Announcement

**Udog** · 04-23-2018, 09:03 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

— Giants’ 1B Brandon Belt had a 21-pitch AB Sunday that took 12:45— he fouled off 16 two-strike pitches, before he lined out to RF. 21-pitch AB is a major league record, at least since 1986, when they started keeping track of this stuff.

— Spurs 103, Warriors 90— San Antonio staves off elimination, now trails series 3-1

— Bucks 104, Celtics 102— Milwaukee hung on after leading by 16 at the half.

— Penguins 8, Flyers 5— Pitt advances to 2nd round; not a lot of defense here.

— Indians 7, Orioles 3— Under is now 8-1 in games at Camden Yards this season.

— Cubs’ 3B Kris Bryant was hit in head by a pitch, left the game in Denver Sunday, but was said to be OK.

**********

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: More football notes as Draft Week starts……

13) The 2018 schedule was announced Thursday night, the best option out of 59,031 possible schedules that the league’s computer produced.

12) FOX is doing Thursday Night Football this season; apparently they asked the NFL to move some of their prime Sunday afternoon games to Thursday, and that happened.

Vikings-Rams, Packers-Seahawks, Eagles-Giants, Saints-Cowboys are all Thursday night games this year. FOX’s Thursday night ratings should be pretty good.

11) No teams will play on the road following a Monday Night Football road game; that happened five times last year, and teams complained about it.

10) Eagles-Jaguars play a 9:30am ET game in London, which means the poor ticket takers in Las Vegas casinos (6:30am there) probably have to be at work by 5:30am. No bueno.

This is the first time ever the defending Super Bowl champ will play in England.

9) Jets-Lions is a Week 1 Monday night game in large part because Ed Sheeran has a Sunday concert at Ford Field that week. Sheeran’s concert tour forced 8 NFL games off of Sunday dates.

8) According to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, last year the Giants were not pleased with their schedule because they felt they were too often playing teams more rested than they were- they were -22 in “rest disparity”, at one point playing consecutive games vs teams coming off their bye week. This year, no team’s rest disparity is worse than -11. (Giants’ is -7)

7) NFL will play two Saturday games in Week 16—but they haven’t been announced yet. That is also Christmas week, but the four teams won’t be told their games will be played on December 22 until Halloween or so. Those two games will undoubtedly involve contending teams.

6) Packers-Patriots in Week 9 is just the second meeting between Rodgers-Brady as starting QB’s. Green Bay beat the Patriots 26-21 in 2014, with Rodgers throwing for 368 yards, but he was hurt when New England beat the Packers in 2010.

Rodgers didn’t start in the 2006 Packer-Patriot meeting, but replaced an injured Brett Favre in 2nd quarter of an easy New England win.

5) Jon Gruden has been out of coaching for nine years; he’s spent most of that time on Monday Night Football, so fitting that his return to the sidelines is the Week 1 Monday Night Football nightcap against the Rams in Oakland.

4) If you were advising Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield and he told you he wanted a camera crew to follow him around for four months before the draft, would you have told him that was a good idea or a bad idea?

Apparently there is going to be a documentary made about Mayfield’s path from his bowl game last January to the NFL Draft in Dallas. Would be fun to know what his prospective employers think of that.

3) “Every game I’ve seen him play, he’s been the best player on the field.”

Thats an AFC GM talking about Louisville QB Lamar Jackson, who to me will be the most interesting player to follow at the draft Thursday-Saturday.

2) According to a video on NFL.com, Green Bay has the toughest schedule in 2018 and Houston has the easiest. Of course, injuries will drastically change all that as time goes on, but the NFL Network has to have something to talk about between now and the draft on Thursday.

1) Denver Broncos signed free agent punter Marquette King, so they traded their old punter Riley Dixon to the Giants for a future conditional draft pick.

**Udog** · 04-23-2018, 09:08 AM

Monday's NBA Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds

The opening round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs continues Monday night with two Game 4s, featuring the Rockets in Minnesota taking on the Timberwolves and the Thunder in Utah against the Jazz.

Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves (+5.5, 219)

The franchise's first home playoff game since 2004 gave the Minnesota Timberwolves all the juice they needed to steal Game 3 and get back into the first-round Western Conference series against the top-seeded Houston Rockets. The Timberwolves will try to ride that wave to an even best-of-seven series when they host the Rockets in Game 4 on Monday.

Minnesota shot 50 percent from the floor, 55.6 percent from 3-point range and handed out 29 assists against seven turnovers in Game 3 while rolling to a 121-105 win. "The fans were absolutely insane," Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, who enjoyed his best game of the series with 18 points and 16 rebounds, told reporters. "When you have fan support like that behind you, anything’s possible." The Rockets won an NBA-high 65 games during the regular season but could not match the intensity of Minnesota with the crowd behind it. "They played with a little bit more emotion than we had, a little harder," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. "Especially in big moments, they came up with either a stop or a score or something. We didn't battle enough to overcome the crowd and emotion that they had. Give them their due, but we need to play a little bit better and harder."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston), FS North (Minnesota)

SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):

BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVES: The Rockets opened as 5.5-point road favorites and as of Sunday night that number has not moved. The total hit betting boards at 219 and has been steady on the opening number.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (67-18 SU, 42-42-1 ATS, 34-50-1 O/U): Houston star James Harden scored 29 points in Game 3 to bounce back from a 2-of-18 shooting effort in Game 2 but shooting guard Eric Gordon continues to struggle. Gordon, who averaged 18 points during the regular season, is putting up 10.3 points in the postseason on 28.2 percent shooting and is 6-of-26 from 3-point range. "Offensively, we weren't pushing it at our pace," Gordon told the Houston Chronicle after the Game 3 loss. "We stooped to their level, playing slow. Of course, everyone will say that we missed a lot of open shots. Both teams are going to do that. It's all about creating the pace."

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (48-37 SU, 39-43-3 ATS, 46-38-1 O/U): Minnesota All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler averaged 12 points in the first two games of the series and attempted a total of 17 shots but was a different player in front of the home fans. Butler exploded for a team-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and added series highs of seven rebounds and five assists in the win. "I can tell you the last couple of days that I got tired of my teammates telling me to be more aggressive," Butler told reporters. "I took it upon myself to do just that. They are used to me being aggressive the past seven months, so don't switch it up now. I did that. I did my job."

INJURY REPORT:

Rockets - PF L. Mbah a Moute (Early May, Shoulder).

Timberwolves - C J. Patton (Out For Season, Foot).

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* Rockets are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 vs. Western Conference.
* Timberwolves are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
* Under is 7-0 in Rockets' last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Over is 12-3 in Timberwolves' last 15 home games.
* Over is 15-5 in the last 20 meetings.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Utah Jazz (-5.5, 210.5)

The Utah Jazz stole homecourt advantage in their best-of-seven first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a win on the road in Game 2 and made sure they held onto the edge with an emphatic win in Game 3. The Jazz will try to ride their hot-shooting backcourt to a 3-1 series advantage when they host the Thunder in Game 4 on Monday.

Utah went 28-13 at home during the regular season and treated their fans to strong Game 3 effort that included a triple-double from point guard Ricky Rubio and a double-double from shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. "The atmosphere was tremendous," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters after the 115-102 win. "We're grateful for our fans and that they were that engaged. It has an impact on our players. They've been like that all year, and I think tonight they hit a new high. We know and appreciate what we have with our fans. It's not something that we take for granted, but we've come to expect it on some level." Rubio's triple-double mostly came while he was being guarded by reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, who promised to tighten up the defense in Game 4. "He made some shots," Westbrook told reporters of Rubio. "Too comfortable. But I'm gonna shut that (stuff) off next game, though. Guarantee that."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, FS Oklahoma, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):

BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVES: The Jazz opened as 6-point home favorites for Game 6 and early betting action on the Thunder pushed that number down slightly to -5.5. 56 percent of early consensus selections are on the underdog Thunder. The total hit betting boards at 210.5 and has yet to move.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (49-36 SU, 35-49-1 ATS, 38-47 O/U): Westbrook, who averaged a triple-double in each of the last two regular seasons, finished with 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Saturday's loss but also committed eight turnovers. "Just gotta take what's given," Westbrook told reporters. "I'm getting myself jumping in the air trying to look back to find (Paul George) and (Carmelo Anthony) and other guys on the floor. I've got to stay in attack mode and read my first option and go with that." George, who dubbed himself "Playoff P," scored a team-high 23 points in Game 3 and is averaging 25.7 points in the series.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (50-35 SU, 45-40 ATS, 41-43-1 O/U): Rubio collected 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 3 and is averaging 20.3 points in the series - up from a regular season mark of 13.1. "He’s a great player who turned it on at the right time for us," power forward Derrick Favors told the Salt Lake Tribune of Rubio. "A lot of people are surprised by the way he’s shooting and the way he’s playing offense. But the guys saw it all the way back in training camp. He was hitting shots, making plays, getting to the rim, making plays for other guys. He’s played great for us." Mitchell continues to play great for the Jazz as well and is averaging 25.7 points in the series with a pair of double-doubles.

INJURY REPORT:

Thunder - SG A. Roberson (Out For Season, Knee).

Jazz - SF T. Sefolosha (Out For Season, Knee).

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* Thunder are 7-19 ATS in their last 26 vs. NBA Northwest.
* Jazz are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Under is 5-1 in Thunder's last 6 road games.
* Over is 11-3 in Jazz last 14 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 8-1 in the last 9 meetings in Utah.

**Udog** · 04-23-2018, 09:27 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Monday, April 23

Houston @ Minnesota

Game 509-510
April 23, 2018 @ 8:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Houston
119.364
Minnesota
120.603
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 1
209
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Houston
by 5 1/2
219
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(+5 1/2); Under

Oklahoma City @ Utah

Game 511-512
April 23, 2018 @ 10:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Oklahoma City
123.666
Utah
126.712
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Utah
by 3
217
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Utah
by 6
209
Dunkel Pick:
Oklahoma City
(+6); Over

NBA
Long Sheet

Monday, April 23

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HOUSTON (67 - 18) at MINNESOTA (48 - 37) - 4/23/2018, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
HOUSTON is 5-15 ATS (-11.5 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 39-24 ATS (+12.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
HOUSTON is 52-34 ATS (+14.6 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 14-6 ATS (+7.4 Units) against Northwest division opponents this season.
HOUSTON is 19-9 ATS (+9.1 Units) in road games revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 102-65 ATS (+30.5 Units) in road games off a upset loss as a favorite since 1996.
HOUSTON is 18-7 ATS (+10.3 Units) in road games after allowing 115 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 41-66 ATS (-31.6 Units) in home games in April games since 1996.
MINNESOTA is 374-437 ATS (-106.7 Units) in the second half of the season since 1996.
MINNESOTA is 13-26 ATS (-15.6 Units) after scoring 115 points or more over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 8-6 against the spread versus HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
HOUSTON is 12-2 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
9 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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OKLAHOMA CITY (49 - 36) at UTAH (50 - 35) - 4/23/2018, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 34-49 ATS (-19.9 Units) in all games this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 3-16 ATS (-14.6 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 11-25 ATS (-16.5 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 17-27 ATS (-12.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
UTAH is 20-11 ATS (+7.9 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season.
UTAH is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 8-6 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
OKLAHOMA CITY is 11-4 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
10 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, April 23

Rockets (2-1) @ Timberwolves
Wiggins/Teague shot combined 16-25 in Minnesota’s 121-105 Game 3 win; home court has held thru series so far. Wolves made 15-27 on arc, after going 13-41 in first two series games. Harden is just 11-40 from floor in last two games; Rockets once again took more 3’s (15-41) than 2’s (22-40). This was Wolves’ first win in last nine tries vs Houston. Rockets are 2-3 vs spread in last five games in Twin Cities, but are 5-2 vs spread in last seven games overall. Over is 8-5 in last thirteen series games. Minnesota is 6-1 vs spread in last seven games overall.

Thunder @ Jazz (2-1)
Rubio had triple/double in Utah’s 115-102 Game 3 win at home; Utah shot 52.5% from floor, had 13 offensive boards. Thunder’s Big 3 was 18-43 from floor, after going 19-58 in Game 2. Jazz is 3-7 in last 10 games vs OKC, but they won last two; Thunder is 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Utah. Five of last seven series games stayed under the total. Utah won eight of last ten games overall; they won their last five home games. Under is 9-4 in last thirteen Jazz games. Westbrook was 5-17 with eight turnovers in Game 3; they need better than that from him.

Wizards-Raptors
Tor 114-106, -7.5, O211
Tor 130-119, -7, O214
 Wsh 122-103, -1, O217.5
 Wsh 106-98, +1.5, U217

Heat-76ers
Phil 130-103, -6.5, O212
Mia 113-103, +6.5, U217
 Phil 128-108, -2.5, O213.5
 Phil 106-102, -4, U212.5

Bucks-Celtics
Bos 113-107 OT, -4.5, O199.5
Bos 120-106, -1, O200 
Mil 116-92, -5, O205.5 
Mil 104-102, -5.5, O203.5

Pacers-Cavaliers
Ind 98-80, +7.5, U212.5 
Clev 100-97, -8, U209 
Ind 92-90, -1.5, U209.5 
Clev 104-100, -1.5, U206.5

Spurs-Warriors
GState 113-92, -8, U209.5 
GState 116-101, -9 O205.5 
GState 110-97, -3.5, O205.5 
SA 103-90, +5.5, U206.5

Pelicans-Blazers
NO 97-95, +5.5, U216.5
NO 111-102, +6, U216 
NO 119-102, -3.5, O215.5 
NO 131-123, -6.5, O217 
Pelicans win series, 4-0

Jazz-Thunder
OKC 116-108, -4.5, O205 
Utah 102-95, +4, U206.5
 Utah 115-102, -5, O209

Wolves-Rockets
Hst 104-101, -11.5, U215.5
 Hst 102-82, -10.5, U212.5
 Minn 121-105, +6, O217

NBA

Monday, April 23

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Trend Report
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Houston Rockets
Houston is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
Houston is 16-4 SU in its last 20 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston's last 7 games
Houston is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Houston is 15-4 SU in its last 19 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Houston's last 10 games on the road
Houston is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Minnesota
Houston is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Houston's last 20 games when playing Minnesota
Houston is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Houston's last 9 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Minnesota is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games
Minnesota is 16-7-1 ATS in its last 24 games at home
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games at home
Minnesota is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Houston
Minnesota is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Houston
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Minnesota's last 20 games when playing Houston
Minnesota is 7-13-1 ATS in its last 21 games when playing at home against Houston
Minnesota is 5-16 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing at home against Houston

Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City is 4-8-1 ATS in its last 13 games
Oklahoma City is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Oklahoma City's last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 6 games on the road
Oklahoma City is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Oklahoma City's last 19 games when playing Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Oklahoma City's last 9 games when playing on the road against Utah
Utah Jazz
Utah is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
Utah is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Utah's last 14 games
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Utah's last 5 games at home
Utah is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing Oklahoma City
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Utah's last 19 games when playing Oklahoma City
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Utah's last 9 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City

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**Udog** · 04-23-2018, 10:25 AM

We are now 30 games into the 2018 NBA Playoffs. Here are the current betting stats:

Home Teams:
21-9 Straight Up
18-11-1 ATS

Favorites:
22-8 Straight Up
18-11-1 ATS

Over-Under:
16-14

Announcement

Monday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/23

Monday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 4/23

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