Golden State Warriors over Indiana Pacers: Ind is in a tough spot. They are already short handed. They are off a tough game vs. Sac where they lost and their key players played heavy minutes. This will be their 3rd game in 4 nights. Curry is off one of his worst shooting games all time. I am expecting a bounce back. Gs is no longer the team that plays at a fast pace. In fact Ind attempts to play faster. With the return of Green Gs is playing much better and they have a strong bench.
Phoenix Suns over Toronto Raptors: The market is expecting for Tor to return to form. Perhaps they will perhaps they will not. The loss of Gasol and more so Ibaka has really hurt. Tor is ranked 30th in off FG%. Regular readers know I an high on Phx. Phx improvement is coming from the defensive side of the ball when they are ranked 1st. I made this game 4.5 giving us excellent value.
Houston Rockets over Dallas Mavericks: Former assistant coach of Dall Silas will get to face his former team as head coach of Houst tonight. Dall will plat their 4th game in 6 nights and first back to back of the year. I am handicapping this as if Doncic will play although he is questionable with a quad. He did not play last night. I made this game 4.0 giving us excellent value.
Denver Nuggets over Los Angeles Clippers: Lac were busy beating the Lal opening night raising their stock once again. A deeper dive Lac at 1 point blew a 22 point lead. Excuse the Lal for being distracted as they got their rings. Den at home in OT really blew a game losing by 2 to Sac. Murray had an off night. Adding to the narrative is Lac wanting revenge for their playoff series loss in the bubble to Den. Lac may win and cover tonight but it will not be a result of revenge. Den with the altitude is always a tough place to play.
Phoenix Suns over Dallas Mavericks: We rode the Phx train long and hard through the bubble and it was very profitable. We will jump back on them for game 1. Dall will be without Porzingis but obviously Doncic is very special MVP in waiting. However he has admittedly not arrived in the best of shape. I will give the edge on the bench to Dall with the Phx injuries. However Dall remains a weak defensive team. Phx made 2 very good acquisitions. Veteran leadership and toughness exactly what they needed to go along with their young talent. Specifically Paul and Crowder.
Miami Heat over Boston Celtics Best of 7 series bet: The Bost stock is high after taking down Tor. Meanwhile Mia took down arguably the best teamin the east Mil in 5 but that is being overlooked. I will have more faith in Spoelstra to make the necessary adjustments as this series moves on than Stevens. I prefer Adebayo in the battle of big men over Theis/Williams. I also give Mia the edge off the bench. Yes Bost is good at defending the 3 and Mia offensively is dependent on making 3’s so we will see who wins that battle.
Miami Heat over Milwaukee Bucks Adj series line: We won with Mia in game 1. We sat out game 2 hindsight always 20-20 should not have. There were factors that turned it only to a lean. Regardless we will jump on Mia now to win the series. Obviously Mia just has to win 2 Mil 4. If a BIG if Mia wins today it is virtually over. I do not think Mil can win 4 straight so even if this goes 7 we will have some leverage laying off options as the series progresses. All the pressure now is on Mil. This is not a team that has performed well in this spot.
Miami Heat over Milwaukee Bucks: We cashed game 1 of this series and will not hesitate to come back on it at virtually the same line. We have 2 issues in particular creating the value for us this time. 1 again will be the rep profile of Mil with Giannis expected to go to the finals. 2 is the zig zag theory team losses a game especially a favorite that they will bounce back the following game. Perhaps Mil wins this game however that still does not mean they cover.
Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks: Mil is the premier team in the east favored to go to the finals. I mention this because that means you will pay a premium each time you decide to bet on them. Mia swept an underrated Ind team while Mil beat in 5 an undermanned injured Orl team. My concern for Mia they have not played in a week. Adebayo is a plus defender look for him and Butler to force Giannis to the outside taking away the drives to the basket as much as possible. Mia is also loaded with young 3 point sharpshooters.
Dallas Mavericks over Los Angeles Clippers: Dall got off to slow start falling behind 18-2. Doncic despite scoring 42 can play better he had 11 turnovers. Porzingis was ejected after playing just under 20 minutes. Harrell and Shamet looked rusty after missing time. Despite how the game played out Dall was right there in a position to win s/u down the stretch. Can Lac play better in game 2 sure they can but the upside regression more points to Dall. It would not surprise if Dall wins this game outright. I have this game at 4.5 giving us excellent value.