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

[Udog]

Thursday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for NFL teams:
— Houston Texans 4.5, -115
— Indianapolis Colts 10, +100
— Jacksonville Jaguars 6.5, +110
— Kansas City Chiefs 12.5, -105
— Las Vegas Raiders 7, -115
— Los Angeles Chargers 9, -160

Remember, this year it is a 17-game schedule for first time.

Quote of the Day
“[The Jets] tried switching him to tight end, and he wasn’t good. That’s what people don’t acknowledge.”
Former NFL QB Greg McElroy, talking about Tim Tebow

Thursday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s dad Dell Curry played 16 years in NBA; where did he play his college ball?

Wednesday’s quiz
Before Texas Rangers moved to the Lone Star State, they were the Washington Senators.

Tuesday’s quiz
From 1975-84, Biff Pocoroba was a catcher for the Braves.

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

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….

13) 76-year old Tony LaRussa is already in the Hall of Fame as a manager, but he came back this season, after a 10-year absence, to manage the White Sox. So far, the results are mixed.

On the field, Chicago is doing well; they’re 26-16, atop the AL Central.

Off the field, there have been issues.
— LaRussa didn’t know the extra inning rule, and put closer Liam Hendriks in as a ghost runner to start an extra inning, when he could’ve used the guy who hit before Hendriks’ spot in the order. LaRussa has a law degree; this would qualify as malpractice.

— LaRussa went out of his way to publicly rip one of his players when the guy hit a home run off a position player while the White Sox led, 15-4. If he has a problem with the “unwritten rules” of the game, tell the guy in private. Publicly calling him clueless was a tone-deaf move.

— Despite their good record, White Sox are 2-9 in games where the winning scored from the 7th inning on- those games are where managers can make a difference.

If LaRussa loses the respect of the players, a promising season could go in the ashcan.

12) Grizzlies 100, Spurs 96:
— Valanciunas was +26 in his 38:00; they were minus-22 when he was on bench.
— DeRozan shot only 5-21 from the floor.
— Memphis visits the Warriors Friday night, in a play-in game.

Lakers 103, Warriors 100:
— Golden State was up 13 at the half.
— Caruso scored 14 points in 30:00 off bench for LA.
— Lakers move on to play Phoenix in the playoffs.

11) Padres 3, Rockies 0— Not only is Colorado 2-17 on the road, they’ve been shut out in seven of the 17 losses.

10) Why some teams win, and some teams lose; this trade was made July 31, 2018:
— Pittsburgh Pirates got Chris Archer.
— Tampa Bay Rays got Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and a minor leaguer.

Archer was 6-12, 4.92 in 33 starts for the Pirates.
Glasnow is 16-9, 3.08 in 43 starts for the Rays.
Meadows has an .855 OPS in 224 games for Tampa Bay.

9) MLB teams with best record in games where winning scores from 7th inning on:
11-2— Cincinnati, Oakland
9-4— NY Mets
9-5— San Diego

MLB teams with worst record in games where winning scores from 7th inning on:
2-9— White Sox
4-11— Minnesota
5-13— Atlanta
4-8— LA Dodgers, Baltimore

8) Tigers 6, Mariners 2— Detroit has quietly won eight of its last ten games.

7) New York 2, Texas 0— Corey Kluber throws a no-hitter on 101 pitches, already the 7th no-hitter this season. Three teams (Seattle/Cleveland/Texas) have been no-hit three times each.

6) Scheduling quirk: A’s have played only nine of their first 44 games against AL West rivals, all of them against Houston. Astros played 29 of their first 43 games against division rivals.

5) Brandon Woodruff has been pitching really well for Milwaukee, but he hasn’t been getting lot of support at the plate; four of his nine starts have been 0-0 after five innings.

4) Mets traded for OF Cameron Maybin, then batted him 3rd in their game in Atlanta last night. 34-year old Maybin is on his 10th team in his 14-year career.

At the time of the trade, Maybin was hitting .103 in the minors; not sure why he batted third.

3) NBA hasn’t expanded since 2004; rumors are that the league will expand soon, to make up some of the money they lost during the pandemic. Cities rumored to be in the running for an expansion team: Seattle, Louisville, Las Vegas.

2) Sports betting was legalized in Florida this week.

1) Happy 84th birthday this week to the great 3B Brooks Robinson; had the chance to meet Mr Robinson long time ago, maybe 1990 or so, at an event in Glens Falls. Bunch of us were huddled around a TV, watching an NFL playoff game; something strange happened in the game; Brooks just shook his head and laughed “Can you believe people bet on this stuff?”

Very nice man, one of the greatest fielders ever. Happy birthday, sir.

[Udog]

567SAN ANTONIO -568 MEMPHIS
MEMPHIS are 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders in the current season.




NBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, May 19






NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, May 19

San Antonio @ Memphis
Spurs (33-39)
— San Antonio lost 10 of its last 12 games.
— Spurs are 2-4 ATS in last six road games.
— Over is 9-4 in Spurs’ last 13 games.

Grizzlies (38-34)
— Memphis won five of its last five games SU.
— Grizzlies are 1-4 ATS in last five home games.
— Under is 6-1 in last seven Memphis games.

— Teams split last ten series games.
— Spurs are 3-1 ATS in last four visits to Memphis.
— Over is 5-1 in last six series games.

Loser of this game is eliminated; winner plays again Thursday.

Golden State @ LA Lakers
Warriors (39-33)
— Golden State won eight of its last nine games SU.
— Warriors are 5-4 ATS in last nine road games.
— Over is 4-1 in their last five games.

Lakers (42-30)
— Lakers won their last five games SU
— Lakers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games.
— Under is 6-4-1 in their 11 games.

— Lakers won five of last six series games.
— Golden State is 3-2 ATS in last five road series games.
— Under is 6-2 in last eight series games.

Winner of this game is the #7 seed; loser plays again Thursday.




NBA

Wednesday, May 19

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Trend Report
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San Antonio @ Memphis
San Antonio
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio's last 6 games when playing Memphis
San Antonio is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Memphis
Memphis
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Memphis's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Memphis's last 6 games when playing San Antonio

Golden State @ LA Lakers
Golden State
Golden State is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
LA Lakers
LA Lakers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
LA Lakers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Golden State


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[Udog]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for NFL teams:
— Cincinnati Bengals, 6.5, -125
— Cleveland Browns, 10,-150
— Dallas Cowboys, 9.5, +110
— Denver Broncos, 8.5, -140
— Detroit Lions, 5, +125
— Green Bay Packers 9, -115

Remember, this year it is a 17-game schedule for first time.

Quote of the Day
“Despite not looking so good, I feel as close to normal as possible. … I feel good. I feel lucky.”
Mets’ OF Kevin Pillar, who got hit in the face with a pitch Monday, suffering nasal fractures

Wednesday’s quiz
Before the Texas Rangers moved to the Lone Star State, where did they play?

Tuesday’s quiz
From 1975-84, Biff Pocoroba was a catcher for the Braves.

Monday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was Seattle Mariners’ manager last time they made the playoffs, in 2002.

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

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..

13) I have a suggestion that I think would help our country; instead of Presidents having four-year terms, and being limited to two terms, I suggest that they serve only one term, but the term would be six years long. That way, they just do the work, and don’t worry about re-election.

What do you think?

12) Baseball analytics people have defenses shifting a lot, which puts players in places on the field that they’re not used to being, and that weakens the defense. I’m sure someone keeps track of this, but hits saved/hits given up by the shift would be an interesting statistic to study.

There have to be pitchers who lose their mind when they give up a soft ground ball to the opposite field, and it goes thru the infield for a hit. I’m thinking of Madison Bumgarner; he gave up one of those Monday night in LA, and he didn’t look very happy about it.

11) Genius alert: Braves rookie pitcher Huascar Ynoa broke his right (pitching) hand when he punched the dugout bench following a poor start at Milwaukee Sunday. Not good.

Ynoa had the lowest ERA on the Braves’ staff; he is out for couple months.

10) Umpire Joe West worked a Giants’ game the other night, with Mike Yasztrzemski playing for San Francisco. West has been around so long, he was in the big leagues the last eight years that Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski played in the majors— that’s Mike’s grandfather.

Giants have homered in 15 consecutive road games, by the way.

9) Detroit Tigers re-did their TV crew last season, and improved it greatly; now the analysts are Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson or Dan Petry- they’re all very good, especially Morris. Listening to him is like taking a college course on pitching. He speaks his mind, good or bad.

8) Last week was the anniversary of a game where the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in Wrigley, on a day when the wind was blowing out, obviously.

— For some reason, Larry Bowa batted 2nd for Philly, ahead of Pete Rose/Mike Schmidt. A career .260 hitter with no pop (15 homers in 16 years), he would definitely bat 8th these days.
— Bob Boone caught for Philly, hit a homer; his son manages the Bronx Bombers now.
— Tug McGraw pitched in relief that day; his son Tim is a very famous singer.
— Bill Buckner was 4-7, knocked in seven runs that day.
— Dave Kingman hit three homers for the Cubs.

7) Baseball stuff:
— Mike Trout (calf strain) is out 6-8 weeks
— Mets acquired Cameron Maybin to give them some OF depth
— Braves put P Huascar Ynoa (hand) on the IL

6) Since the start of the 2018 season, Aaron Judge/Giancarlo Stanton have played on the same day only 163 of 426 games, 38.2% of the time.

Two of the best abilities: availability, durability.

5) Cincinnati Reds are 11-2 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on; Chicago White Sox are 2-8 in those games.

4) Dodgers lost their last eight one-run games, not a good thing.

3) Not to be the old guy on his lawn, but……..
— In Larry Bird’s first seven NBA seasons, he missed a total of 13 games
— Artis Gilmore was a very good 7-foot-2 center; in his first eight years as a pro, he didn’t miss a game, and the ABA played 84 games, not 82. Teams didn’t have private jets, either.
— In 2012-13, the year Kevin Durant scored 28.1 ppg, while shooting 41.6% on arc, 53.9% inside arc and 90.5% from the line, he played in 81 games, missing only one.

My point here is that NBA players today are soft; they take nights off when they’re not hurt.

2) RIP to the great actor Charles Grodin, who passed away at age 86. Funny man.

RIP to former big league infielder Rennie Stennett, 72, who played on two World Series title teams with the Pirates.

1) In 1975, Stennett went 7-7 in a game at Wrigley Field. 7 for freakin’ 7.
— Pirates won the game 22-0, scoring 9 times in first inning.
— Stennett scored five runs that day; when he was taken out of the game, a young 2B named Willie Randolph pinch-ran for him
— Pete LaCock was an OF for the Cubs that day; his dad was Peter Marshall, host of the Hollywood Squares, a very popular game show back in the day.
— Rick Reuschel started game for the Cubs; his brother Paul mopped up last two innings.

[Udog]

559CHARLOTTE -560 INDIANA
INDIANA is 5-19 ATS (-15.9 Units) in home games after a combined score of 215 points or more 3 straight games in the last 3 seasons.

561WASHINGTON -562 BOSTON
BOSTON is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) after having lost 5 or 6 of their last 7 games in the current season.




NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, May 18






NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, May 18

Charlotte @ Indiana
Hornets (33-39)
— Charlotte lost nine of its last 12 games SU.
— Hornets are 1-6 ATS in their last seven road games.
— Over is 4-3 in Charlotte’s last six games.

Pacers (34-38)
— Indiana is 4-3 in its last seven games SU.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Pacers are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five home games.
— Over is 10-3 in Indiana’s last 13 games.

— Indiana is 6-3 in its last nine series games, but lost last two.
— Hornets are 1-4 ATS in last five visits to Indiana.
— Under is 4-1-1 in last six series games.

Loser of this game is eliminated; winner plays again Thursday.

Washington @ Boston
Wizards (34-38)
— Wizards won four of their last six games SU.
— Washington is 8-1-1 ATS in last ten road games.
— Under is 3-0 in their last three games

Celtics (36-35)
— Boston lost five of its last six games.
— Celtics are 0-4 ATS in their last four home games.
— Under is 3-0 in their last three games

— Celtics won six of last nine series games.
— Wizards are 2-2-1 ATS in last five visits to Washington.
— Last five series games stayed under the total.

Winner of this game is the #7 seed; loser plays again Thursday.




NBA

Tuesday, May 18

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Trend Report
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Charlotte @ Indiana
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Charlotte's last 17 games on the road
Indiana
Indiana is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte

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


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[Udog]

[Udog]

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the PGA Championship:
11-1— Rory McIlroy
14-1— Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm
16-1— Bryson DeChambeau
18-1— Dustin Johnson
22-1— Xander Schauffele
25-1— Viktor Hovland

Quote of the Day
“I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy.”
Steve Martin

Tuesday’s quiz
From 1975-84, Biff Pocoroba was a catcher for which major league team?
(Hint: He played in the 1978 All-Star Game)

Monday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was Seattle Mariners’ manager last time they made the playoffs, in 2002.

Sunday’s quiz
Philip Seymour Hoffman played A’s manager Art Howe in Moneyball.

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

Tuesday’s Den: Schedule notes for AFC teams

Ravens:
— Three of their first four games are on the road.
— They play in Denver October 3; their next road game isn’t til November 11.
— Weeks 10-14, they play four road games in five weeks.

Bills:
— Four primetime games; three of them are on the road.
— Play in New Orleans Thanksgiving night.
— Two games with New England are late, in weeks 13/16.

Bengals:
— Only primetime game is Week 4 vs Jacksonville.
— Weeks 6-8; three straight road games.
— Four of their first six games are against NFC North teams.

Browns:
— Go to Baltimore in Week 12, have Week 13 bye, host Ravens in Week 14
— Have three primetime games, including January 3 in Pittsburgh.
— Christmas Day at Lambeau Field should be nice and toasty.

Broncos:
— Four of their first seven games are in Eastern time zone.
— Only primetime game: Week 7 in Cleveland.
— Play Chargers/Chiefs in Weeks 12-13, then again in Weeks 17-18.

Texans:
— 13 games at 1:00 Sunday; not a lot of faith from the NFL.
— Only primetime game: Week 3 vs Carolina.
— From October 11-November 27, have only one home game.

Colts:
— Weeks 3-5: three straight road games.
— Three of their four primetime games are on the road.
— Week 14 bye; latest possible bye.

Jaguars:
— Only primetime game: Week 4 at Cincinnati.
— Weeks 16-17 at Jets/Patriots, cold weather games.
— Week 6, they play the Dolphins over in England.

Chiefs:
— From October 25-December 15, have only one road game.
— Three of their last four games are on the road.
— Week 16 Thursday game at Chargers is long trip on short week.

Raiders:
— First Allegiant Stadium game with fans; Week 1 Monday nighter vs Ravens.
— Play the Cowboys in Dallas Thanksgiving Day.
— Weeks 14-15, have consecutive trips east, to Kansas City/Cleveland.

Chargers:
— First SoFi Stadium game with fans: Week 2 vs Dallas.
— Have three primetime games, all at home.
— Play Chiefs in Week 3, then not again until Week 15.

Dolphins:
— Play New England in Week 1, then not again until Week 18
— In Week 6, play Jaguars over in England.
— Have only two 4:00 games, none after Week 3.

Patriots:
— Host Tom Brady/Buccaneers in Week 4 Sunday night game.
— Patriots’ other two primetime games are on road.
— Four of their eight road games are in domes.

Jets:
— Visit Sam Darnold/Panthers in season opener.
— In Week 5, play Falcons over in England.
— Only night game: Week 9 Thursday game at Indianapolis.

Steelers:
— Play the normal five primetime games, three of them at home.
— Play rival Ravens in Weeks 13/18.
— Host Las Vegas in Week 2, after Raiders played on Monday nite in Week 1.

Titans:
— Week 16 Thursday game vs 49ers is tough spot for the visitors.
— Play 13 games at 1:00 Sunday; not lot of faith from the NFL.
— Week 2 at Seattle is their only 4:00 game all season.

[StarDust Bum]

SUNDAY, MAY 16
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

CHA at WAS 01:00 PM
WAS -5.5
U 227.5
+500 +500

IND at TOR 01:00 PM
TOR +5.5
O 227.0
+500 +500

BOS at NY 01:00 PM
NY -12.0
O 211.0
+500 +500

PHO at SA 02:00 PM
PHO -9.5
U 225.5
+500 +500

MEM at GS 03:30 PM
GS -3.5
O 228.0
+500 +500

CLE at BK 07:00 PM
CLE +13.0
O 225.5
+500 +500

HOU at ATL 07:00 PM
ATL -7.5
U 232.0
+500 +500

ORL at PHI 07:00 PM
PHI -7.5
U 218.0
+500 +500

MIA at DET 08:00 PM
DET +5.0
O 214.0
+500 +500

LAC at OKC 09:00 PM
LAC -8.0
U 220.0
+500 +500

DEN at POR 09:00 PM
DEN +9.5
U 230.5
+500 +500

UTA at SAC 09:00 PM
SAC +9.5
O 222.5
+500 +500

DAL at MIN 09:00 PM
MIN +6.5
O 230.0
+500 +500

LAL at NO 09:00 PM
NO +8.0
O 222.5
+500 +500

MIL at CHI 09:00 PM
CHI +1.5
O 222.5
+500 +500

[Udog]

Hoop Trends for Sunday May 16
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Boston at New York (1:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Knicks are 16-0 ATS (10.28 ppg) after being outscored in the paint by double digits last game.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Cleveland at Brooklyn (7:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Cavaliers are 0-8 ATS (-20.25 ppg) after their opponent made at least 10 more free throws than they did last game.

OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Memphis at Golden State (3:40 p.m. ET)

-- The Warriors are 12-0 OU (11.92 ppg) off a home win where they allowed at least 50 points in the paint.

OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Utah at Sacramento (9:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Kings are 0-12-1 OU (-7.85 ppg) off a road game where they allowed at least 50 points in the paint.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Sunday, May 16

[Udog]

NBA

Sunday, May 16

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

Charlotte @ Washington
Charlotte
Charlotte is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Charlotte's last 12 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington
Washington is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home

Indiana @ Toronto
Indiana
Indiana is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games on the road
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto's last 7 games at home

Boston @ New York
Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New York
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing New York
New York
New York is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games when playing Boston

Phoenix @ San Antonio
Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Phoenix's last 9 games
San Antonio
San Antonio is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Phoenix
San Antonio is 19-4 SU in its last 23 games when playing Phoenix

Memphis @ Golden State
Memphis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Memphis's last 5 games when playing Golden State
Memphis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Golden State
Golden State is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Cleveland @ Brooklyn
Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games at home
Brooklyn is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home

Orlando @ Philadelphia
Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Orlando's last 8 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Orlando's last 18 games
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Orlando

Houston @ Atlanta
Houston
Houston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games
Atlanta
Atlanta is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Atlanta is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games

Miami @ Detroit
Miami
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Miami's last 12 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games on the road
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 6 games

LA Lakers @ New Orleans
LA Lakers
LA Lakers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Lakers's last 7 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New Orleans's last 7 games when playing at home against LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans's last 5 games at home

Milwaukee @ Chicago
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Milwaukee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games

LA Clippers @ Oklahoma City
LA Clippers
LA Clippers is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Oklahoma City
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 6 games on the road
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against LA Clippers
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Oklahoma City's last 8 games when playing LA Clippers

Denver @ Portland
Denver
Denver is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Denver's last 17 games on the road
Portland
Portland is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland's last 5 games

Utah @ Sacramento
Utah
Utah is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
Utah is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Sacramento's last 9 games

Dallas @ Minnesota
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Minnesota's last 11 games when playing at home against Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games


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[Udog]

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, May 16

Boston @ New York
Celtics (36-35)
— Boston lost five of its last seven games.
— Celtics are 2-4 ATS in their last six road games.
— Over is 8-3 in their last 11 games

Knicks (40-31)
— New York is 6-3 SU in its last nine games.
— Knicks are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 home games.
— Under is 4-2 in New York’s last six games

— Boston won eight of last ten series games.
— Celtics covered four of last five visits to Manhattan.
— Under is 5-1 in last six series games.

Indiana @ Toronto
Pacers (33-38)
— Indiana is 4-7 in its last 11 games SU.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Pacers are 5-3 ATS in their last eight road games.
— Over is 10-4 in Indiana’s last 14 games.

Raptors (27-44)
— Toronto lost 10 of its last 12 games.
— Raptors are 0-3-1 ATS in last four home games.
— Under is 6-1-1 in their last eight home games.

— Toronto won three of last four series games.
— Pacers are 2-3 ATS in last five road series games.
— Over is 4-2 in last six series games.

Charlotte @ Washington
Hornets (33-38)
— Charlotte lost eight of its last 11 games SU.
— Hornets are 0-6 ATS in their last five road games.
— Over is 4-2 in Charlotte’s last six games.

Wizards (33-38)
— Wizards split their last eight games SU.
— Washington is 5-1-1 ATS in last seven tries as a favorite.
— Over is 6-2 in their last eight games

— Charlotte won six of last eight series games.
— Hornets are 2-4 ATS in last six visits to Washington.
— Under is 5-2 in last seven series games.

Phoenix @ San Antonio
Suns (50-21)
— Phoenix split its last six games.
— Suns are 3-6 ATS in their last nine road games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Over is 20-6 in their last 26 games.

Spurs (33-38)
— San Antonio lost nine of its last 11 games.
— Spurs are 3-2 ATS in last five home games.
— Over is 8-4 in Spurs’ last 12 home games.

— Suns won 140-103 here yesterday.
— Spurs won eight of last qq series games.
— Suns are 3-2 ATS in last five trips to the Alamo.
— Under is 5-4 in last nine series games.

Memphis @ Golden State
Grizzlies (38-33)
— Memphis won its last five games SU.
— Grizzlies are 13-6 ATS in last 19 road games.
— Under is 5-1 in last six Memphis games.

Warriors (38-33)
— Golden State won seven of its last eight games SU.
— Warriors are 10-3 ATS in last 13 home games.
— Over is 4-0 in their last four games.

— Memphis won three of last four series games.
— Grizzlies are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to SF/Oakland.
— Under is 7-2 in last nine series games.

Houston @ Atlanta
Rockets (17-54)
— Houston lost 44 of its last 50 games SU.
— Rockets covered their last five games.
— Over is 7-0 in their last seven games.

Hawks (40-31)
— Hawks won six of last seven games (4-3 ATS).
— Hawks are 8-2 ATS in their last ten home games.
— Over is 4-3-1 in their last eight games.

— Houston won six of last seven series games.
— Rockets are 2-3 ATS in last five visits to Atlanta.
— Over is 5-2 in last seven series games.

Cleveland @ Brooklyn
Cavaliers (22-49)
— Cleveland lost 12 of its last 13 games SU (2-11 ATS).
— Cavaliers are 0-7 ATS in last six road games.
— Under is 5-0 in last five Cleveland games.

Nets (47-24)
— Brooklyn won/covered its last four games.
— Nets are 6-2 ATS in last eight home games.
— Under is 9-4 in last 13 Brooklyn games.

— Teams split last six series games.
— Cavaliers are 3-0 ATS in last three trips to Brooklyn.
— Over is 5-4-1 in last ten series games.

Orlando @ Philadelphia
Magic (21-49)
— Orlando lost its last five games.
— Magic is 3-5 ATS in last eight road games.
— Under is 3-0 in their last three games overall.

76ers (47-23)
— 76ers won nine of their last 11 games (7-4 ATS).
— Sixers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.
— Over is 3-1 in Philly’s last four home games.

— 76ers won/covered last three series games.
— Magic 1-3 ATS in last four trips to Philly.
— Under is 6-2 in last eight series games.

Miami @ Detroit
Heat (39-32)
— Miami won/covered 11 of its last 15 games.
— Heat is 5-2 ATS in last seven road games.
— Over is 10-2 in their last 12 games.

Pistons (20-51)
— Detroit lost 11 of its last 13 games
— Pistons are 0-3 ATS in last three home games.
— Under is 9-3 in Detroit’s last 12 games.

— Miami won three of last four series games.
— Heat is 3-1 ATS in last four trips to Detroit.
— Four of last five series games went over.

Milwaukee @ Chicago
Bucks (46-25)
— Milwaukee is 8-1 its last nine games SU.
— Bucks are 5-3-1 ATS in last nine road games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Over is 4-2 in Milwaukee’s last six games.

Bulls (30-41)
— Chicago won four of its last six games SU.
— Bulls are 4-7 ATS in their last 11 road games.
— Under is 9-2-2 in their last 13 games.

— Milwaukee won last ten series games (7-3 ATS).
— Bucks are 5-0 ATS in last five visits to Chicago.
— Under is 7-2 in last nine series games.

Dallas @ Minnesota
Mavericks (42-29)
— Mavericks won nine of their last 11 games.
— Mavericks are 4-1 ATS in last five road games.
— Over is 4-0 in last four Dallas games.

Timberwolves (22-49)
— Minnesota lost five of its last seven games (2-4-1 ATS).
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Wolves are 3-3-1 ATS in last seven home games.
— Under is 8-3 in their last 11 games.

— Dallas won last five series games.
— Mavericks are 4-0 ATS in last five trips to Minnesota.
— Over is 6-2 in last eight series games.

LA Lakers @ New Orleans
Lakers (41-30)
— Lakers won their last four games SU
— Lakers are 2-4-1 ATS in their last seven road games.
— Under is 6-3-1 in their ten games.

Pelicans (31-40)
— New Orleans lost four of its last five games.
— Pelicans are 4-3 ATS in their last seven home games.
— Under is 8-3 in their last 11 games.

— Lakers won seven of last eight series games.
— Lakers are 2-3 ATS in last five visits to Bourbon Street.
— Over is 6-3 in last nine series games.

LA Clippers @ Oklahoma City
Clippers (47-24)
— Clippers won four of their last six games.
— Clippers are 2-5 ATS in last seven road games.
— Under is 12-2-1 in last 15 Clipper games.

Thunder (21-50)
— Thunder lost 26 of its last 28 games.
— OKC is 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games.
— Over is 13-5 in their last 18 home games.

— Clippers won six of last seven series games.
— LA is 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Oklahoma.
— Under is 6-2 in last eight series games.

Denver @ Portland
Nuggets (47-24)
— Denver won 21 of its last 27 games.
— Nuggets are 4-6 ATS in last ten road games.
— Over is 3-2 in Denver’s last five games.

Trailblazers (41-30)
— Portland won nine of its last 11 games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Blazers are 1-4 ATS in last five home games.
— Under is 4-1 in Portland’s last five games.

— Denver won five of last six series games.
— Nuggets are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Portland.
— Five of last seven series games stayed under.

Utah @ Sacramento
Jazz (51-20)
— Utah won seven of its last ten games SU.
— Jazz is 5-9 ATS in its last 14 road games.
— Over is 4-2 in Utah’s last six games.

Kings (31-40)
— Sacramento is 7-4 in its last 11 games SU.
— Kings are 3-2 ATS in their last five home games.
— Under is 7-1-1 in Sacramento’s last nine games.

— Jazz won six of last seven series games.
— Utah won last meeting, 154-105, on April 28.
— Jazz are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Sacramento.
— Over is 7-3 in last ten series games.

[Udog]

529UTAH -530 SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO is 11-2 ATS (8.8 Units) off a road cover where the team lost straight up as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.

531HOUSTON -532 ATLANTA
ATLANTA is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) in home games versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=14 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season in the current season.

535PHOENIX -536 SAN ANTONIO
SAN ANTONIO is 167-115 ATS (40.5 Units) in home games when playing 8 or more games in 14 days since 1996.

537CLEVELAND -538 BROOKLYN
CLEVELAND is 24-53 ATS (-34.3 Units) when playing 6 or more games in 10 days in the last 3 seasons.

539MIAMI -540 DETROIT
MIAMI is 16-4 ATS (11.6 Units) in road games against Central division opponents over the last 2 seasons.

541LA CLIPPERS -542 OKLAHOMA CITY
OKLAHOMA CITY is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in home games on Sunday games over the last 2 seasons.

543DALLAS -544 MINNESOTA
DALLAS are 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.

545ORLANDO -546 PHILADELPHIA
ORLANDO is 226-286 ATS (-88.6 Units) versus good ball handling teams - committing <=14 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.

547LA LAKERS -548 NEW ORLEANS
LA LAKERS are 31-50 ATS (-24 Units) versus good ball handling teams - committing <=14 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season in the last 3 seasons.

549DENVER -550 PORTLAND
PORTLAND is 42-25 ATS (14.5 Units) after scoring 105 points or more 5 straight games in the last 3 seasons.

[Udog]

Sunday’s 6-pack
MLB leaders in RBI:
33— JD Martinez Bos, Jose Abreu CWS
32— Jesus Aguilar, Mia
31— Trey Mancini Blt, Rafael Devers Bos
30— Mitch Haniger Sea, Yuli Gurriel Hst
29— Jared Walsh, LAA
28— Guerrero, Grichuk, Peralta

Quote of the Day
“Sometimes you have to go through the worst in order to get to the best.”
Anonymous

Sunday’s quiz
What well-known actor (now deceased) played A’s manager Art Howe in Moneyball?

Saturday’s quiz
Mark Jackson was coach of the Golden State Warriors before Steve Kerr.

Friday’s quiz
Roy Hobbs played for the New York Knights in Robert Redford’s baseball movie, The Natural.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) Tough day physically for some baseball stars:
— Bryce Harper has a bad shoulder, is day-to-day.
— JT Realmuto has a left wrist issue, is day-to-day.
— Corey Seager broke his right hand, is done for a while.

In a related issue, we’re all day-to-day.

12) Phillies have scored at least one first inning run 10 of their last 13 games, but with their two biggest stars banged up, that seems less likely to happen for a while.

11) Takes a lot of players for a team to make the playoffs in baseball, more than the 26 on a roster at one time. The 2012 A’s made an unlikely run to the playoffs with a lot of late-inning wins, one of which was when a guy named Brandon Hicks hit a walk-off homer vs Texas.

Hicks hit one of the biggest homers of that season for the A’s, but he only batted for them 70 times that whole season— a very unlikely hero.

10) Underrated TV channel is AMC, #254 on DirecTV. Did my writing tonight while watching Moneyball and A Few Good Men, two excellent movies.

9) Eagles-Cowboys have played on Sunday Night Football once every year since 2010, but this year they won’t, they’ll meet on Monday Night Football instead, in Week 3.

Sunday night games have become higher profile than the Monday night matchups; both those teams had losing records last year, which is probably why they got shuffled to Monday.

8) Albert Pujols is going to sign a deal with the Dodgers, to provide a bat off the bench; will he be their DH next year, when the universal DH probably kicks in for every team?

7) Last six times I’ve been to a McDonald’s (two different ones) the milkshake machine only worked once. This is a problem; their milkshakes are very good.

6) The Jimmy John’s commercials with Brad Garrett have become annoying; they’re on a lot, and they’re not funny.

5) I’ve been a big Bill James fan since I was in college; have always bought his books and read them. Don’t always agree with what he says, but he’s had a great impact on baseball, which is pretty awesome for a guy who was a security guard at a pork and beans company when he started writing those books.

In 1983, I wrote Bill James a letter and he answered me back, a hand-written note that is still around here somewhere. I’m wondering if/when things in baseball will start swinging back towards more traditional baseball thinking.

Will bullpens get worn out later this summer? Do starting pitchers need to be trained to go deeper into games? Is so much shifting a good idea? (Hopefully, shifting will be banned or greatly reduced soon).

4) Pirates 8, Giants 6— San Francisco led 6-2 in 7th inning, but Jacob Stallings hit a walk-off homer to send everyone home happy. Stallings’ father Kevin used to be the basketball coach at Vanderbilt and Pitt.

3) Tigers 9, Cubs 8— Chicago is 5-12 on the road; they’re going to be an interesting team to follow in July. Will they have a fire sale? Bryant/Rizzo would bring back a pretty good haul.

2) Astros 6, Rangers 5— Houston has won eight of its last ten games.

1) Six years ago today, we lost my dad, a very sad night. He was a great friend, an honest guy who loved to play golf and root for the Mets. I miss him every day.

[Udog]

Hoop Trends for Saturday May 15
Vince Akins

ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Charlotte at New York (1:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Knicks are 18-0 ATS (14.83 ppg) after allowing at least 50 points in the paint last game.

ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: L.A. Lakers at Indiana (1:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Pacers are 0-13 ATS (-6.96 ppg) with rest off a loss in which they had less than 15% of their points from free throws.

OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Phoenix at San Antonio (2:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Spurs are 10-0-1 OU (14.86 ppg) at home off a road loss in which they led after the third quarter.

OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Chicago at Brooklyn (1:10 p.m. ET)

-- The Bulls are 0-16-1 OU (-18.91 ppg) off a win as a favorite in which Zach Lavine was their high scorer.

Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Saturday, May 15