Announcement

**TheGame** · 04-25-2016, 07:31 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Monday's NBA playoffs betting preview and odds

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be looking to finish of their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night. In the other two games, the Miami Heat will attempt to go up 3-1 on the Hornets and the Clippers will work on doing the same against the Blazers.

Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets (-3, 195.5)

Heat lead series 2-1

The Miami Heat set a historic offensive pace in the first two games of their first round series before crashing back to earth in Game 3. The Charlotte Hornets will try to put together back-to-back solid defensive efforts and even the series at two wins apiece when they host the Heat in Game 4 on Tuesday.

Miami scored a franchise playoff-record 123 points in a Game 1 win and followed it up with a 115-103 triumph in Game 2, but the Hornets turned up the defense and held the Heat to 34.2 percent from the field in a 96-80 triumph on Saturday. The victory snapped a 14-year drought between playoff wins for Charlotte franchises, though the team was focusing on the future instead of the past. "This isn't about winning one playoff game, it's about winning a playoff series," Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters. "This gives us a chance." Miami will need to make an adjustment after Charlotte went to a bigger lineup and pushed its way to the win up front.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Sun (Miami)

LINE HISTORY: The Hornets opened as 2.5-point favorites and the line was bumped up to -3 by Sunday afternoon. The total opened at 195 and was also bumped up a half point to 195.5. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE HEAT (50-35, 45-39-1 ATS, 36-48-1 O/U): Miami burned the Hornets in the first two games by putting Luol Deng at power forward but were on the receiving end of some physical play in Game 3. “They went really big and caught us off guard,” Heat center Hassan Whiteside told reporters. “We were prepared for Al Jefferson to post up, but they posted up on our guards. They got us into foul trouble, and that was tough. But we know what they do now. We know what they’re looking for and we can hone on that. Now we know what their different lineups are going to look like.” Whiteside left Saturday’s game in the fourth quarter with a quad bruise before sitting out practice on Sunday and is considered questionable for Game 4.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (49-36, 43-41-1 ATS, 42-41-2 O/U): Charlotte lost starting guard Nicolas Batum to an ankle injury in Game 2 but instead of inserting another guard into the lineup for Game 3 went big with 7-0 center Frank Kaminsky. The rookie only attempted one field goal in a combined 37 minutes in the first two games but finished with 15 points in 35 minutes in Game 3. “He just kept playing,” Clifford told reporters of Kaminsky. “He had the right attitude. Playing basketball is no different than anything else. You have the right attitude, you give yourself a chance to get going when things don’t go your way.”

TRENDS:

* Heat are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games.
* Hornets are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Under is 8-1 in Heat last 9 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points.
* Over is 7-1 in Hornets last 8 vs. Eastern Conference.

Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City (-13.5, 205)

Thunder lead series 3-1

The third-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder will attempt to close out their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday and may have to do so without All-Star small forward Kevin Durant. A flagrant 2 foul got Durant ejected late in Saturday's 119-108 road win over the sixth-seeded Mavericks and he now faces the possibility of being suspended for Game 5.

Durant was called for the flagrant 2 after trying to contest a shot by Dallas guard Justin Anderson and smacking him the rookie in the face with his forearm. "I wasn't trying to hurt him," Durant told reporters afterward. "Plenty of plays this season where I blocked shots like that from behind. Just unfortunate I fouled him over the head. It was a flagrant, even though I wasn't trying to intentionally foul him. The refs had to make a decision and they made the right one. It was just bad timing." Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is playing with a bruised knee and will be trying to keep his team alive after excelling with 27 points and eight rebounds in Game 4. "Hey, we've all got to enjoy it while we can," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 4. "We're seeing one of the most special athletes in sports history and doing it at an amazingly high level at really an advanced stage in his career."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, KTXA (Dallas), FSN Oklahoma

LINE HISTORY: The Thunder opened as massive 13-point favorites for this home court elimination game, but it appears that 13 points wasn't enough for the betting public as the books bumped the line to -13.5 early Sunday morning. The total opened at 205 and hasn't moved at this point. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (43-43, 46-39-1 ATS, 41-44-1 O/U): Point guard Deron Williams (sports hernia) departed just 89 seconds into Game 4 after aggravating the injury and will miss the rest of the series. "I think he's done for the year," Carlisle told reporters. "That's what I think. I don't expect him to play in Game 5." Point guard J.J. Berea (groin) missed all seven of his shots while struggling through a scoreless Game 4 and Dallas will again rely heavily on Raymond Felton, who had 19 points and 11 assists on Saturday and is averaging 19.3 points over the past three games.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (58-28, 40-45-1 ATS, 41-45 O/U): Point guard Russell Westbrook had 25 points and 15 assists and has recorded double-doubles in all four games of the series. Westbrook scored 22 of Oklahoma City's 32 third-quarter points as he helped the Thunder maintain the quicker pace and not let the game settle into the low-scoring affair (85-84 in Game 2) that resulted in Dallas' lone victory. "The name of the game is come out and play basketball and that's what we've done the last two games, especially here," Westbrook told reporters. "We know a lot of their game is to kind of muck up the game and I think we're doing a great job of staying above it."

TRENDS:

* Mavericks are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 6-1 in Mavericks last 7 road games.
* Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

Los Angeles Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers (+2.5, 206.5)

Clippers lead series 2-1

The Portland Trail Blazers turned the series around at home in Game 3 and will try to even things up at two wins apiece when they host the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 on Monday. The Trail Blazers finally got strong performances in the same game from Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum on Saturday, which boosted their confidence moving forward.

“I knew that this game, if we would have lost this game, we would have been in some real trouble,” Lillard told reporters after the 96-88 win in Game 3. “So I just wanted to come out and leave it out there, be aggressive on the offensive end and help on the defensive end. … Just be in attack mode for 48 minutes and our entire team did that.” Lillard was a combined 13-of-39 from the floor in the first two games but knocked down 10-of-20 en route to 32 points in the return home on Saturday. The Clippers held a four-point lead with under four minutes to play in Game 3 before being outscored 15-1 the rest of the way and were disappointed in their inability to put the game away. “We really don’t want to go into these long playoff series,” Los Angeles guard J.J. Redick told reporters. “Anything can happen, as it showed last year against Houston (when the Clippers squandered a 3-1 lead). When you have a team down, and we had a four-point lead against a team we had 2-0 - we had a great opportunity to go up 3-0, and on Monday, we’ll have an opportunity to go up 3-1.”

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), KGW (Portland)

LINE HISTORY: The Blazers opened as 2.5-point dogs at home for Game 4 and that line hasn't moved since hitting the board early Sunday morning. The total opened at 206 and was bumped up to 206.5 almost immediately after release. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (55-30, 42-40-3 ATS, 34-51 O/U): Los Angeles forward Blake Griffin was one of the players talking about the team’s need to stay aggressive after going up 2-0 in the series, and he was disappointed in the team’s Game 3 effort. “They beat us in almost every facet of the game,” Griffin told reporters. “They outhustled us, they were better on the glass, they got the 50-50 balls. They had more energy. They flew around. They executed their game plan. You could tell they wanted to go early. They were tougher than us. They were more aggressive. They were tougher.” The Clippers went 3-of-18 from 3-point range in the loss and Redick was held to five points after totaling 34 in the first two contests.

ABOUT THE BLAZERS (45-40, 45-40 ATS, 44-41 O/U): Lillard and McCollum (27 points on 11-of-22 shooting) handled the bulk of the scoring in Game 3 but the best performance may have come from center Mason Plumlee, who collected six points, 21 rebounds and nine assists. “Obviously, the rebounds speak for themselves,” Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters of Plumlee. “His playmaking, his running into screens – he had an exceptional game. The rebounding was the biggest thing because that’s been kind of a weak point for us in the series, but his passing, he’s been doing that all year for us.” The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Clippers 63-56 behind Plumlee’s big game.

TRENDS:

* Hawks are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games.
* Celtics are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a ATS win.
* Under is 4-1 in Hawks last five games overall.
* Under is 12-3 in Celtics last 15 games following a straight up win.

**TheGame** · 04-25-2016, 07:31 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Preview: Heat (48-34) at Hornets (48-34)

Date: April 25, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

When Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing offer basketball advice, you listen.

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford was all ears after a pair of blowout losses to the Miami Heat to open their Eastern Conference first-round matchup.

A small tweak concerning one of their tallest players helped the Hornets to their first postseason victory in almost 14 years and pulled them back into this series, which continues with Monday night's Game 4 in Charlotte.

Jordan, Charlotte's owner, and Ewing, an assistant coach, approached Clifford following series-opening losses of 123-91 and 115-103 in Miami.

Their message concerning Frank Kaminsky was simple.

"When you have two first-ballot Hall of Famers ... and they both say, 'Post Frank,'" Clifford joked, "you have to post Frank."

The rookie 7-footer attempted one shot in the first two games for four points without playing 20 minutes in either. In Saturday's 96-80 win, Kaminsky logged over 34 minutes and finished 5 of 12 from the field for 15 points with six rebounds.

He scored nine points during a key 18-0 run in the third quarter that broke a tie and helped the Hornets to their fifth straight home win. Jeremy Lin led the hosts with 18 points and Kemba Walker added 17 and seven assists.

Charlotte shot only 38.9 percent but played a nearly mistake-free game. The sixth-seeded Hornets made 21 of 22 free throws and committed only four turnovers - matching a franchise record. Third-seeded Miami finished 19 of 30 from the stripe and turned the ball over 15 times.

The Hornets even did it without one of their best players as Nicolas Batum sat with a strained left foot. Batum, whose 14.9 points per game in the regular season were second only to Walker's 20.9, hasn't ruled himself out for Game 4.

He walked around Sunday's practice with his left foot heavily taped and took some mid-range jumpers. Batum scored 24 points in the opener but only nine after leaving Game 2 with the injury.

"I hope (I can play), but I really can't say yes or no," he said. "I don't know how I'm going to feel (Monday). I am doing everything I can to be back as soon as possible."

With a new-look starting lineup that featured Kaminsky and 6-foot-10 veteran Al Jefferson inside, the Hornets snapped a 12-game playoff losing streak dating to May 2002. Their last series win came against Orlando in the first round that year. Had Charlotte dropped Game 3, it would have tied New York's record postseason losing streak.

The Heat have largely dominated this series over the last seven seasons, winning 26 of the last 31 games, but four of the Hornets' five wins have come in the last five meetings in Charlotte.

Miami, which has lost six of eight road games, was red-hot at home in the opening two games but cooled off considerably Saturday. The Heat shot 57.8 percent in the pair of blowout victories, including 52.9 from 3-point range, but finished at 34.2 and 31.8 in Game 3. The Hornets also outscored the Heat 52-28 in the paint.

"We made a lot of mistakes," Luol Deng said. "In the first two games, we did a good job of taking away of guys' tendencies."

The 12-year veteran Deng has looked rejuvenated this postseason, averaging 22 points and seven rebounds while shooting 63.9 percent. He knocked down half of his dozen shots for 19 points in Game 3.

However, the remaining four Heat starters and their top two reserves combined to shoot 30.6 percent.

Hassan Whiteside sat out Sunday's practice with a bruised right thigh, but the Miami center is receiving treatment and doesn't expect to sit out Game 4.

"I'm a pretty tough guy," Whiteside said with a smile.

**TheGame** · 04-25-2016, 07:32 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Preview: Mavericks (42-40) at Thunder (55-27)

Date: April 25, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

With the way this testy series against the Dallas Mavericks has gone, Kevin Durant is due for a good night and the Oklahoma City Thunder are in line for a blowout win.

After his ejection from Game 4, Durant probably wants his game to do the talking.

The Thunder have to agree and can send the Mavericks packing for the offseason when they return home for Game 5 on Monday night.

Durant has been inconsistent from game to game with his good nights coming in Games 1 and 3. He shot a combined 18 of 40 for 28.5 points per game in those contests, while going 14 of 53 and averaging 20 in the other two.

The All-Star's better performances resulted in wins of 38 and 29 points, so another bounce-back night will go a long way toward propelling Oklahoma City into the second round. The disparity in his effective field-goal percentages is eye-opening: 51.3 in Games 1 and 3 compared to 29.2 in 2 and 4.

Dallas has tried to slow the tempo with little success except for its 85-84 victory in Game 2, and the hard-nosed nature of the series culminated in some shoving, jawing, a few technical fouls and finally Durant being tossed for committing a flagrant in the final minute of Saturday's 119-108 win in Game 4.

Durant was fined $15,000 for the flagrant and teammate Russell Westbrook was penalized $25,000 on Sunday for directing inappropriate language at a fan after he was fouled by Salah Mejri on a drive to the basket.

"We're going to do some talking. We're going to do some shoving here and there because that's how competitive both teams are," said Durant, who was ejected for swinging his arm across guard Justin Anderson's head.

Despite his up-and-down play, the Thunder have shown they don't need Durant to light up the Mavericks to win. Westbrook played well in the two games in Dallas, averaging 25.5 points and 15 assists, and reserve center Enes Kanter was sensational with 24.5 per game on 90 - yes, 90 - percent shooting.

Kanter stole the show Saturday by hitting 12 of 13 shots and all four of his free throws to post a playoff career high for the second straight game with 28 points.

Westbrook has been the key to Oklahoma City spreading the floor and creating space, giving the interior players a wealth of easy baskets. Kanter is shooting 73 percent in the series, Serge Ibaka 71.4 and Steven Adams 61.9. Dion Waiters also got in on the act in Dallas by shooting 68.8 percent in the two victories.

"They're playing a junk defense where they're loading up and doubling," Durant told the team's official website. "When a team plays us like that we have to move the ball and Russ did a great job of finding guys and we spaced the floor very well tonight."

Dallas' approach probably won't change much, so Game 5 should feature the same double-teams and traps. Oklahoma City failed to find a rhythm in Game 2, shooting 33.7 percent with only 11 assists on 31 field goals.

The Thunder were able to break out with a combined 54 assists in Dallas and had little trouble handling a full-court press the Mavs threw at them at various points. Oklahoma City never trailed in the two games.

"It's unfortunate, but I'm proud of the guys," Dirk Nowitzki, who had 27 points Saturday, told the Mavs' official website.

"We've got some guys banged up, and they're still out there trying to give it all they've got. Saying all that, we're going to keep fighting on Monday. Whatever happens and whoever plays has got to come full swing, and we'll go from there."

**TheGame** · 04-25-2016, 07:32 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Preview: Clippers (53-29) at Trail Blazers (44-38)

Date: April 25, 2016 10:30 PM EDT

Even though the Portland Trail Blazers' dynamic backcourt has regained its shooting touch, the Los Angeles Clippers have much deeper concerns heading into Game 4.

According to coach Doc Rivers, the host Blazers outworked, outhustled and outrebounded his Clippers on the way to snapping a five-game slide in the head-to-head series.

Now Los Angeles tries to find an answer for Portland's renewed energy and added sense of desperation when it tries to take a 3-1 lead Monday night.

After shooting 13 for 39 in two losses at Staples Center, Damian Lillard turned it around Saturday with 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting in a 96-88 home win.

CJ McCollum had totaled 25 points and shot 9 of 28 in the first two games before finding a rhythm with 27 points while making 11 of 22 from the field. The third-year guard had been named the NBA's Most Improved Player one day earlier.

"I said we made the right adjustments (in Game 2), I got looks early, I just didn't make them," Lillard told the team's official website. "We stuck with that and I came out and I knew that this game, if we would have lost this game, we would have been in some real trouble.

"So I just wanted to come out and leave it out there, be aggressive on the offensive end ... Just be in attack mode for 48 minutes and our entire team did that."

Even though Lillard and McCollum have become factors again in the series and Portland has won 21 of its last 25 home games, the Clippers' biggest worries stem from some other aspects of the game that might not show up on the stat sheet.

The Blazers often beat them to loose balls, rebounds and had an extra spring in their step while facing the possibility of going down 3-0. They'll look to maintain that sense of urgency with a chance to even this series before heading back to Los Angeles.

Portland grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and owned a 56-44 advantage on the glass after Los Angeles had a 100-92 edge over the first two games. Maurice Harkless' put-back dunk gave the Blazers a five-point lead with less than a minute remaining.

"You just have to bring more energy," Clippers forward Blake Griffin told the team's official website. "They outhustled us, they were better on the glass, they got the 50-50 balls, they had more energy, they flew around. They executed their game plan."

Mason Plumlee has played a key role in that effort. After totaling 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in Game 2, he had career highs of 21 boards and nine assists to join Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O'Neal as the only players to have at least 20 rebounds and nine assists in a playoff game in the last 30 years.

"With the attention that me and CJ get, we've got to trust him in the middle to score the ball and make the right play,' Lillard said.

The center also limited DeAndre Jordan to four points and 1-of-4 shooting when directly on him and held Griffin scoreless on 0 for 5 in their matchups. Jordan has totaled 34 rebounds in the past two games, but was 4 for 16 from the foul line.

Since finishing with 19 points and 12 boards in the opener, Griffin has scored 24 on 9-of-28 shooting.

Chris Paul has been a bright spot for Los Angeles, averaging 26.3 points, 8.3 assists and 5 rebounds. He had 26 points and Jamal Crawford added 19 in Game 3, but the rest of the Clippers totaled 43 points and shot 17 of 49 (34.7 percent).

Los Angeles is leery of letting this series drag on after allowing a 3-1 advantage slip away against Houston in last year's Western Conference semifinals loss.

"Anything can happen, as it showed last year against Houston," guard J.J. Redick said. "On Monday we'll have an opportunity to go up 3-1."

**TheGame** · 04-25-2016, 07:33 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Monday's Tip Sheet
By Kevin Rogers

Eastern Conference – Game 4 (Heat lead 2-1)
Miami at Charlotte (-2 ½, 195) – 7:05 PM EST – NBATV

The Heat shot lights out in each of their first two victories over the Hornets by scoring 123 and 115 points. Miami’s offense cooled off in Saturday’s Game 3 blowout loss at Charlotte, as the Hornets used an 18-0 third quarter run to rout the Heat, 96-80 as three-point home favorites.

Miami put up 28 points in the first quarter of Game 3, but was held to 30 points over the next two quarters to suffer its loss in the opening round since 2012. Luol Deng led the Heat with 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range, but Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, and Goran Dragic combined to shoot 14-of-44 from the field. The Miami bench received 15 points from rookie Josh Richardson in Game 2, but the non-starters of the Heat put up a combined 16 points in Game 3.

The Hornets didn’t shoot the ball extremely well in Game 3 by converting 39% of their field goal attempts, but picked up an impressive contribution from rookie forward Frank Kaminsky, who scored 15 points. Marvin Williams bounced back from shooting 1-for-17 in the first two losses to put up a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting. Guard Kemba Walker wasn’t efficient from the floor (4-of-19), but finished with 17 points as the team converted 21-of-22 free throws (Walker 8-8).

Charlotte improved to 17-3 SU and 12-8 ATS the last 20 games at Time Warner Cable Arena, although five of those ATS losses came as a favorite of nine points or more. Steve Clifford’s team cashed their sixth ‘under’ in the last eight home contests, while all three home matchups with Miami this season have finished ‘under’ the total.

The Heat have not lost consecutive road playoff games to an Eastern Conference opponent since dropping two straight at Boston in the 2012 conference finals. Since 2012, Erik Spoelstra’s club owns a spectacular 13-2 SU and 12-3 ATS record off a playoff defeat, but the Heat have been limited to less than 100 points in seven consecutive postseason road games.

The Hornets are unsure if swingman Nicolas Batum will miss his second straight game after suffering a sprained ankle towards the end of Game 2. Charlotte is listed at +330 (Bet $100 to win $330) to win the series, while Miami is still in control at -420 odds (Bet $420 to win $100) to advance to the second round.

Western Conference – Game 5 (Thunder lead 3-1)
Dallas at Oklahoma City (-13 ½, 205) – 8:05 PM EST – TNT

The Spurs became the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs after sweeping the Grizzlies. San Antonio may know its semifinal opponent as early as Monday night if Oklahoma City can finish off Dallas, as the Thunder bounced back from a shocking Game 2 loss to grab consecutive wins at American Airlines Center.

Oklahoma City was limited to 84 points in a one-point defeat in Game 2 last week, but Billy Donovan’s squad picked up the offense in Dallas by scoring 131 points in Game 3, followed by a 119-point effort on Saturday. The Thunder held off the Mavericks, 119-108 to cash as 8 ½-point favorites in Game 4, while eclipsing the ‘over’ of 203 ½. The usual suspects of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to score 44 points, but OKC received a 28-point effort off the bench from Enes Kanter on an incredible 12-of-13 shooting from the floor.

The health of the Mavericks is deteriorating by the day as point guard Deron Williams lasted less than two minutes before leaving Game 4 with a sports hernia. Williams has been bothered by that injury throughout the series, while fellow guard J.J. Barea was scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting off the bench for Dallas. The Mavericks managed to shoot 52% from the field in the loss, as Dirk Nowitzki scored a team-high 27 points to bust the 20-point mark for the first time in the series.

The Thunder have covered three of four games in this series, including Game 1 as a 12-point favorite as all three victories by OKC have come by at least 11 points. Oklahoma City has covered seven of its past nine games overall, while compiling a 6-4 ATS record as a double-digit home favorite since January. Since 2012, the Thunder have won and covered in six of eight opportunities to close out a series, including a 3-1 SU/ATS mark at home.

In two road elimination games since winning the championship in 2011, the Mavericks haven’t fared very well. In 2014, Dallas was blown out in Game 7 at San Antonio, 119-96, while the Mavericks lost to the Rockets last season in the opening round, 103-94.

Western Conference – Game 4 (Clippers lead 2-1)
Los Angeles (-2 ½, 206 ½) at Portland – 10:35 PM EST – TNT

The Clippers jumped out to a 2-0 series advantage over the Blazers following a pair of 20+ point victories at Staples Center. Portland crept back into the series by holding Los Angeles to below 100 points for the first time in the series in Saturday’s 96-88 triumph at the Moda Center as 1 ½-point underdogs.

The dynamic duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum finally got their shooting in order as they combined for 59 points on 21-of-42 from the floor in Game 3. McCollum put up 25 points total in the first two games of this series before scoring 27 points on Saturday, while Lillard improved his scoring average to 30.0 points per game in seven career home playoff games. Portland outrebounded Los Angeles, 56-44 in Game 3, thanks to Mason Plumlee grabbing 21 rebounds in the victory.

The Clippers struggled from three-point range by knocking down 3-of-18 attempts from downtown, including a 2-of-7 effort from Chris Paul. The Clippers’ All-Star guard paced the Clippers with 26 points, while Jamal Crawford chipped in 19 points off the bench, but Los Angeles was limited to 41% shooting from the floor. Los Angeles dropped to 5-12 in their past 17 road playoff games, including four consecutive losses since the second round of the 2015 postseason.

Doc Rivers’ squad closed out last postseason with a 7-1 mark to the ‘over’ in their final eight games, but have finished ‘under’ the total in all three contests against the Blazers. Portland has gone the opposite way from a totals perspective since the second round of the 2014 playoffs by going ‘under’ the total in eight of the past 10 postseason contests.

Since the Blazers took a 2-0 series lead over the Rockets in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs, Portland has put together a dreadful 3-13-1 ATS record in the last 17 postseason contests, including a 3-5 ATS mark at the Moda Center. Terry Stotts’ team is 0-4 SU/ATS the last four playoff games off a home win since 2014 with three of the losses coming by double-digits.

**TheGame** · 04-25-2016, 07:37 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

NBA

Monday's games

Dallas-Oklahoma City (OC 3-1)
Five Thunder subs were combined +43 in 11-point win in Game 4; Oklahoma City won seven of last eight games with Dallas-- Mavs are 7-7 vs spread in last 14 series games. Nine of last twelve series games went over. 10 of last 13 Dallas games stayed under total. Kanter had 28 points off bench in Game 4, making 12-13 from field for Thunder. Dallas is 3-2 vs spread in its last five visits here.

Charlotte-Miami (M 2-1)
Hornets lost five of last eight games with Miami (over 6-1); in series where home side won nine of last 1 games (3-0 in this series). Heat lost four of last five visits here. Hornets are 5-8 in their last 13 games overall against Miami. Charlotte won five of its last eight games (over 7-1); they won their last four home games. Miami won six of its last nine games- they shot over 51% in both Games 1-2, but then just 34.2% in Game 3.- their bench was 4-17

Portland-LA Clippers (LA 2-1)
Home side won all three series games; Lillard/MCollum combined for 59 points in Game 3 win, after losing by 20-21 points in first two series games. Clippers are 8-3 in last 11 series games, 3-2 in last five played in Portland. Blazers are just 21-81 on arc in series; Plumlee had 21 boards last game. Trailblazers won eight of their last 12 games overall; seven of their last nine games stayed under the total.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 19-11, Over: 9-21

**Satch** · 04-25-2016, 09:53 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

“NBA playoffs betting preview and odds”
The Oklahoma City Thunder will be looking to finish of their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night. In the other two games, the Miami Heat will attempt to go up 3-1 on the Hornets and the Clippers will work on doing the same against the Blazers.
Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets (-3, 195.5)
Heat lead series 2-1
The Miami Heat set a historic offensive pace in the first two games of their first round series before crashing back to earth in Game 3. The Charlotte Hornets will try to put together back-to-back solid defensive efforts and even the series at two wins apiece when they host the Heat in Game 4 on Tuesday.
Miami scored a franchise playoff-record 123 points in a Game 1 win and followed it up with a 115-103 triumph in Game 2, but the Hornets turned up the defense and held the Heat to 34.2 percent from the field in a 96-80 triumph on Saturday. The victory snapped a 14-year drought between playoff wins for Charlotte franchises, though the team was focusing on the future instead of the past. “This isn’t about winning one playoff game, it’s about winning a playoff series,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters. “This gives us a chance.” Miami will need to make an adjustment after Charlotte went to a bigger lineup and pushed its way to the win up front.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Sun (Miami)
LINE HISTORY:
The Hornets opened as 2.5-point favorites and the line was bumped up to -3 by Sunday afternoon. The total opened at 195 and was also bumped up a half point to 195.5. Check out the complete line history here.
ABOUT THE HEAT (50-35, 45-39-1 ATS, 36-48-1 O/U):
Miami burned the Hornets in the first two games by putting Luol Deng at power forward but were on the receiving end of some physical play in Game 3. “They went really big and caught us off guard,” Heat center Hassan Whiteside told reporters. “We were prepared for Al Jefferson to post up, but they posted up on our guards. They got us into foul trouble, and that was tough. But we know what they do now. We know what they’re looking for and we can hone on that. Now we know what their different lineups are going to look like.” Whiteside left Saturday’s game in the fourth quarter with a quad bruise before sitting out practice on Sunday and is considered questionable for Game 4.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (49-36, 43-41-1 ATS, 42-41-2 O/U):
Charlotte lost starting guard Nicolas Batum to an ankle injury in Game 2 but instead of inserting another guard into the lineup for Game 3 went big with 7-0 center Frank Kaminsky. The rookie only attempted one field goal in a combined 37 minutes in the first two games but finished with 15 points in 35 minutes in Game 3. “He just kept playing,” Clifford told reporters of Kaminsky. “He had the right attitude. Playing basketball is no different than anything else. You have the right attitude, you give yourself a chance to get going when things don’t go your way.”
TRENDS:
* Heat are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games.
* Hornets are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Under is 8-1 in Heat last 9 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points.
* Over is 7-1 in Hornets last 8 vs. Eastern Conference.

**Satch** · 04-25-2016, 09:53 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City (-13.5, 205)
Thunder lead series 3-1
The third-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder will attempt to close out their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday and may have to do so without All-Star small forward Kevin Durant. A flagrant 2 foul got Durant ejected late in Saturday’s 119-108 road win over the sixth-seeded Mavericks and he now faces the possibility of being suspended for Game 5.
Durant was called for the flagrant 2 after trying to contest a shot by Dallas guard Justin Anderson and smacking him the rookie in the face with his forearm. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him,” Durant told reporters afterward. “Plenty of plays this season where I blocked shots like that from behind. Just unfortunate I fouled him over the head. It was a flagrant, even though I wasn’t trying to intentionally foul him. The refs had to make a decision and they made the right one. It was just bad timing.” Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is playing with a bruised knee and will be trying to keep his team alive after excelling with 27 points and eight rebounds in Game 4. “Hey, we’ve all got to enjoy it while we can,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 4. “We’re seeing one of the most special athletes in sports history and doing it at an amazingly high level at really an advanced stage in his career.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, KTXA (Dallas), FSN Oklahoma
LINE HISTORY:
The Thunder opened as massive 13-point favorites for this home court elimination game, but it appears that 13 points wasn’t enough for the betting public as the books bumped the line to -13.5 early Sunday morning. The total opened at 205 and hasn’t moved at this point. Check out the complete line history here.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (43-43, 46-39-1 ATS, 41-44-1 O/U):
Point guard Deron Williams (sports hernia) departed just 89 seconds into Game 4 after aggravating the injury and will miss the rest of the series. “I think he’s done for the year,” Carlisle told reporters. “That’s what I think. I don’t expect him to play in Game 5.” Point guard J.J. Berea (groin) missed all seven of his shots while struggling through a scoreless Game 4 and Dallas will again rely heavily on Raymond Felton, who had 19 points and 11 assists on Saturday and is averaging 19.3 points over the past three games.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (58-28, 40-45-1 ATS, 41-45 O/U):
Point guard Russell Westbrook had 25 points and 15 assists and has recorded double-doubles in all four games of the series. Westbrook scored 22 of Oklahoma City’s 32 third-quarter points as he helped the Thunder maintain the quicker pace and not let the game settle into the low-scoring affair (85-84 in Game 2) that resulted in Dallas’ lone victory. “The name of the game is come out and play basketball and that’s what we’ve done the last two games, especially here,” Westbrook told reporters. “We know a lot of their game is to kind of muck up the game and I think we’re doing a great job of staying above it.”
TRENDS:
* Mavericks are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 6-1 in Mavericks last 7 road games.
* Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

**Satch** · 04-25-2016, 09:53 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Los Angeles Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers (+2.5, 206.5)
Clippers lead series 2-1
The Portland Trail Blazers turned the series around at home in Game 3 and will try to even things up at two wins apiece when they host the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 on Monday. The Trail Blazers finally got strong performances in the same game from Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum on Saturday, which boosted their confidence moving forward.
“I knew that this game, if we would have lost this game, we would have been in some real trouble,” Lillard told reporters after the 96-88 win in Game 3. “So I just wanted to come out and leave it out there, be aggressive on the offensive end and help on the defensive end. … Just be in attack mode for 48 minutes and our entire team did that.” Lillard was a combined 13-of-39 from the floor in the first two games but knocked down 10-of-20 en route to 32 points in the return home on Saturday. The Clippers held a four-point lead with under four minutes to play in Game 3 before being outscored 15-1 the rest of the way and were disappointed in their inability to put the game away. “We really don’t want to go into these long playoff series,” Los Angeles guard J.J. Redick told reporters. “Anything can happen, as it showed last year against Houston (when the Clippers squandered a 3-1 lead). When you have a team down, and we had a four-point lead against a team we had 2-0 – we had a great opportunity to go up 3-0, and on Monday, we’ll have an opportunity to go up 3-1.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), KGW (Portland)
LINE HISTORY:
The Blazers opened as 2.5-point dogs at home for Game 4 and that line hasn’t moved since hitting the board early Sunday morning. The total opened at 206 and was bumped up to 206.5 almost immediately after release. Check out the complete line history here.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (55-30, 42-40-3 ATS, 34-51 O/U):
Los Angeles forward Blake Griffin was one of the players talking about the team’s need to stay aggressive after going up 2-0 in the series, and he was disappointed in the team’s Game 3 effort. “They beat us in almost every facet of the game,” Griffin told reporters. “They outhustled us, they were better on the glass, they got the 50-50 balls. They had more energy. They flew around. They executed their game plan. You could tell they wanted to go early. They were tougher than us. They were more aggressive. They were tougher.” The Clippers went 3-of-18 from 3-point range in the loss and Redick was held to five points after totaling 34 in the first two contests.
ABOUT THE BLAZERS (45-40, 45-40 ATS, 44-41 O/U):
Lillard and McCollum (27 points on 11-of-22 shooting) handled the bulk of the scoring in Game 3 but the best performance may have come from center Mason Plumlee, who collected six points, 21 rebounds and nine assists. “Obviously, the rebounds speak for themselves,” Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters of Plumlee. “His playmaking, his running into screens – he had an exceptional game. The rebounding was the biggest thing because that’s been kind of a weak point for us in the series, but his passing, he’s been doing that all year for us.” The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Clippers 63-56 behind Plumlee’s big game.
TRENDS:
* Hawks are 0-5 ATS in their last five road games.
* Celtics are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a ATS win.
* Under is 4-1 in Hawks last five games overall.
* Under is 12-3 in Celtics last 15 games following a straight up win.

Announcement

NBA Betting Info. 4/25

NBA Betting Info. 4/25

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment