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**Udog** · 05-10-2019, 08:39 AM

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

— Iona College is getting $6M in renovations to its basketball arena.

— Hard to believe, but Washington is 1-7 this season when Max Scherzer starts.

— Mariners started the season 13-2, are now 20-20.

— Arizona Cardinals signed QB Kyler Murray to a 4-year, $35M deal.

— Have they announced which NFL team is going to be on Hard Knocks this summer?

— RIP Jim Fowler, 89, Marlon Perkins’ sidekick on Wild Kingdom, the old TV show about animals all over the world.

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Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here…….

13) Albert Pujols got his 2,000th career RBI when he homered Thursday in Detroit. 1,029 of his 2,000 RBI have come via home runs.

A 33-year old law student caught Pujols’ historic home run, but refused four offers to sell the keepsake baseball back to Pujols— both the Tigers/Angels made multiple offers to the guy.

“I don’t want money. I don’t care.” Alrighty then.

12) Pretty fitting that Billy Joel spent his 70th birthday doing a concert in Madison Square Garden; that must’ve been a great night.

Long time ago, back in the 90’s sometime, Billy Joel booked a couple of concerts here in Albany- they sold out in about a half hour. They added a couple more dates- they sold out, too. Don’t remember the exact number, but pretty sure he wound up with 8-10 concerts here that month, all sellouts. I went to one of them, just a terrific show.

11) Every baseball telecast should announce which umpires are in the replay center in New York City. Gary Cohen does it sometimes on Met games; never heard anyone else do it.

10) South Carolina appears ready to offer $120M in tax breaks to the Carolina Panthers to move their practice fields and team headquarters out of North Carolina, and into the Palmetto State.

Rock Hill, SC is only 15 miles from Charlotte, which is what makes all this feasible.

Must be nice to be rich; people line up to give you even more money.

9) Westgate SuperBook took 46 bets on Tony Romo to win the Byron Nelson at 10,000/1; he shot a 5-over par 76 in the first round Thursday, even with an eagle on one hole.

8) 76ers 112, Raptors 101— Game 7 is in Toronto Sunday.

Trailblazers 119, Nuggets 108— Game 7 is in Denver Sunday.

7) Baseball injuries:
— Giants put C Buster Posey on 7-day concussion list.
— Mets put P Steven Matz on the IL.

6) Watching Rangers-Astros game, being played in a dome, but there are open spaces in the walls in left-center field and it was pouring rain in Houston, so when they showed pitches from the centerfield camera, you could see a steady downpour of rain that wasn’t coming down on the field, but some of the fans were getting drenched.

5) Wednesday night, Orioles lost a tough 2-1 game in 12 innings to Boston; saw something in the boxscore that I don’t think I’ve seen before.

Baltimore hitters struck out 22 times, with zero walks. Thats really terrible.

Jackie Bradley Jr made an amazing catch to rob Mancini of a homer that would’ve ended the game. Tremendous catch.

4) Doug Eddings has umpired home plate in seven games this season; the underdog won all seven games.

3) Minnesota Twins’ new replay coordinator Nate Dammann spent the last 12 years as one of their bullpen catchers, an interesting change/upgrade in career.

2) Astros 4, Rangers 2— Hunter Pence has 17 RBI in his last nine games for Texas.

1) NFL recently cut $20M from the NFL Network budget less than two years from a potential work stoppage, which may be a bad omen for the 2021 season taking place.

**Udog** · 05-10-2019, 08:42 AM

**Udog** · 05-10-2019, 08:48 AM

519Golden State -520 Houston
GOLDEN STATE is 16-32 ATS (-19.2 Units) after failing to cover 4 of their last 5 against the spread in the last 3 seasons.

NBA
Dunkel

Friday, May 10

Golden State @ Houston

Game 519-520
May 10, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Golden State
126.303
Houston
126.620
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Golden State
Even
232
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Houston
by 7 1/2
213
Dunkel Pick:
Golden State
(+7 1/2); Over

NBA
Long Sheet

Friday, May 10

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GOLDEN STATE (64 - 29) at HOUSTON (59 - 33) - 5/10/2019, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 39-53 ATS (-19.3 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 7-15 ATS (-9.5 Units) against Southwest division opponents this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 49-66 ATS (-23.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 31-48 ATS (-21.8 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 16-27 ATS (-13.7 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 32-42 ATS (-14.2 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
HOUSTON is 27-17 ATS (+8.3 Units) in home games this season.
HOUSTON is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in home games revenging a loss vs opponent this season.
HOUSTON is 30-18 ATS (+10.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
HOUSTON is 42-27 ATS (+12.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
HOUSTON is 13-9 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 12-11 straight up against HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
15 of 23 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, May 10

Home side won all five Houston-Golden State games; Durant is out for Game 6 and Warriors’ approach figures to change. Will they revert to taking ton of 3’s? Golden State took 11 3’s in 4th quarter of Game 5. 7.5 points is most Warriors have gotten under Kerr, with Curry in lineup. Golden State lost three of last four visits to Houston (1-3 vs spread). Under is 4-2-1 in last seven series games. Harden took only three shots in 4th quarter Wednesday. Rockets’ bench was -37 in 47:42 in Game 5; Warriors’ bench took only seven shots but were +3. Curry is 9-34 from arc in last three games; does his injured left hand prevent him from driving that way? Over is 6-3-1 in Golden State’s last ten games, 3-7-1 in Houston’s last 11.

NBA

Friday, May 10

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Trend Report
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Golden State Warriors
Golden State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Golden State is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Golden State's last 7 games
Golden State is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Golden State is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Golden State's last 6 games on the road
Golden State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Houston
Golden State is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Golden State's last 14 games when playing Houston
Golden State is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Houston
Golden State is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Golden State's last 14 games when playing on the road against Houston
Houston Rockets
Houston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Houston is 17-7 SU in its last 24 games
Houston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Golden State
Houston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Houston's last 14 games when playing Golden State
Houston is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Golden State
Houston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Houston's last 14 games when playing at home against Golden State

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**Udog** · 05-10-2019, 11:52 AM

Game 6 - Warriors at Rockets
Chris David

Western Conference Semifinals – Game 6 (Warriors lead 3-2)

Golden State at Houston (ESPN, 9:00 p.m. ET)

The NBA Playoffs will have at least two Game 7’s on tap this Sunday and if Houston can avoid elimination tonight to Golden State, then bettors will be looking at three decisive matchups over the weekend.

The Warriors took a 3-2 lead in this series after capturing a 104-99 win in Game 5 on Wednesday but that victory turned out to be bitter sweet for the two-time defending champions.

The club lost All-Star Kevin Durant to a calf injury late in the third quarter and it was announced yesterday that he’ll miss tonight’s game and a possible Game 7 on Sunday as well. Durant has been out of this world in the playoffs, averaging 34.2 points per game, 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 51 percent from the field, 42 percent from 3-point land and 90 percent from the free-throw stripe. In a nutshell, he’s been unstoppable.

NBA expert Tony Mejia considers the diagnosis of a calf strain instead of something far more significant a fabulous break for Kevin Durant and anyone holding a Warriors’ ticket on any futures. Although the Eastern Conference champ would be a major obstacle to overcome without Durant’s length, Golden State’s familiarity with its West foes should aid its cause in buying the two-time Finals MVP time to recover.

“The Warriors won’t win a championship without Durant but can get out of the Western Conference without him if they can get out of this series,” Mejia said. “Golden State won three of four games without him during the regular season, losing only in Orlando (96-103) on Feb. 28 after blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead. The Dubs scored just 15 points against the Magic over the final 12 minutes as they fell victim to Orlando’s length, but they defeated the Rockets (106-104) and Thunder (110-88) without Durant in March and obviously thrived and survived a crucial fourth quarter without him on Wednesday.”

“DeMarcus Cousins scored 27 points and hit 11 of 16 shots in imposing his will in that win over Houston, so the Warriors won’t be able to follow the same blueprint without Durant, but Klay Thompson scored 30 in that win and must factor heavily in stealing a Game 6 in Houston or surviving an elimination game back at Oracle on Sunday. Thompson is going to face a heavy workload as one of the primary defenders on Harden in addition to a larger load on the offensive end, so it’s vital that he stay out of foul trouble and engaged.”

“Even though Stephen Curry has shot just 26 percent from 3-point range (15-for-57) in this series, a more defined role as the catalyst makes him worth backing in any individual player props involving his scoring total,” Mejia said. “His high for this postseason is 38 points, attained back in Game 1 of the first round against the Clippers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he posts only his second 40-point game since February if he can get it going early.”

As Mejia mentioned, the 3-1 record without Durant in the regular season was produced on the road and the unlikely win over Houston was impressive. Cousins not only went for 27 but he added eight rebounds and seven assists too while the ‘Splash Brothers’ (Curry & Thompson) combined for 54 in the win. Since Cousins was lost in the first round of this year’s playoffs, it makes you wonder who could possibly step up for the Warriors on Friday without the big man and KD.

Under the assumption that KD was ‘doubtful’ for Game 6, the oddsmakers opened Houston as a 7 ½-point home favorite and that line has held steady after his status was downgraded to ‘out.’

Are bettors still doubting the Rockets? If the game was on the road, you can certainly see why but the recent trends from the Toyota Center all lean to Houston. Mike D’Antoni and company have gone 5-0 straight up and 4-1 against the spread in this year’s playoffs at home and since the head coach arrived in 2016, the team is 17-6 SU and 12-11 ATS in the postseason as hosts.

While those numbers are solid, NBA expert Kevin Rogers dug into them further and you could be pumping the brakes on Houston tonight.

He explained, “The Rockets own an 0-3 record both SU and ATS in the last three playoff games when facing elimination since 2016. Two of those losses came at Toyota Center, including a 114-75 drubbing at the hands of the Spurs as nine-point favorites in Game 6 of the 2017 second round.”

Of the six losses that Houston has had under D’Antonio at home in the playoffs, three of them came to Golden State and that includes the 101-92 loss in Game 7 of last year’s Western Conference Finals.

Rogers noted, “The Warriors have wrapped up each of their last three postseason series away from Oracle Arena, all victories by nine points or more. Granted, Golden State is without Durant, but under Steve Kerr, the Warriors have not lost three road playoff games in a series dating back to 2015.”

As an underdog, Golden State has gone 3-5 SU and 4-4 ATS this season, which includes the Game 3 setback (126-121) to Houston (-3.5) in this series. Since Kerr took over the coaching duties in 2014, the Warriors have been listed as underdogs eight times in the playoffs. The club has gone 4-4 both SU and ATS while the totals have also gone 4-4. Friday’s line is the largest amount of points that Golden State has ever received in the postseason with Kerr on the sidelines.

The total on Game 6 opened at 210 but has been pushed up to 214. The ‘over’ has gone 3-2 in the first five games of this series and that includes both games going high in Houston. The Rockets have been averaging 115.8 PPG at home in the playoffs. In the four games without KD this season, the Warriors averaged 104 PPG while only allowing 99.5 PPG. Not surprisingly, the ‘under’ went 4-0 in those contests.

From a futures perspective, Golden State was the odds-on 5/7 favorite (Bet $100 to win $71) to pull off the “Three-peat” and capture this year’s NBA Finals prior to the Game 5 victory. As of this morning, the Warriors are now a 5/4 (Bet $100 to win $125) betting choice to win the title.

The series price still has Golden State (-185) listed as a favorite but the return on Houston (+160) was adjusted.

If necessary Game 7 will take place on Sunday from Oracle Arena and if that happens, it will be the first time since 2014 that the NBA Playoffs will have three Game 7’s on the same day.

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Friday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/10

Friday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 5/10

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