Announcement

**Udog** · 05-01-2016, 08:26 AM

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

-- SEC had the most players drafted (50) this week, followed by the Big 14 (48), Pac 12 (32) and ACC (26). 26 non-Division I players were also drafted.

-- Ohio State had most players (12) drafted, followed by Clemson (9).

-- 107 kids left school early for the draft; 30 of them were not drafted.

-- Florida State had only two players drafted; in the previous three drafts, they had 29 players selected.

-- Over last five years, Stanford had 24 kids drafted, most of any Pac-12 school.

-- Brian Hoyer signed on as a backup QB with the Chicago Bears.

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Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday......

13) Coaching is a tough profession. Anaheim Ducks fired Bruce Boudreau this weekend, despite his 208-104 record in five years with the Ducks. Lot of teams would sell their souls to win 2/3 of their games, but Anaheim wanted more.

Why did the Ducks pull the plug on Boudreau? Well, his playoff record is only 24-19 with Anaheim, 41-39 overall and it is winning the Stanley Cup that is expected when you have great success in the regular season.

12) One parallel from another sport that comes to mind is Chuck Knox in the NFL; he went 186-147-1 as an NFL head coach, but was only 7-11 in playoff games and does not get enough credit for how good a coach he was because of his playoff record.

11) This will sound hokey, but NFL teams value things like loyalty when it comes to drafting players. QB Vernon Adams bolted I-AA Eastern Washington before his senior year to play at Oregon, because he thought playing in the Pac-12 would help his draft status. Well the draft just happened and Adams wasn't drafted- he got hurt at Oregon, missed about half the season- not good.

Meanwhile, the second pick in the draft this weekend was Carson Wentz, who played at I-AA power North Dakota State- they won the national title. Had Adams stayed at Eastern Washington and played well, he might've been drafted this weekend.

10) Chiefs drafted Stanford QB Kevin Hogan; the last time KC won a game where their QB was a guy they drafted was 1987, when Todd Blackledge played QB.

9) Seattle Seahawks drafted three RBs; Marshawn Lynch will be tough to replace.

8) Chris Fallica points out on Twitter that Tennessee and North Carolina should be really good this fall; Vols won nine games LY, UNC won 11 games and neither team had a player drafted this weekend, so they've got lot of talent coming back.

7) Chicago White Sox are 17-8, 8-1 in games where winning run scores from the 7th inning on; Orioles are 14-9, 7-2 in games decided late.

6) Atlanta Braves moved both their prize shortstop prospects up a level this week, Ozzie Albies to AAA, Dansby Swanson to AA. With parent club floundering with a 5-18 record, promoting their prospects is only way to keep their fans' hopes up.

5) Yoenis Cespedes drove in six runs in third inning Friday night; last big leaguer to knock in 7+ runs in one inning is Alex rodriguez, who did that on October 4, 2009.

4) Milwaukee Brewers got a double leading off bottom of the first inning last night; the next hitter bunted the guy over to third. Why? Why in God's name would you make the first out of the game on purpose? You have your best hitters up, maybe the other pitcher is having an off night and you give him his first out? I disagree with that.

3) As for kids who leave college early and do not get invited to the NBA Combine, you damn well better go back to school and get better; lot of kids I've seen get invited to the Combine who have a minimal chance to make the league next year, so if you're not even invited to go there, thats all the info you need about your pro prospects.

2) Spurs 124, Thunder 92-- Am curious to see how the Thunder competes in Game 2, because they did not offer much resistence in this game.

1) Red Sox 8, Bronx 0-- How does Bronx GM Brian Cashman keep his job? Team he has put on the field this season is dreadful, an aging roster of overpaid players who are 8-14 right now and figure to get worse when the schedule gets heavier and their lack of starting pitching depth is further exposed.

Their Opening Day payroll? $225,997,792-- they're already on the hook for $103M in 2018, just for seven guys.

Phillies cut their payroll $58M from LY and are 14-10 with an $88M tab.

**Udog** · 05-01-2016, 08:42 AM

NBA

Sunday, May 1

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Sunday's NBA playoffs betting preview and odds
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The Raptors have not won a playoff series since 2001 and never a 7-game series. They're 5.5-point faves for Game 7 vs. the Pacers.

Sunday is chalk full of great NBA action with a pair of Game 7's in the East sandwiching the second West semi final. We break down all the action so you can cap the games like a pro.

Charlotte Hornets at Miami Heat (-6.5, 191)

Series tied 3-3

The Charlotte Hornets had a chance to close out the series at home but ran into a vintage performance from Dwyane Wade in Game 6. Now it’s the Miami Heat with a chance to clinch the best-of-7 series in front of their home fans, and they host the Hornets in the decisive Game 7 on Sunday.

Wade scored 10 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 97-90 triumph, including a pair of rare 3-pointers that helped seal the win. “I trust my teammates and I love them, but if we were going to lose, I was going out shooting it,” Wade told reporters. “At this point in my career, I play for these moments. ... It’s what makes you feel alive.” Kemba Walker tried to carry his team in the same manner and finished with 37 points on 14-of-30 shooting in the losing effort for the Hornets. “It’s always tough to lose, obviously,” Walker told reporters. “We made so many mistakes. We just have to be better. Of course I wish it had gone our way, but they just made great plays down the stretch, and they deserved to win.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ABC

LINE HISTORY: The Heat opened as 7-point home favorites for their winner-take-all Game 7 versus the Hornets. The line has been bet down to -6.5. The total has yet to move off the opening number of 191. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (51-37, 45-42-1 ATS, 42-44-1 O/U): Walker scored 14 of the team’s 20 points in the fourth quarter on Friday and could use a more consistent effort from the other perimeter players on the team. Small forward Marvin Williams and guards Courtney Lee, Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lin have shined at times in the series but combined to go 4-of-22 from the floor in Game 6, and Batum missed the second half with ankle and foot injuries that already forced him out of two games in the series. “I tried everything,” Batum told the Charlotte Observer. “I tried hard, but I can’t push side to side. I was hurting the team much more than I was helping the team. So I told coach, ‘if you need me in the second half, call me.’ But it’s tough.”

ABOUT THE HEAT (51-37, 46-41-1 ATS, 36-51-1 O/U): Wade is getting more of a boost from his teammates, and Loul Deng continued a strong series with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in Game 6. The veteran forward is averaging 19.7 points in the series (up from 12.3 in the regular season) while shooting 51.4 percent from 3-point range (up from 34.4). “The best thing about (Game 7) is we’re at home,” Deng told reporters. “We gave ourselves another chance to fight. We have to come out with a lot of energy. It’s going to be a great game. I’m glad we’re home.”

TRENDS:

* Heat are 8-1 ATS in their last nine home games.
* Hornets are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a SU loss.
* Under is 4-0 in the last four meetings.
* Over is 5-1 in Hornets last six road games.

Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors (-8.5, 209.5)

The Portland Trail Blazers benefited from some injury luck in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers and are hoping for some more when they visit the top-seeded Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday. Warriors MVP guard Stephen Curry (knee) will miss Game 1 and could miss several games in the series.

Curry was diagnosed with a grade 1 strain of his right MCL after falling awkwardly in Game 4 of the first round against the Houston Rockets on Apr. 24 and was given a timetable of two weeks before being evaluated again. “Feeling better but just got a ways to go," Curry told reporters on Friday. "I always have an optimistic view, no matter what it is. I hope to get back sooner. I haven't talked to the doctors, athletic training staff, all the experts. That two-week timeline was, as (Golden State general manager) Bob (Myers) says, an educated guess." The Trail Blazers certainly wouldn’t mind if he missed the whole series and just got done wrapping up a first-round win over a Clippers squad that was without stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin for the final two games. “We thought (Los Angeles) was tough without (Paul) and Blake, but (the Warriors are) a championship team,” Portland guard Damian Lillard told reporters. “Even without Steph, they’re still a championship team. We’ve got to keep our mind right, compete and play together. … We’ve just got to keep improving on the things we’ve done well and be locked in defensively.”

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened Game 1 as 7.5-point home favorites and even without Steph Curry bettors have felt that wasn't enough with the line already moving to -8.5. The total has been bet down a point and a half from 211 to 209.5. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (48-40, 47-41 ATS, 46-42 O/U): Portland lost the first two games in the first round before winning four straight and were immediately turning the page to Golden State after clinching the series on Friday. “They pose a lot of problems,” Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum told reporters of the Warriors. “Historically speaking, they had a really good year breaking the record for wins, losing (two games) at home I believe this year, so you know it’s going to be a tough environment. Offensively, even without Steph, they do a great job of moving the ball.” McCollum was a key to the first-round win, averaging 12.5 points in Games 1 and 2 before exploding for 23.3 over the final four contests.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (77-10, 49-36-2 ATS, 46-40-1 O/U): Golden State dominated the Houston Rockets in the final six quarters of the first-round series after watching Curry go down just before the half in Game 4, outscoring them 179-119 over the final 1 1/2 games. “(We’re) doing a few things different with Steph out,” Warriors forward Andre Iguodala told reporters. “We don’t have that explosive, MVP-type player. But we did a really good job of getting into that mode, making a couple extra passes per possession. The ball had to move quicker. Klay (Thompson) has to move a little bit more than normal. Get the ball in the post a little bit more.” Golden State has two more All-Stars in Thompson and Draymond Green to go along with a solid supporting cast that will hold the fort until Curry returns.

TRENDS:

* Favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings.
* Warriors are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games.
* Over is 6-0 in the last six meetings.
* Under is 6-0 in Trail Blazers last six games following a ATS loss.

Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors (-5.5, 190.5)

Series tied 3-3

All the pressure is on the second-seeded Toronto Raptors when they host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday in the finale of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference first-round series. Toronto hasn't won a postseason series since 2001 - the longest drought in the NBA - and is being severely tested by a seventh-seed team that won 11 fewer regular-season games.

Indiana remained alive with a solid 101-83 victory in Game 6 to even the series and Raptors All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan doesn't need to be reminded what a Game 7 home loss will mean. "The season would be a failure if we don't get out of the first round and give ourselves a chance to play in the second round," DeRozan told reporters. "We understand that." DeRozan scored just eight points on Friday for the second time in three games and the shaky performances from him and point guard Kyle Lowry - the first player to shoot below 40 percent in each of the first six games of the postseason - have the Pacers on the brink of pulling off the improbable series victory. "I believe we can play with this team," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said after Game 6. "We have great respect for them, but I really believe we're hitting our stride at the right time and playing our best basketball of the season when it matters."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, Sportsnet (Toronto)

LINE HISTORY: The Raptors opened as 6.5-point home favorites for this winner-take-all Game 7, but bettors are siding with history and the Pacers as the number has moved down to -5.5. The total opened at 190.5 and has yet to move that number. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE PACERS (48-40, 45-41-1 ATS, 38-50 O/U): All five Indiana starters scored 12 or more points in Game 6 as the team gave All-Star forward Paul George some much-needed support. George has been carrying the team by averaging 27.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals in the series and he had 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in Friday's victory. "We just had a fight in us," George told reporters. "As a group, collectively, we knew that this could be the end of our season. We just did a great job of battling."

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (59-29, 47-41 ATS, 43-44-1 O/U): DeRozan is averaging 15.8 points and shooting 32.1 percent from the field, while Lowry is faring even worse at 14.3 points and 31 percent. Forward Patrick Patterson, who is shooting 31 percent over the past four games after starting off the series by making 9-of-11 shots, said the Raptors need to take a long at themselves in the mirror. "Do we want to be the team that won 56 games? Do we want to be the team that got two All-Stars to the All-Star Game, set new records, went on long winning streaks and played great defense in the first half of the season?" Patterson rhetorically asked reporters. "Or do we want to be the team that has come into Indiana the past two times and got blown out of the water? We have to decide what we want to be."

TRENDS:

* Pacers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a ATS win.
* Raptors are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a SU loss.
* Under is 6-1 in Raptors last seven overall.
* Under is 7-1 in Pacers last eight overall.

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**Udog** · 05-01-2016, 08:54 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Sunday, May 1

Charlotte @ Miami

Game 727-728
May 1, 2016 @ 1:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Charlotte
120.340
Miami
124.999
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Miami
by 4 1/2
187
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Miami
by 6 1/2
191
Dunkel Pick:
Charlotte
(+6 1/2); Under

Indiana @ Toronto

Game 725-726
May 1, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
123.258
Toronto
122.334
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Indiana
by 1
201
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
by 6
189
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+6); Over

Portland @ Golden State

Game 505-506
May 1, 2016 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Portland
123.689
Golden State
136.246
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Golden State
by 12 1/2
205
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Golden State
by 8 1/2
209 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Golden State
(-8 1/2); Under

NBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, May 1

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PORTLAND (48 - 40) at GOLDEN STATE (77 - 10) - 5/1/2016, 3:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 48-36 ATS (+8.4 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 45-35 ATS (+6.5 Units) as a favorite this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 55-38 ATS (+13.2 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 58-40 ATS (+14.0 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 55-38 ATS (+13.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 30-16 ATS (+12.4 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 37-24 ATS (+10.6 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 63-43 ATS (+15.7 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 71-100 ATS (-39.0 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
GOLDEN STATE is 8-3 against the spread versus PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 8-3 straight up against PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
9 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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INDIANA (48 - 40) at TORONTO (59 - 29) - 5/1/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TORONTO is 16-7 ATS (+8.3 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
INDIANA is 28-16 ATS (+10.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
INDIANA is 36-27 ATS (+6.3 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 12-5 against the spread versus INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 11-6 straight up against INDIANA 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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CHARLOTTE (51 - 37) at MIAMI (51 - 37) - 5/1/2016, 1:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MIAMI is 18-8 ATS (+9.2 Units) on Sunday games over the last 2 seasons.
MIAMI is 25-16 ATS (+7.4 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
MIAMI is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
MIAMI is 13-5 ATS (+7.5 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
CHARLOTTE is 40-25 ATS (+12.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MIAMI is 13-9 against the spread versus CHARLOTTE over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI is 15-7 straight up against CHARLOTTE over the last 3 seasons
12 of 22 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, May 1

Indiana-Toronto (3-3)
Raptors are 9-4 in last 13 games against Indiana, they shot 40% from floor in three series wins, under 40% in three losses. Toronto is 12-4 vs spread in last 16 series games- seven of last nine series games stayed under total. Lowry/DeRozan were combined 7-27 in Game 6; they've won/covered four of last five games vs Indiana that were played here. Indiana blew a 13-point 4th-quarter lead in last game here.

Charlotte-Miami (3-3)
Charlotte lost chance to clinch series at home in Game 6, now return to South Beach, where they're 2-3 in last five visits, 1-2 in this series. Heat scored 97+ points in its three series wins, 88 or less in its three losses. Last four series games stayed under the total. After having great balance in Game 5 upset win, Walker took 30 shots in Game 6 and Hornets had only two starters score more than 7 points, while bench was combined -36 in 59:00 played.

Portland-Golden State (0-0)
Remember, no Steph Curry here. Warriors won six of last seven against Portland, covered eight of last ten Trailblazers are 0-4 vs spread last four times they came to Oakland. Portland got here ebcause Paul/Griffin got hurt for the Clippers, now Curry is out; Blazers are 7-3 in last 10 games, with six of last eight staying under the total. Golden State won seven of last nine games, covered six of last seven- under is 6-2 in their last eight.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 25-17, Over: 13-29
Second round: Favorites: 1-0, over: 1-0

NBA

Sunday, May 1

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Trend Report
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1:00 PM
CHARLOTTE vs. MIAMI
Charlotte is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games when playing Miami
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Charlotte's last 11 games when playing on the road against Miami
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Miami's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Miami's last 11 games when playing at home against Charlotte

3:30 PM
PORTLAND vs. GOLDEN STATE
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Portland's last 7 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Portland is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Golden State's last 5 games when playing Portland

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Announcement

Sunday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/1

Sunday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/1

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