Cnotes 2020-2021 nba trends, news, best bets and opinions thru the playoffs !

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Sunday, April 18

[Udog]

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, April 18

Indiana @ Atlanta
Pacers (26-29)
— Indiana won five of its last eight games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Pacers are 7-3 ATS in their last ten road games.
— Over is 4-2 in Indiana’s last six games.

Hawks (30-26)
— Hawks is 16-6 SU since they changed coaches.
— Hawks are 8-2 ATS in their last ten home games.
— Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— Indiana won eight of last nine series games.
— Pacers are 4-2 ATS in last six visits to Atlanta.
— Over is 5-2 in last seven series games.

New Orleans @ New York
Pelicans (25-31)
— New Orleans won three of its last five games.
— Pelicans are 6-10 ATS in their last 16 road games.
— Over is 6-4 in their last ten games.

Knicks (30-27)
— New York won/covered its last five games.
— Knicks are 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games.
— Over is 6-2 in New York’s last eight games.

— Knicks won by 10 in New Orleans Wednesday.
— Pelicans won six of last nine series games.
— New Orleans is 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Manhattan.
— Over is 4-1 in last five series games.

Brooklyn @ Miami
Nets (38-18)
— Brooklyn is 4-3 SU its last seven games.
— Nets are 6-4 ATS in last ten road games.
— Over is 5-1 in last six Brooklyn games.

Heat (28-28)
— Miami lost its last three games SU.
— Heat is 2-6 ATS in last eight home games.
— Over is 5-0 in their last five home games.

— Brooklyn won four of last six series games.
— Nets covered three of last four visits to Miami.
— Three of last four series games went over.

Portland @ Charlotte
Trailblazers (32-23)
— Portland lost four of its last six games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Blazers are 3-7 ATS in last ten road games.
— Under is 6-2 in Portland’s last eight games.

Hornets (27-28)
— Charlotte lost its last four games SU.
— Hornets are 3-6 ATS in their last nine games.
— Under is 15-5 in Charlotte’s last 20 games.

— Portland won last seven series games.
— Trailblazers are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Charlotte.
— Last three series games went over the total.

Houston @ Orlando
Rockets (14-42)
— Houston lost 32 of its last 35 games (8-27 ATS).
— Rockets are 3-3 ATS in last six road games.
— Over is 6-1-1 in their last eight games.

Magic (18-38)
— Orlando lost 20 of its last 25 games.
— Magic is 1-3 ATS in last four home games.
— Over is 7-2 in their last nine games overall.

— Houston won seven of last nine series games.
— Rockets are 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Orlando.
— Over is 4-1-1 in last six series games.

Oklahoma City @ Toronto
Thunder (20-36)
— Thunder lost nine in row, 12 of last 13 games.
— OKC is 5-8 ATS in their last 13 road games.
— Under is 10-2 in their last dozen road games.

Raptors (23-34)
— Toronto won three of its last five games.
— Raptors are 2-4 ATS in their last six home games.
— Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— OKC won six of last eight series games.
— Thunder covered last five road series games.
— Over is 7-2-1 in last ten series games.

Sacramento @ Dallas
Kings (22-34)
— Sacramento lost its last nine games.
— Kings are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games.
— Over is 5-3 in Sacramento’s last eight road games.

Mavericks (30-25)
— Mavericks lost three of their last four games.
— Mavericks are 3-5 ATS in last eight home games.
— Under is 19-8 in last 27 Dallas games.

— Mavericks won last three series games.
— Kings are covered four of their last five visits to Dallas.
— Four of last five series games went over the total.

Minnesota @ LA Clippers
Timberwolves (15-42)
— Minnesota lost 11 of its last 16 games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Wolves are 3-5 ATS in last eight road games.
— Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.

Clippers (39-19)
— Clippers won 13 of their last 16 games.
— Clippers are 4-1 ATS in last five home games.
— Three of Clippers’ last four home games went over the total.

— Clippers won five of last six series games.
— Minnesota is 1-3 ATS in last four road series games.
— Over is 7-3 in last ten series games.

[Udog]

NBA

Sunday, April 18

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Trend Report
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Indiana @ Atlanta
Indiana
Indiana is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Atlanta
Indiana is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
Atlanta is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games at home

New Orleans @ New York
New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans's last 5 games when playing New York
New Orleans is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing New York
New York
New York is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
New York is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Brooklyn @ Miami
Brooklyn
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Brooklyn's last 6 games
Brooklyn is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Miami
Miami
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Miami's last 8 games

Portland @ Charlotte
Portland
Portland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Charlotte
Portland is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Charlotte
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Charlotte's last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Charlotte's last 16 games

Oklahoma City @ Toronto
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Oklahoma City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 7 games

Houston @ Orlando
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games
Houston is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing Orlando
Orlando
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Orlando's last 9 games
Orlando is 15-7 ATS in its last 22 games when playing Houston

Sacramento @ Dallas
Sacramento
Sacramento is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Sacramento is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Dallas's last 12 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing at home against Sacramento

Minnesota @ LA Clippers
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Minnesota's last 12 games on the road
LA Clippers
LA Clippers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
LA Clippers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games


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[Udog]

Hoop Trends for Sunday April 18
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Indiana at Atlanta (1:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Hawks are 10-0-1 ATS (6.82 ppg) with more than one day of rest after playing as a home dog last game.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Sacramento at Dallas (7:40 p.m. ET)

-- The Mavericks are 0-11 ATS (-11.77 ppg) off a home game in which they scored fewer than 10 fast break points.

OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Brooklyn at Miami (3:40 p.m. ET)

-- The Heat are 12-0-2 OU (8.61 ppg) at home after they had assists on at least 75 percent of their field goals last game.

OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Houston at Orlando (7:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Rockets are 0-15-1 OU (-8.16 ppg) coming off a 10+ point loss as a home dog.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Monday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in RBI:
18— JD Martinez, Bos
16— Acuna, Turner, Lowe
15— Tyler Naquin, Cin
14— Devers, Franco, Haniger, Hosmer,
13— McKinstry, Moran, Shaw, Walsh
12— Seven guys have knocked in 12 runs.
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 566,549
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Anyone want to sign this Romo guy for free? He’s from Wisconsin.”
Green Bay Packers’ scout after the 2003 draft, when Green Bay was deciding which undrafted players to sign

Monday’s quiz
Since 2008, which left-handed hitter has hit the most home runs?

Sunday’s quiz
When Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly played in the USFL, he played for the Houston Gamblers.

Saturday’s quiz
Don Mattingly was the Dodgers’ manager before Dave Roberts.

*************************************************

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend……

13) AL East standings:
10-6- Boston
8-8- Tampa Bay
7-9- Toronto
7-9- Baltimore
5-10- Bronx

Have to be some coaches in the Bronx who are queasy about their future employment; season is almost 10% over, and they’re scoring 3.67 runs/game.

For a team with an Opening Day payroll of $197,675,220, more is expected.

12) Russell Brandt writes an interesting article about football on espn.com; this week he told a story about the day Green Bay drafted Aaron Rodgers. Very interesting stuff.

NFL teams grade all players before the draft and assign them grades, as to which round they should be drafted in. For the 2005, the Packers had 20 players with first round grades, and they had the 24th pick. If no first round players are available, teams would look to trade out of the first roumd.

That year, when the 24th pick came around, only one player was available with a first round grade; Aaron Rodgers. Considering the Packers already had Brett Favre, this was a dilemma, but when no one called to ask about a trade, Green Bay drafted the player with the first round grade and things turned out pretty well.

11) NFL Draft is coming up in 10 days, so ESPN will obsess over that and the NBA and continue to ignore baseball, except on Sunday nights. Not sure why they do that, but they do.

10) I posted this yesterday:
Red Sox 7, White Sox 4:
— Boston wore bright yellow jerseys with light blue hats; they looked like a cross between UCLA and the Oakland Invaders of the old USFL. No idea what that was about, but if a team is known as the RED Sox, maybe they should have some red in there.

As it turns out, the jerseys represents the color scheme of the Boston Marathon, which is usually held on Patriots’ Day, which is today (Monday).

9) Mets 2, Rockies 1— Not sure what Colorado’s business plan is; they’re 4-12 this year, they dealt their biggest star (Nolan Arenado), will probably trade Trevor Story, their future isn’t very bright. Feel bad for manager Bud Black; he basically has zero chance to win with that roster.

Rockies have very good TV announcers; they’re going to spend lot of time pumping up Denver’s hosting the All-Star Game in July. Not much else to talk about.

8) In Denver, it is illegal to lend a vacuum to a next-door neighbor, but it’s perfectly okay to lend a vacuum to a friend down the street. No idea why, I’m just the messenger here.

7) This, from football expert Warren Sharp:
Over the last two years, the Cincinnati Bengals have held a lead at some point in 24 of their 32 games, but they won only six games of those 24 games. Not good.

6) Jay Bruce retired Sunday, ending his 14-year career in which he hit 319 homers.

5) They were talking about this on Sunday Night Baseball; over last decade, Cubs have developed only five pitchers who started a major league game, which is pretty bad. They made a priority of developing position players, and acquiring pitchers, via trades/free agency.

4) Indians 6, Reds 3— Shane Bieber is first pitcher ever to strike out 10+ guys in each of his first four starts of a season.

3) 47-year old Stewart Cink won the RBC Heritage golf tournament by four shots; his son was his caddy, which had to be cool.

Cink went 12 years without winning a PGA Tour event, before winning the Safeway Open last September; he had previously won this tournament twice, way back in 2000, 2004. Cink is also the fourth player to win twice in the same PGA Tour season after turning 47.

2) Most walk-off wins, since the start of the 2018 season:
28— A’s
22– Blue Jays
20— Braves, Brewers

Monday’s Oakland-Minnesota game has already been postponed, because of the Twins’ COVID issues; a doubleheader is scheduled Tuesday. Twins-Angels didn’t play Saturday or Sunday.

1) Braves 13, Cubs 4— Kyle Hendricks is first Cubs’ pitcher ever to give up four home runs in the first inning of a game.

[Udog]

501CLEVELAND -502 DETROIT
DETROIT is 10-0 ATS (10 Units) after a blowout loss by 15 points or more in the current season.

503GOLDEN STATE -504 PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA is 24-7 ATS (16.3 Units) in home games versus explosive offensive teams - scoring 110+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

505CHICAGO -506 BOSTON
CHICAGO is 12-4 ATS (7.6 Units) in road games versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=14 turnovers/game in the current season.

507HOUSTON -508 MIAMI
HOUSTON is 83-113 ATS (-41.3 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game in the last 3 seasons.

509OKLAHOMA CITY -510 WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record - 2nd half of the season in the current season.

511PHOENIX -512 MILWAUKEE
PHOENIX is 12-1 ATS (10.9 Units) in road games when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 70%) over the last 2 seasons.

515MEMPHIS -516 DENVER
DENVER is 181-140 ATS (27 Units) in home games after having won 2 of their last 3 games since 1996.

517UTAH -518 LA LAKERS
LA LAKERS are 0-10 ATS (-11 Units) in home games as a dog of 3.5 to 9.5 in the last 3 seasons.

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Monday, April 19

[Udog]

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, April 19

Cleveland @ Detroit
Cavaliers (20-36)
— Cleveland lost four of its last five games SU.
— Cavaliers are 3-1 ATS in last four road games.
— Last three Cleveland games stayed under the total.

Pistons (17-40)
— Detroit lost 11 of its last 16 games
— Pistons are 12-8-1 ATS since the All-Star break.
— Under is 5-1 in Detroit’s last six games.

— Cleveland won last four series games.
— Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in last five visits to Detroit.
— Last nine series games went over.

Chicago @ Boston
Bulls (23-33)
— Chicago lost five of its last six games SU (1-5 ATS).
— Bulls are 0-3 ATS in their last three road games.
— Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.

Celtics (31-26)
— Boston won eight of its last nine games.
— Celtics are 5-7 ATS in their last 12 home games.
— Under is 8-4 in their last 12 games

— Celtics won eight of last nine series games.
— Bulls are 0-4 ATS in last four visits to Boston.
— Under is 4-2 in last six series games.

Golden State @ Philadelphia
Warriors (28-29)
— Golden State won five of its last seven games SU.
— Warriors are 2-6 ATS in last eight road games.
— Under is 12-5 in their last 17 road games.

76ers (39-17)
— 76ers won 11 of their last 15 games.
— Sixers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games.
— Under is 13-4 in Philly’s last 17 games.

— Teams split last six series games.
— Warriors are 1-3 ATS in last four visits to Philly.
— Under is 6-4 in last ten series games.

San Antonio @ Indiana
Spurs (27-28)
— San Antonio won four of its last six games.
— Spurs are 8-2 ATS in last ten road games.
— Over is 12-6 in Spurs’ last 18 games.

Pacers (26-30)
— Indiana lost three of its last four games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Pacers are 1-11 ATS in their last 12 home games.
— Over is 5-2 in Indiana’s last seven games.

— Pacers won five of last six series games.
— Spurs are 1-3 ATS in last four visits to Indiana.
— Last four series games went over the total.

Houston @ Miami
Rockets (15-42)
— Houston lost 32 of its last 36 games (9-27 ATS).
— Rockets are 4-3 ATS in last seven road games.
— Over is 7-1-1 in their last nine games.

Heat (29-28)
— Miami lost three of its last four games SU.
— Heat is 3-6 ATS in last nine home games.
— Over is 5-1 in their last six home games.

— Teams split last ten series games.
— Rockets are 1-3 ATS in last four visits to Miami.
— Four of last five series games stayed under.

Oklahoma City @ Washington
Thunder (20-37)
— Thunder lost 10 in row, 13 of last 14 games.
— OKC is 5-9 ATS in their last 14 road games.
— Under is 11-2 in their last 13 road games.

Wizards (23-33)
— Wizards won six of last eight games SU (6-2 ATS).
— Wizards are 5-2 ATS in last seven home games.
— Under is 10-4 in their last 14 games

— Teams split last eight series games.
— Thunder is 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Washington.
— Over is 5-3 in last eight series games.

Phoenix @ Milwaukee
Suns (40-16)
— Phoenix won 32 of its last 40 games (4-6 ATS last ten).
— Suns are 7-4 ATS in their last 11 home games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Over is 8-3 in their last 11 games.

Bucks (35-21)
— Milwaukee won three of its last four games SU.
— Bucks are 1-6 ATS in last seven home games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Over is 13-7 in Milwaukee’s last 20 games.

— Phoenix won four of last five series games.
— Suns are 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Milwaukee.
— Last three series games went over the total.

Memphis @ Denver
Grizzlies (29-26)
— Memphis won three of its last four games SU.
— Grizzlies are 14-3 ATS in last 17 games overall.
— Over is 7-1 in last eight Memphis games.

Nuggets (36-20)
— Denver won 10 of its last 12 games.
— Jamal Murray tore his ACL, is done for the year.
— Nuggets are 5-3 ATS in last eight home games.
— Over is 4-2 in Denver’s last six home games.

— Nuggets won five of last six series games.
— Memphis is 0-2-1 ATS in last three visits to Denver.
— Under is 7-3 in last ten series games.

Utah @ LA Lakers
Jazz (42-15)
— Utah won four of its last six games.
— Jazz is 1-6 ATS in its last seven road games.
— Under is 4-2 in Utah’s last six road games.

Lakers (35-22)
— Lakers are 7-5 SU in their last dozen games.
— Lakers are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games at Staples.
— Over is 6-1 in their six games overall.

— Lakers won five of last six series games.
— Utah is 1-4 ATS in last five road series games.
— Three of last four series games went over.

[Udog]

NBA

Monday, April 19

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

Cleveland @ Detroit
Cleveland
Cleveland is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing Detroit
Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 6 games

Chicago @ Boston
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Chicago's last 14 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 7 games
Boston
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago

Golden State @ Philadelphia
Golden State
Golden State is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Golden State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 7 games
Philadelphia is 11-2 ATS in its last 13 games when playing at home against Golden State

Oklahoma City @ Washington
Oklahoma City
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Oklahoma City's last 13 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games
Washington
Washington is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Washington is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games

Houston @ Miami
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Miami
Miami
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games when playing at home against Houston

San Antonio @ Indiana
San Antonio
San Antonio is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Indiana
San Antonio is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Indiana
Indiana is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing San Antonio
Indiana is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing San Antonio

Phoenix @ Milwaukee
Phoenix
Phoenix is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games
Phoenix is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Milwaukee
Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Milwaukee's last 8 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix

Memphis @ Denver
Memphis
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Memphis's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Memphis's last 8 games
Denver
Denver is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
Denver is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games

Utah @ LA Lakers
Utah
Utah is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games
Utah is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Lakers
The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Lakers's last 7 games
LA Lakers is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Utah


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[Udog]

Hoop Trends for Monday April 19
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Memphis at Denver (9:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Grizzlies are 10-0 ATS (12.60 ppg) after they scored at least 18 fast break points.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Antonio at Indiana (8:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Pacers are 0-13 ATS (-5.77 ppg) at home after they has at least twice as many assists as turnovers last game.

OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Houston at Miami (8:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Heat are 13-0-1 OU (12.64 ppg) at home after they had fewer than 15 fouls last game.

OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Oklahoma City at Washington (8:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Wizards are 0-12-2 OU (-8.29 ppg) at home with less than two days rest coming off a home win in which they never trailed.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Tuesday’s 6-pack
NBA leaders in scoring:
31.1— Bradley Beal, Wash
31.0— Steph Curry, GSt
28.7— Damian Lillard, Port
28.6— Luka Doncic, Dal
28.4— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milw
27.5— Zach LaVine, Chi
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 567,557
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Although I would have rather won, tonight we rejoice in our democracy, we rejoice in the freedom of a wonderful people, and we accept their verdict. I thank the people of America for hearing my case.”
Walter Mondale, after losing the 1984 Presidential election.
Mr Mondale passed away Monday, at age 93. RIP, sir.

Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has had a long, very successful coaching career; where did he have his first head coaching job?

Monday’s quiz
Since 2008, Jay Bruce is the lefty batter who has hit the most home runs (319)

Sunday’s quiz
When Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly played in the USFL, he played for the Houston Gamblers.

*************************************************

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….

13) QB Alex Smith retired Monday, ending a 16-year career; he suffered a severely broken leg in 2018, wound up having 17 surgeries, had his life threatened by infection, but fought back and wound up starting six games for Washington LY, winning five of them.

All in all, Smith had a 99-67-1 record as a QB; he was the first player taken in the 2005 draft, after playing for Urban Meyer at Utah. He’s also the answer to a future trivia question; he was the Chiefs’ QB before Patrick Mahomes.

If you get a chance to see the film ESPN did on Smith’s recovery (Project 11) it is worth your time. It is stunning, all he went through so he could play football again. Very tough guy, this Alex Smith. I am hoping he goes on TV so we can learn from him.

12) There isn’t enough “nice” in the world these days, but CNN’s Wolf Blitzer did a nice thing Monday night. This week is the 20th anniversary of Dr Sanjay Gupta working for CNN- they put together a highlight reel from the past 20 years of Dr Gupta on TV, and CNN showed it while Wolf Blitzer had him on the air Monday. It was pretty cool.

Dr Gupta is an accomplished neurosurgeon; over the past year, I’ve learned a lot from listening to him on TV. He didn’t get a haircut until he got his vaccine; I haven’t had a haircut since last summer because of that— now I look like Albert Einstein 🙂

Good news is my first vaccine shot is Sunday. Then, thanks to Dr Gupta, I can get my haircut.

11) Tampa Bay Rays went 90-72 in 2018, then made the playoffs the last two years, so they’re doing great stuff with a very limited payroll- they made the World Series last year.

But they do some unusual things; they firmly believe that the starting pitcher shouldn’t face the opponents’ lineup more than twice. Last year, they took Blake Snell out of a World Series game when he was rolling; it went against the grain, it didn’t work and they got ripped for it.

Monday night in Kansas City, Josh Fleming had a 2-0 lead in the 6th inning- he had allowed only two baserunners, but when Whit Merrifield came up for his third AB, out came Kavin Cash and Fleming went to the showers. They have their philosophy, and they stick to it.

Tampa Bay’s bullpen held the lead last night, they improved to 9-8. Can’t argue with their results, but their tactics can make you shake your head.

10) In his first two starts, Washington’s Joe Ross threw 11 shutout innings, and one of those starts was against the Dodgers, so I sat down to watch him pitch last night, to see if I wanted to pick him up for my fantasy team. It didn’t go well.

Cardinals attacked Ross’s pitches like they were smashng a piñata; he gave up ten runs in 4.1 IP, as St Louis hammered the Nationals 12-5. Go figure.

9) Warriors 107, 76ers 96— Steph Curry made 10-17 3-pointers, scored 49 points, as he tries to carry the Warriors on his back to the playoffs.

8) Nuggets 139, Grizzlies 137, 2OT— Nikola Jokic scored 41 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, also had eight assists, as Denver improved to 37-20.

7) San Jose Sharks’ F Patrick Marleau played in his 1,768th career NHL game Monday night in Las Vegas, breaking the previous record, held by Gordie Howe. Anytime you break a record held by Gordie Howe, thats impressive.

6) Former Michigan quarterback Joe Milton will transfer to Tennessee; he’s going to graduate from Michigan next month, so he should be eligible to play this fall. Milton will have three years of eligibility left; he started five games LY, but was replaced near the end of the season.

5) Kind of an alarming stat: Roughly 40% of all college basketball players who enter Division I directly out of high school leave their initial school by the end of their sophomore year. This is a chaotic time for college coaches; you have to re-recruit all your players, every year.

I’m going to need a vacation in October to try and sort out who is playing where in college basketball next winter. Sounds like a good excuse to visit Las Vegas for the first time in two years.

4) If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets-Reds-Dodgers. Wild Card: Giants-Brewers
AL: Red Sox-Royals-Mariners, Wild Card: Angels-A’s

3) Texas Rangers’ new ballpark appears to be a pitchers’ park; under is 7-2 in first nine games there this season. My question is this: did they make it a pitcher’s park on purpose?

Keep hearing how baseball wants more offense, then they build a pitchers’ park. Go figure.

2) Red Sox 11, White Sox 4— Patriots’ Day is a holiday in Boston; Red Sox have played at home every Patriots’ Day since 1959— the Boston Marathon is usually run that day (it’ll be in October this year). Red Sox play their annual Patriots’ Day game at 11am.

This year’s game was over by 11:30; first six Boston batters got hits, they all scored and they cruised to an 11-4 win over White Sox ace Lucas Giolito, who had an awful hour on the mound- he threw 46 pitches in the first inning.

All in all, the Red Sox are 71-53 on Patriots’ Day.

1) White Sox’ DH Yermin Mercedes pitched the 8th inning, making him the first White Sox player to DH and pitch in the same game since Adam LaRoche, on July 31, 2015.

Here’s the thing: in both of those games, games played six years apart, the opposing starting pitcher was Nathan Eovaldi.

[Udog]

519ORLANDO -520 ATLANTA
ORLANDO is 12-3 ATS (8.7 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - shooting pct defense of >=46% - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

521BROOKLYN -522 NEW ORLEANS
BROOKLYN is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) in road games in non-conference games in the current season.

523CHARLOTTE -524 NEW YORK
NEW YORK is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) revenging a road blowout loss vs opponent of 20 points or more over the last 2 seasons.

525MINNESOTA -526 SACRAMENTO
MINNESOTA is 16-36 ATS (-23.6 Units) versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=24 free throws/game - 2nd half of the season in the last 3 seasons.

527LA CLIPPERS -528 PORTLAND
LA CLIPPERS are 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) versus explosive offensive teams - scoring 110+ points/game - 2nd half of the season in the current season.




NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, April 20






NBA

Tuesday, April 20

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Orlando @ Atlanta
Orlando
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando's last 5 games
Atlanta
Atlanta is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games at home
Atlanta is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home

Charlotte @ New York
Charlotte
Charlotte is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Charlotte's last 7 games when playing on the road against New York
New York
New York is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
New York is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Brooklyn @ New Orleans
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Brooklyn's last 13 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 12 of New Orleans's last 13 games when playing at home against Brooklyn
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New Orleans's last 8 games when playing Brooklyn

LA Clippers @ Portland
LA Clippers
LA Clippers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Portland
LA Clippers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Portland
Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Portland's last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland's last 6 games

Minnesota @ Sacramento
Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing Sacramento
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games
Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Sacramento's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing Minnesota


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




NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, April 20

Orlando @ Atlanta
Magic (18-39)
— Orlando lost 21 of its last 26 games.
— Magic is 5-2 ATS in last seven road games.
— Over is 8-2 in their last ten games overall.

Hawks (31-26)
— Hawks is 17-6 SU since they changed coaches.
— Hawks are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 home games.
— Under is 5-3 in their last eight games.

— Magic won six of last nine series games.
— Orlando is 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Atlanta.
— Last three series games went over the total.

Charlotte @ New York
Hornets (28-28)
— Charlotte lost four of its last five games SU.
— Hornets are 6-3 ATS in their last nine road games.
— Under is 16-5 in Charlotte’s last 21 games.

Knicks (31-27)
— New York won/covered its last six games.
— Knicks are 7-2 ATS in their last nine home games.
— Over is 7-2 in New York’s last eight games.

— Charlotte won seven of last eight series games.
— Hornets are 2-1 ATS in last three visits to Manhattan.
— Under is 4-1 in last five series games.

Brooklyn @ New Orleans
Nets (38-19)
— Brooklyn is 4-4 SU its last eight games.
— Nets are 2-4 ATS in last six road games.
— Over is 5-2 in last seven Brooklyn games.

Pelicans (25-32)
— New Orleans lost its last three games, the last two in OT.
— Pelicans are 6-4 ATS in their last ten home games.
— Over is 7-4 in their last 11 games.

— Nets won/covered last four series games.
— Brooklyn is 3-1 ATS in last four visits to New Orleans.
— Over is 7-1 in last eight series games.

LA Clippers @ Portland
Clippers (40-19)
— Clippers won 14 of their last 17 games.
— Clippers are 4-1 ATS in last five road games.
— Last three Clipper games stayed under the total.

Trailblazers (32-24)
— Portland lost five of its last seven games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Blazers are 2-5 ATS in last seven home games.
— Under is 7-2 in Portland’s last nine games.

— Clippers won/covered last five series games.
— LA is 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Portland.
— Last three series games went over the total.

Minnesota @ Sacramento
Timberwolves (15-43)
— Minnesota lost 12 of its last 17 games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Wolves are 3-6 ATS in last nine road games.
— Over is 6-3 in their last nine games.

Kings (23-34)
— Sacramento lost nine of its last ten games.
— Kings are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games.
— Under is 5-2 in Sacramento’s last seven games.

— Timberwolves won four of last six series games.
— Minnesota is 2-3 ATS in last five visits to Sacramento.
— Four of last five series games stayed under the total.

[Udog]

Hoop Trends for Tuesday April 20
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day:
Matchup: Charlotte at New York (7:40 p.m. ET)

-- The Knicks are 14-0 ATS (15.36 ppg) after allowing 50-plus points in the paint last game.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day:
Matchup: Minnesota at Sacramento (10:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Timberwolves are 0-11 ATS (-7.45 ppg) with rest off a game as a dog in which they had assists on at least 70 percent of their field goals.

OU Play OVER Trend of the Day:
Matchup: Orlando at Atlanta (7:40 p.m. ET)

-- The Hawks are 9-0-2 OU (13.23 ppg) after Kevin Huerter shot better than 66 percent from the field last game.

OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day:
Matchup: Charlotte at New York (7:40 p.m. ET)

-- The Knicks are 0-10 OU (-11.25 ppg) at home off a home win where they were outscored by double digits in the paint.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the PGA’s Zurich Open (team event) this weekend:
7-1— Rahm/Palmer, Schauffele/Cantlay
9-1— Smith/Leishman
14-1— Finau/Champ, Morikawa/Wolff, Watson/Scheffler
20-1— Horschel/Burns, Kirk/Todd
27-1— Willett/Hatton
29-1— Bradley/Steele, Grace/Varner III
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 567,557
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Two totally different basketball players. Jordan was a guy that he was going to make big shots. He’s going to take the ball every time and shoot it every time he has to. I think LeBron is an all-around basketball player.

If you ask me who’s a better all-around basketball player… LeBron James by far. He does everything. He passes the ball better than Jordan, He can dribble it a little bit better than Jordan… shooting-wise, I don’t think so, rebounding I think he did but Jordan did rebound; but they’re two different basketball players.”
Gary Payton

Wednesday’s quiz
Peyton Manning was the first pick of the 1998 NFL Draft; what other QB was the #2 pick?

Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has had a long, very successful coaching career; his first head coaching job was at Boston University, from 1978-83

Monday’s quiz
Since 2008, Jay Bruce is the lefty batter who has hit the most home runs (319)

************************************************** **********

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..

13) Now that transferring is all the rage in college basketball, I’m curious; how does it work?
— Does the player reach out to the school, or the school to the player?
— Is it legal for a coach to call a player at another school and try to poach him?
— Are third parties involved?
— Do players call other guys they know and try to get them to bolt to their school?

Last time I heard, there were over 1,300 names in the transfer portal for next year. Chaotic times in college basketball; would be a good Hard Knocks-type show to see how it all works.

12) Some of the more impactful basketball transfers this spring:
— Kid from Davidson jumped to Kentucky; he is a shooter
— Utah to Texas (Chris Beard is good at poaching)
— Georgetown to Maryland (lot of people bolting from the Hoyas)
— North Carolina to Auburn
— Rutgers to UCLA

11) Penguins 7, Devils 6:
— Pittsburgh led this game 6-0 after two periods.
— If you took the Devils +1.5 goals, hope you didn’t rip the ticket up.
— Penguins are first NHL team EVER to win a game, when they were outscored by 5+ goals in the third period. NHL teams are now 1-279 when outscored by 5+ goals in third period.

10) New York Knicks have won seven games in a row, covered ten in a row; Tom Thibodeau may be Coach of the Year in the NBA this year, as the Knicks figure to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

9) Last year, Atlanta Braves were 24-6 when they scored first; this year, they’re 3-5.

8) Guy named Brad Spielberger posted info on whether NFL GM’s tend to trade up or down in NFL Drafts. Some interesting stuff……..
— Bill Belichick, Patriots 13 Up, 23 Down
— Les Snead, Rams 9 Up, 15 Down
— Rick Spielman, Vikings 9 Up, 24 Down

— Mickey Loomis, Saints 10 Up, 0 Down
— Thomas Dimitroff, Falcons 12 Up, 3 Down
— Dave Gettleman, Giants 5 Up, 0 Down

7) NFL schedule is usually out by now; think it isn’t being released for a couple more weeks, at least. Three things have to happen before I schedule my next vacation:
— get my two vaccine shots
— get my enhanced drivers’ license, so I can fly after October 1
— see the NFL schedule, so I can pick the right weekend to go.

Halloween is a Sunday this year; that weekend is the early favorite for a visit.

6) NBA teams that go over the total the most:
64.3%— Pelicans
59.6%— Pacers, Nets, Bucks
58.9%— Nuggets
55.4%— Kings

5) Last four times Giants’ backup catcher Curt Casali started, San Francisco pitchers tossed a shutout. Maybe he should play more.

4) This is Austin Barnes’ 7th year on the Los Angeles Dodgers; he has a secure job as the backup catcher- he also plays some other positions. Barnes has never batted more than 262 times in a season, but LA made the playoffs in all six of his major league seasons, so could be they see him as a good luck charm.

3) Weird fact of the day: Remember the old TV series Columbo, with Peter Falk? He wore a scruffy overcoat all the time, and didn’t seem all that smart, until the last 20 minutes of the show, when he solved the crime every week.

Anyway, in Budapest, Romania, there is a statue of Falk’s Columbo character on a street corner. No idea why, but saw a picture of it yesterday.

2) Washington DC has more people living there than live in either Vermont or Wyoming.

1) Got a message the other day that I’ve been on Twitter for 12 years; time flies when you’re having fun. I spend a ridiculous amount of time scrolling thru Twitter, but I’ve learned a lot there and much like this site, it is free. You can’t beat free.

[Udog]

529PHOENIX -530 PHILADELPHIA
PHOENIX is 13-1 ATS (11.9 Units) in road games when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 70%) over the last 2 seasons.

531GOLDEN STATE -532 WASHINGTON
GOLDEN STATE is 43-62 ATS (-25.2 Units) versus good shooting teams - making >=46% of their shots in the last 3 seasons.

533OKLAHOMA CITY -534 INDIANA
INDIANA is 0-12 ATS (-13.2 Units) in home games versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=14 turnovers/game in the current season.

535CHICAGO -536 CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND is 37-58 ATS (-26.8 Units) after playing a road game in the last 3 seasons.

537BROOKLYN -538 TORONTO
TORONTO is 23-39 ATS (-19.9 Units) after covering 3 of their last 4 against the spread in the last 3 seasons.

539UTAH -540 HOUSTON
HOUSTON is 24-54 ATS (-35.4 Units) after a non-conference game in the last 3 seasons.

541ATLANTA -542 NEW YORK
NEW YORK is 14-1 ATS (12.9 Units) in home games when the line is +3 to -3 in the current season.

543MIAMI -544 SAN ANTONIO
SAN ANTONIO is 11-25 ATS (-16.5 Units) in home games after having won 2 of their last 3 games in the last 3 seasons.

545DETROIT -546 DALLAS
DALLAS are 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.

547MEMPHIS -548 LA CLIPPERS
LA CLIPPERS are 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) versus explosive offensive teams - scoring 110+ points/game - 2nd half of the season in the current season.