draft. John Fox is going all-out to improve his defense this offseason.

8) This was the third time in last five years QBs went #1-2 in the draft; before that, it had been 13 years since the top two picks were quarterbacks.

7) Houston gave Washington a 6th round pick so they could move up one slot and draft Notre Dame WR Will Fuller, who is very fast but drops a lot of passes. A 6th-round pick doesn't sound like much, but 16 years ago, the Patriots used a 6th-round pick on someone you may have heard of-- Tom Brady.

6) Redskins then took TCU's WR Josh Doctson, who I think is great-- TCU's offense went in the ashcan LY as soon as Doctson got hurt.

5) Chiefs got extra 4th, 6th-round draft choices from the 49ers so SF could move up a few spots (eight?), and draft G Joshua Garnett of Stanford.

NFL Network guys were ready to bash the 49ers for trading up just to take a lineman, but David Shaw, Garnett's college coach, was sitting next to them on the dais so they backed off.

Shaw, by the way, is very good on TV and will have a spot waiting for him in a studio somewhere when he doesn't want to coach anymore.

4) In the 1981 baseball draft, two-sport star John Elway was taken six picks ahead of another two-sport star, Tony Gwynn. Whoops.

3) Eagles have $61M in guaranteed money tied up in their three QBs; Bradford, Wentz and Chase Daniel. Bradford wants a trade, but not to the 49ers; apparently he is no Chip Kelly fan. Could he wind up on the Jets?

2) I mean, it is April 29 and Ryan Fitzpatrick is making noises like he has no intention of ever playing for the Jets again, which means they don't have an NFL-caliber QB on their roster, unless Bryce Petty somehow had an epiphany during the offseason. Trading for Bradford could make sense.

1) NFL Network did a fine job with their coverage Thursday; I can't stand Chris Berman, so I won't watch ESPN if he is on, which he won't be tonight, so I can listen to my man Mel Kiper the next two nights. Stretching this out over three days is a debatable idea, but moving it around the country is a great idea. Philadelphia is said to be the favorite to host the draft next year.

**Udog** · 04-29-2016, 08:34 AM

NBA

Friday, April 29

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Friday's NBA playoffs betting preview and odds
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The Clippers have been forced into a defensive strategy due to injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Can defense get them a win in Rip City?

We have three huge first round basketball games Friday night. The Raptors, Hornets, and Trail Blazers are all looking to eliminate their opposition and move on to the second round.

Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers (-2, 194.5)

Raptors lead series 3-2

Toronto shooting guard DeMar DeRozan emerged from his playoff hibernation in the Game 5 victory and will attempt to help the Raptors clinch the best-of-7 series when they visit the Indiana Pacers on Friday. DeRozan set a personal best for the postseason with 34 points in the 102-99 road win to give the Raptors a 3-2 series lead.

DeRozan shot just 29.6 percent over the first four games but rediscovered his All-Star form with the stellar effort. "It's all about patience," DeRozan told reporters. "You can't get flustered, you can't get frustrated. You've got to stay the course. That's what we're going to continue to do." Indiana faces elimination after letting a 17-point lead get away in Game 5 and helped Toronto's comeback bid by scoring just nine fourth-quarter points. "Once again, we failed to live up to that moment," All-Star forward Paul George told reporters. "Nine points in the fourth. It's the only thing to look at - nine points in the fourth."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, ESPNews, TSN (Toronto), FSN Indiana

LINE HISTORY: The Pacers opened as 2.5-point favorites but the public hit the Raptors and the books were forced to bring the line down to -2. The total hit the board at 196 but was dropped to 194.5 by Thursday afternoon. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (59-28, 47-40 ATS, 43-43-1 O/U): DeRozan averaged just 13.3 points over the first four games of the series before his breakout game but backcourt mate Kyle Lowry still can't find the mark. Lowry, the All-Star point guard, went 3-for-11 in Game 5 to drop his series shooting percentage to 31.4 and he has shot below 40 percent in each of the five contests. Backup center Bismack Biyombo was a big-time standout in Game 5 with 10 points and 16 rebounds and he is averaging nine boards in the series.

ABOUT THE PACERS (47-40, 44-42-1 ATS, 38-49 O/U): George is averaging 28.8 points in the series after enjoying another superb game with 39 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Game 5 and was again trying to suppress frustration with some of his teammates. "I think our guys individually know, individually, that they have to bring it," George told reporters. "I'm not about putting guys down or putting teammates down, but individually everybody has to bring it." Shooting guard Monta Ellis is one guy Indiana could use a boost from as he has scored eight or fewer points in each of the past three games while shooting 9-of-26 from the field.

TRENDS:

* Raptors are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Pacers are 17-4 ATS in their last 21 games playing on 2 days rest.
* Under is 7-1 in Raptors last 8 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Under is 8-2 in Pacers last 10 home games.
* Underdog is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets (-1.5, 190.5)

Hornets lead series 3-2

The Charlotte Hornets have won three straight games and took full control of the their first-round series against the fourth-seeded Miami Heat by stealing a win on the road on Wednesday. The Hornets have a chance to close out the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals when they host the Heat in Game 6 on Friday.

Charlotte leaned on its backcourt to even the series in Game 4 with a combined 55 points from Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin but got only 25 points from the two in Game 5 while the frontcourt took control. Courtney Lee was having the worst night of the backcourt quartet before hitting the biggest shot of the game – a 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left that put the Hornets in front for good. "I was wide open so I just let it fly," Lee told reporters. "If I had to draw it up, I'll take shooting 1-for-8 before I knock down a big shot any day.” The Heat will leave Miami with the same feelings they had after leaving Charlotte following Game 4 as they question the refereeing but the NBA said Thursday that a non-foul on Dwyane Wade with 2.6 seconds left was the correct call.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Sun (Miami)

LINE HISTORY: The Hornets have won three games in a row to take the lead in this series against the Heat and they opened as one-point favorites - the line was bumped slightly to -1.5. The total opened at 192.5 and was dropped a full two points to 190.5. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE HEAT (50-37, 45-41-1 ATS, 36-50-1 O/U): Miami was dismayed by the whistles blown against them in Game 4 and subtly questioned the disparity in personal foul calls after the game but were more open about things after Game 5. Wade told reporters that he was fouled on the layup attempt that would have tied the game in the final seconds and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, took to Twitter to advocate for fining the refs. “It hurts losing at home,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra told reporters. “But welcome to the playoffs. The playoffs just started now. One team beat somebody on the road. Now it gets real. Now we just have to collect ourselves, as raw as it feels right now. We have 48 hours to regroup and get ready for a heck of a battle in Game 6.”

ABOUT THE HORNETS (51-36, 45-41-1 ATS, 42-43-2 O/U): Charlotte doesn’t know what it is going to get out of forward Marvin Williams from game-to-game in the playoffs, but he stepped up with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and three steals in Game 5. The Hornets changed up the lineup before Game 3 and pushed Al Jefferson into a starting role with fellow center Frank Kaminsky, leaving Williams to do damage on the wing against smaller defenders. Williams went scoreless in 37 minutes in Game 4 and was a combined 1-of-17 in the first two games of the series but put together solid performances in two of the last three to help support Walker, Lin and Lee.

TRENDS:

* Heat are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 road games.
* Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
* Under is 5-0 in Heat last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Over is 4-1 in Hornets last 5 Friday games.

Los Angeles Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers (-10, 198)

Trail Blazers lead series 3-2

The Los Angeles Clippers put together a strong effort without their injured superstars but in the end did not have enough to overcome the Portland Trail Blazers at home in Game 5. The Clippers will try to muster up enough to extend the series when they visit the Trail Blazers in a potential elimination Game 6 on Friday.

Los Angeles lost All-Star point guard Chris Paul (broken hand) and star forward Blake Griffin (quad) for the rest of the postseason in a Game 4 loss and could not find enough offense late to avoid a 108-98 loss at home in Game 5. “(The players) heard the same thing that (the media) said, you know, for 48 hours,” Doc Rivers said. “’Hard game, can they win?’ So, I liked the emotion, but they didn’t sustain it. Like, the pace we played at in the first half was terrific, we just couldn’t sustain the pace.” Portland weathered the early emotional storm from the Clippers and found its stride offensively in the second half, giving itself a chance to close out the series at home. “We want to close the series out,” guard C.J. McCollum told reporters. “We’ve got a unique opportunity here to play an elimination game at home, and we want to make sure we take full advantage of it.”

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), KGW (Portland)

LINE HISTORY: The Blazers opened as 10-point favorites at home in an elimination game and the line has yet to move. The total opened at 197.5 and has also been stationary. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (55-32, 42-42-3 ATS, 35-52 O/U): Future Hall of Famer and former NBA champion Paul Pierce started in place of Griffin and went scoreless in 10 minutes while Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford started in place of Paul in Game 5 and went 6-of-23 from the floor in 44 minutes. “I was a little winded,” Crawford told reporters. “But what can you do at this point? You have to find a way.” Austin Rivers moved into the starting lineup as well but it was J.J. Redick managing a team-high 19 points in the loss while Jeff Green came off the bench to add 17 points in 37 minutes.

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (47-40, 47-40 ATS, 45-42 O/U): Portland star guard Damian Lillard was 1-of-10 from the floor in the first three quarters on Wednesday before exploding for 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the final period to help put the game away. “I’ve always been able to put the first three quarters behind me and come up big when my team has needed it,” said Lillard. “All my teammates throughout the game, they just kept saying, ‘keep shooting, stay with it, stay aggressive, keep your mind right.’ I would have been doing that all along, but it felt good to have that encouragement and that support. … I just had to be patient.” Lillard finished with 22 points in the win while McCollum matched his series high with 27.

TRENDS:

* Clippers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss.
* Trail Blazers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games playing on 1 days rest.
* Under is 9-1 in Clippers last 10 games following a double-digit loss at home.
* Under is 6-1 in Trail Blazers last 7 overall.
* Under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.

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**Udog** · 04-29-2016, 08:38 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Friday, April 29

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MIAMI (50 - 37) at CHARLOTTE (51 - 36) - 4/29/2016, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MIAMI is 14-25 ATS (-13.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
CHARLOTTE is 15-7 ATS (+7.3 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHARLOTTE is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
MIAMI is 12-9 against the spread versus CHARLOTTE over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI is 14-7 straight up against CHARLOTTE over the last 3 seasons
12 of 21 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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TORONTO (59 - 28) at INDIANA (47 - 40) - 4/29/2016, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA is 204-150 ATS (+39.0 Units) on Friday nights since 1996.
INDIANA is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) when playing with 2 days rest this season.
INDIANA is 27-16 ATS (+9.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TORONTO is 72-48 ATS (+19.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is between 190 and 194.5 points since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 12-4 against the spread versus INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 11-5 straight up against INDIANA 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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LA CLIPPERS (55 - 32) at PORTLAND (47 - 40) - 4/29/2016, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LA CLIPPERS are 43-72 ATS (-36.2 Units) as a road underdog of 9.5 to 12 points since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 243-296 ATS (-82.6 Units) after allowing 105 points or more since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 211-263 ATS (-78.3 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 192-253 ATS (-86.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
PORTLAND is 13-2 ATS (+10.8 Units) in a home game where where the total is between 195 and 199.5 points over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 20-11 ATS (+7.9 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
PORTLAND is 9-7 against the spread versus LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS is 9-7 straight up against PORTLAND 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, April 29

Miami at Charlotte, 3:00 ET
Miami: 46-33 ATS after 1 or more consecutive losses
Charlotte: 73-101 ATS after covering 5 or 6 of their last 7

Toronto at Indiana, 8:00 ET
Toronto: 11-23 ATS after a game with 15 or less assists
Charlotte: 22-12 ATS after playing a game as an underdog

LA Clippers at Portland, 3:00 ET
Los Angeles: 4-13 ATS after failing to cover 3 of their last 4
Portland: 15-7 ATS after 2 games giving up 10 or less offensive rebounds

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, April 29

Indiana-Toronto (T 3-2)
Pacers blew 13-point 4th quarter lead in Game 5; George scored 39 points, but Indiana bench was putrid 6-23 from floor and was -41 in only 77:00 of play. Raptors won nine of last 12 games against Indiana, taking three of last five here (under 4-1). Toronto is 12-3 vs spread in last 15 series games- five of last seven stayed under total. Toronto shot 38.0/36.5% in two losses, 43.8/41.5/40.2% in three wins. Raptors won ten of last 14 games overall, they are 8-4 vs spread in their last 12 games.

Charlotte-Miami (C 3-2)
Charlotte held Miami to 84.3 ppg in winning last three games after Heat had taken 2-0 series lead, scoring 123-115 points. Miami lost three of last four visits here; over is 6-3 in last nine series games. Four Hornet subs who played in Game 5 had a combined +23 plus/minus- Charlotte starters were -13. Seven of nine Hornets who played last game scored between 8-17 points- very balanced. Miami lost four of its last five road games; Charlotte won its last four games at home.

Portland-LA Clippers (P 3-2)
Clippers are without Paul/Griffin for duration of this series; not having Paul is huge. LA lost three of last four visits here, five of last six games in series stayed under total. Trailblazers won ten of their last 14 games overall; eight of their last 11 games stayed under the total. Crawford was 6-23 from floor in Game 5; Rivers was -23 in 37:00, which means the Clippers were +13 in 11:00 with coach's son on the bench. LA scored 84-88 in losses here in series- they need road win to keep season alive.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 24-15, Over: 12-27

NBA

Friday, April 29

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Trend Report
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7:30 PM
MIAMI vs. CHARLOTTE
Miami is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Miami is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games when playing on the road against Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Charlotte's last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 5 games when playing at home against Miami

8:00 PM
TORONTO vs. INDIANA
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing Indiana
Toronto is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indiana's last 7 games
Indiana is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto

10:30 PM
LA CLIPPERS vs. PORTLAND
LA Clippers are 5-12 SU in their last 17 games when playing on the road against Portland
LA Clippers are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland's last 6 games when playing LA Clippers
Portland is 12-5 SU in their last 17 games when playing at home against LA Clippers

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**Udog** · 04-29-2016, 10:04 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Friday, April 29

Toronto @ Indiana

Game 711-712
April 29, 2016 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
121.066
Indiana
124.826
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Indiana
by 4
190
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Indiana
by 2
195
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(-2); Under

Miami @ Charlotte

Game 709-710
April 29, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Miami
120.664
Charlotte
125.675
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Charlotte
by 5
201
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Charlotte
by 1 1/2
190 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Charlotte
(-1 1/2); Over

LA Clippers @ Portland

Game 715-716
April 29, 2016 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
LA Clippers
120.949
Portland
127.449
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Portland
by 6 1/2
194
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Portland
by 10
198
Dunkel Pick:
LA Clippers
(+10); Under

**Udog** · 04-29-2016, 10:06 AM

Long sheet has updated.

Announcement

Friday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/29

Friday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/29

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