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5 Units on Dallas Mavericks +1½ -110
Having the home-court advantage would seem to give the Mavericks an edge, but they are widely considered underdogs to the well-rested Kings as the teams meet in the conference semifinals for the second straight year. While Sacramento has enjoyed five days off since closing out Utah in the first round, Dallas nearly became the first team in NBA postseason history to blow a 3-0 lead before beating Portland 107-95 in Game 7 on Sunday. Sacramento also enters as the favorite because of its recent history against Dallas. The Kings won three of the four regular-season meetings and knocked the Mavs out of last season's conference semifinals in five games. ``It's going to be tough, but we know what's ahead of us and we're looking forward to the challenge because they pretty much put a whooping on us last year,'' said Dallas guard Nick Van Exel. More than one-third of the Mavs' 11 home losses in the last calendar year have come against the Kings. Sacramento has won four straight visits to the American Airlines Center, two in last year's playoffs and two this season by a combined three points.
4 Units on Colorado Rockies +1½ -130 (Cook - R, Hampton -L)
The left-hander will be hoping for similar success against his previous employer, the Colorado Rockies, when the Braves open a three-game series at Turner Field. On Wednesday, Hampton gave up one earned run and four hits over seven strong innings in an 11-1 win over the Houston Astros, a team he pitched for from 1994-99. The start was the third of the season for Hampton, who was on the disabled list until April 19 with a strained right calf. After giving up four earned runs and six hits over five innings in his first start, a 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, he has yielded three earned runs over 13 innings in his last two outings. On Sunday, the Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4 in 11 innings, giving them a 5-1 record on their road trip. Winners of 16 of 19 overall, Atlanta has moved to the top of the NL East after a 4-8 start. The Rockies fell to the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in 10 innings on Sunday -- their fourth loss in five games. Center fielder Preston Wilson went 3-for-5 with an RBI for Colorado, which stranded 12 runners. STANDINGS (through May 4): Rockies - 2nd place, 5 1/2 GB, NL West. Braves - 1st place, NL East.
2 Units on Chicago Cubs -320 (Franklin - L, Prior - R)
Prior's meteoric rise hasn't lost any momentum this season. The 22-year-old hurler is 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA after six starts. Prior is tied with 11 other pitchers for the NL lead in wins with four. Opponents are hitting just .179 against Prior and his 45 strikeouts rank him third in the NL behind Montreal's Javier Vasquez (64) and teammate Kerry Wood (55). Prior is hoping to get the Cubs back on track after Chicago was shut down by Milwaukee ace Ben Sheets on Monday. Sheets, backed by two-run homers from Richie Sexson and Wes Helms, extended his dominance of Chicago by pitching the Brewers to a 5-3 victory. Sheets (3-3) might not have been at his best, giving up a pair of home runs, but he improved to 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA in six career starts against Chicago. Sheets said the Brewers seem to get keyed up to play the Cubs, a division rival just 90 miles down the road.
5 Units on Dallas Mavericks +1½ -110
Having the home-court advantage would seem to give the Mavericks an edge, but they are widely considered underdogs to the well-rested Kings as the teams meet in the conference semifinals for the second straight year. While Sacramento has enjoyed five days off since closing out Utah in the first round, Dallas nearly became the first team in NBA postseason history to blow a 3-0 lead before beating Portland 107-95 in Game 7 on Sunday. Sacramento also enters as the favorite because of its recent history against Dallas. The Kings won three of the four regular-season meetings and knocked the Mavs out of last season's conference semifinals in five games. ``It's going to be tough, but we know what's ahead of us and we're looking forward to the challenge because they pretty much put a whooping on us last year,'' said Dallas guard Nick Van Exel. More than one-third of the Mavs' 11 home losses in the last calendar year have come against the Kings. Sacramento has won four straight visits to the American Airlines Center, two in last year's playoffs and two this season by a combined three points.
4 Units on Colorado Rockies +1½ -130 (Cook - R, Hampton -L)
The left-hander will be hoping for similar success against his previous employer, the Colorado Rockies, when the Braves open a three-game series at Turner Field. On Wednesday, Hampton gave up one earned run and four hits over seven strong innings in an 11-1 win over the Houston Astros, a team he pitched for from 1994-99. The start was the third of the season for Hampton, who was on the disabled list until April 19 with a strained right calf. After giving up four earned runs and six hits over five innings in his first start, a 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, he has yielded three earned runs over 13 innings in his last two outings. On Sunday, the Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4 in 11 innings, giving them a 5-1 record on their road trip. Winners of 16 of 19 overall, Atlanta has moved to the top of the NL East after a 4-8 start. The Rockies fell to the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in 10 innings on Sunday -- their fourth loss in five games. Center fielder Preston Wilson went 3-for-5 with an RBI for Colorado, which stranded 12 runners. STANDINGS (through May 4): Rockies - 2nd place, 5 1/2 GB, NL West. Braves - 1st place, NL East.
2 Units on Chicago Cubs -320 (Franklin - L, Prior - R)
Prior's meteoric rise hasn't lost any momentum this season. The 22-year-old hurler is 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA after six starts. Prior is tied with 11 other pitchers for the NL lead in wins with four. Opponents are hitting just .179 against Prior and his 45 strikeouts rank him third in the NL behind Montreal's Javier Vasquez (64) and teammate Kerry Wood (55). Prior is hoping to get the Cubs back on track after Chicago was shut down by Milwaukee ace Ben Sheets on Monday. Sheets, backed by two-run homers from Richie Sexson and Wes Helms, extended his dominance of Chicago by pitching the Brewers to a 5-3 victory. Sheets (3-3) might not have been at his best, giving up a pair of home runs, but he improved to 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA in six career starts against Chicago. Sheets said the Brewers seem to get keyed up to play the Cubs, a division rival just 90 miles down the road.