Announcement

**Udog** · 05-04-2016, 08:26 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

-- MLB may move may 30-31 Pirates-Marlins series out of Puerto Rico due to the concerns over the Zika virus.

-- PG Spike Albrecht transfers from Michigan to Purdue, second year in row one of the Wolverines transferred to a Big 14 rival.

-- Texas led 1-0 in 9th inning at Toronto, but Justin Smoak homered in 9th inning, then won game with walk-off homer in 10th-- that doesn't happen very much.

-- Blue Jays were fifth bullpen in last 100 years to start a season 0-9; they got their first win last night.

-- Brooks Robinson holds MLB record, with 10 RBIs in games that ended 1-0. Ted Williams had nine.

-- NFL players are being warned about consuming meat produced in China, Mexico that potentially contains clenbuterol, which is banned under NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy.

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

13) Three officials missed five calls in the last 0:13 of Thunder-Spurs game Monday in San Antonio- those refs need to be suspended. I mean, you can watch a winter of 5th grade CYO games and not see officiating that bad- NBA fans like to brag how he pro game is better than the college game, but the college game is better officiated.

12) Tampa Bay Bucs traded up to draft Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo; one NFL exec called it, "the dumbest draft pick ever", but with touchbacks now being brought out to the 25-yard line, Aguayo's skill at pooching kickoffs could help Bucs trap opponents deep in their own territory. We'll see.

11) States with most players drafted last weekend: Texas 32, Florida 30, California 25, Georgia 16.

10) Dodgers are playing in St Pete against the Rays this week; LA has three players who were on the 2008 AL champ Rays-- Kazmir, Crawford, Howell. Tampa Bay has only one player left from that team, Evan Longoria.

9) Washington Nationals have scored in first inning in 15 of their 26 games, best %age of any big league team.

8) Last December 12, Astros traded Vincent Velasquez and four other players to the Phillies for reliever Ken Giles and a minor leaguer. Velasquez is 4-1, 1.44 for the Phils so far, while Giles is struggling (0-2, 8.18). Early returns favor the Phils by a lot.

7) I don't think felons should be allowed to vote; its a price you pay for getting caught committing a felony, which is a serious crime.

6) Prior to Tuesday's games, these players have come to the plate with the most men on base this season: Polanco (Pitt) 94, Rizzo (Cubs) 88, Heyward (Cubs) 86.

5) Players who knocked in the highest %age of baserunners this season:
Nick Markakis, 33.9%, Ben Paulsen/Bryce Harper 30%, Ryan Braun 27.8%.

4) Players who have had trouble knocking in baserunners this year:
Howie Kendrick 0-34, Logan Morrison, 0-26, Erick Aybar 1-61. Kendrick had four hits Tuesday, getting off the schneid with two RBI.

3) Former UNLV hoop coach Dave Rice is getting paid $300K a year over the next three years by his old team, which is why he signed on as an assistant coach at Nevada for only $75K. Coaches of Rice's stature generally make more than that.

2) Golfer Brian Stuard won his first PGA tournamnt in New Orleans Monday; for the week, he was 44-44 on putts of 10 feet or less. I couldn't make 44 of 44 putting into the clown's mouth at miniature golf, so good for him.

1) One of the growing debates in baseball is whether teams should shift and how much. I'm thinking it is generally helpful but it is being overdone because the numbers gurus have to justify their existence. With bases empty and a non-home run hitter up, you're giving up an easy base hit by shifting. Trey Calhoun did that against the Brewers in a game Monday, bunting for an easy hit because Milwaukee shifted. Shifting against home run hitters has very little downside.

**Udog** · 05-04-2016, 08:29 AM

NBA

Wednesday, May 4

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Wednesday's NBA playoffs betting preview and odds: Hawks at Cavaliers
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The Atlanta Hawks battled hard in Game 1 but came up a little bit short in a 104-93 victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The lone game on the NBA schedule for Wednesday features the Atlanta Hawks attempting to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. We break down all the action so you can cap the game like a pro.

Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers (-7, 198)

Cavaliers lead 1-0

The Cleveland Cavaliers keep knocking off Atlanta in the postseason and look to do it for the 10th consecutive time when they host the Hawks in Wednesday's Game 2. Cleveland continued its playoff mastery of Atlanta with a 104-93 series-opening victory on Monday as it held the Hawks to 37.9 percent shooting from the field.

The Cavaliers let an 18-point third-quarter lead get away in Game 1 but outclassed Atlanta down the stretch to deal the Hawks another loss. "They're a great team," Atlanta shooting guard Kyle Korver told reporters. "They beat a lot of people. It's not just us. Are we getting closer to getting over the hump? I don't know. ... We definitely got to get that win first." Cleveland drained 15 3-point baskets and received a stellar all-around effort from forward LeBron James, who had 25 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals. "We played an OK game," James told reporters. "I don't think we played to our standards. The first game is always kind of a feel-out."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Cavaliers opened at 7.5-point favorites at home for Game 2. By Tuesday morning the public, somewhat surprisingly, bet the Hawks enough to force the books to drop the line to -7. The total opened at 199 and came down a half point to 198.5. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (52-37, 45-43-1 ATS, 39-50 O/U): Backup point guard Dennis Schroder was superb with a playoff career-best 27 points in Game 1, and he made five of Atlanta's 11 3-pointers. His play helped the Hawks make the second-half charge on a night in which starting guards Jeff Teague (eight points on 2-of-9 shooting) and Kyle Korver (three points, 0-of-1 shooting) were highly unproductive. "I think we can play better," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. "Obviously, Dennis had a great game for us but overall, the whole group, we can play better. Defensively, we had some possessions where we gave ourselves a chance and we just couldn’t come up with a couple of rebounds late when it was tied (at 86)."

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (62-25, 40-44-3 ATS, 43-44 O/U): Power forward Kevin Love had 17 points and 11 rebounds while struggling through a 4-of-17 shooting performance in the opener. He also appeared to tweak his right shoulder late in the contest - it was his left shoulder that he dislocated in last season's playoffs - but insisted the injury was minor. "I’m fine. I was telling (general manager David Griffin) after the game I can't catch a break with that shoulder, but I'm fine," Love told reporters. "It was just one of those plays. You've always got to watch it when you pump-fake at that 3-point line on a jump shot. You can take a hit, but I feel good."

TRENDS:

* Hawks are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Cavaliers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. NBA Southeast.
* Under is 7-0 in Hawks last 7 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Over is 7-2 in Cavaliers last 9 Wednesday games.
* Hawks are 0-5 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

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**Udog** · 05-04-2016, 08:31 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Wednesday, May 4

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ATLANTA (52 - 37) at CLEVELAND (62 - 25) - 5/4/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 17-36 ATS (-22.6 Units) in road games in all playoff games since 1996.
ATLANTA is 7-22 ATS (-17.2 Units) in the second round of the playoffs since 1996.
CLEVELAND is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) in home games against Southeast division opponents this season.
ATLANTA is 100-83 ATS (+8.7 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 57-38 ATS (+15.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 34-43 ATS (-13.3 Units) as a favorite this season.
CLEVELAND is 10-19 ATS (-10.9 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.

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

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NBA
Short Sheet

Wednesday, May 4

Atlanta at Cleveland, 8:05 ET
Atlanta: 7-22 ATS in the second round of the playoffs
Cleveland: 16-7 ATS when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, May 4

Atlanta-Cleveland (C 1-0)
Cavaliers won their last eight games (7-1 vs spread) vs Hawks, covered four of last five played here. Four of last six series games went over the total. Cleveland made 15-31 on arc in Game 1 win; all five starters were +15 or better. Atlanta lost five of last six road games; its starters shot 32% in Game 1. Schroder had 27 points in 29:00 off bench. Cleveland is 4-2 vs spread in last six home games.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 4-2, over: 3-3

NBA

Wednesday, May 4

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
ATLANTA vs. CLEVELAND
Atlanta is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Atlanta is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta

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**Udog** · 05-04-2016, 10:10 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, May 4

Atlanta @ Cleveland

Game 513-514
May 4, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
122.572
Cleveland
124.768
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland
by 2
194
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Cleveland
by 7 1/2
198
Dunkel Pick:
Atlanta
(+7 1/2); Under

Announcement

Wednesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/4

Wednesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/4

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