Announcement

**Udog** · 12-26-2017, 10:28 AM

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Updated odds to win the college basketball national title:

7-2— Duke

4-1— Michigan State

5-1— Villanova

10-1— Arizona

12-1— Kansas, Kentucky

15-1— Gonzaga, Wichita State

**********

Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: No one asked me, but……

13) NFL didn’t flex a game into primetime this week; they’ll have seven 1:00 games, and then all nine games with playoff implications will be at 4:25. Should be a fun day of football.

12) This will be first time since 1995 the NFL went consecutive weeks without a Sunday night game, but this Week 17 thing makes sense. Makes it little tougher for handicappers, though.

11) Todd Gurley is the first NFL player since Herschel Walker in 1986 to log 100 yards rushing and 150 yards receiving in the same game.

10) Unsolicited opinion: Minnesota Vikings need to sign Case Keenum as their QB going forward- if they choose Sam Bradford over Keenum, they’re ignoring the evidence in front of their faces. As for Teddy Bridgewater, I guess a lot depends on how his knee is.

As a Ram fan, I’ve seen a lot of both Bradford, Keenum; Keenum is a gym rat, a guy teammates rally behind, a leader. Bradford gets hurt a lot; he’s not bad, but look at his career record.

9) Jerry Jones’ grandson is a 5-10, 180-pound QB who just won two HS state titles in Texas; he has scholarship offers from Texas Tech, Arkansas, but those schools might be recruiting Jerry’s wallet as much as the kid. College sports can be like that.

What are the odds that five years from now, when Jerry is 80, Cowboys draft the grandson?

8) UCLA QB Josh Rosen is sitting out the Cactus Bowl with concussion-related issues; will be interesting to see if Rosen/Darnold enter the draft or go back to school for another year. And if Rosen/Darnold both balk at Cleveland and go back to college, do the Browns take Josh Allen?

7) If you care about such things, baseball’s 2018 winter meetings are at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas next December 9-13. Good place to have them.

6) Halftime score from Saturday: Oklahoma 68, Northwestern 38. Sooners scored 68 points in a half against a Big 14 team- think they were 14-20 on the arc in that half.

5) New Mexico State beat Miami 63-54 Saturday, their first win over a top 10 team since 1990. Back then, the Aggies and Cal-Santa Barbara were always chasing UNLV in the Big West- they had some really good teams.

4) Movie scenes that could never be made today: In the 1982 movie The Verdict, Paul Newman plays a down-on-his-luck lawyer who stumbles onto a big wrongful death case that he should win, but then he finds out his girlfriend is actually a double agent for the plaintiffs.

Newman finds this out just before he is supposed to meet the girlfriend in a bar; he walks in, sees her and decks her with one punch. Don’t think that scene would get by the censors these days.

3) Pet peeve; Norm Stewart, Gene Keady and Mike Montgomery are in the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and Jerry Tarkanian isn’t; on which planet does that make sense?

Tarkanian is in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield; this college HOF is in Kansas City– they need to change how their inductees are chosen.

2) Funny how in NFL games played in the snow or really cold weather, there are a lot fewer penalties called. Refs want to get the hell out of there.

1) Congrats to Fresno State’s football team, which went 10-4 this year after going 1-11 LY. Jeff Tedford did a great job in his first year in Fresno- he was Aaron Rodgers’ coach at Cal and also was a head coach in the CDL— the man knows his stuff.

**Udog** · 12-26-2017, 10:32 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, December 26

Toronto @ Dallas

Game 501-502
December 26, 2017 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
120.228
Dallas
118.769
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 1 1/2
214
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
by 5 1/2
207
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(+5 1/2); Over

Indiana @ Detroit

Game 503-504
December 26, 2017 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
119.746
Detroit
118.343
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Indiana
by 1 1/2
201
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit
by 2
208 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+2); Under

Orlando @ Miami

Game 505-506
December 26, 2017 @ 7:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Orlando
111.423
Miami
121.897
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Miami
by 10 1/2
202
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Miami
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Miami
N/A

Chicago @ Milwaukee

Game 507-508
December 26, 2017 @ 8:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
112.007
Milwaukee
121.515
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Milwaukee
by 9 1/2
207
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Milwaukee
by 6 1/2
211
Dunkel Pick:
Milwaukee
(-6 1/2); Under

Brooklyn @ San Antonio

Game 509-510
December 26, 2017 @ 8:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Brooklyn
114.312
San Antonio
121.420
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 7
196
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Antonio
by 12
208 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Brooklyn
(+12); Under

Utah @ Denver

Game 511-512
December 26, 2017 @ 9:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Utah
116.723
Denver
119.098
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Denver
by 2 1/2
210
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Denver
by 6
203 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Utah
(+6); Over

Memphis @ Phoenix

Game 513-514
December 26, 2017 @ 9:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Memphis
115.785
Phoenix
111.398
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Memphis
by 4 1/2
198
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Memphis
by 1
206
Dunkel Pick:
Memphis
(-1); Under

Sacramento @ LA Clippers

Game 515-516
December 26, 2017 @ 10:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Sacramento
109.812
LA Clippers
118.902
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
LA Clippers
by 9
208
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
LA Clippers
by 5
204 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
LA Clippers
(-5); Over

**Udog** · 12-26-2017, 10:35 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, December 26

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TORONTO (23 - 8) at DALLAS (9 - 25) - 12/26/2017, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 391-323 ATS (+35.7 Units) as an underdog since 1996.
TORONTO is 39-23 ATS (+13.7 Units) in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 26-14 ATS (+10.6 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 30-49 ATS (-23.9 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 3-1 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 4-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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INDIANA (19 - 14) at DETROIT (18 - 14) - 12/26/2017, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA is 13-1 ATS (+11.9 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 28-14 ATS (+12.6 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 58-39 ATS (+15.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 8-3 against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
INDIANA is 8-3 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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ORLANDO (11 - 23) at MIAMI (17 - 16) - 12/26/2017, 7:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
ORLANDO is 5-4 against the spread versus MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
ORLANDO is 5-4 straight up against MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CHICAGO (10 - 22) at MILWAUKEE (17 - 14) - 12/26/2017, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MILWAUKEE is 394-458 ATS (-109.8 Units) in home games since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 5-4 against the spread versus MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 5-4 straight up against MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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

BROOKLYN (12 - 20) at SAN ANTONIO (23 - 11) - 12/26/2017, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 1021-894 ATS (+37.6 Units) in all games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 817-696 ATS (+51.4 Units) as a favorite since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 521-435 ATS (+42.5 Units) in home games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 29-14 ATS (+13.6 Units) in December games over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 60-38 ATS (+18.2 Units) in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 153-109 ATS (+33.1 Units) on Tuesday nights since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 340-279 ATS (+33.1 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 415-333 ATS (+48.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
BROOKLYN is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights since 1996.
BROOKLYN is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) after scoring 115 points or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 4-0 against the spread versus BROOKLYN over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 4-0 straight up against BROOKLYN over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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UTAH (15 - 19) at DENVER (18 - 15) - 12/26/2017, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DENVER is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
UTAH is 6-3 against the spread versus DENVER over the last 3 seasons
UTAH is 8-2 straight up against DENVER over the last 3 seasons
9 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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

MEMPHIS (10 - 23) at PHOENIX (12 - 23) - 12/26/2017, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MEMPHIS is 10-21 ATS (-13.1 Units) in all games this season.
MEMPHIS is 2-11 ATS (-10.1 Units) as a favorite this season.
MEMPHIS is 10-21 ATS (-13.1 Units) in the first half of the season this season.
MEMPHIS is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
PHOENIX is 161-117 ATS (+32.3 Units) after allowing 115 points or more since 1996.
PHOENIX is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
PHOENIX is 36-53 ATS (-22.3 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 4-4 against the spread versus MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
MEMPHIS is 5-3 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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

SACRAMENTO (11 - 21) at LA CLIPPERS (13 - 19) - 12/26/2017, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SACRAMENTO is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SACRAMENTO is 5-4 against the spread versus LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS is 7-2 straight up against SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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

**Udog** · 12-26-2017, 10:37 AM

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, December 26

Raptors won their last four games with Dallas; they’re 4-1 vs spread in last five visits here. Six of last seven series games stayed under the total. Toronto won its last six games, covered last five; they’re 6-4 vs spread as road favorites. Under is 5-3 in their last eight games. Dallas lost eight of its last ten games; they’re 4-6 vs spread as home underdogs. Mavericks’ last three games went over total.

Pacers won seven of last nine games with Detroit; they’re 2-2 vs spread in last four visits to the Motor City (over 3-1). Indiana won three of its last four games; they’re 4-1 in last five games as road underdogs. Six of their last nine games stayed under total. Detroit won four of its last five games; they’re 1-5 in last six games as home favorites. Last three Piston games went over the total.

Orlando won its last four games with Miami; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits here. Six of last seven series games went over total. Orlando lost its last eight games; they’re 1-6 vs spread in last seven games as road underdogs. Four of their last six games stayed under total. Miami won six of its last nine games; they’re 1-6-1 as home favorites. Seven of their last nine games stayed under.

Road team won five of last six Chicago-Milwaukee games; Bulls are 4-2 vs spread in last six visits to Wisconsin. Last three series games went over total. Chicago lost its last two games after a 7-game winning streak; they’re 5-1 in last six games as road underdogs. Six of their last nine games went over total. Milwaukee lost four of its last six games; they’re 6-6-2 as home favorites. Bucks’ last eight games went over total.

Spurs won last four games with Brooklyn, which is 0-5 vs spread in last five visits to the Alamo. Six of last seven series games stayed under the total. Brooklyn lost five of its last six games; they’re 2-4 vs spread as home favorites. Under is 10-2 in their last 12 games. San Antonio won four of its last five games; they’re 9-6 vs spread as home favorites. Under is 5-3 in their last eight games.

Home side won last six Utah-Denver games; Jazz are 2-2 vs spread in last four visits here. Nine of last ten series games stayed under the total. Utah lost eight of its last ten games; they’re 4-8 vs spread as road underdogs. Four of their last five games stayed under. Denver split its last eight games; they’re 5-2 in last seven games as home favorites. Three of their last four games stayed under.

Memphis won four of last five games with the Suns; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Phoenix. Over is 5-5 in last ten series games. Memphis lost 16 of its last 19 games; they’re 0-3 vs spread as road favorites. Under is 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Phoenix won three of its last I’ve games; they’re 5-9 vs spread as home underdogs. Seven of their last nine games stayed under.

Clippers won eight of last ten games with Sacramento; three of last four series games stayed under. Kings are 3-1 vs spread in last four series games played here. Sacramento is 4-6 in its last ten games; they’re 7-2 in last nine games as road underdogs. Five of their last seven games stayed under. Clippers lost four of their last six games; they’re 6-4 as home favorites. Three of their last four games went over.

**Udog** · 12-26-2017, 10:48 AM

NBA

Tuesday, December 26

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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INDIANA @ DETROIT
Indiana is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games on the road
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Detroit's last 9 games when playing at home against Indiana

TORONTO @ DALLAS
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing Toronto
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home

ORLANDO @ MIAMI
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Orlando's last 7 games when playing Miami
Orlando is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Miami
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Miami's last 7 games when playing Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games at home

CHICAGO @ MILWAUKEE
Chicago is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games at home

BROOKLYN @ SAN ANTONIO
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Brooklyn's last 8 games when playing San Antonio
Brooklyn is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
San Antonio is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Brooklyn
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Brooklyn

MEMPHIS @ PHOENIX
Memphis is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Memphis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Phoenix's last 13 games when playing at home against Memphis

UTAH @ DENVER
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Utah's last 11 games when playing Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Utah's last 11 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Denver's last 11 games when playing Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Denver's last 11 games when playing at home against Utah

SACRAMENTO @ LA CLIPPERS
Sacramento is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Sacramento's last 7 games
LA Clippers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Sacramento
LA Clippers is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games

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

**Udog** · 12-26-2017, 10:54 AM

NBA betting roadmap: Over streak in Milwaukee thanks to Bledsoe boost
Al McMordie

The Suns are expected to see their leading scorer Devin Booker return to the lineup this week. Phoenix struggled to fill the hoop without Booker and played under the total in seven of nine games.

Spread Watch

The Orlando Magic are in a massive tailspin. Frank Vogel's men have gone 3-19 straight up and 5-16-1 against the spread after starting the season with an 8-4 straight up and 7-5 ATS record. And the news got worse on Saturday when the Magic lost their eighth straight game in a 130-103 blowout loss in Washington.

Center Nikola Vucevic fractured the first metacarpal in his left hand and will be sidelined indefinitely. Vucevic is averaging 17.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game and hitting a career-best, 1.5 triples a night.

The Magic play two games against the Miami Heat this week, on Tuesday and Saturday, sandwiched around a home game vs. Detroit on Thursday. Orlando plays Tuesday's contest at Miami with two days' of rest is enough for me to pull the trigger on the downward-spiraling team. Away underdogs with two days’ rest and coming off six straight losses and three straight ATS defeats own a 64.6 percent cover rate since 1990. Moreover, the Magic have won and covered their last four meetings with their Sunshine State rival -- and they were underdogs in each of those four games.

Take Orlando and the points on Tuesday.

Totals Watch

The Milwaukee Bucks traded for Eric Bledsoe on November 7. Not surprisingly, there was an adjustment period over the next two weeks where the Bucks offense sputtered. In Bledsoe's first six games, Milwaukee averaged just 94.6 points per game and reached the 100-point mark just once in Bledsoe’s first six games.

But after that two-week period Milwaukee's offense has been in overdrive. The Bucks are riding a 15-game streak of scoring at least 100 and are averaging 109.1 points per game over the stretch. The 15-game run of hitting the century-mark in points is the 3rd longest active streak behind only Cleveland (26 games) and Houston (24 games).

The Bucks rank seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency on the season. Not surprisingly, the over is 14-1 in Milwaukee's last 15 games. The Bucks will play a tough schedule with home games versus Chicago and Minnesota, before a road tilt at Oklahoma City.

Will the high-scoring games continue? Friday's game against the Thunder will be a tough test for the Bucks' attack. OKC is giving up just 99.7 points per game and it held Giannis and Company to just 91 points in the season's first meeting back on Halloween.

OKC has gone under the total in 20 of its 33 games and eight of the last 10 meetings between these two franchises have gone under – including the last four in a row.

Injury Watch

The Phoenix Suns will welcome back their best player, Devin Booker, on Tuesday, when they host the Memphis Grizzlies. Booker has been sidelined for the last 20 days with a strained left adductor muscle, which he injured in Phoenix's 126-113 loss at Toronto.

Coach Jay Triano admitted he may have to limit Booker's minutes:

"If he's starting to look tired, [we'll] get him out."

Phoenix is 3-6 SU and 5-4 ATS since Booker went on the shelf. There's no doubt that the Suns have missed Booker, who is averaging 24.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. They averaged 107.6 points per game before his injury and just 100.4 since. The over is 16-10 in Phoenix’s games with Booker in the lineup and 2-7 without him.

The Suns play home games against Memphis (Tuesday) and Philadelphia (Sunday) with a road game at Sacramento on Friday.

Phoenix might struggle a little bit in Booker's first game back because it's sometimes difficult for teams to initially integrate a big piece after an extended time off. Bettors just saw that happen in San Antonio where the Spurs lost their first two games after the return Kawhi Leonard.

That marks Tuesday’s contest against Memphis as a good opportunity to fade Phoenix. The Suns took down the Grizzlies 97-95 last Thursday and the Suns are 3-14 SU and 5-12 ATS when playing an opponent they defeated earlier in the season.

Take Memphis on Tuesday.

Schedule Watch

The Oklahoma City Thunder are starting to play much better basketball. Billy Donovan’s squad dropped to 8-12 SU after an upset loss to the Magic at the end of November. But the Thunder are 10-3 that game and are riding a four-game win streak.

This week, the Thunder have a home-heavy schedule with home dates vs. Houston, Toronto, Milwaukee and Dallas. Of these four games, the one bettors should circle Sunday's match with the Mavericks.

OKC was upset by Dallas as a 6-point favorite back on November 25. The Thunder are 65-39 ATS since March 28, 2006 when playing with revenge from an upset loss. Expect OKC to blow out Dallas.

Announcement

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 12/26

Tuesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 12/26

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