TNT will air both NBA games tonight (Detroit/Cleveland at 7:05 ET and San Antonio/Dallas at 9:35 ET), as all series will have completed four games after tonight’s game. Currently, the Heat lead the Nets 3-1 following a 102-92 win on Sunday afternoon, while the Clippers and Suns are tied at 2, following LA’s 114-107 win last night.
My bye game for Monday is Hou Astros over SF Giants at 8:05 ET. I’m spending tonight in the MLB but I’m 22* in the NBA playoffs as I look to extend my current four-game winning streak in the postseason (I won with the Clippers last night). Regular customers know that my 22*s are my highest star-rated plays and that my high-level playoff pitches (20 and 22*s plus LEGEND) are 9-3 75% ATS in this year’s postseason.
The Pistons lead their series with the Cavs 2-1 and are favored by six points in tonight’s Game 4 with a total of 183 1/2. The Mavs are also up 2-1 in their series with the Spurs and are 2 1/2-point favorites tonight with a total of 190 1/2.
Home teams got off to a great start in this year’s postseason, winning 30 of the first 39 games played. However, they finished the first round on a 1-5 SU and ATS streak and their struggles have continued into the second round. Home teams are 8-6 SU and just 5-9 ATS after 14 games in this round. That means home teams have gone 9-11 (6-14 ATS) in the last 20 playoff games.
The ‘overs’ have dominated so far in this second round, with 10 of the 14 games exceeding the published total. That continues a trend where nine of the last 10 games in the first round go over the total, meaning 19 of the last 25 playoff games have gone over. And defense is supposed to win championships?
The famous or infamous “Zig-Zag” theory has been very mixed up during the postseason. He started off with an impressive 19-8-2 ATS to start the first round, but ended the round on an eight match losing streak. However, the “zig-zaggers” have won eight of the first 10 games of the second round, raising the overall record to 27-18-2 or more-7.2 units.
monday games
What about the Pistons? Losing Game 3 wasn’t much of a surprise, as Detroit has now lost 10 of its last 11 Game 3s on the road. However, what is surprising is the team’s offensive blackout. The Pistons scored 113 points in Game 1, dropped to 97 in Game 2 and hit 77 points in Game 3. The Cavs were able to win Game 3 with a good quarter.
Cleveland entered the fourth quarter having shot just 17 of 56 (30.4 percent) while scoring 53 points. However, they outscored the Pistons 33-21 in the quarter, making 11 of 15 FGs and 9 of 9 FTs. James scored 15 points in the fourth and finished with his second playoff triple-double (21-10-10). Detroit should bounce back, but Piston’s backers will have to pay a heavy price, as Detroit is currently a six-point option.
For Cleveland to tie the series, you’d think James would need more help. Hughes is likely to fail again (perhaps not bad news, since he’s only shot 31.8 percent in the postseason) and neither Ilgauskas nor Gooden have played well. Ilgauskas is averaging just 8.8-5.8 in his last five games, while Gooden has scored in double figures just once in seven games (averaging 7.3 PPG) since going 24-16 in Game 2 of the series. of Washington.
Is this really the year of the Mavs? Dallas has taken a 2-1 lead in their series with San Antonio and history tells us that in 23 previous playoff series under Duncan, the Spurs have been down after three games only four times, ultimately losing the series! every time! Duncan has been brilliant, averaging 31.3 PPG and 11.3 RPG (he averaged just 18.3 PPG against Sacramento) but like James, he’ll need help.
Perhaps most surprising has been San Antonio’s inability to keep Dallas from scoring. The Spurs were second to the Grizzlies in PPG allowed this year (88.8 to 88.5), but they allowed Dallas to average 108.5 PPG while reaching the free throw line 93 times in Games 2 and 3. Nowitzki set a franchise record in the playoffs for FT attempts (24) and shooting (21) in Game 3. However, he sprained his ankle late in Game 3 and may not be 100 percent tonight.
MLB ratings
Heading into a new week (interleague play coming this weekend!), the Padres own the longest active winning streak in the majors at five in a row, with the Tigers and Phillies at four straight wins apiece. The Padres trailed the Dodgers 5-0 before the bottom of the ninth on April 30, but rallied to win that game and have won 14 of 16 since. The Phillies also began their comeback on the same day, having won 13 of 14.
The Indians own the longest active losing streak with six straight losses and are now just 17-21 after opening the season 6-1. The Cubs are next with four straight losses, but that’s not even half of it! The Cubbies have lost 12 of their last 13 games, getting outscored 75-28 in the process.
I talked last week about all the high-scoring games and it’s worth noting that only six of the 30 MLB teams have played more ‘unders’ than ‘overs’ in Sunday games. Four of those six teams have played just one more under than over, with only the Rockies (15-21-2) and Tigers (11-23-3) as true “low” teams to date. The list of ‘over’ teams includes Florida (24-9-2), Toronto (23-11-2), Minnesota (23-12-2), Baltimore (23-13-2) and Cleveland (23-13). -two). two).
The Royals may own the worst record in MLB at 10-25, but five other teams have been more “money burners” during Sunday’s action. The Royals are $857 minus (at $100 a game), but the five worst teams in MLB are the 17-21 Indians (minus $888), the 11-24 Marlins (minus $928), the 13-25 Nationals (minus $928). minus -$1085) and the 11-27 Pirates (minus -$1605). The money leaders are the 24-13 Tigers ($1,170 more) and the 23-15 Reds ($979 more).
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