Announcement

**Udog** · 05-09-2017, 08:32 AM

Armadillo:Tuesday's six-pack

— A’s 3, Angels 2—Oakland walks off for 3rd day in a row; tremendous!!!! Jed Lowrie homered twice, including the game-winner.
— Orioles 6, Nationals 4—Baltimore homered three times in first inning.
— Capitals 5, Penguins 2—Game 7 is in Washington Wednesday nite.
— Warriors 121, Jazz 95—Next up for Golden State, the Spurs-Rockets survivor.
— I am told Matt Harvey’s 3-day suspension amounts to roughly $84,000.
— Get well soon Jameson Taillon; the Pirates’ pitcher is apparently being treated for testicular cancer.

**********

Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but……

13) New York-Chicago played an epic 18-inning game on Sunday Night Baseball; games like this are what baseball unique- lot of odd decisions have to be made and it tests the mental toughness of the players. Excellent theater.

Of course, in today’s softening society, some people want there to be tie games in baseball. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how wrong it is.

12) One thing that is really irritating; hearing someone who is getting paid to watch baseball complain that a game went extra innings. You have a cushy job; too bad there is a small bit of inconvenience involved. If you quit your job, I’m guessing a ton of people would wait outside in a snowstorm to take your place.

11) 583 pitches in the game; umpire Joe West is 64 years old. Hope he has today off. He basically umpired a doubleheader behind the plate Sunday night.

10) Interesting stuff on the Interweb about Kansas State football and succession plans for 77-year old coach Bill Snyder, who battled throat cancer this past winter.

Snyder is an icon in Manhattan, KS—it is hard to describe how pathetic Kansas State was before he became coach. Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma teams used to beat K-State 64-3 without breaking a sweat, but Snyder made the Wildcats winners and he carries a lot of influence- he wants his son Sean to take his place as head coach.

Others have resisted this succession plan, but some of those others have moved on to other jobs. It appears as if Snyder will get his way and his son will succeed him, but the real question will be, can Sean Snyder succeed as his dad’s successor?

9) In France, they hold elections on weekends and get a higher voter turnout than we do in this country.

8) Mets are so spineless they pushed back Matt Harvey’s next start until Friday in Milwaukee- they don’t want him starting at home right away. Hell, part of his punishment should be having to pitch in front of the home fans, who will give him the grief he deserves if he doesn’t do well.

If Harvey pitched well, the home fans would love him, no doubt.

7) Cincinnati Reds in first place after five weeks of baseball? Surprising.

6) Patrick Ewing is going to be an interesting study as the new basketball coach at Georgetown- the Hoyas picked up a grad transfer this weekend from South Dakota (43.8% inside arc, 31.6% outside arc), a team that won the Summit League regular season title- Monday they offered a 9th grader (Class of 2020) from Washington DC a scholarship.

5) Red Sox scored a total of 15 runs in Chris Sale’s first six starts; they scored 17 in his 7th start, Sunday in Minnesota.

4) If Kyle Lowry stays with the Toronto Raptors, they can offer him a contract worth $205M for five years; if he goes elsewhere, he can get $152M for four years. I’m not sure of the tax implications of playing in Canada, but it sounds like he would be forfeiting a lot of cash if he chooses to leave Toronto.

3) Average attendance at all minor league baseball games in April: 3,986, best-ever for April. Owning a minor league team is a solid investment.

2) Former New Mexico/Ole Miss guard Cullen Neal will be a grad transfer at St Mary’s next year; Neal was headed to St Mary’s out of high school, but then Steve Alford got the UCLA head coaching job and his dad Craig Neal inherited the Lobos’ job, so Cullen stayed in Albuquerque and played two years, but the fans were tough on him when the team struggled, so Cullen transferred to Ole Miss. Craig got fired this past spring.

1) This from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, on the Matt Harvey story:

“Several hours after Harvey texted a Mets coach (or texted the coach back, depending on who tells the story) to let him know that he was ill and wouldn’t be coming to Citi Field for Saturday night’s game against the Marlins, the Mets’ pitcher was visited at his Manhattan apartment by a couple men — Mets security people — sent by the team to see what was happening with him.

Harvey, it seems, sensed the Mets were checking up on him with their surprise visit around 10 p.m. (to see if his headache story checked out). Meanwhile, people close to the Mets suggest that, after many messages went unreturned, the security men were merely checking on him (to see if he was OK, or needed help).”

Harvey is a free agent after the 2018 season. Everyone involved needs him to pitch well; Harvey so he can break the bank next winter, the Mets so they can get rid of him before than and still get someone of value in return.

**Udog** · 05-09-2017, 08:38 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, May 9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON (61 - 30) at SAN ANTONIO (67 - 25) - 5/9/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 1002-875 ATS (+39.5 Units) in all games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 90-76 ATS (+6.4 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 510-427 ATS (+40.3 Units) in home games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 152-105 ATS (+36.5 Units) on Tuesday nights since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 81-52 ATS (+23.8 Units) in home games in all playoff games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 32-13 ATS (+17.7 Units) when tied in a playoff series since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 75-49 ATS (+21.1 Units) in home games after a loss by 10 points or more since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 283-234 ATS (+25.6 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 181-133 ATS (+34.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
HOUSTON is 27-17 ATS (+8.3 Units) in road games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 9-7 against the spread versus HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 11-5 straight up against HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, May 9

Houston went 41-93 on arc in their two series wins, 20-63 in two losses; they put three starters other than Harden in double figures in Game 4- they’re so much better when they have balanced scoring. Rockets are 3-8 in last 11 games with San Antonio- they split last four visits to Alamo (3-1 vs spread). Over is 9-2 in last 11 series games, 3-1 in this playoff series. Spurs won/covered four of last five home games; over is 8-2 in their last ten games overall. All four games in this series have been decided by 11+ points. Underdogs are 5-3 vs spread in last eight series games.

Second round playoff series:
Boston-Washington
Bos 123-111, -4.5, O216
Bos 129-119 O, -5, O218.5
Wash 116-89, -5.5, U218
Wash 121-102, -5, O214.5

Cleveland-Toronto
Clev 116-105, -7, O211
Clev 125-103, -7, O214.5
Clev 115-94, -3, U215
Clev 109-102, -7, O210.5
Cavaliers win series, 4-0

San Antonio-Houston
Hst 126-99, +6, O215.5
SA 121-96, -5.5, O215
SA 103-92, +5.5, U215
Hst 125-104, -5, O213.5

Golden State-Utah
GState 106-94, -13, U206.5
GState 115-104, -13.5, O206
GState 102-91, -7, U209
GState 121-95, -9, O207
Warriors win series 4-0

Favorites 11-4-1 (31-26-2)
Over 10-6 (32-27)

NBA

Tuesday, May 9

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:00 PM
HOUSTON vs. SAN ANTONIO
Houston is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Houston is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
San Antonio is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of San Antonio's last 8 games

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 05-09-2017, 08:40 AM

Tuesday’s NBA Playoffs Conference Semifinals betting preview: Rockets at Spurs

Star small forward Kawhi Leonard scored just 16 points in Game 4 after averaging 27 over the first three games.

Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs (-5.5, 214.5)

Series tied 2-2

The San Antonio Spurs have seen the Houston Rockets turn the Western Conference semifinals into a best-of-3 series and they are feeling the urgency heading into Tuesday's Game 5. Host San Antonio will need to ratchet up the intensity after Houston operated at will while evening the series at two wins apiece on Sunday night.

The third-seeded Rockets drained 19 3-pointers in the 125-104 victory and they carved up the Spurs for 68 second-half points in the impressive showing. "This is a big stage they did it on," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. "We have a lot of work left, but there's no reason why we can't go down to San Antonio and repeat the performance." The second-seeded Spurs will be attempting to turn the page as Sunday's loss certainly was a mighty blow and opened the door for the Rockets. "Game 5 is a Game 7," Ginobili told reporters. "We had a great opportunity to go back to San Antonio 3-1 and in a better situation. Now it's 2-2. Game 7 - We've really got to be knowing that every possession is a game-winning possession."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Spurs opened as 5.5-point home favorites for Tuesday's crucial Game 5 and that number hasn't moved. The total hit the betting board at 215 and came down slightly to 214.5 on Monday.

INJURY REPORT:

Rockets - PG P. Beverley (Probable, probable), C Nene (Out For Season, groin).

Spurs - PG T. Parker (Out For Season, quadricep).

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (61-30 SU, 47-44 ATS, 46-44-1 O/U): Houston suffered a huge blow in Game 4 as backup center Nene suffered a torn left groin - officially termed a torn adductor - and will miss the rest of the playoffs. Nene and starter Clint Capela were giving Houston solid production in the middle and the Rockets will be forced to use power forwards Montrezl Harrell and Ryan Anderson at center -- the latter being more of an outside shooter than an interior player. "Obviously I'm not a very conventional 5-man, but it also makes it difficult for the other team to figure out how to guard us with pick-and-pops or if I'm rolling to the basket or whatever it is," Anderson told reporters. "Our ability to run, we have to take those opportunities to our advantage."

ABOUT THE SPURS (67-25 SU, 47-43-2 ATS, 51-39-2 O/U): The point guard situation is a huge issue for San Antonio after the season-ending quadriceps injury suffered by veteran Tony Parker in Game 2. Rookie Dejounte Murray started the past two games and averaged five points and 1.3 assists while backup Patty Mills averaged 12.5 points and 3.5 assists but made just 8-of-21 field-goal attempts. Star small forward Kawhi Leonard scored just 16 points in Game 4 after averaging 27 over the first three games while power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is enduring a mostly quiet series by averaging 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds.

TRENDS:

* Rockets are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
* Spurs are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Over is 9-2 in Rockets last 11 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 7-1 in Spurs last 8 overall.
* Over is 6-1-1 in the last 8 meetings in San Antonio.

**Udog** · 05-09-2017, 09:54 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, May 9

Houston @ San Antonio

Game 707-708
May 9, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Houston
118.580
San Antonio
125.422
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 7
211
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Antonio
by 5
215
Dunkel Pick:
San Antonio
(-5); Under

Announcement

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/9

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/9

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment