Announcement

**Udog** · 05-02-2016, 08:25 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Westgate Sportsbook listed spreads for some late season NFL games:

-- Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (-7.5)-- Christmas night in Steel City.

-- Denver @ Kansas City (-3)-- Nightcap of Christmas twinbill,

-- Detroit @ Dallas (-6)-- Monday Night Football night after Christmas.

-- Green Bay (-3) @ Detroit-- Pack won here on a Hail Mary LY.

-- Bears @ Vikings (-5)-- Fans will be glad for the domed stadium here.

-- Raiders @ Broncos (-4)-- Mark Sanchez started 10 games (4-6) last 3 years.

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Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend......

13) Why is someone who never played baseball an analyst on Sunday Night Baseball? It is a fair question, but in this politically correct era, no one has the onions to address it.

12) In ten quarters since Steph Curry hurt his knee, the Warriors are +72.

11) Dodgers 1, Padres 0-- Clayton Kershaw pitched a complete game, knocked in the only run; last pitcher to win a 1-0 complete game and knick in the only run was Mat Latos, six years ago.

10) Six sons of former NFL players were drafted by NFL teams this week.

9) Minor league baseball is a good investment; Saturday night, they drew 7,079 fans for a Hartford-Richmond Eastern League game in Virginia.

8) DeSean Murray, who led Big South in scoring this past year, bolted on his friends/teammates and will now play at Auburn. Poaching mid-major stars is how some high-major teams replenish their rosters now.

7) Graduate transfer John Gillon bolts from Colorado State to Syracuse; he will be only the third scholarship guard on Syracuse's roster heading into next season- not a deep team at all.

6) Northern Colorado named Boise assistant Jeff Linder as its new basketball coach, making Delaware the only team that hasn't got a coach-- Blue Hens aren't going to name a coach until they hire a new AD, and they haven't even done that yet. Good luck to the poor soul who gets that job; he's a year behind already and he hasn't got the job yet.

5) Greedy bastard update: Apparently the new rule is that gas prices go up 10 cents a gallon on the first of each month, second month in row it happened here. Gas is $2.49 a gallon at Fuller/Central in beautiful downtown Colonie.

4) Flipped on the NASCAR race Sunday and about 90 seconds later, the #20 car flips, goes on its head while going really fast. Scary stuff, but I'm told as long as the car is moving, the driver is fairly safe- it is when car comes to a quick, sudden stop that the driver could be in jeopardy.

3) Royals 4, Mariners 1-- World champs snap a 7-game road losing skid.

2) Why are the Toronto Raptors' uniforms so plain? They used to have great uniforms with the cartoon raptor on it. These uniforms are plain ugly.

1) Last year, Milwaukee Brewers hired a 30-year old to run their franchise; because he went to an Ivy League school and worked for an Astros team that had suddenly become a contender. Last winter, the new GM traded 28-year old Khris Davis, who hit 49 homers the last two years, for two minor leaguers, one of whom is Jacob Nottingham, a catching prospect who the new GM made sound like the next Johnny Bench.

Problem is, Nottingham is hitting .159 in the AA Southern League; Davis is hitting 5th for a 13-13 Oakland team that is better than expected. Second guy the Brewers got is still pitching in A ball. But hey, the GM went to Harvard; he must be smarter than the rest of us, right?

**Udog** · 05-02-2016, 08:39 AM

NBA

Monday, May 2

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Monday's NBA playoffs betting preview and odds
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The San Antonio Spurs annihilated Oklahoma City in the series opener and attempt to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals when they host the Thunder on Monday.

Monday's NBA Playoffs action is shaping up to be fantastic with the opener between the Hawks and Cavs and Game 2 between the Thunder and Spurs. We break down all the action so you can cap the games like a pro.

Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers (-7.5, 200.5)

Series tied 0-0

The Atlanta Hawks were no match for Cleveland during last season's Eastern Conference finals and attempt to put up a better fight this time around when they meet the Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. The quest begins Monday in Cleveland and the Hawks certainly haven't forgotten that they were swept last season and suffered a 30-point shellacking in the final game of the series.

Forward LeBron James operated at will in the conference finals by averaging 30.3 points, 11 rebounds and 9.3 assists. James continued his dominance of the Hawks this season with averages of 27.3 points, 11 rebounds and 7.8 assists in three games - all won by Cleveland - but isn't expecting another cakewalk. "Nothing is easy in the postseason," James told reporters. "There's too much work, both on the floor and mentally that you have to do to prepare for a playoff series understanding how the competition is going to be at its highest level. Easy should never even come into play when you're talking about playoff basketball or basketball in general at this level." The Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in the opening round while Atlanta ousted the Boston Celtics in a six-game series.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Cavaliers opened as eight-point favorites in the opening game of their second round playoff series - the line dropped to -7.5 as bettors put their initial support behind the Hawks. The total opened at 200 and went up as high as 201.5 before settling down at 200.5 on Sunday evening. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (52-36, 45-42-1 ATS, 39-49 O/U): Small forward Kent Bazemore will be under the microscope after averaging 14 points and seven rebounds in the series against Boston as he will draw the defensive assignment of slowing down James. Bazemore hasn't been shy about criticizing James in the past and is one of the Atlanta players who has a chip on his shoulders due to last season's playoff beat down. "You got to amp yourself up and you can't go in humble, I guess," Bazemore told reporters. "You got to make yourself angry and do whatever you got to do to accept that challenge, because he is a freight train and brings it and comes with everything he has, so you have to do the same to hang in there."

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (61-25, 39-44-3 ATS, 43-43 O/U): Point guard Kyrie Irving was superb during the sweep of the Pistons and topped 30 points twice while averaging 27.5 for the series. Irving knocked down the big shots as he continues to show that someday he will be the team's undisputed closer instead of sharing the role with James. "At the end of the day we have two of the best closers in the game playing on one team," Irving told reporters. "You have a 6-8 monster who can penetrate and get anywhere he wants on the floor, and then myself having that confidence in those situations. Regardless of who the play is drawn up for, that's up to (coach Tyronn Lue)."

TRENDS:

* Hawks are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Cavaliers are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 Conference Semifinals games.
* Under is 6-0 in Hawks last 6 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Over is 8-2 in Cavaliers last 10 vs. NBA Southeast.
* Over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Cleveland.

Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs (-7.5, 202.5)

Spurs lead series 1-0

The San Antonio Spurs annihilated Oklahoma City in the series opener and attempt to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals when they host the Thunder on Monday. San Antonio held a 23-point lead after the opening quarter of Game 1 and All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge had a huge game with 38 points as the Spurs blitzed the Thunder from the outset.

San Antonio led 73-40 at halftime while establishing supremacy over the Thunder but shooting guard Danny Green isn't expecting things to be so easy in Game 2. "We know that they're going to come out super-aggressive next game, they're gonna make adjustments, and we're not gonna shoot as well as we did," Green told reporters. "It’s one game. It’s not a momentum thing. Each game is different. Every game is its own playoff series. So it's not like it's going to carry over to next game." Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant (16 points on 6-of-15 shooting) and Russell Westbrook (14 points, 5-of-19) both had woeful games as Spurs' two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard took turns defending each player. "Me personally, I never look at the guy in front of me," Westbrook told reporters. "I look at the help to see what's the next move. Not a big problem, just got to find ways to read the help a little bit better and make better decisions."

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Spurs opened as seven-point favorites and the books were forced to bump them up to -7.5. The total opened at 202.5 and has yet to move. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (59-29, 40-47-1 ATS, 43-45 O/U): Durant has scored less than 20 points in two of Oklahoma City's six playoff games and wasn't the least bit interested to share his feelings after the horrendous loss. "I'm not telling you," Durant said in a response to a question about his emotions. "Because it's over with. Move on. We just move past it and figure out what we have to do better. No crazy emotions. It's not like we were upset and screaming at each other in the locker room after the game. That's not going to make things better." Westbrook's 14 points and 26.3 field-goal percentage were his lowest figures in six games this postseason.

ABOUT THE SPURS (72-15, 48-39 ATS, 37-48-2 O/U): Aldridge was a force by going 18-of-23 from the field and even knocked down a 3-point basket for the first time this season. "It was just one of those nights," Aldridge told reporters. "I can't take credit for it. I was just trying to play confident and ended up making some plays that I probably won't make the next game. It was enough for me." Leonard also shot superbly by making 10-of-13 from the field - the Spurs shot 60.7 percent as a team - and scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half.

TRENDS:

* Thunder are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Spurs are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 7-1 in Thunder last 8 road games.
* Thunder are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

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**Udog** · 05-02-2016, 08:46 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Monday, May 2

Atlanta @ Cleveland

Game 503-504
May 2, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
117.547
Cleveland
127.693
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland
by 10
205
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Cleveland
by 7 1/2
200 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Cleveland
(-7 1/2); Over

Oklahoma City @ San Antonio

Game 509-510
May 2, 2016 @ 9:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Oklahoma City
122.726
San Antonio
132.345
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 9 1/2
207
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Antonio
by 7 1/2
202 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
San Antonio
(-7 1/2); Over

NBA
Long Sheet

Monday, May 2

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ATLANTA (52 - 36) at CLEVELAND (61 - 25) - 5/2/2016, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 17-35 ATS (-21.5 Units) in road games in all playoff games since 1996.
ATLANTA is 7-21 ATS (-16.1 Units) in the second round of the playoffs since 1996.
CLEVELAND is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games against Southeast division opponents this season.
ATLANTA is 100-82 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 39-24 ATS (+12.6 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 57-37 ATS (+16.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 33-43 ATS (-14.3 Units) as a favorite this season.
CLEVELAND is 9-19 ATS (-11.9 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
CLEVELAND is 8-6 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
CLEVELAND is 8-6 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
10 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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OKLAHOMA CITY (59 - 29) at SAN ANTONIO (72 - 15) - 5/2/2016, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 38-47 ATS (-13.7 Units) in all games this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 33-49 ATS (-20.9 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 12-21 ATS (-11.1 Units) after allowing 105 points or more this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 25-34 ATS (-12.4 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 48-39 ATS (+5.1 Units) in all games this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 47-34 ATS (+9.6 Units) as a favorite this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 142-106 ATS (+25.4 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 487-402 ATS (+44.8 Units) in home games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 77-49 ATS (+23.1 Units) in home games in all playoff games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 198-151 ATS (+31.9 Units) in home games after a win by 10 points or more since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 285-230 ATS (+32.0 Units) after scoring 105 points or more since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 271-223 ATS (+25.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 172-124 ATS (+35.6 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 71-54 ATS (+11.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 129-97 ATS (+22.3 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 154-114 ATS (+28.6 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 11-7 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 9-9 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
10 of 18 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, May 2

Atlanta-Cleveland (0-0)
Cavaliers haven't played in eight days, Atlanta in four days. Cleveland won its last seven games (6-1 vs spread) vs Hawks, covered three of last four played here. Four of last five series games went over. Atlanta lost four of last five road games, with win coming Thursday in Game 6 over the Celtics. Cleveland swept the Pistons 4-0; they're 3-2 vs spread last five home games, with three of those five going over the total.

Oklahoma City-San Antonio (SA 1-0)
In Game 1, Leonard/Aldridge combined to make 28-36 from floor in easy win that Spurs led 73-40 at half. San Antonio won seven of its last ten games with Oklahoma City, winning last four played here, by 4-8-39-32 points. Four of last six series games stayed under the total. Spurs won last seven games overall, covering five of their last six. Westbrook missed 14 of 19 shots Saturday; Thunder was 6-23 on arc in an ugly loss.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 2-0, over: 2-0

NBA

Monday, May 2

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
ATLANTA vs. CLEVELAND
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Atlanta is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Cleveland is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland's last 7 games when playing at home against Atlanta

9:30 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY vs. SAN ANTONIO
Oklahoma City is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing San Antonio
Oklahoma City is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games
San Antonio is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Oklahoma City
San Antonio is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City

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Announcement

Monday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/2

Monday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/2

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