5-17-10

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[spook]

Re: 5-17-10

Game of the day: Phoenix Suns at L.A. Lakers

Two streaking teams meet in the Western Conference finals. The Lakers are looking to repeat as NBA champions while the Suns haven’t been in the Finals since 1993. Both teams swept their last playoff series.

There is rest for the weary

While many teams complain about long layoffs in between playoff series, the Lakers hope to benefit from the extra time off.

The Lakers haven’t played in a week but the rest will surely be good for Kobe Bryant who has been nursing ankle, finger and knee injuries. Bryant hasn’t practiced all week and may not practice at all the rest of the postseason.

Sasha Vujacic said he’s ready to play after missing the first 10 games of the playoffs with a sprained ankle. Ron Artest and Shannon Brown also said they’re feeling better after suffering nagging injuries.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he may complain about the layoff after the game, depending on how well his team plays, but for the most part he’s happy about it.

Series price

The Lakers are generally a 3-1 favorite to win the series checking in at -340 at some offshore points. The Lakers winning the series in five games is the shortest price of the game odds. You can get 30-1 if you think the Suns can sweep this one.

An aerial attack

The series will be greatly impacted from long range. The Suns are the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA. The Lakers are the best at defending the 3-pointer.

These teams met four times in the regular season with the Lakers winning three of them. The game they lost, Phoenix hit a dozen 3-pointers.

By the numbers, Phoenix finished 28-4 when they shoot at least 45 percent from 3-point range, while the Lakers went 12-0 when they limited opponents to under 40 percent shooting.

The X-factor

A lot of people think that the performance of Suns’ reserve Goran Dragic could be the difference-maker. That’s not the opinion here.

While Dragic had some scintillating moments against the Spurs (23 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4) it’s more likely that Grant Hill’s drive and desire will be the biggest factor.

Hill could erase a lot of disappointing moments in his NBA career with a big series here. He’s already shut down Andre Miller and Manu Ginobili and is sure to see a great deal of time shadowing Bryant.

Hill came back to Phoenix for this opportunity and it seems like it could very well be his last chance to get an NBA ring. At 37 years old, this is the first time that Hill has even won a playoff series and now he’s in the conference finals.

Injury report

Andrew Bynum said that his injured knee gradually is getting worse but he plans to play through the pain and swelling. Bynum has a small tear in his meniscus. He practiced fully on Saturday.

“He’s running with some limitations,” Jackson said. “He still looks good. It’s good to see him out there.”

Let’s face it, the Lakers have a lot of tread on the tires so they’re supposed to have some injury problems. Bryant, Artest, Brown, Vujacic are also fighting injuries and Pau Gasol has a sinus infection. Jackson expects them all to play.

For the Suns, Steve Nash still has some lingering issues with his eye after being elbowed by Tim Duncan in the last series. He’ll play.

Suns starting center Robin Lopez is expected to play after missing the entire playoffs thus far and the final 10 games of the regular season with a bulging disk in his back.

Trend-setting

The Lakers have won eight straight playoff games at home straight up.

The Suns are 5-0 ATS in their last five games as underdogs and own the same mark in their last five as road dogs.

The Suns are 20-6 ATS in their last 26 games against teams with winning percentage above .600

The under is 7-1-1 in the Suns’ last nine road games but the under has cashed the last four times they’ve had layoffs of three or more days.

The Lakers have covered the spread five of their last six games.

In head-to-head matchups the Lakers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.

The over is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings in L.A.

[spook]

Re: 5-17-10

papayagang pick of the day 5/17

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Dodgers ML
Atlanta Ml 20* picks

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Re: 5-17-10

PICK 'N' ROLL

Monday's Best NBA Bet

Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers (-6, 210.5)

It’s the playoffs so that must mean that Andrew Bynum is injured. Every regular season Bynum makes mincemeat out of opposing big men but then the postseason rolls around and he’s nursing some nagging injury.

The Lakers did have their young center two years ago in the Finals against the Celtics and he never looked comfortable coming back off a knee injury last playoffs.

This year it’s his knee. Torn cartilage in his right one has kept Bynum from practicing this week.

“It’s sore,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s getting a little worse. But it hasn’t been affecting me, so I’m going to keep pushing hard.”

Bynum is the key for Los Angeles in this series against the Suns. The Lakers want to work the high-low post game and test Phoenix’s big fellas.

Bynum did next to nothing last series against the Jazz and if he says the knee is getting worse, he might look pretty awkward guarding Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye.

Pick: Phoenix Suns

[spook]

Re: 5-17-10

MLB NEWS AND NOTES
Monday's Late Tips
By Judd Hall

Monday will start the work week for many of you fine folks out there. It will also kick off several new series in Major League Baseball. We could harp about a quick two-game series between the Yanks and Red Sox in the Bronx. But with due respect to fans of both clubs, we’ll see enough of those two on ESPN to make us stab our eyes out. So let’s focus on some games between teams out West.

Giants (20-15, +262) at Padres (22-14, +990) – 10:05 p.m. EDT

The Giants were expected to be one of the top teams in the National League West this season based on their starting pitching. That unit has gone 16-9 with a 2.76 earned run average heading into Sunday’s battles. And during its first two games at AT&T Park with the Astros, San Francisco’s Todd Wellemeyer and Tim Lincecum combined for 15.1 innings of work. Needless to say that both of those contests were wins for the Orange and Black.

Matt Cain (2-2, 3.38) will be making his eighth start of the year to open up this short two-game set. He’s pitched quite well for San Fran this season. The Giants’ bullpen, on the other hand, feels like they have to cough up runs after he gives them a good outing. They have allowed seven runs after Cain has been sent to the showers in 2010.

San Diego was supposed to screwing around in the basement of the NL West right now. Instead, the Padres are holding a 1 ½-game lead over San Francisco. The Pads are only hitting .237 as a team, crossing the plate 150 times this season. What they do have is strong efforts coming from their hurlers. San Diego’s starters have a composite 2.76 ERA, while its reliever’s ERA is 2.70 with opponents hitting .190 against them.

That kind of backup from the ‘pen will no doubt make Clayton Richard (2-2, 4.52) feel a bit more comfortable taking to the mound at Petco Park. Richard has won two of his last three starts. The most recent outing for the Pads’ southpaw saw him give up two earned runs on seven hits in seven innings of work in a 5-2 road win against San Fran on May 12.

Most betting shops have posted the Giants as $1.35 road favorites (risk $135 to win $100) with a total of 6 ½.

The Padres have been involved in a lot of low scoring affairs recently, watching the ‘under’ go 9-1 in their last 10 contests. San Francisco has seen the ‘over’ go on a 5-1 run in its past six games on the road.

San Fran has won two of its last three road fixtures against lefties. Over the last two seasons, however, the Giants are 18-33 when facing southpaws away from home.

In games as road faves against left-handers, the Giants have seen the ‘under’ go 9-3 since 2009.

Angels (17-21, -519) at Rangers (20-17, +70) – 10:05 p.m. EDT

Nolan Ryan said that the Rangers were fully capable of winning 92 games in highly competitive American League West. Texas is sitting in first place in the division right now, but are on pace to win 88 games – one more win than they had in 2009. Not exactly where Ryan wants them, but I’m sure he’d take another winning campaign.

Texas will be happy to get back home after having a tough series at the Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays. The Rangers’ pitching staff has a nice case of whiplash after surrendering 22 runs in the first two games of their series with Toronto.

The Rangers will look to Derek Holland (1-0, 0.00) for another strong performance at home. Holland gave up no runs while striking out seven batters in six innings of work in Texas’ 10-1 win over the Athletics at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Los Angeles has taken some time to find its groove this season, only registering one five-game win streak so far. One thing the Halos will have to figure out again is how to win on the road. The Angels have gone 2-8 in their last 10 tests away from Anaheim.

Scott Kazmir (2-3, 6.82) is in desperate need of a good outing on Monday night. He’s been tattooed by the opposition for a .287 batting average…easily the worst number of his career. Kazmir is barely lasting five innings in his last three starts of the year for the Halos with an ERA of 6.56. The odds are against Kazmir in this contest as he’s been awful recently on the road. In his last four starts as a visitor, he is 0-2 with an 8.51 ERA.

The oddsmakers have installed the Rangers as $1.45 home favorites with a total of nine.

Los Angeles has done well over the last two seasons as a road pup versus left-handed pitching, evidenced by a 20-14 mark. However, they have dropped five of its last six games in this spot. The ‘under’ is 5-2 in those recent contests.

The Rangers are 24-14 as home faves against southpaws since 2009. This season, Texas has won three of its last four under this situation. The ‘under’ is 21-14-3 over the last two campaigns.

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Re: 5-17-10

HOT LINES

Monday's Best MLB Bets

Colorado Rockies at Chicago Cubs (-150, Off)

Cubs manager Lou Piniella knows to give his team a swift kick in the backside when they need it, and the Cubs have been begging for one all season.

They finally got it before Sunday's game against the Pirates when Piniella blew his top with the underachieving, overpaid Cubbies. They promptly went out and took a 4-3 win over the Bucs - a small victory, but a much-needed one.

"We keep talking about at-bats for people. We talk about people needing to play. We talk about everything but winning baseball games," Piniella ranted to the media. "That's what the hell I want to talk about ... period."
Too bad he had to waste his tirade on the Bucs, but the butt-chewing should spill over against the Rockies, who are 8-21 in their last 29 at Wrigley Field.

Piniella's rippings have a history of sticking with his players for a while. Don't be surprised if the Cubs make a little mini-run in May before the June swoon.

Pick: Chicago Cubs


Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees (-200, 9.5)

The Yankees have added reinforcements to the relief staff for the Red Sox series by skipping Sunday's scheduled starter Javier Vazquez and sending him to the bullpen.

They might not need him Monday night, not the way starter Phil Hughes (5-0) has been throwing the ball lately. He is 3-0 in his last three outings with a minuscule 0.86 ERA.

That number includes a strong outing against the Red Sox last week when he scattered seven hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and only two walks and earned runs.

Hughes was previously 0-2 with a 8.28 ERA against the BoSox but seems to have turned a new leaf against the AL East rivals, as have the Bronx Bombers.

The Yankees are 13-3 in their last 16 vs. Boston. If they used to be the Red Sox's daddy, they are quickly becoming their granddaddy.

Pick: NY Yankees

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Re: 5-17-10

Don Wallace Sports

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NBA

4* Phoenix +6.5 over The Lakers

0-1 yesterday

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-17-10

Fantasy Sports Gametime

Monday Baseball

100* Play NY Yankees (-190) over Boston
Game starts at 7:10 PM EST

New York pitcher, Phil Hughes has won 7 of the last 8 games as a home favorite of -110 or higher and he is 5-0 this season with an ERA of 1.38. Boston has lost 8 of the last 9 games as an underdog of +150 or higher.

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50* Play Florida (-140) over Arizona
Game starts at 7:00 PM EST

Arizona has lost 8 of the last 9 games and they have also lost 56 of the last 84 road games when the total posted is between 8.5 and 10 runs. Edwin Jackson is 0-3 vs. Florida over his career with an ERA of 10.94 and he is 1-5 this season with an ERA of 7.43.


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50* Play Philadelphia (-210) over Pittsburgh
Game starts at 7:00 PM EST

Pittsburgh has lost 3 of the last 4 games when playing on a Monday and they have also lost 5 of the last 6 games vs. Philadelphia on the road. Charlie Morton has lost 9 of the last 12 road games as an underdog of +150 or higher and he is 0-4 in road games this season with an ERA of 10.80.

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-17-10

SUPER SPORTS GROUP

Pittsburgh v. Philadelphia 7:05pm
PICK: OVER 10.5 Game ev (8*)

Chicago v. Detroit 7:05pm
PICK: Sox ML +132 Game (7*)

Minnesota v. Toronto 7:05pm
PICK: Jays ML +105 Game (8*)

Boston v. NY 7:10pm
PICK: OVER 9.5 Game +105 (8*)

Washington v. St Louis 8:15pm
PICK: OVER 9 Game ev (10**) Game of the week

3 team parlay for 1*
UNDER 9 Florida Game +110
UNDER 9 Royals Game +105
OVER 8 Seattle Game ev

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Re: 5-17-10

Mike Hook 5/17

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Mike Hook | MLB Money Line Mon, 05/17/10 - 10:10 PM“ ---------------------------
dime bet ml 915 HOU (+150) Bookmaker.com vs 916 LOS -------------------Analysis: 1 Unit Buried Treasure for Monday, May 17.
Mike Hook | MLB Money Line Mon, 05/17/10 - 10:05 PM“ ---------------------------------
double-dime bet ml 913 SFG (-111) SportBet vs 914 SDP ---------------------Analysis: The San Francisco‚ Giants -111 is the Double Star Play of the Day for Monday, May 17th.

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Re: 5-17-10

SPORTS ADVISORS

MONDAY, MAY 17

NBA PLAYOFFS

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Phoenix (8-2 SU and ATS) at L.A. Lakers (8-2, 6-4 ATS)

The defending NBA champion Lakers and the surging Suns, both fresh off second-round sweeps and having gotten a full week of rest, open the best-of-7 Western Conference finals at Staples Center. Phoenix is on a 22-4 SU spree in its last 26 games, going 19-6-1 ATS in that stretch. The third-seeded Suns got pushed to six games by No. 6 Portland in the first round, going 4-2 SU and ATS, then punished the seventh-seeded Spurs with a four-game SU and ATS sweep in the second round. Phoenix won Games 3 and 4 in San Antonio as a road underdog, finishing it off eight days ago with a 107-101 victory as a four-point pup. Amare Stoudemire had 29 points in the clincher, and Steve Nash had 20 points and nine assists in the finale. Jason Richardson (21.9 ppg) has been Phoenix’s top point producer in the playoffs, with Stoudemire (20.5) close behind. Nash is dealing out nine assists per game, third-best in the postseason but trailing only Boston’s Rajon Rondo (11.1) among players still remaining. Los Angeles, seeded first in the West, has won six in a row in the playoffs, taking the last two games SU and ATS in its six-game first-round series with pesky Oklahoma City before rolling over Utah in four straight (3-1 ATS). The Lakers closed out the Jazz last Monday with a 110-96 rout as a 3½-point road underdog, getting 33 points and 14 rebounds from Pau Gasol and 32 points from Kobe Bryant. Bryant is the fourth-leading scorer in the postseason, at 26.9 ppg, but the three ahead of him have already bowed out: Miami’s Dwyane Wade (33.2), Denver’s Carmelo Anthony (30.7) and Cleveland’s LeBron James (29.1). Gasol has put up 20.2 ppg along with 13.1 rebounds, second-best in the playoffs. Los Angeles went 3-1 SU and ATS in its four regular-season meetings with Phoenix this season, with the SU winner cashing in all four games. The Lakers are on further rolls against the Suns of 7-2 SU and 9-4 ATS. The home team is on a 5-1 ATS run, and the SU winner is 11-1 ATS in the last dozen matchups. Most recently, Los Angeles won 102-96 as a two-point road chalk on March 12.
These squads also met in the first round in 2006 and 2007, with Phoenix taking both series, rallying from a 3-1 deficit in ’06 while going 4-3 ATS, and rolling in five games in ’07 (2-3 ATS). The SU winner has cashed in all 10 of the Suns’ playoff games this year and in 19 in a row overall for Phoenix, and the SU winner is 8-2 ATS in L.A.’s 10 playoff contests. Phoenix is 26-20 SU (27-19 ATS) on the highway this season (4-1 SU and ATS in the postseason), averaging 107.2 ppg on 48.6 percent shooting and allowing a shade less at 106.1 ppg (45.6 percent). Los Angeles is 39-7 inside Staples Center this year, but just 19-25-2 ATS, despite outscoring the opposition by nearly nine ppg (103.7-95.0), shooting an even 46 percent and allowing 43.6 percent shooting. The Lakers are 5-0 SU (3-2 ATS) at home in the playoffs. The Suns are 6-13-1 ATS in their last 20 games after a break of three or more days, but they own a bevy of positive pointspread streaks, including 34-16-1 overall, 5-1 on the road, 5-0 as an underdog, 20-6 against teams with a winning percentage above .600, 19-6-1 after a spread-cover and 20-8-1 after a SU win. The Lakers are 5-1 ATS in their last six overall and 4-1 ATS in their last five following a SU win, but they are otherwise in pointspread ruts of 5-11-1 at home (all as a chalk), 3-11 after a spread-cover, 2-8-1 on Monday and 3-8 against Pacific Division foes. Los Angeles is on a 6-1-1 “over” run in its last eight games, and the over has hit in five of its last seven as a favorite, but the Lakers are also on “under” stretches of 9-2 in the conference finals, 4-1 after three or more days off and 11-3 as a playoff chalk. Phoenix carries “under” streaks of 7-1-1 on the road, 6-1-1 as a favorite, 7-2 when getting five to 10½ points, 4-1 as a playoff ‘dog and 4-1 in the conference finals, though the over has cashed in the Suns’ last four games following three or more days’ rest. Finally, in this rivalry, the over/under split in this season’s four contests and has alternated in the last six meetings overall, with the March 12 contests in Phoenix falling well short of the 212½-point price. However, the total has gone high in eight of the last 11 series meetings at Staples Center.

ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. LAKERS


NATIONAL LEAGUE

San Francisco (21-15) at San Diego (22-15)

The Giants will try to take over first place in the N.L. West when they send veteran right-hander Matt Cain (2-2, 3.28 ERA) to the mound at Petco Park in San Diego against Padres’ lefty Clayton Richard (2-2, 3.21). After getting swept by the Padres at home to start last week, the Giants turned around and swept a three-game set from the Astros, capped by Sunday’s 4-3 victory. San Francisco is on streaks of 20-9 as a favorite, 19-7 in series openers, 6-2 as a road chalk and 6-1 on Monday. San Diego returned home off a 5-1 road trip and got swept by the Dodgers, including a 1-0 loss on Sunday, managing just four runs in the three-game series. The Padres have no dropped five straight home games, but they remain on surges of 19-10 overall, 7-3 in series openers and 20-8 against winning teams.
The Padres are 6-0 against San Francisco this year, allowing just eight runs in the six games. San Diego has also won 10 of the last 12 clashes at Petco Park, including a three-game sweep last month. Cain squared off against the Padres and Richard on Wednesday, giving up five runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 5-2 loss. He is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA in his last three starts, and while the Giants have won four of Cain’s last five starts when he’s coming off four days off, they’ve lost seven of his last 10 as a favorite, 19 of his last 26 when he faces winning teams and six of his last seven against the N.L. West.
Additionally, San Francisco is 3-12 in Cain’s last 15 starts versus the Padres, against whom the right-hander is 4-7 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts, including 1-4 with a 2.89 ERA in nine contests at Petco Park. This will be his third start against San Diego this season and he has yet to get a victory, allowing a combined seven runs on 13 hits in 13 2/3 innings (4.61 ERA).
Richard allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings in Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over Cain in San Francisco. He is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in his last three outings and 1-1 with a 2.78 ERA at home this year. In two starts against the Giants this season, he has allowed a combined three runs on 14 hits in 13 1/3 innings (2.03 ERA), and the Padres won both contests. For his career, Richard is 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA in three games against San Francisco (17 1/3 innings). When Richard throws, the Padres are on streaks of 8-3 at home, 4-1 when he’s a home ‘dog and 5-0 when he faces winning teams. The Giants are on “under” runs of 3-1-2 overall, 9-1-1 against N.L. West teams and 6-2 on the road against left-handers, and behind Cain the under is on surges of 9-4 on the road, 10-3 as a road favorite, 7-3 when he’s coming off four days of rest. The Padres are on a plethora of “under” streaks, including 38-18-4 overall (8-0-1 last nine), 3-0 at home, 35-16-2 against N.L. West teams, 5-0-1 against right-handers, 20-7-1 against winning teams, 6-2-3 in Richard’s last 11 starts overall and 5-0-3 in his last eight as an underdog. Finally, in this rivalry, the under has cashed in 15 of the last 21 meetings – going 7-0-1 in the last eight – and five straight battles in San Diego have stayed low.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER


AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston (19-19) at N.Y. Yankees (24-13)

Baseball’s biggest rivalry resumes at Yankee Stadium when the Red Sox and Yankees kick off a three-game series with Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-1, 6.35 ERA) scheduled to pitch for the visitors opposite Philip Hughes (5-0, 1.38 ERA). Both teams lost Sunday, with the Red Sox falling in Detroit 5-1, while the Yankees were tripped up at home by the Twins 6-3. Boston has dropped three of its last four and is in further slumps of 1-5 on the road, 9-19 against A.L. East teams and 6-18 against winning teams. New York has dropped five of eight overall, but it remains on positive runs of 50-12 at home, 44-11 against right-handers at home, 44-15 against A.L. East teams and 44-19 against winning teams. This is the third series between these rivals this season, but the first in New York. The Yankees have won four of the six meetings, including two of three 10 days ago at Fenway Park. New York is 13-3 in the last 16 series clashes, and it has beaten the Red Sox seven straight times inside Yankee Stadium. Matsuzaka is making just his fourth start of the season, and he’s coming off his best outing to date as he limited the Blue Jays to one run on three hits in seven innings while striking out nine in a 6-1 victory Tuesday. In his seven career starts against the Yankees, he is 3-3 with a 5.49 ERA.
With Matsuzaka on the hill, the Red Sox are on runs of 38-15 overall, 17-6 on the road, 8-1 against winning teams, 22-8 when he gets five days off and 13-6 when he faces A.L. East opponents. Hughes has won each of his last three starts, compiling a 0.86 ERA, allowing two runs in 21 innings. The Yankees have won eight of his last 10 starts dating back to last year and he has not allowed an opponent to score more than two runs in any outing this season. On Wednesday, he blanked the Tigers on five hits over seven innings of an 8-0 win. Also, Hughes shut down the Red Sox on May 7, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings of a 10-3 win. With Hughes pitching, the Yankees have won five straight against winning teams, five straight when he gets four days off and four of five at home against winning teams. The Red Sox are on “over” runs of 6-3-1 overall, 20-8-2 in series openers, 7-3-1 against winning teams and 4-0 on Monday, but behind Matsuzaka they’re on “under” streaks of 15-7 on the road and 6-1 when he faces a winning team. The Yankees carry “under” trends of 6-1 overall, 22-7 when they face winning teams at home and 8-2-2 on Monday, but they’ve topped the total in five of seven when Hughes gets four days off and four straight when Hughes faces A.L. East teams Finally, in this rivalry, the over has been the play in five of the six clashes this season, but the “under” has cashed in five of the last six battles in the Bronx.

ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. YANKEES

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Re: 5-17-10

Sports Investment Group

MLB - BALTIMORE (-130),
MLB - PHILADELPHIA -1.5 (+100)
MLB - Arizona/Florida OVER 9 (-115)

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Re: 5-17-10

LinexGroup

3* on Houston (W.Rodriguez) / LA Dodgers (J.Ely) UNDER 8

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Re: 5-17-10

Outlaw Sports Advisors 5/17

Mets +120

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Re: 5-17-10

YourProLocks

MLB:

20 Dime: Arizona (+130)
40 Dime: Stl Cardinals (-160