Announcement

**Udog** · 05-04-2017, 08:20 AM

Armadillo:Thursday's six-pack

Odds to win the SEC football title this coming fall:
2-3: Alabama
7-2: LSU
5-1: Auburn, Georgia
9-1: Florida
11-1: Tennessee
18-1: Texas A&M
40-1: Arkansas
45-1: Mississippi State, Missouri
50-1: Kentucky, South Carolina
100-1: Vanderbilt
Ole Miss is ineligible this season

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Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud……..

13) Why bad teams are always bad: Isaiah Thomas was the 60th (and last) pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, a brilliant move by the Sacramento Kings, who aren’t known for brilliance.

Here are the four players picked right ahead of Thomas in the draft:
56. Chukwudiebere Maduabum
57. Tanguy Ngombo
58. Ater Majok
59. Ádám Hanga

Brilliant draft pick by the Kings, but………

12) Three years later, Sacramento traded Thomas, who had just scored 20.3 pts/game during the 2013-14 season, to Phoenix, for Alex Oriakhi and a trade exception. Mr Oraikhi has yet to play in the NBA. Thomas just scored 53 points in a playoff game. Oy.

11) Brilliant move by Phoenix, but seven months later, the Suns did a 3-way deal with the Celtics and Detroit. Here is what each team got:

Boston: Isaiah Thomas, Jonas Jerebko, Gigi Datome
Detroit: Tayshaun Prince (he was 34 at the time)

Phoenix: Marcus Thornton, a 1st round draft pick

Boston GM Danny Ainge should’ve gone to confession after this theft.

10) Atlanta Hawks have been in the NBA playoffs 10 years in a row, but they fired their GM this week, supposedly because he wanted to rebuild the roster, while the owner and coach want to keep on their current course and hope they do better in the playoffs.

9) The offensive and defensive coordinators at Alabama make $1.3M and $1.2M a year; thats $2.5M a year for two ASSISTANT coaches- the strength coach makes $560,000 a year.

8) Being a major league manager can’t be as much fun these days; teams carry so many pitchers, they only have 3-4 bench players per game and one of those is a backup catcher who rarely is used. When Jose Reyes was doubled off second early in the Mets’ game Wednesday nite, in a blatant show of nonchalance/apathy, when he should have been yanked from the game, he couldn’t be, because it would make New York’s bench shorthanded the rest of the nite.

Reyes WALKED BACK TO SECOND BASE after a fly ball to right; the throw came in, and the Braves’ SS tagged him out from behind. Reyes might as well as turned and given Terry Collins the finger, thats how terrible a play it was. But he stayed in the game.

Reyes later knocked in five runs in the Mets’ 16-5 win; good for him, but he makes $22M a year- the least he could freaking do is pay attention.

7) How is Bill Belichick not the highest paid coach in the NFL? Pete Carroll/Sean Payton are, at $8M a year.

6) Only 7 of the world’s top 30 golfers are in North Carolina for the Wells Fargo event this week; the tournament is being played at a different course than usual, one more like Augusta National.

5) More tension in Boston last nite; Orioles’ starting pitcher Kevin Gausman was tossed in the second inning for hitting Xander Bogaerts- there had been a conference call before the game with the teams and MLB brass, to lay the law down on ending the BS of the last week, but Gausman hit Bogaerts with a curveball, so no way was it intentional.

In the 5th inning, Adam Jones got tossed for arguing balls/strikes. It is fair to say the Orioles aren’t enjoying their stay in Boston this week.

4) College basketball transfers:
— Carlton Bragg goes from Kansas to Arizona State
— Peter Kiss goes from Quinnipiac to Rutgers
— Jazz Johnson goes from Portland to Nevada.

Of the 12 players on Nevada’s roster today, nine of them are transfers.

3) Denver Broncos signed RB Jamaal Charles to a one-year deal, which will make their two games against their division rival Chiefs a little more interesting.

2) Another rough day for star pitchers: Cole Hamels and Cory Kluber are now on the shelf, Hamels for 2-3 months.

1— Colorado Rockies’ TV guys were talking about the movie Top Gun last nite; lot of it was filmed in the San Diego area and the Rockies are playing the Padres in Petco this week. Hard to believe the movie came out in 1986.

Top Gun cost $15M to make; in 31 years since, the movie has made over $350M worldwide.

**Udog** · 05-04-2017, 08:25 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 4

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BOSTON (59 - 31) at WASHINGTON (53 - 37) - 5/4/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 5-15 ATS (-11.5 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.
WASHINGTON is 49-32 ATS (+13.8 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 26-16 ATS (+8.4 Units) in road games this season.
BOSTON is 28-16 ATS (+10.4 Units) against Southeast division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 250-205 ATS (+24.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
WASHINGTON is 94-125 ATS (-43.5 Units) in home games after a loss by 10 points or more since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 10-3 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 9-4 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 13 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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UTAH (55 - 35) at GOLDEN STATE (72 - 15) - 5/4/2017, 10:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 101-86 ATS (+6.4 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 146-118 ATS (+16.2 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 84-62 ATS (+15.8 Units) in home games over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 89-65 ATS (+17.5 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 86-60 ATS (+20.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 58-41 ATS (+12.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
UTAH is 75-49 ATS (+21.1 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
GOLDEN STATE is 7-5 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 10-2 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
8 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, May 4

Celtics/Wizards both played three starters 41:00+ in Boston’s game 2 OT win two nites ago; Wizards’ bench is now -90 in series. Washington is +17 in 38:00 Morris has been on floor in series, -39 without him. Home team won last six series games; Boston lost by 25-15 points in last two visits here. Four of last five series games went over total. Thomas scored 53 points Tuesday on his late sister’s 23rd birthday; can he keep up his amazing pace? Celtics are 32-75 on arc in series. League-wide, over is 6-1 so far in this round of the playoffs. Boston has now won six games in row since being down 2-0 to Chicago;

No one on Utah scored more than 13 points in 106-94 loss in Game 1; Hayward was 4-15, Jazz was 9-29 on arc. Golden State won its first five playoff games by total of 84 points (3-2 vs spread); they won eight of last nine games with Utah- under is 6-0-1 in last seven series tilts. Jazz covered Game 1; they’re 7-2-1 vs spread in last 10 games overall. Warriors are 4-3-1 vs spread in last eight home games- they’ve won six games in row overall (4-2 vs spread). Over is 7-4 in their last 11 games overall. At some point, Warriors’ biggest potential enemy might become boredom.

Second round playoff series:
Boston-Washington
Bos 123-111, -4.5, O216
Bos 129-119 O, -5, O218.5

Cleveland-Toronto
Clev 116-105, -7, O211
Clev 125-103, -7, O214.5

San Antonio-Houston
Hst 126-99, +6, O215.5
SA 121-96, -5.5, O215

Golden State-Utah
GState 106-94, -13, U206.5

Favorites 5-2 (25-24-1)
Over 6-1 (28-22)

NBA

Thursday, May 4

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
BOSTON vs. WASHINGTON
Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston

10:30 PM
UTAH vs. GOLDEN STATE
Utah is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Utah is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Golden State is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Utah
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

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**Udog** · 05-04-2017, 08:27 AM

Thursday’s NBA Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds

Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards (-5.5, 218.5)

Celtics lead series 2-0

ABOUT THE CELTICS (59-31 SU, 46-42-2 ATS, 44-42-4 O/U): Isaiah Thomas is persevering through personal tragedy and putting the Boston Celtics on his back in dedication to his late sister. Thomas will try to summon the energy once again, this time on the road, when the Celtics visit the Washington Wizards for Game 3. Thomas added physical pain to his emotional toll after having a tooth knocked out in Game 1 and sitting through a second round of dental surgery prior to Game 2. "What else is there to say?" Boston coach Brad Stevens asked reporters. "There's a point (Tuesday) when he was not feeling good at all and was having a tough day. And I thought he was going to really have to gut this one out. And he not only guts it out, he ends up with 50. Pretty impressive." Thomas is getting plenty of help from center Al Horford, who is 16-of-22 from the floor in the series and logged a double-double in each of the first two contests.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (53-37 SU, 45-44-1 ATS, 56-33-1 O/U): John Wall collected 40 points and 13 assists for the Wizards in Game 2, but it wasn't quite enough to match Thomas. "It was a heck of a basketball game," Washington coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "Two teams played their hearts out. Two great players played well. I thought both teams competed, played their hearts out, nothing to be ashamed of. We lost both games. Now we got to go home and take care of Game 3." Thomas did a lot of his damage in the paint, where Washington Center Marcin Gortat and hobbled power forward Markieff Morris struggled to defend. Morris suffered a sprained ankle in Game 1 but came out for Game 2 and scored 14 points before fouling out in just 27 minutes. "He brings a lot to our team with toughness," Brooks told reporters of Morris. "He's a very physical, tough player. He competes. He’s done everything for us throughout this season, been great to coach. He had a great game. He really competed. Unfortunately, our two bigs got in foul trouble. But I thought he did a great job of competing and put us in the position to win the game."

LINE HISTORY: The Wizards opened as five-point home favorites for Game 3 and by Wednesday night that number was bet up to -5.5. The total opened at 219 and dropped slightly down to 218.5.

INJURY REPORT:

Celtics - SG A. Bradley (Probable, hip).

Wizards - SF O. Porter Jr. (Probable, elbow), PF M. Morris (Probable, ankle), C I. Mahinmi (Out Indefinitely, calf).

TRENDS:

* Celtics are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
* Wizards are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
* Under is 12-3-2 in Celtics last 17 road games.
* Over is 4-1-1 in Wizards last 6 overall.
* Home team is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors (-12.5, 204)

Warriors lead series 1-0

ABOUT THE JAZZ (55-35 SU, 42-44-4 ATS, 45-45 O/U): Fifth-seeded Utah never kicked its offense in gear with Hayward and postseason standout Joe Johnson struggling, and center Rudy Gobert was the club's high scorer with 13 points. "We just didn't execute like we wanted to and missed some shots," Hayward said during postgame festivities. "So definitely not the way we wanted to start, but just one game. Have to figure something out and be ready for the next one." Hayward scored 20 or more points on five occasions during the seven-game first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers but was a shaky 4-of-15 in the opener against the Warriors. "I didn't feel like Gordon was hesitant to shoot," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "They did a good job trying to limit his looks. But the couple clean ones he got, he's been making those, and I would anticipate him making those." Johnson tallied just 11 points in Game 1 and Utah needs a better showing from point guard George Hill, who had just seven points in the opener after averaging 16.9 points in the series against the Clippers.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (72-15 SU, 43-41-3 ATS, 35-52 O/U): The Golden State Warriors controlled the flow in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals and look to take a 2-0 lead when they host the Utah Jazz on Thursday. The Warriors didn't look rusty in Monday's 106-94 victory, a contest in which they limited Utah star forward Gordon Hayward to 12 points. Top-seeded Golden State committed just seven turnovers while forcing 14 in the opener as it overcame a shoddy 7-of-29 performance from 3-point range to post the victory. Curry (left ankle) suffered an injury during Game 1 and missed practice on Wednesday but isn't expected to be hampered in terms of Game 2. He only played 21 seconds in the final quarter and insisted after the contest that it was "just routine maintenance" and "it's nothing to worry about." Small forward Kevin Durant scored 17 points in the opener and looks nearly fully recovered from the calf injury that caused him to miss two games in the first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers.

LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as 12.5-point home favorites for Game 2 and the total hit the board at 204. Neither number has moved as of Wednesday night.

INJURY REPORT:

Jazz - SG A. Burks (Out Indefinitely, knee).

Warriors - PG S. Curry (Probable, ankle), SF K. Looney (Out Indefinitely, hip).

TRENDS:

* Jazz are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games.
* Warriors are 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games playing on 1 days rest.
* Under is 6-1 in Jazz last 7 road games.
* Under is 4-1 in Warriors last 5 home games.
* Jazz are 2-6 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Golden State.

**Udog** · 05-04-2017, 09:47 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Thursday, May 4

Utah @ Golden State

Game 507-508
May 4, 2017 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Utah
122.208
Golden State
141.132
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Golden State
by 19
207
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Golden State
by 12 1/2
204 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Golden State
(-12 1/2); Over

Boston @ Washington

Game 505-506
May 4, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
125.825
Washington
123.486
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 2 1/2
210
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 5 1/2
219
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(+5 1/2); Under

NBA
Short Sheet

Thursday, May 4

Eastern Conference – Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 3 – BOS Leads 2-0

Boston at Washington, 8:00 PM ET
Boston: 15-5 ATS in road games off an ATS Win
Washington: 53-73 ATS coming off a road game

Western Conference – Semifinals – Best of 7 – Game 2 – GSW Leads 1-0

Utah at Golden State, 10:30 PM ET
Utah: 75-49 ATS revenging a loss to opponent
Golden State: 11-1 UNDER when playing only their 2nd game in 7 days

Announcement

Thursday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/4

Thursday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/4

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