Announcement

**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 08:45 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Updated NFL over-under win totals for 2018:

— New England Patriots 11.5, over -$116

— Pittsburgh Steelers 10.5, under -$116

— Philadelphia Eagles 10, over -$125

— Minnesota Vikings 10, over -$125

— Green Bay Packers 10, under -$135

— New Orleans Saints 9.5, over -$135

**********

Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Mid-week musings…….

13) Kentucky Expo recently had an autograph session with members of the old Kentucky Colonels of the ABA, a team that got screwed over bigtime when the ABA folded in 1976.

The Colonels were awesome; their last five years in the ABA, they went 281-139, winning the ’75 (2nd-to-last) ABA title. Hubie Brown coached the Colonels their last two seasons; they had players like Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Louie Dampier, Maurice Lucas.

12) When the ABA folded, the Spurs, Nets, Pacers, Nuggets got absorbed into the NBA; the owners of the Spirits of St Louis were paid off to go away (an excellent story for another day), and that left the Colonels as the odd team out, since only four teams would go to the NBA.

11) John Y Brown owned the Colonels; he had gotten rich from buying KFC from the original Colonel Sanders. He turned a $2M investment into $284M in seven years.

The NBA paid Brown $3M to fold the Colonels and then bought half-interest in the NBA’s Buffalo Braves— he bought the other 50% the next year, then wound up trading the Braves franchise for the Boston Celtics- the guy that bought the Braves then moved them to San Diego, where they became the Clippers.

10) Think about how this all changed the course of history:
— Maurice Lucas went to Portland and the Blazers won the NBA title in his first year there.
— Buffalo Braves wound up losing their team.
— Spurs might’ve disappeared forever had the Colonels gone to the NBA.
— Brown somehow wound up being Governor of Kentucky.

9) When the 2017-18 NBA regular season ended earlier this month, there were 265 players with G League experience on NBA rosters. 17 of 30 first-round draft picks from the 2017 NBA draft spent some time in the G-League this season.

8) This past season in the G-League, players were either on an A contract that paid $28,000 or a B contract that paid $26,000. Next year, all G-League players will be paid $35,000.

7) NFL rushing yards per game leaders last year:
Ezekiel Elliott 98.3, Todd Gurley 87.0, Le’Veon Bell 86.1

6) When you think about Charlie Blackmon’s big numbers, most people would credit the thin air in Denver, but Blackmon has already hit nine homers on the road this season, one at home.

5) Giants put Johnny Cueto (elbow) on the DL.

4) A’s/Mariners will open the 2019 season in Japan, March 20-21; last time this happened was in 2012 and the A’s made the playoffs that year, so I won’t complain about it.

3) Since 2005, Cleveland Browns have drafted seven QB’s in rounds 1-3 of the draft; none of those seven guys is currently a starter in the league.

2) Braves 3, Mets 2— Third time Noah Syndergaard has allowed 10+ hits in a game; first two times were in 2015, when he was a rookie.

1) Siena finally decided on a basketball coach, after weeks of bungling their coaching search; they hire former Mount St Mary coach Jamion Christian, who was 101-95 in six years with the Mountaineers, 67-39 in NEC games.

It is getting way more difficult to be a mid-major or low major coach now, since players transfer at the drop of a hat— it is a form of free agency. If a program at a higher level doesn’t recruit well, they just poach a good player from a lower level, like they are a farm club.

**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 08:45 AM

Wednesday's NBA Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds: Jazz at Rockets

Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets (-11, 204.5)

Rockets lead series 1-0.

The Houston Rockets look to take a 2-0 lead when they host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinal series. Star guard James Harden scored 41 points in Houston's series-opening 110-96 victory to continue his season-long assault of the Jazz.

Harden averaged 34.3 points in four meetings with the Utah in the regular season -- including a 56-point outing -- and the defensive-minded Jazz once again had no answers on slowing down the MVP candidate. "You can put a list of about 28 other teams that don't have an answer, either," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. "There's no answer. He might play bad because he's human, but there's nothing that you can conceivably come up with to stop him." Utah isn't fretting over the Game 1 loss as it also lost the opener of its first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder before recovering to win in six games. "We were in the exact same situation," Jazz small forward Joe Ingles told reporters. "Everyone had written us off after Game 1, probably the way they have now. We have a great group. We love being able to have the time to watch the film and make some adjustments."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):

LINE HISTORY: The Rockets opened as 12-point home favorites for Game 2 and as of Tuesday evening that pointspread is down to -11 with 53 percent of wagers coming in on the underdog Jazz. The total hit betting boards at 206 and has been dropped to 204.5.

INJURY REPORT:

Jazz - SG D. Mitchell (Probable, Ankle), PG R. Rubio (Early May, Hamstring), SF T. Sefolosha (Out For Season, Knee).

Rockets - No injuries to report.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE JAZZ (52-37 SU, 46-43 ATS, 42-46-1 O/U): Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell is picking up a large portion of the ball-handling with veteran point guard Ricky Rubio (hamstring) sidelined and he committed four turnovers to go with 9-of-22 shooting while scoring 21 points in the opener. The point total was Mitchell's lowest in seven games this postseason and he was also hampered by a sore ankle, which he insists won't be a problem in Game 2. "My head was never down, and I don't think my teammates' heads were down," Mitchell told reporters. "It's one game out of a long series."

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (70-18 SU, 45-42-1 ATS, 36-51-1 O/U): Harden had nothing to reveal for why he typically enjoys success against a team that ranked sixth in scoring defense at 102.4 during the regular season. "For the most part, I'm going to do what I do," Harden told reporters. "Offensively I think this team, us, we're different. We've seen so many different defenses throughout the year that have prepared us for this moment, whether it's (Utah center Rudy) Gobert being back at the rim or teams switching or whatever. We've seen pretty much it all, all year." Harden received complementary help from point guard Chris Paul (17 points), center Clint Capela (16 points, 12 rebounds) and forward PJ Tucker (15 points) in the opener.

TRENDS:

* Jazz are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Conference Semifinals games.
* Rockets are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 8-2 in Jazz's last 10 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
* Under is 18-6 in Rockets' last 24 home games.
* Jazz are 2-8 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Houston.

**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 08:51 AM

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, May 2

Jazz @ Rockets (1-0)
Game 1 was 64-39 at halftime; Houston made 17-32 on arc as they jogged to their Game 1 win. Utah PG Rubio (hamstring) is out here. Houston won/covered its last five games with the Jazz; Utah is 2-5 SU/ATS in its last seven visits to Houston. Eight of last 11 series games went over the total. Jazz lost three of their last five road games. Under is 6-3 in last nine series games. Rockets won five of their last seven home games (4-3 vs spread). Three of Rockets’ last four games went over total. Under is 6-3 in Utah’s last nine games.

Second Round
Pelicans-Warriors
GState 123-101, -7.5, O223.5
GState 121-116, -11, O229

Jazz-Rockets
Hst 110-96, -11.5, U206.5

76ers-Celtics
Bos 117-101, +5, O205

Cavaliers-Raptors
Clev 113-112 OT +7, O213.5

First Round
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
Tor 108-97, -7, U216
Tor 102-92, -2, U214.5
Raptors win series, 4-2

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
Phil 104-91, -10, U215.5
76ers win series, 4-1

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
Bos 92-87, -4.5, U202.5
Mil 97-86, -4.5, U201.5
Bos 112-96, -4.5, O196
Celtics win series, 4-3

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
Clev 98-95, -6.5, U206
Ind 121-87, -1.5, O202
Clev 105-101, -5.5, O200.5
Cavaliers win series, 4-3

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
GState 99-91, -11, U204.5
Warriors win series, 4-1

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
Utah 113-96, -5, O208
OKC 107-99, -2.5, U207.5
Utah 96-91, –7, U207.5
Jazz win series, 4-2

Wolves-Rockets
Hst 104-101, -11.5, U215.5
Hst 102-82, -10.5, U212.5
Minn 121-105, +6, O217
Hst 119-100, -6, O217
Hst 122-104, -12, O217
Rockets win series, 4-1

NBA

Wednesday, May 2

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

Utah Jazz
Utah is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah's last 6 games
Utah is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Utah is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games on the road
Utah is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah's last 5 games on the road
Utah is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Houston
Utah is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Utah's last 8 games when playing Houston
Utah is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston
Utah is 2-10 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Utah's last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston
Houston Rockets
Houston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 18 of Houston's last 25 games
Houston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Utah
Houston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Utah
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston's last 8 games when playing Utah
Houston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Utah
Houston is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Utah
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing at home against Utah

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

**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 09:28 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Wednesday, May 2

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

UTAH (52 - 37) at HOUSTON (70 - 18) - 5/2/2018, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
HOUSTON is 17-6 ATS (+10.4 Units) against Northwest division opponents this season.
HOUSTON is 21-11 ATS (+8.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.
UTAH is 16-7 ATS (+8.3 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
HOUSTON is 8-4 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
HOUSTON is 8-4 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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

**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 02:55 PM

NBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, May 2

Utah @ Houston

Game 507-508
May 2, 2018 @ 10:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Utah
122.675
Houston
127.774
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Houston
by 5
201
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Houston
by 11
206
Dunkel Pick:
Utah
(+11); Under

Announcement

Wednesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/2

Wednesday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/2

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment