Announcement

**Udog** · 04-30-2016, 08:22 AM

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

-- Luke Walton is the new coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

-- Portland 106, Clippers 103-- Blazers move on to face Golden State next.

-- Washington Redskins started 11 different defensive backs LY, most in NFL.

-- 10 of the first 94 players drafted this week played ball at Ohio State.

-- In 1979, the Kansas City Royals drafted Dan Marino in the 5th round, John Elway in the 18th round; if only the Chiefs could draft so well.

-- Skip Bayless is getting $5.5M a year for four years from FS1, with a $4M bonus to sign. What a country.

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

13) Four quarterbacks drafted in rounds 2-3 won Super Bowls with the team that drafted them: Stabler-Wilson-Hostetler-Montana.

12) 22 defensive players were taken in the second round last night, a record.

11) Bill O'Brien coached Penn State rookie QB Christian Hackenberg for a year before he bolted to coach in the NFL; if O'Brien's Texans didn't want him, why should any other NFL team draft him? Friend of mine who is an expert on the quarterback position doesn't like Hackenberg at all.

10) Michigan State QB Connor Cook went 34-5 as a starter for the Spartans, but he wasn't elected as a captain by his teammates senior year, which has become a thing, as far as Cook being drafted by the NFL.

He wasn't taken n the first three round of the draft, while NC State's Jacoby Brissett and USC's Cody Kessler were both drafted Friday night, and neither is considered as good a player as Cook. .

If you read between the lines during the draft broadcasts on TV, not being a captain is somehow an indictment of Cook, but no one will say exactly what it is/was that made teammates not vote for him as a captain.

9) One good thing about the three-day NFL Draft; lot more trades the second day, as teams reconsider their positions after the first round.

8) I saw Urban Meyer smile last night!!! He is a smart guy, a great coach, but when he was doing college games on ESPN I actually felt bad for him because he seemed so completely humorless. He was on the NFL Network last night during the draft and was good.

7) Scheduling oddity; Baltimore Ravens play the Giants in Swamp Stadium in Week 6, then return to Jersey the next week and play the Jets in Week 7.

6) Watching Braves-Cubs yesterday, Atlanta announcer Joe Simpson was just killing umpire CB Bucknor, who is widely regarded as the worst umpire in the major leagues. I've always read that Bucknor is (relatively) better behind the plate than on the bases, but Simpson was shredding his mechanics of setting ip to call a pitch. Bucknor's been around for a while; he's not going anywhere.

5) UNLV had a horrific basketball season this year; the players/coaches have scattered quickly in many different directions since.

-- Only four players from last year's team will be back next year.
-- Former head coach Dave Rice is now an assistant at Nevada.
-- Forner interim coach Todd Simon is now head coach at Southern Utah.
-- Former assistant coach Ryan Miller is now an assistant at TCU.
-- Forner assistant Max Good is now head coach at Pratt CC in Kansas.
-- Chris Beard was the head coach for 6-7 days this spring, but quickly bolted for Texas Tech after Tubby Smith went to Memphis.

4) Sam Bradford wants the Eagles to trade him, but not to the 49ers; sounds like he and Chip Kelly didn't get along so well.

3) Tampa Bay Buccaneera traded up to draft a kicker in the second round; Florida State's Roberto Aguayo (pick #50), the highest-drafted kicker since the Jets took Mike Nugent with the 47th pick in 2005.

2) You have to root for former Arkansas QB Brandon Allen; kid had his car egged by miserable Arkansas fans after a loss few years ago, then someone torched his truck the next year, and that was before the season started. Allen hasn't been drafted yet; we wish him well in the pros, where fans might not take things as seriously as fans in the SEC take their college ball.

1) Baltimore Ravens have five 4th-round draft picks today. Five.

**Udog** · 04-30-2016, 08:29 AM

NBA

Saturday, April 30

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NBA playoffs betting preview and odds: Thunder at Spurs
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The Spurs open as 6-point home faves over the Thunder in Game 1 of the marquee series of the second round.

Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs (-6, 200.5)

The matchup between All-Star forwards Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City and Kawhi Leonard of San Antonio has the potential to be the series-deciding element as the Thunder and Spurs collide in the Western Conference semifinals. The teams open the series on Saturday in San Antonio and Leonard, the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, will be assigned to slow down and frustrate Durant.

Durant averaged 26 points as Oklahoma City defeated Dallas in five games in the opening round but his shooting was subpar at 36.8 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from 3-point range. Leonard averaged fewer points (21.5) during San Antonio's first-round sweep of Dallas but he shot 52.7 percent from the field - including a torrid 61.1 from 3-point range - while contributing 2.8 blocked shots and 2.8 steals. "He's grown so much," Durant told reporters of Leonard. "He's probably the best in the league at shooting the mid-range off the dribble. Can post up, dribble, shoot the 3, catch and shoot. Their team, their system, their continuity and how they move allows him to get free a lot of times and utilize his game." This will be the third time in five seasons that the teams have met in the playoffs - the Thunder won in six games in 2012 to reach the NBA Finals and the Spurs' six-game series victory in 2014 also advanced them to the NBA Finals.

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

LINE HISTORY: The Spurs opened Game 1 as 6-point home favorites over the Thunder, were shortly bet up to -6.5, but have since moved back to the opening number. The total meanwhile, has seen considerable movement. It has been bet down two and a half points from 203 to the current number of 200.5. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (59-28, 40-46-1 ATS, 42-45 O/U): Oklahoma City's four victories in the Dallas series were by an average of 23 points and point guard Russell Westbrook was in top form with five double-doubles - three points-assists and two points-rebounds - while averaging 26 points, 11.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds. "He's got a lot of energy, he's super aggressive and obviously one of the best point guards in the league," Spurs point guard Tony Parker told reporters. "It's just fun to play against him. He brings a lot of excitement to the game. It's always a great matchup." The Thunder would like to see more consistency from backup center Enes Kanter, who had outings of 28 and 21 points against Dallas and scored six or fewer points in two others.

ABOUT THE SPURS (71-15, 47-39 ATS, 36-48-2 O/U): San Antonio won its games against Memphis by an average of 22 points and looked well-oiled with three of the four victories occurring by more than 20 points. Leonard and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (14.5 average against the Grizzlies) are the offensive mainstays and old playoff stalwarts like center Tim Duncan, shooting guard Manu Ginobili and Parker have accepted lesser roles. "You've got to play both ends of the floor a little differently because he's an All-Star player," Durant said of Aldridge. "He's a guy that can shoot over any shoulder, he can shoot from range, he can roll to the rim, so it's a different dynamic when you play a guy like that, and that's when you've got to be locked in and ready for anything."

TRENDS:

* Thunder are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.
* Spurs are 0-6 ATS in their last six versus Northwest Division opponents.
* Under is 4-0 in Spurs last four home games.
* Under is 4-1 in the last five meetings.

CONSENSUS: The early consensus has 54 percent of bettors backing the home side Spurs. When it comes to the total, 65 percent of wagers are on the over.

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**Udog** · 04-30-2016, 08:29 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, April 30

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OKLAHOMA CITY (59 - 28) at SAN ANTONIO (71 - 15) - 4/30/2016, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 38-46 ATS (-12.6 Units) in all games this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 33-48 ATS (-19.8 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 24-33 ATS (-12.3 Units) after scoring 105 points or more this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 47-39 ATS (+4.1 Units) in all games this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 46-34 ATS (+8.6 Units) as a favorite this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 141-106 ATS (+24.4 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 486-402 ATS (+43.8 Units) in home games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 76-49 ATS (+22.1 Units) in home games in all playoff games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 197-151 ATS (+30.9 Units) in home games after a win by 10 points or more since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 284-230 ATS (+31.0 Units) after scoring 105 points or more since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 270-223 ATS (+24.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 171-124 ATS (+34.6 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 70-54 ATS (+10.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 154-113 ATS (+29.7 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 11-6 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
OKLAHOMA CITY is 9-8 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
10 of 17 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Short Sheet

Saturday, April 30

Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 9:35 ET
Oklahoma City: 3-13 ATS on road after playing 5 consecutive games as favorite
San Antonio: 41-33 ATS after playing 2 consecutive games as favorite

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, April 30

San Antonio won six of last nine games with Oklahoma City, winning last three played here, by 4-8-39 points. Four of last five series games stayed under the total. Thunder beat Dallas in five games, scoring 116.0 ppg in winning last three games- they had lost last three road games in a row but won swept pair at Dallas. Spurs won last six games, sweeping a depleted Memphis squad four straight, with 96-87 closest of the four.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 25-17, Over: 13-29

NBA

Saturday, April 30

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

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**Udog** · 04-30-2016, 09:54 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Saturday, April 30

Oklahoma City @ San Antonio

Game 501-502
April 30, 2016 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Oklahoma City
120.968
San Antonio
130.003
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 9
195
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Antonio
by 6 1/2
201
Dunkel Pick:
San Antonio
(-6 1/2); Under

Announcement

Saturday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/30

Saturday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/30

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