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**Udog** · 05-03-2018, 08:35 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Updated NFL over-under win totals for 2018:

— San Francisco 49ers 8.5, under -$125

— Baltimore Ravens, 8.5, under -$130

— Tennessee Titans 8.5, under -$140

— Carolina Panthers 8, over -$140

— Dallas Cowboys 8, over -$135

— Jacksonville Jaguars 8, -$125

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

13) Sunday afternoon at Westwood Country Club in the St Louis area; 7th hole, 123 yards; two guys in the same foursome both got hole-in-1’s.

The odds of two guys in the same foursome getting an ace on the same hole are said to be 17,000,000-1. Pretty cool, but which guy had honors on the next hole?

12) Interesting article on Yahoo Sports about the Miami Dolphins’ scouts and how they went about their duties leading up to last week’s draft.

Over the course of last football season and leading up to the draft, Miami’s 10-man scouting staff graded 1,504 players, wrote 3,690 reports and visited 256 colleges.

11) ESPN said that Kyle Korver had the ball in his hands for 30 seconds during Cleveland’s OT win in Toronto Tuesday night. He made the most of those 30 seconds, making 7 of 17 shots, 5 of 12 behind the arc. 17 shots in 30 seconds with the ball; sounds like a good job.

10) Colorado Rockies led off Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field with back/back homers; that was first time since 1937 a visiting team starting a game at Wrigley with back/back jacks.

9) Dodgers were 23-4 last year when Clayton Kershaw started; they’re 2-5 this year.

8) Red Sox 5, Royals 4— Mookie Betts had three homers for Boston, which trailed 3-0 early.

7) According to ESPN, Phoenix Suns will hire Utah Jazz assistant coach Igor Kokoskov as their new head coach; he will become the first European-born head coach in the NBA..

6) Utah State’s football team will be paid $1.91M to come to Tuscaloosa and lose to the Crimson Tide during the 2022 season.

Thats the 3rd-most $$$ a team has ever gotten for a non-conference game; Florida is paying Colorado State $2M (as part of Jim McElwain’s buyout) for a game this fall and Auburn will pay Tulane $1.937M for a 2019 game

5) In case you were wondering, Albert Pujols holds the all-time major league record for first inning home runs— he hit his 142nd 1st inning homer off Dylan Bundy Wednesday night.

4) Baseball players get hurt a lot:
— Jacob deGrom hyperextended his elbow while batting Wednesday night; an MRI was taken; all Mets fans and deGrom fantasy owners are holding their breath.
— Braves’ SS Dansby Swanson left that same game with a sore left wrist.
— Dodgers’ P Hyun-jin Ryu left his start in the 2nd inning with an unknown injury.

3) Jazz 116, Rockets 108— Utah evens series 1-1 with a road win; they made 15-32 on arc, led by Joe Ingles’ 7-9. Winning a road game without Ricky Rubio is even more impressive.

2) A’s 3, Mariners 2– Paxton blanked Oakland for seven innings, striking out 16 hitters in an overpowering performance, but they took him out after 105 pitches and the A’s beat the Seattle bullpen.

1— Random question: What would baseball be like if there was no pitchers’ mound, just a circle in the middle of the infield where the pitchers threw the ball? Would scoring go way up?

**Udog** · 05-03-2018, 09:12 AM

Thursday's NBA Playoffs betting preview and odds

Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs continues Thursday with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics both trying to build on their Game 1 victories as underdogs.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors (-6.5, 212.5)

Cavaliers lead series 1-0.

It was more of the same in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with LeBron James - even on an off night - and his Cleveland Cavaliers once again getting the better of the Toronto Raptors. James and the Cavaliers will attempt to maintain their postseason dominance of the Raptors and take a commanding 2-0 series lead back home when the teams meet Thursday night in Toronto.

James recorded his 21st career playoff triple-double as Cleveland erased a 13-point deficit in the second half and survived multiple chances for the Raptors to win late in regulation and again in the closing seconds of overtime for a 113-112 win Tuesday night. "My teammates were unbelievable tonight," James told reporters afterward. "They stepped up when I wasn't at my best." Toronto, which has dropped nine of 11 playoff meetings with Cleveland over the last three seasons, must quickly move on from a game it probably should've won. "A lot of things, we did to ourselves," coach Dwane Casey told the media. "I think we're a better team. We just didn't make the shots down the stretch. I know it sounds simplistic, but we had our open looks, had our opportunities, that we didn't cash in on, and some other things we could clean up defensively."

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

SERIES PRICE (PER WESTGATE LV SUPERBOOK):

LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The Raptors opened as six-point favorites for Game 2 and as of Wednesday night they have been bumped up slightly to -6.5. This line move is despite 58 percent of wagers coming in on the underdog Cavs. The total hit betting boards at 212.5 and has not moved.

INJURY REPORT:

Cavaliers - No injuries to report.

Raptors - PG F. VanVleet (Questionable, Shoulder).

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (55-35 SU, 34-55-1 ATS, 42-46-2 O/U): James was 12-of-30 from the field and 1-of-6 from the line in his 26-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound performance. "Shots weren't going in for me," James - who was 3-for-15 in the fourth quarter and overtime - told reporters. "It was probably one of my worst games of the season." Kyle Korver is among those teammates James credited with helping him out, and the sharpshooter tied his 2018 playoff high with 19 points while making 5-of-12 3-pointers.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (63-26 SU, 47-41-1 ATS, 45-43-1 O/U): Toronto has certainly heard all the talk of being owned by Cleveland and it seemed to lose its mental edge when the Cavaliers made things tight down the stretch Tuesday, including a final possession in regulation when the hosts had four misses. "We are better than some of the situations we put ourselves in," Casey added. "I can do a better job. I didn't like some of the possessions we had down the stretch even though we got open looks. We all can be better. Some of the turnovers we had. …" The Raptors had 14 turnovers while forcing just six and they've coughed it up 17 more times than their opponents during the postseason.

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* Cavaliers are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 Conference Semifinals games.
* Raptors are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 Conference Semifinals games.
* Over is 8-3 in Cavaliers' last 11 vs. NBA Atlantic.
* Over is 7-1 in Raptors' last 8 Conference Semifinals games.
* Cavaliers are 5-1-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Toronto.

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics (+4, 206)

Celtics lead series 1-0.

The Boston Celtics delivered the opening salvo and now the visiting Philadelphia 76ers look to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday. Boston received another stunning postseason showing from guard Terry Rozier and knocked down 17 3-pointers in Monday's 117-101 victory in the series opener.

The unsung Rozier emerged as a surprise standout in the first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks and he continued his solid play by making 7-of-9 3-pointers and scoring 29 points in the opener. Rozier, who also had eight rebounds and six assists, received quality help from forwards Jayson Tatum (28 points) and Al Horford (26 points on 10-of-12 shooting) as Boston scored 30 or more in each of the final three quarters. Philadelphia star big man Joel Embiid recorded 31 points and 13 rebounds in Game 1 but the squad was an abysmal 5-of-26 from 3-point range. "I thought this was one of our poorer defensive games," 76ers coach Brett Brown told reporters. "I think, to look at this game, defensively, offensively, this isn't who we are. This is a very poor game from us."

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT

SERIES PRICE (PER WESTGATE LV SUPERBOOK):

LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The 76ers opened as 3.5-point road favorites for Game 2 and as of Wednesday night that number is up to 4 - this despite 54 percent of wagers coming in on the underdog Celtics. The total hit betting boards at 207 and is down slightly to 206.

INJURY REPORT:

76ers - SG T. Luwawu-Cabarrot (Out Indefinitely, Knee).

Celtics - SG J. Brown (Probable, Hamstring), PG M. Smart (Probable, Thumb), PG K. Irving (Out For Season, Knee), PF D. Theis (Out For Season, Knee), SF G. Hayward (Out For Season, Ankle).

ABOUT THE 76ERS (56-32 SU, 51-35-2 ATS, 44-43-1 O/U): Rookie point guard Ben Simmons had 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Game 1 but also committed seven turnovers and is well aware the team didn't give its best effort. "Game 1, we were comfortable, we knew what they were going to throw at us, but we obviously just didn't execute, and didn't stick with it," Simmons told reporters on Wednesday. "I think that's where we lost most of the game at. We know exactly what we're going to get into once we hit the floor." Forwards Robert Covington (three points on 0-of-6 shooting) and Ersan Ilyasova (six points on 2-of-9 shooting) were among the 76ers who experienced subpart efforts.

ABOUT THE CELTICS (60-30 SU, 56-32-2 ATS, 49-40-1 O/U): Shooting guard Jaylen Brown (hamstring) is listed as doubtful and coach Brad Stevens didn't sound like someone who wants to push the situation when he met with reporters on Wednesday. "The bottom line is, with this hamstring injury, it's not terrible," Stevens said. "It's not a long-term thing, it shouldn't linger if he comes back at the right time. But you could make it worse if you don't come back at the right time, if you have to guard JJ Redick and Marco Belinelli." Brown suffered the injury during Game 7 of the series with the Bucks and was hoping to play in the opening game before the plan was nixed by team trainers.

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* 76ers are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up loss.
* Celtics are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 home games.
* Over is 4-1 in 76ers' last 5 road games.
* Over is 13-3 in Celtics' last 16 home games.
* Underdog is 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings.

**Udog** · 05-03-2018, 09:12 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Thursday, May 3

Philadelphia @ Boston

Game 509-510
May 3, 2018 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Philadelphia
124.218
Boston
117.869
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Philadelphia
by 6 1/2
202
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Philadelphia
by 4
206 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Philadelphia
(-4); Under

Cleveland @ Toronto

Game 511-512
May 3, 2018 @ 6:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cleveland
115.687
Toronto
124.574
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 9
216
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
by 6 1/2
212 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto
(-6 1/2); Over

NBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 3

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PHILADELPHIA (56 - 32) at BOSTON (60 - 30) - 5/3/2018, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 54-32 ATS (+18.8 Units) in all games this season.
BOSTON is 21-7 ATS (+13.3 Units) as an underdog this season.
BOSTON is 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) off an upset win as an underdog this season.
BOSTON is 30-16 ATS (+12.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
BOSTON is 33-17 ATS (+14.3 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 52-36 ATS (+12.4 Units) in all games this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 37-24 ATS (+10.6 Units) as a favorite this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) when playing with 2 days rest this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 62-41 ATS (+16.9 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 26-14 ATS (+10.6 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 50-35 ATS (+11.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 7-6 against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 11-2 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CLEVELAND (55 - 35) at TORONTO (63 - 26) - 5/3/2018, 6:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CLEVELAND is 34-54 ATS (-25.4 Units) in all games this season.
TORONTO is 199-250 ATS (-76.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
CLEVELAND is 13-7 against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
CLEVELAND is 15-6 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
13 of 21 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, May 3

76ers @ Celtics (1-0)
Horford/Rozier shot combined 21-30 from floor in Boston’s 117-101 Game 1 win; Celtics’ subs were +27 for game. Philly lost four of five games with Boston this year; three of those five games stayed under the total. Celtics won/covered their last six home games. Over is 10-2 in their last 12 games. 76ers won nine of their last ten road games; they’re 20-2 in last 22 games overall. 76ers were even in Redick’s 34:00 on floor in Game 1; they were -16 in 14:00 he was out. Sixers need more from Covington, who was 0-6 from floor in 27:00.

Cavaliers (1-0) @ Raptors  
Cavaliers rallied back from 14 down to pull out Game 1 in OT; Cleveland was +8 (13-5) in turnovers- Smith/Korver shot combined 13-28 in support of James, who scored 28. Cavaliers are 3-1 vs Toronto this season, winning last three meetings- they split a pair here. Cleveland split its last eight road games; six of their last nine games stayed under total. Toronto won seven of its last eight home games; they’re 5-1-1 vs spread in last seven. Under is 3-1 in Raptors’ last four games. Toronto needs to do better than shooting 9-28 on the arc.

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
Utah 116-108, +10.5, O205

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

Thursday, May 3

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Trend Report
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games
Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland's last 9 games
Cleveland is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland's last 6 games on the road
Cleveland is 6-1-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Toronto
Cleveland is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing Toronto
Cleveland is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Cleveland is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto Raptors
Toronto is 7-13-1 ATS in its last 21 games
Toronto is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games
Toronto is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games at home
Toronto is 1-6-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Cleveland
Toronto is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing Cleveland
Toronto is 1-5-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Cleveland
Toronto is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland

Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia is 15-5 ATS in its last 20 games
Philadelphia is 20-2 SU in its last 22 games
Philadelphia is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Philadelphia is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games on the road
Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Philadelphia is 2-15 SU in its last 17 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 10 games when playing Boston
Philadelphia is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Boston
Philadelphia is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 10 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Celtics
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Boston is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Boston's last 12 games
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Boston's last 9 games at home
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Boston is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Boston's last 10 games when playing Philadelphia
Boston is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
Boston is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Boston's last 10 games when playing at home against Philadelphia

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**Udog** · 05-03-2018, 10:11 AM

Current NBA Playoffs betting stats:

Home Teams:
38-13 Straight Up
30-20-1 ATS (60%)

Favorites:
40-11 Straight Up
31-19-1 ATS (62%)

Over-Under: 27-24

Announcement

Thursday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/3

Thursday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/3

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