NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up
Saturday, April 3
Dallas @ Washington
Mavericks (26-21)
— Mavericks are 8-5 SU since All-Star break.
— Mavericks are 5-1 ATS in last six road games.
— Dallas is 2-6 ATS if it played the night before.
— Under is 14-5 in last 19 Dallas games.
Wizards (17-30)
— Wizards lost 10 of their last 13 games SU.
— Wizards are 3-1 ATS in last four home games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Under is 4-1 in their last five games
— Home side won last five series games.
— Dallas is 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Washington
— Under is 4-2 in last six series games.
New York @ Detroit
Knicks (24-25)
— New York lost last three games, scoring 91.7 ppg.
— Knicks are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.
— Under is 8-1 in New York’s last nine games.
Pistons (14-34)
— Detroit lost five of its last seven games
— Pistons are 8-4 ATS since the All-Star break.
— Over is 4-2 in Detroit’s last six home games.
— New York won/covered last four series games.
— Knicks are 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Detroit.
— Three of last four series games stayed under.
Cleveland @ Miami
Cavaliers (17-31)
— Cleveland lost last four games, by 14-2-39-20 points.
— Cavaliers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games.
— Last five Cleveland games stayed under the total.
Heat (25-24)
— Miami won its last three games, after an 0-6 skid (3-6 ATS)
— Heat is 2-6 ATS in last eight home games.
— Under is 10-6 in their last sixteen games.
— Heat won nine of last ten series games.
— Cavaliers are 0-6 ATS in last six trips to Miami.
— Over is 7-2 in last nine series games.
Minnesota @ Philadelphia
Timberwolves (12-37)
— Minnesota lost six of its last eight games.
— Wolves are 3-2 ATS in their last five games overall.
— Minnesota is 4-6-1 ATS if they played night before.
— Under is 6-2 in their last eight games.
76ers (33-15)
— 76ers won five of their last seven games.
— Sixers are 6-3 ATS in their last nine road games.
— Under is 7-3 in Philly’s last ten road games.
— 76ers won/covered last seven series games.
— Minnesota is 0-5 ATS in last five visits to Philly.
— Last three series games stayed under the total.
Indiana @ San Antonio
Pacers (21-26)
— Indiana is 4-8 SU in its last dozen games.
— Pacers are 4-2 ATS in their last six road games.
— Indiana is 5-3-1 ATS if it okayed the night before.
— Under is 3-1 in Indiana’s last four games.
Spurs (24-22)
— San Antonio lost six of its last eight games.
— Spurs are 2-5 ATS in last seven home games.
— Over is 6-3 in Spurs’ last nine games.
— Indiana won four of last five series games.
— Pacers are 4-1 ATS in last five visits to the Alamo.
— Last three series games went over the total.
Orlando @ Utah
Magic (17-31)
— Orlando lost 13 of its last 17 games.
— Magic is 8-3 ATS in last 11 games overall.
— Under is 9-2 in their last 11 road games.
Jazz (37-11)
— Utah won its last seven games overall.
— Jazz is 4-5 ATS in its last nine home games.
— Under is 5-2 in Utah’s last seven games.
— Jazz won eight of last nine series games.
— Orlando is 2-3 ATS in last five visits to Utah.
— Under is 4-2 in last six series games.
Oklahoma City @ Portland
Thunder (20-28)
— Thunder are 1-4 SU in their last five games.
— OKC is 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games.
— Under is 7-2 in their last nine road games.
Trailblazers (29-19)
— Portland won 12 of its last 16 games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Blazers are 3-5 ATS in last eight home games.
— Over is 4-1 in Portland’s last five games.
— OKC won three of last four series games.
— Thunder is 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Portland.
— Over is 5-5 in last ten series games.
Milwaukee @ Sacramento
Bucks (31-17)
— Milwaukee lost three of its last five games.
— Bucks are 3-7 ATS in last ten road games.
— Over is 8-4 in Milwaukee’s last 12 games.
Kings (22-27)
— Sacramento won seven of its last ten games.
— Kings are 3-2 ATS in their last five home games.
— Under is 9-4 in Sacramento’s last 13 games.
— Milwaukee won last nine series games (7-2 ATS)
— Bucks are 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Sacramento.
— Last ten series games went over the total.
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563DALLAS -564 WASHINGTON
DALLAS are 0-7 ATS (-7.7 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.
565CLEVELAND -566 MIAMI
CLEVELAND is 8-21 ATS (-15.1 Units) in road games after a blowout loss by 15 points or more in the last 3 seasons.
567MINNESOTA -568 PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) in home games versus up-tempo teams averaging 88 or more shots/game in the current season.
569NEW YORK -570 DETROIT
DETROIT is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) after 2+ home games in the current season.
571INDIANA -572 SAN ANTONIO
SAN ANTONIO is 12-4 ATS (7.6 Units) in non-conference games in the current season.
573ORLANDO -574 UTAH
UTAH is 10-0 ATS (10 Units) in home games versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=14 turnovers/game in the current season.
575MILWAUKEE -576 SACRAMENTO
MILWAUKEE is 27-11 ATS (14.9 Units) as a road favorite of 6.5 to 12 points in the last 3 seasons.
575MILWAUKEE -576 SACRAMENTO
Mike Budenholzer is 27-11 ATS (14.9 Units) in road games as a road favorite of 6.5 to 12 points (Coach of MILWAUKEE)
577OKLAHOMA CITY -578 PORTLAND
OKLAHOMA CITY is 12-3 ATS (8.7 Units) revenging a loss where opponent scored 110 or more points in the current season.Leave a comment:
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Saturday’s 6-pack
Six of the better “17th game” NFL matchups this season:
— Packers @ Chiefs
— Cowboys @ Patriots
— Seahawks @ Steelers
— Buccaneers @ Colts
— Rams @ Ravens
— Saints @ Titans
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 553,980
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“I’m really tired of seeing them complain about the lack of pay, because they’re doing themselves a disservice by just complaining. They’re not laying out steps that they can take to change that.”
Draymond Green, complaining about WNBA players complaining
Saturday’s quiz
Which current major leaguer has a dad who hit two grand slams in one inning in a major league game?
Friday’s quiz
Of active players, Mike Trout (38) has the most career home runs against the Oakland A’s.
Thursday’s quiz
In the history of baseball, Bob Feller threw the only no-hitter on Opening Day, in 1940.
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Saturday’s Den: Clearing out a cluttered mind……..
Its been a busy few days, even beyond baseball starting:
13) North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams retired, with 903 career wins, 485 for the Tar Heels, 418 at Kansas. He won’t be easily replaced; where does North Carolina turn from here?
My guess is former Tar Heel player Wes Miller, who is coach at NC-Greensboro; last five years, he’s gone 125-43 with the Spartans of the Southern Conference.
Back to Roy Williams for a minute; he seems like a genuinely nice person in addition to being a great coach. I remember reading a article where he read a book about golf— I think Rick Reilly wrote the book, but Williams really liked it, so he bought 20 copies of it and gave them to his friends. There aren’t enough nice person in today’s world: Roy Williams will be missed.
12) Kansas Jayhawks gave Bill Self a lifetime contract this week, despite Kansas not having an AD right now. I guess the school’s chancellor stepped in and did the deal.
Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated wrote this about what the contract says about Kansas: “We like to win, we don’t care how, we don’t care what NCAA sanctions may come, we don’t care about anything but continuing to win.”
Kansas is headed towards some type of probation because of recruiting violations, but Self’s new contract says that he cannot be fired for cause due to NCAA sanctions.
11) As I starting writing this piece, Oklahoma tabbed Porter Moser as its next basketball coach, replacing the retired Lon Kruger. Moser went 178-141 in 10 years at Loyola, going 99-36 the last four years, including a run to the Final Four in 2018.
One of the interesting things about college hoop is how teams take advantage of circumstances to become relevant. Creighton left the MVC in 2013, Wichita State in 2017; they had dominated the Valley before moving on to greener pa$ture$. Loyola’s 56-16 run in MVC games the last four years coincide with Wichita State moving elsewhere.
10) Then there is Texas Tech, which got kicked in the teeth this week when Chris Beard left the Red Raiders to become the new coach at rival Texas, his alma mater. Bears was a student assistant to Tom Penders with the Longhorns in the early 90’s.
Beard went 112-55 in five years at Tech, after a 30-5 season at Little Rock. Texas has won one NCAA Tournament game in the last decade (1-6). Beard will be expected to win more than that.
9) Chris Ogden quit his job as HEAD COACH at Texas-Arlington, to become one of Beard’s ASSISTANTS at Texas. Ogden was 44-47 in three years at UTA, after they canned Scott Cross, who went 72-33 in his last three years with the Mavericks. Cross is now the coach at Troy- he knocked Ogden’s Arlington team out of the Sun Belt tournament last month.
8) Washington Wizards’ Russell Westbrook a triple-double earlier this week, the first one ever where the guy scored 35+ points and had 20+ assists in the same game. He had 35 points, 21 assists, 14 rebounds; he must’ve had the ball a lot, that’s for sure.
Most importantly, Washington beat the Pacers 132-124.
7) Utah Jazz had a scary night this week, when their flight to Memphis struck a flock of birds during takeoff, damaging the left engine of the plane. There was a loud sound like an explosion, flames coming out of the engine and visible damage. Then the plane started to tilt and slowly lose altitude.
Players were actually texting their families, saying their goodbyes; luckily, the flight turned around and made an emergency landing back in Salt Lake City. The rest of the team got on a rescheduled flight to Memphis, but star Donovan Mitchell, who apparently hates flying in the first place, stayed home and skipped that game, which the Jazz won anyway.
6) ESPN signed 81-year old Dick Vitale to a new, 2-year contract to continue working for them; they need to tell him to stop pouring that cooler of water over his head that does in the GEICO commercial— a guy can catch pneumonia.
Not sure if everyone nows this, but Dick Vitale was a really good coach before he worked on TV; he was an assistant coach at Rutgers who recruited a lot of the players who formed the nucleus of their Final Four squad in 1976.
From there, he went 78-30 as head coach at Detroit, finishing ranked #12 in the country in his last season there. He went 34-60 in a brief stint coaching the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
The man has amazing energy, even now; he’s helped raise over $100M to fight cancer. At times he is tough to listen to, but damn, he’s had a hell of a career.
5) DePaul hired Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield as its new basketball coach; they haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2004. Since 2008, the Blue Demons are 43-206 in Big East conference games, which is, as we like to say, no bueno.
Stubblefield just turned 51; he’s never been a head coach, though he was an interim coach at New Mexico State in 2005, when Lou Henson got sick. He worked as an assistant under Mick Cronin at Cincinnati.
4) The clusterbleep of the year may be at East Tennessee State, where coach Jason Shay was told to take a hike this week- they say he “resigned” but guys don’t quit after their first year as a head coach, not a guy who waited until he was 47 to become a head coach.
East Tennessee’s players took a knee during the national anthem before a few games this year, which ticked off boosters/state politicians, who publicly said so. Shay backed the players; if you want to be a successful coach, you back your players, especially when they’re right.
Shay went 13-12 in his one year as a head coach; he had assisted Steve Forbes for the five years before that, when ETSU went 130-43, going 71-19 in SoCon games.
East Tennessee’s decision makers have some questions to answer:
— Who do they hire from here?
— Who would want this job, if you fired Shay for supporting his players?
— Do the ETSU decision makers want to win?
— If you get a reputation as a racist organization, how do you recruit basketball players?
3) NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers have some internal issues involving the Spanos family, which owns the team. Chargers have to start paying a $650M relocation fee to the NFL pretty soon; they can’t sell the team just yet— the NFL will penalize them even more money if they move the team too quickly after bolting up the freeway to LA— its called a “flip tax”.
In a November 2019 letter included with a court filing, Dean Spanos vowed to his three siblings that he would retain an investment bank at the end of the 2024 season in an effort to find a new owner- by 2024, the “flip tax” wouldn’t be relevant anymore.
But Spanos’ sister says the family’s finances are such that the team needs to be sold before that; the family has owned the Chargers since 1984. If you go broke while you own an NFL franchise, you’re a candidate for the Moron Hall of Fame.
There is a rumor that when the team is sold, they could move back to San Diego, which happens to be the 8th-biggest city in America.
2) In 1979, the Kansas City Royals drafted both John Elway and Dan Marino, which would be great, if the Royals were an NFL team. But they’re a baseball team; Elway played a year for Oneonta in the NY-Penn League, after New York drafted him in the 2nd round of the 1981 draft.
1) Amazing Fact of the Day: Tampa Bay won its season opener 1-0 at Miami Thursday; it is the first time since 1946 that a road team won 1-0 on Opening Day!!!!
Back then, Bob Feller blanked the White Sox on three hits at Comiskey Park; former major league manager Bob Lemon played CF for Cleveland that day.
Additional thing that happened Friday: this weekend’s Mets-Nationals series was cancelled, due to four Washington players testing positive for COVID.Leave a comment:
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Hoop Trends for Friday April 2
Vince Akins
ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Minnesota at Memphis (8:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Grizzlies are 15-0 ATS (10.33 ppg) with rest after out scoring their opponent in the paint by double digits last game.
ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Milwaukee at Portland (10:10 p.m. ET)
--The Trail Blazers are 0-11 ATS (-11.55 ppg) off a road win where Damian Lillard made more three pointers than two pointers.
OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Chicago at Utah (9:10 p.m. ET)
--The Bulls are 11-0-1 OU (7.04 ppg) as a road dog with less than two days rest after they had fewer than 10 turnovers last game.
OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Golden State at Toronto (7:10 p.m. ET)
--The Raptors are 0-12 OU (-17.79 ppg) at home off a loss in which they shot under 40% from the field.
Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)Leave a comment:
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NBA
Friday, April 2
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Trend Report
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Golden State @ Toronto
Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Golden State's last 12 games on the road
Golden State is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 7 games when playing at home against Golden State
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 7 games at home
Houston @ Boston
Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Houston's last 8 games when playing on the road against Boston
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston's last 8 games when playing at home against Houston
Dallas @ New York
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Dallas's last 9 games when playing New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games when playing on the road against New York
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New York's last 9 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New York's last 8 games
Charlotte @ Indiana
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte
Indiana is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Charlotte
Minnesota @ Memphis
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota's last 11 games when playing on the road against Memphis
Memphis
Memphis is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Memphis is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Minnesota
Chicago @ Utah
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Chicago's last 11 games when playing on the road against Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Chicago's last 16 games when playing Utah
Utah
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Atlanta @ New Orleans
Atlanta
Atlanta is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games
New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 19 of New Orleans's last 25 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans's last 7 games when playing Atlanta
Milwaukee @ Portland
Milwaukee
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games when playing on the road against Portland
Milwaukee is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Portland
Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland's last 5 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
Portland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
LA Lakers @ Sacramento
LA Lakers
LA Lakers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of LA Lakers's last 8 games
Sacramento
Sacramento is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Sacramento is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Oklahoma City @ Phoenix
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Oklahoma City's last 8 games on the road
Phoenix
Phoenix is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Phoenix is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up
Friday, April 2
Golden State @ Toronto
Warriors (23-25)
— Golden State lost five of its last six games SU.
— Warriors are 2-7 ATS in last nine road games.
— Over is 3-1 in their last four games overall.
Raptors (18-30)
— Toronto lost four in row, 15 of its last 17 games.
— Raptors are 6-5 ATS in their last 11 home games.
— 11 of last 16 Toronto games went over the total.
— Toronto won seven of last ten series games.
— Warriors are 2-1-1 ATS in last four road series games.
— Over is 5-3 in last eight series games.
Houston @ Boston
Rockets (13-34)
— Houston lost 24 of its last 26 games (5-21 ATS).
— Rockets are 4-8 ATS in last 12 road games.
— Under is 5-2 in their last seven road games.
Celtics (23-25)
— Boston is 4-8 SU since the All-Star break.
— Celtics are 2-6 ATS in their last eight home games.
— Under is 5-0 in their last five home games.
— Houston won five of last six series games.
— Rockets are 2-3 ATS in last five visits to Boston.
— Under is 7-3 in last ten series games.
Dallas @ New York
Mavericks (25-21)
— Mavericks are 7-5 SU since All-Star break.
— Mavericks are 4-1 ATS in last five road games.
— Under is 13-5 in last 18 Dallas games.
Knicks (24-24)
— New York is 5-6 SU since All-Star break.
— Knicks are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 home games.
— Under is 7-1 in New York’s last seven games.
— Knicks won three of last four series games.
— Dallas is 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Manhattan.
— Under is 8-1 in last nine series games.
Charlotte @ Indiana
Hornets (24-23)
— Charlotte won four of its last six games SU.
— Hornets covered three of their last four road games.
— Under is 10-2 in Charlotte’s last 12 games.
Pacers (21-25)
— Indiana is 4-7 in its last eleven games.
— Pacers are 0-8 ATS in their last eight home games.
— Over is 7-3 in Indiana’s last ten games.
— Pacers won six of last eight series games.
— Hornets are 1-4 ATS in last five visits to Indiana.
— Under is 5-2-1 in last eight series games.
Minnesota @ Memphis
Timberwolves (12-36)
— Minnesota lost five of its last seven games.
— Wolves are 3-1 ATS in their last four games overall.
— Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Grizzlies (22-23)
— Memphis lost three of its last four games.
— Grizzlies are 6-1 ATS in last seven games overall.
— Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
— Grizzlies won last four series games.
— Minnesota is 1-3 ATS in last four visits to Memphis.
— Three of last four series games went over.
Atlanta @ New Orleans
Hawks (24-24)
— Atlanta won in double OT last night in San Antonio.
— Hawks lost four of their last six games.
— Hawks are 5-9-1 ATS in their last 15 road games.
— Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Pelicans (21-26)
— Pelicans lost in OT at home last night.
— New Orleans is 4-2 in its last six games.
— Pelicans are 4-2 ATS in their last six home games.
— Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.
— Atlanta won six of last eight series games.
— Hawks are 4-1 ATS in last five visits to Bourbon Street.
— Under is 5-2 in last seven series games.
Oklahoma City @ Phoenix
Thunder (20-27)
— Thunder are 3-5 SU in their last eight games.
— OKC is 10-5 ATS in their last 15 road games.
— Under is 7-1 in their last eight road games.
Suns (33-14)
— Phoenix won 25 of its last 31 games (21-10 ATS).
— Suns are 4-3 ATS in their last seven home games.
— Under is 7-3 in their last ten games.
— OKC won nine of last ten series games.
— Thunder is 4-1 ATS in last five visits to Phoenix.
— Under is 4-2 in last six series games.
Milwaukee @ Portland
Bucks (30-17)
— Milwaukee lost three of its last four games.
— Bucks are 2-7 ATS in last nine road games.
— Over is 8-3 in Milwaukee’s last 11 games.
Trailblazers (29-18)
— Portland won 12 of its last 15 games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Blazers are 3-4 ATS in last seven home games.
— Over is 8-4 in Portland’s last dozen games.
— Milwaukee won eight of last nine series games.
— Bucks are 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Oregon.
— Three of last four series games went over.
LA Lakers @ Sacramento
Lakers (30-17)
— Lakers lost five of their last seven games (1-6 ATS).
— Lakers are 7-11 ATS in their last 18 home games.
— Under is 11-3 in their 14 home games.
Kings (22-25)
— Sacramento won seven of its last nine games.
— Kings are 3-1 ATS in their last four home games.
— Under is 8-4 in Sacramento’s last 12 games.
— Lakers won five of last eight series games.
— LA covered its last five visits to Sacramento.
— Over is 5-2 in last seven series games.Leave a comment:
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543GOLDEN STATE -544 TORONTO
TORONTO is 49-29 ATS (17.1 Units) versus good passing teams, averaging >=23 assists/game - 2nd half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
545HOUSTON -546 BOSTON
HOUSTON is 3-11 ATS (-9.1 Units) when playing against a marginal losing team (Win Pct. 40% to 49%) in the current season.
547DALLAS -548 NEW YORK
DALLAS are 12-3 ATS (8.7 Units) in road games after playing a road game in the current season.
549CHARLOTTE -550 INDIANA
INDIANA is 331-251 ATS (54.9 Units) revenging a road loss vs opponent since 1996.
553ATLANTA -554 NEW ORLEANS
ATLANTA is 0-8 ATS (-8.8 Units) in road games versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=14 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
555CHICAGO -556 UTAH
UTAH is 12-0 ATS (12 Units) in home games after 4 or more consecutive wins in the current season.
557OKLAHOMA CITY -558 PHOENIX
OKLAHOMA CITY is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) in road games vs. winning teams in the current season.
561LA LAKERS -562 SACRAMENTO
LA LAKERS are 13-4 ATS (8.6 Units) in road games versus teams who average 7 or less steals/game on the season over the last 2 seasons.Leave a comment:
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Friday’s 6-pack
Top six states in sports betting handle for this February:
$743M— New Jersey
$554M— Nevada
$510M— Pennsylvania
$326M— Michigan
$274M— Indiana
$266.5M— Colorado
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 550,903
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“The transfer portal is a huge part of the college game and will continue to be.”
UNLV coach Kevin Kruger
Friday’s quiz
Which active player has the most career home runs against the Oakland A’s?
Thursday’s quiz
In the history of baseball, Bob Feller threw the only no-hitter on Opening Day, in 1940.
Wednesday’s quiz
2015 was last time three #1-seeds made the Final Four; Wisconsin, Kentucky, Duke.
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Friday’s Den: Wrapping up Opening Day
Lot of stuff happened Thursday; we’ll stick with baseball today, get to the rest tomorrow.
13) Colorado 8, Dodgers 5:
— Cody Bellinger hit a home run that deflected off the left fielder’s glove, but the runner on base thought the LF caught the ball, so he went back to first and Bellinger passed him, which means Bellinger was called out— the baserunner scored.
— Chris Owings had three hits, scored three times for the Rockies.
12) Pirates 5, Chicago 3:
— Both starting P’s threw 63 pitches in three IP on a 36-degree day.
— Kyle Hendricks walked a batter in three consecutive innings, first time he’s ever done that.
— Pirates were 3-20 with runners in scoring position, Cubs 0-5
11) Philadelphia 3, Braves 2 (10)
— Phillies’ new-look bullpen threw 3.1 scoreless innings.
— Jean Segura’s single to left field in 10th inning was the walk-off hit.
— Pablo Sandoval hit a pinch-hit HR for Atlanta’s only runs.
10) San Diego 8, Diamondbacks 7:
— Hosmer had three hits, three RBI for San Diego.
— Bumgarner gave up six runs in four IP for Arizona.
— Arizona was down 6-1, scored six runs in the 5th, but couldn’t hold the lead.
9) Cardinals 11, Cincinnati 6:
— St Louis is first team since the 2010 Braves to score 6+ runs in first inning on Opening Day.
— Castillo gave up 10 runs in 3.1 IP.
— Goldschmidt/Arenado went a combined 6-10, scored four runs.
8) Blue Jays 3, Bronx 2 (10)
— Toronto wore powder blue road jerseys, like teams wore in the 70’s/80’s.
— Top four batters in the New York lineup went 1-18 with eight K’s.
— Sanchez hit a 2-run homer for New York’s only runs.
7) Detroit 3, Indians 2:
— Miguel Cabrera hit his 488th career home run.
— It snowed during first three innings of this game.
— Cesar Hernández had the first hit in the major leagues this year.
6) Kansas City 14, Rangers 10:
— Game was 5-5 after the first inning; not much pitching.
— Two starting pitchers combined to get five outs, give up 11 runs.
— Merrfield, Isbel, Taylor all had three hits for the Royals.
5) Rays 1, Miami 0:
— Meadows hit an 8th-inning homer for the game’s only run.
— Glasnow, Alcantara both threw six shutout innings.
— Aguilar had two of Miami’s three hits.
4) Milwaukee 6, Twins 5 (10):
— Five of Milwaukee’s six runs were unearned.
— Brewers scored three runs in 9th to force extra innings.
— Josh Donaldson (hamstring) left this game very early on.
3) Angels 4, White Sox 3:
— Angels scored twice in bottom of 8th inning.
— Angels gave 2B Fletcher a 5-year, $26M extension Thursday.
— Only two starting pitchers all day got wins: Boyd/Greinke.
2) Astros 8, A’s 1:
— Brantley had single, double, homer for Houston.
— Greinke threw six shutout innings, allowing 3 baserunners.
— A’s bullpen gave up five runs in 3.2 IP.Leave a comment:
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Thursday’s 6-pack
Odds for the Texas Open this week:
11-1— Jordan Spieth
14-1— Tony Finau
15-1— Scott Scheffler
19-1— Abraham Ancer, Hideki Matsuyama
21-1— Corey Connors
30-1— Ryan Palmer
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 550,903
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame. Let’s play two today!”
Ernie Banks
Thursday’s quiz
In the history of baseball, what Hall of Famer threw the only no-hitter on Opening Day?
Wednesday’s quiz
2015 was last time three #1-seeds made the Final Four; Wisconsin, Kentucky, Duke.
Tuesday’s quiz
Last time Kelvin Sampson made it to the Final Four, he was coaching Oklahoma.
***********************
Thursday’s Den: Random thoughts on Opening Day
Before we start, happy birthday to my grandmother; today was her birthday. Very nice lady. Not sure April 1 is a great day for a birthday.
13) Will be fun to see fans in the stands; hopefully by the end of this season, stands will be full again, but for now, hearing real people cheer will be enough. Cardboard cutouts are cool, but they don’t make any noise.
For the record, the best cardboard cutout last year was the one in Kansas City of Bernie Lomax, the main character from the Weekend at Bernie’s movies.
12) Houston Astros made the expanded playoffs LY, despite a 29-31 record; how will they bounce back this year? They won the 2017 World Series, lost the ’19 Series in seven games; this year they’ll be without Verlander (hurt), Springer (free agent to Toronto).
Last year, Jose Altuve hit .219 in the regular season, then hit 18-48 (.375) in playoffs, so we’ll see what this year brings.
11) Baseball has done a very smart thing, letting players watch video of their at-bats on iPads during the game. Players couldn’t do that last year- from what you hear on TV, it hampered some hitters, who are creatures of habit. Baseball wants more offense, right?
10) Los Angeles Dodgers are loaded; they won World Series LY for first time since 1988, and appear to be headed that way again this year, especially after adding pitching ace Trevor Bauer as a free agent.
Their TV guys have been fairly cocky this spring; on how many teams would David Price or Tony Gonsolin not be in the starting rotation?
9) Seattle and the Angels are two teams that will apparently use 6-man pitching rotations this season, somehow new to MLB. Teams in Japan do this; starters generally pitch once a week.
Teams are guarding against ramping up a pitcher’s innings too much from one year to the next; for instance, Seattle’s Marco Gonzales threw 69.1 IP LY; he threw 203 the year before. Doubtful they want him ramping back up to 203 until next season.
8) Steve Cohen is the new owner of the Mets; supposedly, Bobby Axelrod on Showtime’s Billions was modeled after Cohen, a wildly successful hedge fund trader. In other words, he is really, really rich.
Cohen’s Mets offered newly-acquired SS Francisco Lindor $320M for 10 years; Lindor’s people are asking for 12 years, $385M. We’ll see how that works out.
LATE UPDATE: Here’s how it worked out: Lindor signed a 10-year deal for $341M Wednesday night.
7) Umpire Ángel Hernández lost his lawsuit against MLB alleging racial discrimination; hired as a big league umpire in 1993, the Cuban-born Hernandez alleged he was discriminated against because he had not been assigned to the World Series since 2005 and had been passed over for crew chief.
From the judge who decided the case:
“The explicit reason MLB offers — that according to (Joe) Torre, Hernández ‘has not demonstrated the leadership ability and situation-management skills in critical high-pressure roles on a consistent basis’ — is presented in clear and specific terms.”
In other words, Hernandez should be glad he has a lucrative job that he doesn’t do very well.
6) Colorado Rockies traded star 3B Nolan Arenado to St Louis, and with SS Trevor Story headed for free agency, he could be the next to leave Denver, which can’t make fans in Denver happy.
Are the Rockies headed for a total rebuild? Colorado won 87-91 games in 2017/’18, but now they’re looking like a doormat.
5) Can Giancarlo Stanton/Aaron Judge stay healthy this season?
— Last two years, Stanton played a total of 41 regular season games.
— Last three years, Judge played 112-102-28 games.
— Stanton went 8-26 with six homers in seven playoff games LY; they need him for six months, not seven games.
4) Angels have lot of hitting, lot of star power; Trout, Pujols, Rendon, Ohtani, but pitching is important in baseball and the Angels don’t have much of that.
In 12 games as a major league pitcher, Ohtani has given up 26 runs in 53.1 IP; there is very little evidence that he’ll be a good major league pitcher.
3) Lot of hype around the Padres/White Sox; there is no doubt that 76-year Tony LaRussa’s return to the dugout will be fascinating to follow in Chicago.
LaRussa hasn’t managed since 2011; he’s won three World Series as a skipper, but the world is a different place than it was 10 years ago. He did a dugout interview during a spring training game a few days ago and it…….um…….didn’t go well.
Random LaRussa trivia; he pinch-hit for the A’s in their first-ever home game in Oakland, way back in 1968.
2) Baseball needs the universal DH, for a few reasons:
— They want more scoring; pitchers can’t hit
— They want more balls in play; DH’s put balls in play
— Pitchers get hurt hitting/running the bases. Not good.
1) I’ll be looking at how the new experimental rules work once the minor leagues get rolling in May; I like the anti-shifting rules, the pitch-clock thing isn’t necessary. The 3-batter minimum for relievers is a great rule.
I can’t stand the extra inning rules or 7-inning doubleheaders. Media guys like shorter extra innings, since it makes their job easier, but to me it cheapens the game.
As for the automated strike zone, no thank you!!! Just let umpires do their jobs, and hire better umpires than Angel Hernandez.Leave a comment:
-
Thursday’s 6-pack
Odds for the Texas Open this week:
11-1— Jordan Spieth
14-1— Tony Finau
15-1— Scott Scheffler
19-1— Abraham Ancer, Hideki Matsuyama
21-1— Corey Connors
30-1— Ryan Palmer
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 550,903
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame. Let’s play two today!”
Ernie Banks
Thursday’s quiz
In the history of baseball, what Hall of Famer threw the only no-hitter on Opening Day?
Wednesday’s quiz
2015 was last time three #1-seeds made the Final Four; Wisconsin, Kentucky, Duke.
Tuesday’s quiz
Last time Kelvin Sampson made it to the Final Four, he was coaching Oklahoma.
***********************
Thursday’s Den: Random thoughts on Opening Day
Before we start, happy birthday to my grandmother; today was her birthday. Very nice lady. Not sure April 1 is a great day for a birthday.
13) Will be fun to see fans in the stands; hopefully by the end of this season, stands will be full again, but for now, hearing real people cheer will be enough. Cardboard cutouts are cool, but they don’t make any noise.
For the record, the best cardboard cutout last year was the one in Kansas City of Bernie Lomax, the main character from the Weekend at Bernie’s movies.
12) Houston Astros made the expanded playoffs LY, despite a 29-31 record; how will they bounce back this year? They won the 2017 World Series, lost the ’19 Series in seven games; this year they’ll be without Verlander (hurt), Springer (free agent to Toronto).
Last year, Jose Altuve hit .219 in the regular season, then hit 18-48 (.375) in playoffs, so we’ll see what this year brings.
11) Baseball has done a very smart thing, letting players watch video of their at-bats on iPads during the game. Players couldn’t do that last year- from what you hear on TV, it hampered some hitters, who are creatures of habit. Baseball wants more offense, right?
10) Los Angeles Dodgers are loaded; they won World Series LY for first time since 1988, and appear to be headed that way again this year, especially after adding pitching ace Trevor Bauer as a free agent.
Their TV guys have been fairly cocky this spring; on how many teams would David Price or Tony Gonsolin not be in the starting rotation?
9) Seattle and the Angels are two teams that will apparently use 6-man pitching rotations this season, somehow new to MLB. Teams in Japan do this; starters generally pitch once a week.
Teams are guarding against ramping up a pitcher’s innings too much from one year to the next; for instance, Seattle’s Marco Gonzales threw 69.1 IP LY; he threw 203 the year before. Doubtful they want him ramping back up to 203 until next season.
8) Steve Cohen is the new owner of the Mets; supposedly, Bobby Axelrod on Showtime’s Billions was modeled after Cohen, a wildly successful hedge fund trader. In other words, he is really, really rich.
Cohen’s Mets offered newly-acquired SS Francisco Lindor $320M for 10 years; Lindor’s people are asking for 12 years, $385M. We’ll see how that works out.
LATE UPDATE: Here’s how it worked out: Lindor signed a 10-year deal for $341M Wednesday night.
7) Umpire Ángel Hernández lost his lawsuit against MLB alleging racial discrimination; hired as a big league umpire in 1993, the Cuban-born Hernandez alleged he was discriminated against because he had not been assigned to the World Series since 2005 and had been passed over for crew chief.
From the judge who decided the case:
“The explicit reason MLB offers — that according to (Joe) Torre, Hernández ‘has not demonstrated the leadership ability and situation-management skills in critical high-pressure roles on a consistent basis’ — is presented in clear and specific terms.”
In other words, Hernandez should be glad he has a lucrative job that he doesn’t do very well.
6) Colorado Rockies traded star 3B Nolan Arenado to St Louis, and with SS Trevor Story headed for free agency, he could be the next to leave Denver, which can’t make fans in Denver happy.
Are the Rockies headed for a total rebuild? Colorado won 87-91 games in 2017/’18, but now they’re looking like a doormat.
5) Can Giancarlo Stanton/Aaron Judge stay healthy this season?
— Last two years, Stanton played a total of 41 regular season games.
— Last three years, Judge played 112-102-28 games.
— Stanton went 8-26 with six homers in seven playoff games LY; they need him for six months, not seven games.
4) Angels have lot of hitting, lot of star power; Trout, Pujols, Rendon, Ohtani, but pitching is important in baseball and the Angels don’t have much of that.
In 12 games as a major league pitcher, Ohtani has given up 26 runs in 53.1 IP; there is very little evidence that he’ll be a good major league pitcher.
3) Lot of hype around the Padres/White Sox; there is no doubt that 76-year Tony LaRussa’s return to the dugout will be fascinating to follow in Chicago.
LaRussa hasn’t managed since 2011; he’s won three World Series as a skipper, but the world is a different place than it was 10 years ago. He did a dugout interview during a spring training game a few days ago and it…….um…….didn’t go well.
Random LaRussa trivia; he pinch-hit for the A’s in their first-ever home game in Oakland, way back in 1968.
2) Baseball needs the universal DH, for a few reasons:
— They want more scoring; pitchers can’t hit
— They want more balls in play; DH’s put balls in play
— Pitchers get hurt hitting/running the bases. Not good.
1) I’ll be looking at how the new experimental rules work once the minor leagues get rolling in May; I like the anti-shifting rules, the pitch-clock thing isn’t necessary. The 3-batter minimum for relievers is a great rule.
I can’t stand the extra inning rules or 7-inning doubleheaders. Media guys like shorter extra innings, since it makes their job easier, but to me it cheapens the game.
As for the automated strike zone, no thank you!!! Just let umpires do their jobs, and hire better umpires than Angel Hernandez.Leave a comment:
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS
MIA at IND 07:00 PM
IND +1.5...........92 - 87......LOSER
U 218.5.................WINNER
POR at DET 07:00 PM
DET +7.5..........124 - 101
O 221.0..................WINNER
HOU at BK 07:30 PM
BK -12.5.............108 - 120
U 230.0.....................WINNER
DAL at BOS 07:30 PM
DAL -1.0.............113 - 108
U 222.5.................WINNER
TOR at OKC 08:00 PM
TOR -8.0.........103 - 113......LOSER
O 223.0.....................LOSER
UTA at MEM 08:00 PM
MEM +6.0............111 - 107......WINNER
U 226.0...........................WINNER
NY at MIN 08:00 PM
NY -3.5..........101 - 102......LOSER
U 218.5.....................WINNER
SAC at SA 08:30 PM
SAC +2.5...............106 - 120....LOSER
O 231.0................LOSER
MIL at LAL 10:00 PM
MIL -8.5..............112 - 97......WINNER
U 222.0.......................WINNER
CHI at PHO 10:00 PM
PHO -7.5............116 - 121.........LOSER
U 217.5.............................LOSER
NBA DAILY RECORD BEST BETS:
DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD
03/31/2021..........9 - 8 ... 52.94%......+1.00
03/30/2021..........5 - 3....62.50%.......+8.50
03/28/2021..........4 - 4....50.00%......- 2.00
03/27/2021..........4 - 10...28.57%......-35.00
03/26/2021..........6 - 9.....40.00%......-14.50
03/25/2021..........3 - 5.....37.50.........-12.50
03/24/2021..........9-7-0....56.25%.....+.6.50
03/23/2021..........3-9-0....25.00%......-34.50
03/22/2021..........7-4-0....63.63%......+13.00
03/21/2021........11-4-0....73.33.........+ 33.00
03/20/2021.........3-4-0.....42.85..........-7.00
03/19/2021.........7-7-0.....50.00%.......-3.50
03/18/2021.........4-7-0.....36.36%.......-18.50
03/17/2021.........6-11-0....35.29%......-30.50
03/16/2021..........7-2-0.....77.77%.......+24.00
03/15/2021..........4-5-0.....44.44%.......- 7.50
03/14/2021..........6-6-0.....50.00%.......- 3.00
03/13/2021..........4-6-0.....40.00%.......-13.00
03/12/2021..........3-8-0.....27.27%.......-29.00
03/11/2021 ........10-5-0.....66.66%......+22.50
03/10/2021.......... 3-1-0 ......75.00%....... +950
03/04/2021 ..........9-7-2...... 55.56% .......+650
03/03/2021 ..........12-8-0 .....60.00%.... +1600
03/02/2021............ 4-7-1 .......37.50%..... -1850
TOTALS............143 -147 -4.....49.08%......- 49.31
****************************************
Feb. Best Bets Totals:..........144 Wins..........141 Loses.......50.52%........-57.50
Jan. Best Bets Totals:............64 Wins..........65 Loses.........49.61%........- 41.00
Dec. Best Bet Totals:.............4..Wins.......... 6,Loses.........40%.............- 13.00Leave a comment:
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS
MIA at IND 07:00 PM
IND +1.5
U 218.5
POR at DET 07:00 PM
DET +7.5
O 221.0
HOU at BK 07:30 PM
BK -12.5
U 230.0
DAL at BOS 07:30 PM
DAL -1.0
U 222.5
TOR at OKC 08:00 PM
TOR -8.0
O 223.0
UTA at MEM 08:00 PM
MEM +6.0
U 226.0
NY at MIN 08:00 PM
NY -3.5
U 218.5
SAC at SA 08:30 PM
SAC +2.5
O 231.0
MIL at LAL 10:00 PM
MIL -8.5
U 222.0
CHI at PHO 10:00 PM
PHO -7.5
U 217.5
NBA DAILY RECORD BEST BETS:
DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD
03/30/2021..........5 - 3....62.50%.......+8.50
03/28/2021..........4 - 4....50.00%......- 2.00
03/27/2021..........4 - 10...28.57%......-35.00
03/26/2021..........6 - 9.....40.00%......-14.50
03/25/2021..........3 - 5.....37.50.........-12.50
03/24/2021..........9-7-0....56.25%.....+.6.50
03/23/2021..........3-9-0....25.00%......-34.50
03/22/2021..........7-4-0....63.63%......+13.00
03/21/2021........11-4-0....73.33.........+ 33.00
03/20/2021.........3-4-0.....42.85..........-7.00
03/19/2021.........7-7-0.....50.00%.......-3.50
03/18/2021.........4-7-0.....36.36%.......-18.50
03/17/2021.........6-11-0....35.29%......-30.50
03/16/2021..........7-2-0.....77.77%.......+24.00
03/15/2021..........4-5-0.....44.44%.......- 7.50
03/14/2021..........6-6-0.....50.00%.......- 3.00
03/13/2021..........4-6-0.....40.00%.......-13.00
03/12/2021..........3-8-0.....27.27%.......-29.00
03/11/2021 ........10-5-0.....66.66%......+22.50
03/10/2021.......... 3-1-0 ......75.00%....... +950
03/04/2021 ..........9-7-2...... 55.56% .......+650
03/03/2021 ..........12-8-0 .....60.00%.... +1600
03/02/2021............ 4-7-1 .......37.50%..... -1850
TOTALS............134 -139 -4.....49.08%......- 89.50
****************************************
Feb. Best Bets Totals:..........144 Wins..........141 Loses.......50.52%........-57.50
Jan. Best Bets Totals:............64 Wins..........65 Loses.........49.61%........- 41.00
Dec. Best Bet Totals:.............4..Wins.......... 6,Loses.........40%.............- 13.00Leave a comment:
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509MIAMI -510 INDIANA
MIAMI is 14-4 ATS (9.6 Units) in road games against Central division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
511PORTLAND -512 DETROIT
DETROIT is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) as a home underdog of 6.5 to 12 points in the current season.
513HOUSTON -514 BROOKLYN
HOUSTON is 26-53 ATS (-32.3 Units) after allowing 115 points or more in the last 3 seasons.
515DALLAS -516 BOSTON
DALLAS are 40-22 ATS (15.8 Units) in road games versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=24 free throws/game in the last 3 seasons.
517UTAH -518 MEMPHIS
UTAH is 11-0 ATS (11 Units) when playing 8 or more games in 14 days in the current season.
523SACRAMENTO -524 SAN ANTONIO
SACRAMENTO is 27-12 ATS (13.8 Units) in road games versus horrible foul drawing teams - attempting <=21 free throws/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
525MILWAUKEE -526 LA LAKERS
MILWAUKEE is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) in road games versus good shooting teams - making >=46% of their shots in the current season.
527CHICAGO -528 PHOENIX
CHICAGO is 14-1 ATS (12.9 Units) in road games after 2 consecutive non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
----------------------------
NBA
Dunkel
Wednesday, March 31
-----------------------------
NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up
Wednesday, March 31
Portland @ Detroit
Trailblazers (28-18)
— Portland won 11 of its last 15 games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Blazers are 4-4 ATS in last eight road games.
— Over is 11-5 in Portland’s last 16 road games.
Pistons (13-33)
— Detroit lost 13 of its last 18 games
— Pistons are 7-3 ATS since the All-Star break.
— Under is 4-1 in Detroit’s last five road games.
— Home side won last six series games.
— Portland is 0-4 ATS in last four trips to Detroit.
— Four of last five series games stayed under.
Miami @ Indiana
Heat (23-24)
— Miami lost six of its last seven games (1-6 ATS)
— Heat is 1-3 ATS in last four road games.
— Under is 7-1 in their last eight road games.
Pacers (21-24)
— Indiana won four of its last six games.
— Pacers are 4-2 ATS in their last six road games.
— Over is 9-5 in Indiana’s last 14 home games.
— Indiana won last two series games, after losing 7 of previous 8.
— Miami covered three of last four visits to Indiana.
— Under is 6-2 in last eight series games.
Dallas @ Boston
Mavericks (24-21)
— Mavericks are 6-5 SU since All-Star break.
— Mavericks are 3-1 ATS in last four road games.
— Under is 12-5 in last 17 Dallas games.
Celtics (23-24)
— Boston is 4-7 SU since the All-Star break.
— Celtics are 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games.
— Under is 4-0 in their last four home games.
— Celtics won seven of last nine series games.
— Dallas is 1-3 ATS in last four visits to Boston.
— Three of last four series games stayed under.
Houston @ Brooklyn
Rockets (13-33)
— Houston lost 23 of its last 25 games (4-21 ATS).
— Rockets are 3-8 ATS in last 11 road games.
— Under is 4-2 in their last six road games.
Nets (32-15)
— Brooklyn won 18 of their last 21 games
— Nets are 1-5 ATS in last six games overall.
— Under is 4-1 in last five Brooklyn games.
— James Harden against his old team.
— Nets won three of last four series games.
— Rockets are 2-3 ATS in last five visits to Brooklyn.
— Over is 7-3 in last ten series games.
Utah @ Memphis
Jazz (35-11)
— Utah won its last six games overall.
— Jazz is 3-7 ATS in its last ten road games.
— Under is 4-2 in Utah’s last six games.
Grizzlies (22-22)
— Memphis is 5-3 SU in its last eight games.
— Grizzlies are 5-1 ATS in last six games overall.
— Over is 5-0 in their last five games.
— Utah won last five series games (4-1 ATS)
— Jazz are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Memphis.
— Last four series games went over the total.
New York @ Minnesota
Knicks (24-23)
— New York won four of its last six games.
— Knicks covered their last four road games.
— Under is 6-1 in New York’s last seven games.
Timberwolves (11-36)
— Minnesota lost five of its last six games.
— Wolves are 6-5 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
— Under is 4-2 in their last six games.
— Timberwolves won four of last five series games.
— Knicks are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Minnesota.
— Under is 6-2 in last eight series games.
Toronto @ Oklahoma City
Raptors (18-29)
— Toronto lost 14 of its last 16 games.
— Raptors are 0-6 ATS in their last six road games.
— 11 of last 15 Toronto games went over the total.
Thunder (19-27)
— Thunder are 2-5 SU in their last seven games.
— OKC is 4-7 ATS in their last 11 home games.
— Over is 7-1 in their last eight home games.
— Road team won eight of last nine series games.
— Raptors covered four of last five visits to Oklahoma.
— Over is 7-1-1 in last nine series games.
Sacramento @ San Antonio
Kings (22-25)
— Sacramento won seven of its last eight games.
— Kings are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.
— Over is 3-0 in Sacramento’s last three road games.
Spurs (23-21)
— San Antonio lost five of its last six games.
— Spurs are 1-4 ATS in last five home games.
— Over is 5-2 in Spurs’ last seven games.
— Kings won 132-115 here Monday night.
— Sacramento won five of last seven series games.
— Kings are 4-2 ATS in last six series games.
— Last three series games went over the total.
Milwaukee @ LA Lakers
Bucks (29-17)
— Milwaukee lost its last three games.
— Bucks are 1-7 ATS in last eight road games.
— Over is 8-2 in Milwaukee’s last ten games.
Lakers (30-17)
— Lakers lost four of their last six games (1-5 ATS).
— Lakers are 7-10 ATS in their last 17 home games.
— Under is 10-3 in their 13 home games.
— Milwaukee won seven of last ten series games.
— Bucks are 2-2 ATS in last four series games played here.
— Under is 6-2 in last eight series games.
Chicago @ Phoenix
Bulls (19-26)
— Chicago lost six of its last seven games SU.
— Bulls are 0-4 ATS in their last four games.
— Under is 8-2 in their last ten games.
Suns (31-14)
— Phoenix won 24 of its last 30 games (21-9 ATS).
— Suns are 4-2 ATS in their last six home games.
— Under is 7-2 in their last eight games.
— Suns won six of last nine series games.
— Bulls are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Phoenix.
— Four of last five series games stayed under.
------------------------------
NBA
Wednesday, March 31
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland @ Detroit
Portland
Portland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Portland's last 5 games on the road
Detroit
Detroit is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Portland
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Portland
Miami @ Indiana
Miami
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Miami's last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Miami's last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing at home against Miami
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Indiana's last 9 games
Dallas @ Boston
Dallas
Dallas is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Dallas's last 17 games
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games at home
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
Houston @ Brooklyn
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Brooklyn
Houston is 14-3 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Brooklyn is 18-3 SU in its last 21 games
Utah @ Memphis
Utah
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Memphis
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Memphis
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Memphis's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Memphis's last 12 games when playing at home against Utah
Toronto @ Oklahoma City
Toronto
Toronto is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Toronto is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Oklahoma City's last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
New York @ Minnesota
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York's last 7 games
New York is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing New York
Sacramento @ San Antonio
Sacramento
Sacramento is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Sacramento is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing San Antonio
San Antonio
San Antonio is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Sacramento
San Antonio is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games when playing Sacramento
Milwaukee @ LA Lakers
Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Milwaukee's last 5 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Lakers's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of LA Lakers's last 7 games
Chicago @ Phoenix
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Chicago is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix
Phoenix is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago
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Hoop Trends for Wednesday March 31
Vince Akins
ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Utah at Memphis (8:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Grizzlies are 14-0 ATS (10.96 ppg) with rest after outscoring their opponent in the paint by at least 10 points last game.
ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: New York at Minnesota (8:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Timberwolves are 0-15 ATS (-6.17 ppg) as a dog off a road game in which Karl Anthony Towns scored at least 30 points.
OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Sacramento at San Antonio (8:40 p.m. ET)
-- The Kings are 12-0 OU (13.88 ppg) as a dog with rest coming off a 10+ point win as a road dog.
OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Houston at Brooklyn (7:40 p.m. ET)
-- The Rockets are 0-14-1 OU (-8.57 ppg) coming off a 10+ point loss as a home dog.
Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)Leave a comment:
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Wednesday’s 6-pack
Odds for the Masters next week:
8-1— Dustin Johnson
9-1— Bryson DeChambeau
11-1— Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas
14-1— Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth
20-1— Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka
22-1— Patrick Cantlay
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 550,903
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“A thief is a thief, whether he steals a diamond or a cucumber.”
Old Indian proverb
Wednesday’s quiz
When was last time three #1-seeds made the Final Four?
Tuesday’s quiz
Last time Kelvin Sampson made it to the Final Four, he was coaching Oklahoma.
Monday’s quiz
Washington’s Bradley Beal is leading the NBA in scoring this season, at 31.3 ppg.
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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) UCLA 51, Michigan 49:
— UCLA lost their last four games before the NCAA’s; they were down 5 with 1:27 left in the play-in game, against Michigan State.
— Michigan was 6-11 on foul line in a 2-point loss.
— Bruins have played six OT games this year; two of them were in the NCAA’s.
— Here’s the thing: if Mick Cronin’s relatives filled out brackets, no way they picked the Bruins.
12) Baylor 81, Arkansas 72:
— Bears are 9-2 since their 21-day COVID pause in February.
— Baylor never trailed, led 29-11 right off the bat, made 8-15 on the arc.
— Bears are diverse; they force ton of turnovers, are best in country shooting on the arc.
11) Houston 67, Oregon State 61:
— Each region has teams seeds from #1-16: Houston beat seeds #15-10-11-12
— Cougars have won 11 games in a row.
— Houston shot only 32.3% from floor, but had 19 offensive rebounds.
10) Gonzaga 85, USC 66:
— Gonzaga is 30-0, with ONE WIN by less than 10 points.
— Zags never trailed in this game, led 49-30 at halftime.
— USC has #7 eFG% defense in country; Zags shot 57.8% inside arc.
9) Tip of the cap to Oral Roberts sophomore Max Abmas, who led ORU to a Summit League title, then two wins in the NCAA Tournament. Kid led the country in scoring, at 24.2 ppg.
In Oral Roberts’ six postseason games, the Summit/NCAAs, Abmas NEVER came out of the game, played the whole 245:00 (one game went OT). In those six games, Abmas:
— shot 32-57 inside arc
— shot 13-45 on the arc
— shot 40-46 on foul line
— also had 34 assists
— 23.8 ppg, 5-1 record on the biggest stage. Good for him.
Next question is, unfortunately, how many phone calls has the kid gotten about transferring to a higher-profile program? Come on, kids who are way worse than Abmas have bolted low or mid-majors to be role players for the $$$ teams. Loyalty is becoming obsolete.
We’ll see what happens.
8) Speaking of which, Kentucky poached grad transfer Kellen Grady away from Davidson; Grady 2,000 points+ in his Davidson career and is a career 36.6% 3-point shooter.
Three years ago, Grady scored 16 points against Kentucky in an NCAA tourney game.
7) NFL is upgrading its schedule to 17 games next season; AFC teams will all get the extra home game next year, then NFC teams get the extra home game in even-numbered years.
The extra game will pit division vs division; for 2021:
— NFC West vs AFC North
— NFC East vs AFC East
— NFC North vs AFC West
— NFC South vs AFC South
6) Here is how the length of NFL schedules have worked over the years:
1947-60— 12 games
1961-77— 14 games; from 1966-77, 14 games in 15 weeks
1978-89— 16 games/season
1990-2020— 16 games in 17 weeks.
5) Final Four is set:
— two #1-seeds, a #2-seed and a #11-seed
— 7th year in a row, a team seeded #5 or lower wins a region.
— Third time in five years a double-digit seed goes to the Final Four.
4) This year was first time since 2001 that the Pac-12 had three teams in Elite 8.
3) Pac-12 has done so well in the NCAA tournament that the Washington Huskies have moved up 43 spots in the kenpom.com rankings, since they played their last game.
2) I can’t help it, every time I see Dick Vitale’s GEICO commercial, I laugh/smile; the guy dumps a cooler of water over his head— he is 81 years old. The commercial has been on TV a lot, but it never stops being funny. Hope I live as long as Coach Vitale, and would love to have his energy.
1) Was watching Daily Wager on ESPN2; good program, but they’re talking about betting NFL futures already and it is freakin’ March 30. Too early.
— Haven’t had the draft yet.
— Trading may not be over yet.
— The freakin’ schedule hasn’t been released yet.
— How can you wager on things when so much is still unknown?Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: