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**TheGame** · 05-12-2016, 07:28 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/12

NBA playoffs betting preview and odds: Spurs at Thunder

San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder (+1.5, 195.5)

Thunder lead series 3-2

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one victory away from reaching the Western Conference finals and have two opportunities to get the job done. The Thunder, who lead the series 3-2, aim to end the festivities in Thursday's Game 6, while the San Antonio Spurs visit town in dire need of a victory to force a Game 7.

San Antonio has held double-digit leads in the each of the past two games before wilting under Oklahoma City's late-game siege. "I hope we respond a little angry, with a chip on our shoulder," Spurs guard Danny Green told reporters after Tuesday's 95-91 loss. "If you want to be a championship team, you have to win on the road. Simple as that." The Thunder surprisingly have won two games in San Antonio in the series - the Spurs lost just once at home during the regular season - and small forward Kevin Durant said another defensive effort like the showing in Game 5 is crucial. "Late in the fourth we did a good job of putting a hand up on shots, making them shoot mid-range and we didn't let them get in the paint a lot." Durant told reporters. "That’s what we have to do if we want to win the next one. We have to play defense like that throughout the whole game."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Thunder opened as 3-point home pups, but bettors like the way OKC has been trending and the line has already moved to +1.5. The total has been bet up one point from 194.5 to 195.5. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE SPURS (73-18, 49-42 ATS, 38-51-2 O/U): NBA MVP runner-up Kawhi Leonard (26 points, five steals in Game 5) and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (20 points, nine rebounds) have carried San Antonio during the series with occasional help from shooting guard Danny Green (six 3-pointers in Game 5) and point guard Tony Parker (good outings in Game 3 and 4). But the reserves have been below par and combined for just 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting in Game 5 and getting better efforts from players such as shooting guard Manu Ginobili and center Boris Diaw are a must if San Antonio is to win the next two games. "We haven't had great bench production," Popovich said after Game 5. "We need a couple more people to help us offensively. That would be great."

ABOUT THE THUNDER (62-30, 43-48-1 ATS, 44-48 O/U): Point guard Russell Westbrook had 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Game 5 and was so superb that everybody overlooked his eight turnovers. "He plays with such force and such passion," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "I think he's doing a really good job of realizing when he gets so intense, so competitive, so emotional, he's doing a good job of kind of bringing himself back together and understanding there's four other guys out there depending on him." Durant scored 23 points on a series-worst 8-of-21 shooting effort in a dropoff from his spectacular 41-point effort in Game 4.

TRENDS:

* Thunder are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games versus a team with a winning SU record.
* Spurs are 3-12 ATS in the last 15 meetings in Oklahoma City.
* Under is 4-0 in Spurs last four games following a SU loss.
* Under is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Oklahoma City.

CONSENSUS: The public is split almost down the middle for this huge Game 6, with 51 percent of wagers on the underdog Thunder. As for the total, 61 percent of wagers are on the Over.

**TheGame** · 05-12-2016, 07:29 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/12

Game 6 - Spurs at Thunder
By Chris David

Western Conference Semifinals – Thunder lead 3-2
Game 6 – San Antonio at Oklahoma City – ESPN, 8:35 p.m. ET

For the second time in this series, Oklahoma City went into San Antonio and came out with a hard fought victory this past Tuesday. The Thunder captured a 96-91 win in Game 5 over the Spurs as a 7 ½-point road underdog and now own a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook led the charge for Thunder, finishing with 35 points, 11 rebounds while his partner in crime Kevin Durant added 23 points. Kawhi Leonard has 26 points for the Spurs while LaMarcus Aldridge posted 21 points in a losing effort.

The Spurs held a 48-43 lead at halftime and looked like they were going to pull away in the third quarter, leading by as many as 13 points but the Thunder kept chipping away and only trailed by three (72-69) entering the final 12 minutes. Oklahoma City outscored the Spurs 26-19 in the fourth quarter and that’s been the story of this series.

The Thunder was often defined as a team that couldn’t finish games but something has changed for the club in this series. In the first five games, OKC has outscored San Antonio by 31 points in the fourth quarter and a lot of that margin has been attributed to the inability of the Spurs scoring down the stretch.

San Antonio scored three points in the final four minutes of Game 5 and if you go back to Game 4, the Spurs only managed six points in the final seven minutes of that loss, which seems next to impossible for a team of their stature.

In Sunday’s piece, I noted that this best-of-seven matchup has become a game of 2-of-2 with each team pitting their two All-Stars against one another.

All-Star Matchup - Thunder vs. Spurs
Oklahoma City - Points Scored 1 2 3 4 5
Russell Westbrook 14 29 31 14 35
Kevin Durant 16 28 26 41 23
Total 30 57 57 55 58
San Antonio - Points Scored 1 2 3 4 5
LaMarcus Aldridge 38 41 24 20 20
Kawhi Leonard 25 14 31 21 26
Total 63 55 55 41 46

Looking above, you can see that Oklahoma City’s pair has won this battle so far but it’s evident what happens (Game 1) when the double-headed monster doesn’t show up for the Thunder.

What’s also clear through the first five games is that the supporting cast for the Thunder have outplayed the Spurs as well, especially in the paint. Oklahoma City outrebounded San Antonio 54-36 on Tuesday behind two youngsters in Enes Kanter (8 points, 13 boards) and Steven Adams (12 points, 11 rebounds).

While Kanter and Adams have been a nice boost for OKC, the Spurs haven’t had any magic from their role players and that’s something that has helped the dynasty during its championship years.

Danny Green has played well in two games but the team has receiving nothing from Manu Ginobili plus I’m wondering if Boris Diaw (4.4 PPG) and Patty Mills (3.8 PPG) are in the doghouse because they’re minutes and stats have both diminished in this series.

The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich is often considered the best coach in the NBA but for the second straight postseason, we’re seeing a rookie head coach (Billy Donovan) making noise again which certainly solidifies the “players trump coaches” argument.

Despite dropping two straight in this series, the Spurs opened as 2 ½-point road favorites over Thunder in Game 6. As of Wednesday evening, most shops have dropped that number to 1 ½ points.

NBA expert and playoff leader Kevin Rogers isn’t surprised by the shift to Oklahoma City. He said, “The Spurs haven’t performed well on the road in Game 6 of the playoffs trailing 3-2, losing in each of their last two opportunities. In 2011, the Grizzlies tripped up the top-seeded Spurs in the opening round, 99-91 as three-point favorites, while the Thunder ousted San Antonio in the 2012 conference finals, 107-99 as five-point favorite.”

Even though Oklahoma City has won two games outright as an underdog in this series, its overall record as a pup hasn’t been great this season. The club is 3-12 SU and 6-8-1 ATS and that includes a 0-2 mark at home, the loss in Game 3 of this series and earlier in the season to Golden State.

While those stats could have you leaning to San Antonio to stay alive, Rogers doesn’t believe you should ignore the head-to-head encounters between the pair at this venue. “Oklahoma City has won six of its last eight home playoff games against San Antonio since the 2012 Western Conference Finals, but the Spurs have cashed in their only opportunity in this span as a road favorite at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Game 3 of this series, 100-96. The last time these teams played a Game 6 in the playoffs at Oklahoma City, the Spurs prevailed in overtime to win the 2014 Western Conference title, but San Antonio went into that contest leading 3-2,” said Rogers.

Including the outcomes that Rogers mentioned, Oklahoma City is 12-3 both SU and ATS in the last 15 encounters against San Antonio from Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The totals in the first five games of this series have ranged from 199 to 200 ½ points but oddsmakers sent out an opener of 195 for Game 6. The ‘under’ has cashed in three of the first five games and a lot of that has been attributed to San Antonio’s offense or lack thereof.

Since posting 124 points in Game 1, the Spurs have cracked the 100-point mark only once in the last four games, scoring exactly 100 points in their Game 3 victory at Oklahoma City.

Despite averaging 103.4 PPG at home in the playoffs, the Thunder have seen the ‘under’ go 3-2. Including the results from this series, the Spurs have watched the ‘under’ go 6-3 in the postseason.

Prior to Game 1, San Antonio was listed as a minus-275 favorite (Bet $100 to win $37) to win this series at the Las Vegas Westgate SuperBook while the takeback on Oklahoma City was plus-235 favorite (Bet $100 to win $225).

The Spurs ballooned to minus-900 favorites after blowout out the Thunder in the opener and were still minus-300 when the series was tied 2-2. Now facing elimination, San Antonio has been made a 6/5 underdog (Bet $100 to win $120) while the Thunder are a 5/7 favorite (Bet $100 to win $71) to advance.

If you like to lean to historical numbers in your handicapping, then Oklahoma City would get the nod in this situation. Since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, the Thunder have held a 3-2 series lead in the playoffs four times and they won all four of those best-of-seven matchups. Make a note that Oklahoma City closed out three of those series in six games while only being forced to a Game 7 once.

And, the Spurs have rallied from a 3-2 deficit only once in their playoff history which occurred in 2008 when they beat the New Orleans Hornets.

If San Antonio stays alive, Game 7 will take place on Sunday from the AT&T Center.

**TheGame** · 05-12-2016, 07:29 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/12

Preview: Spurs (67-15) at Thunder (55-27)

Date: May 12, 2016 8:30 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Father Time can be awfully sneaky.

San Antonio forward Tim Duncan turned 40 last month, and the basketball world marveled at his accomplishments. Sure, his minutes were scaled back this season, but he played a significant role in helping the Spurs have their best regular season ever.

Suddenly, though, Duncan looks his age.

He has struggled in the past two games of the Western Conference semifinals against Oklahoma City's young front line featuring Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. In Game 4, the 15-time All-Star, five-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP went scoreless in 12 minutes, committed four fouls in the first half and did not play in the fourth quarter. In Game 5, Duncan was 1 for 6 from the field and scored five points in 28 minutes.

Duncan likely will need to play more like his former self Thursday night in Oklahoma City if the Spurs are to extend their season, and perhaps his career. Duncan has a player option for next season, and he hasn't made it clear what he will do.

When asked what he was doing to be effective against Duncan, Adams said 'Nothing,' perhaps not wanting to give the future Hall of Famer any additional motivation.

Adams and Kanter also have slowed LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged 39.5 points on 75 percent shooting the first two games. That has dropped to 21.3 points per contest on 36.7 percent shooting the last three.

'He had a lot of open looks,' teammate Kawhi Leonard said of Aldridge after a 95-91 loss in Game 5 on Tuesday. 'They just didn't fall. It's basketball. Once we play the right way and get the shots we take and play hard, that's all we could do.'

Adams, a 7-foot center from New Zealand, is averaging 10.2 points and 12.0 rebounds in the series. Kanter, a 6-foot-11 forward from Turkey, is averaging 9.0 points and 7.6 rebounds. They usually don't play together, but have both been on the floor late in the past two games. Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Kanter and Adams have put in the time to make the experiment successful.

'I give them a lot of credit because, although we did it a little bit during the regular season, being able to get with those guys after practice and talk with those guys, seeing them work together to try to play off of each other - they've had to space the floor and work together,' Donovan said. 'They've got a good bond going there.'

In Game 4, Kevin Durant went off. In Game 5, it was Russell Westbrook's turn.

If either - or both - get going in Game 6, the Spurs could be done for the year.

Both have struggled at times with their shots during the playoffs, but there are signs that could be changing. In Game 4, Durant scored 29 of his 41 points in the second half. In Game 5, Westbrook made 12 of 27 shots and scored 35.

The Thunder want to bring their best effort in Game 6 because they're really not interested in going back to San Antonio for Game 7.

'Closeout games are the hardest,' Durant said. 'We know they're going to try to force this Game 7. We can't rely too much on our crowd. We can't be relaxed knowing that we're going to be at home. And they beat us at home in Game 3.'

Even if Westbrook misses shots, the Thunder aren't concerned.

'Who cares about shooting percentage,' Durant said earlier in the week. 'Obviously, we want him to - in a perfect world, we'd want him to shoot 65, 70 percent. But he's getting good shots. It's not like he's getting terrible shots. He's getting good looks. He's getting to the rim. It's just a matter of the ball going in and out of the basket.'

Westbrook is a major reason the Thunder are hurting the Spurs on the glass. Oklahoma City outrebounded San Antonio by an average of 7 over the first five games, and has won that battle in each of the past four. The Spurs feel they need to do better in Game 6 to have a chance.

'Control the boards,' guard Tony Parker said. 'That's the key of the series. We have to control the boards. We can't keep giving them opportunities to score.'

**TheGame** · 05-12-2016, 07:30 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/12

NBA Odds: Head Coaching Predictions for Rockets, Pacers
by Alan Matthews

I've already touched on the next head coaching candidates for the New York Knicks . I expect that Kurt Rambis will get that full-time gig, and oddsmakers agree with me as he is the -200 favorite.

Now let's examine the site's odds for the openings in Houston and Indiana -- for whatever reason, there is no prop for the Memphis job. The Rockets and Pacers are sort of in the same boat from where they stand as franchises right now. They both lost in the first round of the 2016 playoffs. They each have a superstar: James Harden for Houston and Paul George for Indiana.

Other than that? The Rockets had Dwight Howard, but he hasn't been a superstar for a while and is 100 percent not going to be in Houston next season. Howard frankly doesn't like playing with the ball-hog Harden, and it could be tough for GM Daryl Morey to land someone in free agency because Harden doesn't have the best reputation around the NBA. You don't hear anything negative about George, who is a much better all-around player. Indiana also has an exciting young player in Myles Turner.

Thing is, free agents aren't exactly flocking to Indianapolis. At least with the Rockets, you have better weather and no state income taxes. Both clubs should have plenty to spend in free agency with the cap exploding this offseason. Then again, just about every team will have money to do so.

The Indiana job came open when team president Larry Bird decided not to renew the contract of the highly regarded Frank Vogel. The Grizzlies are interested in talking to him and he was +200 on that Knicks prop. For the Houston job, he's a +225 second-favorite behind former Rockets and Knicks coach and current excellent ABC/ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy (+150). Van Gundy still lives in Houston and is still thought of well in the organization. As of Monday, the team hadn't scheduled a meeting with Van Gundy. That's surprising. He and Vogel are very similar in that they both are defensive guys and have an extreme attention to detail.

Houston already has interviewed offensive-minded Mike D'Antoni (+550), the former Suns, Knicks and Lakers coach. Easily the most interesting name among the betting options is former Rockets player and TNT analyst Kenny Smith (+850). He interviewed Tuesday. If I'm Smith, I'm not leaving the TNT studio, but I might be selfish because "Inside the NBA" is great TV with him and Charles Barkley. Plus, with Morey on the hot seat himself does he really want to tie his future to a guy with zero head-coaching experience? At least Steve Kerr had general manager experience when Golden State hired him a few years ago.

The rest of the Houston options are: Sam Cassell (+1100), Jeff Hornacek (+1100), Stephen Silas (+1800), Shaka Smart (+2000), Chris Finch (+2500) and Bill Self (+3300). Smart isn't leaving the University of Texas after one year. And while I think Self will take an NBA job at some point, he's not leaving Kansas yet, either.

Cassell is an intriguing option. He is very respected around the league for his long playing career, including in Houston. And he, unlike Smith, has assistant coaching experience. He spent five years in Washington and got major kudos from John Wall, and Cassell is currently an assistant under Doc Rivers with the Clippers. Cassell already has met with the Rockets. He's great value at that betting price.

For the Indiana job, it's expected to go to an offensive mind as that was one issue Bird had with Vogel as Bird wants his team to play fast and small (like the Warriors). That would make D'Antoni a perfect fit and he's the +300 favorite along with former Pacers player and Warriors coach Mark Jackson.

At +400 is Brian Shaw, the former Nuggets coach, Pacers assistant under Vogel and ex-teammate with Bird on the Celtics. The lone worry with him was that Shaw's tenure in Denver didn't end well with Shaw complaining to the front office about some players' immaturity. Hornacek, the former Suns coach, is +750. He was fired midway through this season after the Suns started with a 14-35 record, but it wasn't his fault the front office made a few terrible player decisions. The Suns were a high-scoring team under him.

The rest of the candidates are: Vinny Del Negro (+850), Nate McMillan (+900), David Blatt (+900), Randy Wittman (+1200), Mike Woodson (+1200), Bird himself (+1500), Kevin McHale (+2500) and Jim Boylen (+3300). Bird's not coaching again and he already said he wouldn't hire his friend and former teammate McHale. I think D'Antoni is the guy. He basically invented the small-ball offense that's taking over the NBA these days. His Suns teams with Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire were beautiful to watch. We shall soon find out if perhaps D'Antoni, currently a Sixers associate head coach, has his choice between Houston and Indiana.

**Satch** · 05-12-2016, 10:56 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/12

Preview: San Antonio At Oklahoma City

When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, May 12, 2016
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Matchup Edge

SA	Edge in:	OKC
	Points Per Game
	Field Goal %
	Free Throw %
	Defense
	Rebounding
	Turn Overs
	Bench

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one victory away from reaching the Western Conference finals and have two opportunities to get the job done. The Thunder, who lead the series 3-2, aim to end the festivities in Thursday's Game 6, while the San Antonio Spurs visit town in dire need of a victory to force a Game 7.

San Antonio has held double-digit leads in the each of the past two games before wilting under Oklahoma City's late-game siege. "I hope we respond a little angry, with a chip on our shoulder," Spurs guard Danny Green told reporters after Tuesday's 95-91 loss. "If you want to be a championship team, you have to win on the road. Simple as that." The Thunder surprisingly have won two games in San Antonio in the series - the Spurs lost just once at home during the regular season - and small forward Kevin Durant said another defensive effort like the showing in Game 5 is crucial. "Late in the fourth we did a good job of putting a hand up on shots, making them shoot mid-range and we didn't let them get in the paint a lot." Durant told reporters. "That’s what we have to do if we want to win the next one. We have to play defense like that throughout the whole game."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE SPURS: NBA MVP runner-up Kawhi Leonard (26 points, five steals in Game 5) and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (20 points, nine rebounds) have carried San Antonio during the series with occasional help from shooting guard Danny Green (six 3-pointers in Game 5) and point guard Tony Parker (good outings in Game 3 and 4). But the reserves have been below par and combined for just 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting in Game 5 and getting better efforts from players such as shooting guard Manu Ginobili and center Boris Diaw are a must if San Antonio is to win the next two games. "We haven't had great bench production," Popovich said after Game 5. "We need a couple more people to help us offensively. That would be great."

ABOUT THE THUNDER: Point guard Russell Westbrook had 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Game 5 and was so superb that everybody overlooked his eight turnovers. "He plays with such force and such passion," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "I think he's doing a really good job of realizing when he gets so intense, so competitive, so emotional, he's doing a good job of kind of bringing himself back together and understanding there's four other guys out there depending on him." Durant scored 23 points on a series-worst 8-of-21 shooting effort in a dropoff from his spectacular 41-point effort in Game 4.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. San Antonio averaged 112 points in its two victories and 95 points in the three defeats.

2. Oklahoma City C Steven Adams has been a difference-maker with three double-doubles while averaging 10.2 points and 12 rebounds in the series.

3. Green had 20 points in Game 5 and is 16-of-29 from 3-point range in the series.

PREDICTION: Thunder 97, Spurs 95

**Satch** · 05-12-2016, 10:57 AM

Re: NBA Betting Info. 5/12

Trends - San Antonio at Oklahoma City

ATS Trends

San Antonio

Spurs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS loss.
Spurs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Spurs are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games playing on 1 days rest.
Spurs are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
Spurs are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Spurs are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 vs. NBA Northwest.
Spurs are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Thursday games.

Oklahoma City

Thunder are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest.
Thunder are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Thunder are 30-10-2 ATS in their last 42 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
Thunder are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Thunder are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Conference Semifinals games.
Thunder are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 Thursday games.

OU Trends

San Antonio

Under is 4-0 in Spurs last 4 games following a straight up loss.
Under is 14-3 in Spurs last 17 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Under is 9-3 in Spurs last 12 overall.
Under is 9-3 in Spurs last 12 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Under is 6-2 in Spurs last 8 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Under is 21-8 in Spurs last 29 vs. Western Conference.
Under is 13-5 in Spurs last 18 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Under is 5-2 in Spurs last 7 games playing on 1 days rest.
Under is 5-2 in Spurs last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
Under is 27-11-1 in Spurs last 39 games following a ATS loss.
Under is 12-5 in Spurs last 17 road games.

Oklahoma City
Over is 4-1 in Thunder last 5 Thursday games. Under is 7-2 in Thunder last 9 vs. a team with a winning straight up record. Under is 6-2 in Thunder last 8 Conference Semifinals games. Under is 5-2 in Thunder last 7 games following a ATS win.

Head to Head

Under is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Oklahoma City.
Under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.
Favorite is 21-9-1 ATS in the last 31 meetings.
Spurs are 2-7 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
Spurs are 3-12 ATS in the last 15 meetings in Oklahoma City.

Announcement

NBA Betting Info. 5/12

NBA Betting Info. 5/12

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