NBA Playoffs Betting Info. 4/21

[TheGame]

Monday's NBA Playoffs Betting News and Notes
By Covers.com

Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder (-7, 189.5)

Memphis needs better performances from big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, who were a combined 14-of-40 from the field in the opener. Randolph had 21 points and 11 rebounds but was just 7-of-21 shooting and also missed five free throws while Gasol (16 points) was mostly a nonfactor while going 7-of-19 from the field.Memphis dominated the first 15-plus minutes of the second half as it cut a 22-point halftime deficit to two early in the fourth quarter.

Point guard Russell Westbrook missed the second-round series in which Memphis disposed of Oklahoma City in five games last season and was intent on making a difference in the opener. Westbrook scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half when the Thunder led by as many 25 points and finished with 10 rebounds. He was displeased with his third-quarter performance but was back on his game in the fourth when Oklahoma City reasserted control. Forward Kevin Durant started the series strong with 33 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

TRENDS:

* Favorite is 4-0-1 ATS in the last five meetings.
* Home team is 3-0-1 ATS in the last four meetings.
* Over is 14-6 in the last 20 meetings in Oklahoma City.


Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers (-8, 212.5)

Golden State committed 23 turnovers and squandered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead but held the Clippers scoreless over the final 1:30 to lock up the win. Curry was hounded the entire game and finished with 14 points but Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green both hit big shots and Klay Thompson went for 22 points. The Warriors are without center Andrew Bogut (broken rib) in the series but still managed a 48-42 advantage on the glass as Lee grabbed 13 boards.

Blake Griffin scored 16 points in only 19 minutes and fouled out on a loose ball call in the final minute as the referees whistled a total of 51 fouls. Chris Paul hit a pair of big 3-pointers to get Los Angeles back into the game late in the fourth but committed six turnovers and five fouls while trying to contain Curry and Thompson. Los Angeles has dropped five straight postseason games.

TRENDS:

* Over is 5-1 in the last six meetings in Los Angeles.
* Over is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
* Home team is 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings.

[TheGame]

Re: NBA Playoffs Betting Info. 4/21

StatFox Super Situations™ – FoxSheets


NBA | GOLDEN STATE at LA CLIPPERS
Play On – Favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points (LA CLIPPERS) an excellent offensive team (>=102 PPG) against a poor defensive team (98-102 PPG), after a combined score of 205 points or more 4 straight games
52-22 since 1997. ( 70.3% | 27.8 units )
8-7 this year. ( 53.3% | 0.3 units )


NBA | GOLDEN STATE at LA CLIPPERS
Play Against – Any team vs the money line (LA CLIPPERS) revenging a loss vs opponent, off a home loss against a division rival
148-76 over the last 5 seasons. ( 66.1% | 55.1 units )
23-12 this year. ( 65.7% | 2.8 units )


NBA | GOLDEN STATE at LA CLIPPERS
Play On – Road underdogs vs. the 1rst half line (GOLDEN STATE) good team – outscoring their opponents by 3+ points/game against opponent after 2 straight games where both teams scored 100 points or more
55-24 over the last 5 seasons. ( 69.6% | 28.6 units )
12-8 this year. ( 60.0% | 3.2 units )

[TheGame]

Re: NBA Playoffs Betting Info. 4/21

Inside the Paint - Monday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com

The opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs watched the underdogs dominate on the court with a 5-3 straight up record and at the betting counter with a 6-2 mark against the spread.

Miami, San Antonio and Oklahoma City were the only higher seeds to win the last two days and not surprisingly, those are the top three future bets to win this year’s NBA Finals.

Total bettors watched the ‘over’ go 5-3 in the first eight games and outside of the Bobcats-Heat and Rockets-Trailblazers outcomes, most of the results were clear-cut.

Monday’s card features two games and TNT will provide national coverage at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Let’s break ‘em down.

Memphis at Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City defeated Memphis 100-86 in Game 1 on Saturday as an eight-point home favorite. The Thunder jumped out to a 29-16 lead at the end of the first and continued the domination in the second quarter, producing a 56-34 advantage at halftime.

Despite being down 22 points at the break, the Grizzlies rallied with a 31-13 third quarter and actually made it a two-point game in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City responded strongly with a 13-1 run and eventually put the game away as Memphis ran out of gas.

Kevin Durant led OKC with 33 points while Russell Westbrook had 23 points and Serge Ibaka added 17 points. Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 21 points despite being hampered with foul trouble and VI handicapper Brian Edwards believes the officials handcuffed the big man with some cheap calls.

He said, “I think Memphis would've covered if Randolph had not been whistled for a bogus fifth foul call when the Grizzlies had all the momentum and were down only five points late in the third quarter of Game 1. By the time Randolph got back in the game, they trailed by double digits. Despite playing a horrible first half, Memphis rallied back into the game and I think that comeback lifted its confidence, and we'll see that reflected in a Game 2.”

While I agree with Edwards that the officiating was questionable, I don’t believe in moral victories. Those following and betting the NBA know it’s a make or miss league and the Grizzlies couldn’t buy a shot in Game 1. Memphis shot 36 percent from the floor and it missed 13 free throws (18-of-31), which will never help you win or cover a game on the road. To show you how much the freebies mattered, Oklahoma City was 28-of-32 (87.5%) from the charity stripe.

Including Saturday’s loss, Memphis is 23-19 SU and 18-23 ATS on the road this season. OKC owns a 35-7 SU and 24-17-1 ATS mark from Chesapeake Arena.

OKC opened as a 7½-point favorite for Game 2 and the number has settled at 7 as of Monday morning.

The total is 189½ points for tonight, which is a tad lower in Game 1 (190), which stayed ‘under’ the number.

Game 3 will take place on Thursday from Memphis

Golden State at L.A. Clippers

The Warriors silenced the Staples Center crowd in Game 1 and captured a 109-105 road win over the Clippers as 7½-point underdogs. Bettors playing Golden State on the money-line cashed odds as high as 3/1 (Bet $100 to win $300).

All-Star forward Blake Griffin only played four minutes for the Clippers in the first-half after picking up three fouls. He finished with 16 points in just 19 minutes and a lot of pundits believe the referees gave Game 1 to the Warriors.

Those same so-called experts probably failed to realize that the Warriors had more fouls (27) than the Clippers (25) in the game. As I stated above, you’re not going to win games when you’re not connecting on offense. Los Angeles shot 42 percent from the field and they were 23-of-35 (66%) from the free throw line.

Chris Paul led the Clippers with 28 points in Game 1 and J.J. Redick posted 22 points but Doc Rivers got nothing from his bench and that’s a key component to this team. Jamal Crawford and Darren Collison combined to go 4-of-20 (20%) from the floor in Game 1.

The Clippers have been installed as eight-point favorites for Game 2 and this matchup fits the Zig-Zag Theory, which is a betting system that VI expert Marc Lawrence explains.

While it seems easy to expect L.A. to rebound off the loss, you can’t ignore the fact that Golden State is 6-2 SU and 7-1 ATS in its last eight games. Plus the two losses came by a combined three points. If you’re handicapping on current form, it’s tough to argue against the Warriors.

Despite losing homecourt advantage in Game 1’s loss, oddsmakers at Sportsbook.ag still have the Clippers listed as -185 favorites (Bet $100 to win $54) to win the best-of-seven series.

VI’s Scott Pritchard isn’t high on either team and he’s ready to fade the winner in the next round. He explains, “The only reason the Clippers or Warriors will make it into the second round of the NBA playoffs is because they are playing each other and someone has to win. Both of these teams are complete frauds. Both are media darlings who have no shot at winning the Western Conference not to mention the NBA Finals. Los Angeles and Golden State are very good regular season teams and are fun to watch. The Clippers’ Doc Rivers is extremely overrated and their style of play doesn’t translate into the postseason. As good as point guard Chris Paul is, has he ever won anything at any level?”

I see Pritchard’s point and while some might disagree with his comments about Rivers, he’s 100 percent correct about Paul. He’s been in the league eight years and he’s only managed to win two playoff series.

If you’re undecided on the side for Game 2, the ‘over’ might be the better angle. Including the results from Game 1, the Clippers have seen the ‘over’ cash in four straight and 10 of their last 12 games. They’ve put 100-plus in every game during this span and they’ve allowed 100 or more points in 11 of them.

Golden State is on a 4-0 ‘over’ run and it’s been lighting up the scoreboard lately too, averaging 116.8 PPG in its last five. The total for Game 2 is hovering around 212 points.

The teams will head to the Bay Area on Wednesday for Game 3.

[TheGame]

Re: NBA Playoffs Betting Info. 4/21

Memphis at Oklahoma City, 8:00 ET
Memphis: 5-13 ATS in road games revenging a loss vs opponent
Oklahoma City: 51-36 ATS as a home favorite


Golden State at LA Clippers, 10:35 ET
Golden State: 23-11 ATS as a road underdog of 6.5 to 9 points
LA Clippers: 23-11 OVER off a upset loss as a favorite