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Pacers/Wizards: The Game Inside the Game
By DAVID MALINSKY
How much fun is it to be able to talk about a team named Wizards with a reference back to Oz? But that really may be the starting point as Game #4 approaches – a young team is dealing head-on with the notion that they “are not in Kansas anymore”. And dealing with that notion is tantamount as you build your handicap.
Earlier in this series there was a take on how under-rated the Washington defense has been by the betting markets (http://www.covers.com/articles/artic...?theArt=371887), and so far in this matchup they are holding the Pacers to 89 ppg on 42.3 percent shooting. But that has only been good enough to win one of the three games. The defense has held up well as the playoff pressure increases because that part of the game is largely about intensity and effort. But offense requires poise, precision and proper decision-making, which for the Wizards has been an entirely different matter.
The Washington offense was a disaster in Game #3 on Friday, failing to top 18 points in any quarter, on 32.9 percent shooting, with an alarming count of 17 turnovers vs. only 10 assists. Even when unguarded it was dismal, with an 11-21 from the FT line. But instead of isolating that as a single game, was it a continuation of a “Kansas” moment from Wednesday at Indianapolis?
The Wizards led the Pacers 77-74 with 5:00 remaining in that game. It was a chance to go up 2-0 by sweeping the road set, and to psychologically take control of the series. That created a heady moment for a young team that did not even harbor significant playoff aspirations when the season began. And they did not handle it well.
Washington made two baskets over the final 5:00, one of them an easy alley-up finish by Marcin Gortat. Outside of that it was 1-8 from the field, with six of the shots coming from 3-point range. A couple of them were hideous, with John Wall twice forcing triples early in the shot clock after offensive rebounds had extended a possession. If someone called that a meltdown, you should not argue the point.
That carried over into Friday, and now creates a crisis of confidence on offense for a team that has produced counts of 18-17-16-12-18 over the last five quarters. It is a crisis that becomes magnified by the fact that the Pacers were #1 in the league in defensive efficiency this season, by more than a full point per 100 possessions better than anyone else, and are a full 3.1 points lower than anyone else in the post-season. Of course we negate the latter somewhat because of the weak competition, but Washington now represents 144 minutes of that competition.
Your starting point to properly attack Game #4 is not about Zig Zag trends involving beaten home favorites, or any lingering anti-Indiana notions that are still in the air. It is whether or not the Wizards can be trusted to play with poise on the offensive end, and show the mental toughness to work deep into a shot clock to make something good happen. You need not fear their ability to guard; that will be there. But even with five playoff wins under their belts already, the offense remains an open issue. In this game, it may be “the” open issue. -
Game of the Day: Pacers at Wizards
Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards (-4.5, 180.5)
Pacers lead series 2-1.
Whatever it was the Indiana Pacers lost in the second half of the regular season and through the first eight games of the playoffs, they appear to have found it again. The Washington Wizards are now back on their heels and will try to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole in the Eastern Conference semifinals when they host the Pacers in Game 4 on Sunday. Roy Hibbert came out of his funk in Game 2 and is leading a suffocating defense for Indiana.
The Wizards controlled the pace in Game 1 and looked like they would cruise to a series win before Hibbert, who had been scoreless in three of the previous four playoff games, went for a season-high 28 points to guide the Pacers to a win in Game 2. The All-Star center kept that form in Game 3 and put his stamp on the game on the defensive end as Washington was held to 32.9 percent shooting in an 85-63 loss. The Wizards scored a regular season-low 66 points in a loss to Indiana on Jan. 10 and set the franchise low for points in the Game 3 loss.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
LINE HISTORY: The Wizards opened as 4.5-point faves, were bet to -5 and are back to -4.5. The total opened at 180 and is up a half-point to 180.5.
INJURY REPORT: N/A.
WHAT BOOKS SAY: "It (Game 3) was a huge game for the Wizards who were hosting their first 2nd round NBA playoff game in quite some time, there was a huge buzz in the arena and around town, so for them to come out that flat and lay that kind of egg when the spotlight was on them is a big time concern. The Pacers have been dealing with questions for the past 3 months, you never know what team will show up on what night. They are truly an enigma and as badly as they’ve played in these playoffs, they’re actually starting to turn it on. They’ve won and covered 4 of their last 5 games and the resurgences of Roy Hibbert, while baffling, has really turned this team’s fortunes." - Peter Childs of Sportsbook.ag.
WHAT SHARPS SAY: "I think like a lot of us, the oddsmakers are having a difficult time getting a firm read on Indiana. The Pacers are a different team when center Roy Hibbert is dominating as opposing defences are forced to double team the big man, and that of course creates space on the outside for the talented sharp-shooters of Indiana's to operate. I am not playing this contest personally, but believe the Wizards are in trouble if Hibbert continues to re-invent himself." - Covers Expert Art Aronson.
ABOUT THE PACERS: Indiana made its mark in the first half of the regular season as a defensive juggernaut, running up the best record in the league on the strength of that defense before slumping badly over the final two months. The Pacers wanted to get back to that rugged style in the postseason and finally accomplished that over the last two games. “This was probably the ugliest game of the postseason thus far,” Paul George told reporters of Game 3. “This is our style of basketball. Every now and then this team is fortunate to get hot offensively, but what we do is play defense.” George carried the team offensively with 23 points in Game 3 while Hibbert added 14 - his second-highest mark of the playoffs.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS: Washington’s front line of Nene and Marcin Gortat was a big advantage in Game 1 with Hibbert going scoreless but the two combined for only 12 points on 5-of-21 shooting in Game 3. “(Game 3) was the worst offensive night we’ve had,” Nene told reporters. “Looked like we tried to miss shots.” The backcourt struggled to make up the difference as Bradley Beal posted his lowest scoring total of the series and John Wall committed seven of the team’s 18 turnovers. “This really was a clunker for us,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “It was our first one (of the playoffs). We’ve got to let it go. We can play better.”
TRENDS:
* Under is 5-1 in the last six meetings.
* Underdog is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.
* Pacers are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.
* Wizards are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games overall.
COVERS CONSENSUS: Sixty-nine percent of wagers are on the Pacers -4.5.Comment
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Today's MLB Picks
St. Louis at Pittsburgh
The Cardinals look to salvage a game in the series as they face a Pirates team that is 0-8 in Charlie Morton's last 8 starts against St. Louis. The Cardinals are the pick (-110) according to Dunkel, which has St. Louis favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-110). Here are all of today's picks.
SUNDAY, MAY 11
Time Posted: 7:00 a.m. ESTGame 951-952: Philadelphia at NY Mets (1:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Hamels) 15.201; NY Mets (Niese) 14.363
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1; 8
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-120); 7
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (+100); OverGame 953-954: Colorado at Cincinnati (1:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Nicasio) 14.941; Cincinnati (Bailey) 16.907
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 2; 7
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-115); 8
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (-115); UnderGame 955-956: Chicago Cubs at Atlanta (1:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Jackson) 14.006; Atlanta (Harang) 15.003
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-190); 7
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-190); OverGame 957-958: San Francisco at LA Dodgers (4:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Hudson) 16.442; LA Dodgers (Kershaw) 15.314
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1; 5
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-175); 6
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (+155); UnderGame 959-960: Miami at San Diego (4:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Miami (Alvarez) 14.047; San Diego (Erlin) 16.154
Dunkel Line: San Diego by 2; 8
Vegas Line: San Diego (-110); 7
Dunkel Pick: San Diego (-110); OverGame 961-962: St. Louis at Pittsburgh (8:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: St. Louis (Miller) 16.097; Pittsburgh (Morton) 15.115
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1; 7
Vegas Line: Pittsburgh (-110); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-110); UnderGame 963-964: LA Angels at Toronto (1:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Weaver) 15.929; Toronto (Hutchison) 14.809
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Toronto (-120); 9
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (+100); OverGame 965-966: Minnesota at Detroit (1:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Deduno) 16.087; Detroit (Ray) 14.918
Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Detroit (-190); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+165); UnderGame 967-968: Houston at Baltimore (1:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Cosart) 15.427; Baltimore (Tillman) 14.899
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-170); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Houston (+150); UnderGame 969-970: Cleveland at Tampa Bay (1:40 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Tomlin) 14.232; Tampa Bay (Archer) 15.178
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-150); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-150); OverGame 971-972: Boston at Texas (3:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Boston (Lackey) 14.773; Texas (Ross) 15.631
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Boston (-115); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-105); UnderGame 973-974: Kansas City at Seattle (4:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Guthrie) 14.834; Seattle (Elias) 15.603
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Seattle (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (-120); OverGame 975-976: NY Yankees at Milwaukee (2:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Phelps) 14.237; Milwaukee (Garza) 15.795
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 1 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-130); 8
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (-130); UnderGame 977-978: Arizona at Chicago White Sox (2:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Anderson) 14.597; White Sox (Noesi) 15.667
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Arizona (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (-105); OverGame 929-930: Washington at Oakland (4:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Gonzalez) 15.603; Oakland (Kazmir) 14.690
Dunkel Line: Washington by 1; 6
Vegas Line: Oakland (-130); 7
Dunkel Pick: Washington (+110); UnderComment
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Today's NBA Picks
Indiana at Washington
The Wizards look to bounce back from their 85-63 loss in Game 3 as they host a Pacers team that is 0-7 ATS in its last 7 games following a SU win of more than 10 points. Washington is the pick (-4 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Wizards favored by 7 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Washington (-4 1/2). Here are all of today's playoff picks.
SUNDAY, MAY 11
Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. ESTGame 725-726: Oklahoma City at LA Clippers (3:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oklahoma City 124.155; LA Clippers 126.813
Dunkel Line & Total: LA Clippers by 2 1/2; 210
Vegas Line & Total: LA Clippers by 5; 215 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma City (+5); UnderGame 727-728: Indiana at Washington (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Indiana 118.004; Washington 125.324
Dunkel Line & Total: Washington by 7 1/2; 185
Vegas Line & Total: Washington by 4 1/2; 180
Dunkel Pick: Washington (-4 1/2); OverComment
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Today's NHL Picks
Pittsburgh at NY Rangers
The Penguins look to bounce back from their 5-1 loss in Game 5 and come into tonight's contest with a 7-1 record in their last 8 games after allowing 5 or more goals in the previous game. Pittsburgh is the pick (-105) according to Dunkel, which has the Penguins favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (-105). Here are all of today's playoff picks.
SUNDAY, MAY 11
Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. ESTGame 63-64: Minnesota at Chicago (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota 12.207; Chicago 13.209
Dunkel Line & Total: Chicago by 1; 4 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Chicago (-200); 5
Dunkel Pick: Chicago (-200); UnderGame 65-66: Pittsburgh at NY Rangers (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh 12.030; NY Rangers 11.214
Dunkel Line & Total: Pittsburgh by 1; 5 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: NY Rangers (-115); 5
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (-105); OverComment
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Thunder at Clippers: What bettors need to know
Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Clippers (-5, 214.5)
The Los Angeles Clippers are in must-win mode while the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder are in position to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series in Sunday’s Game 4. After the Clippers cruised to a 17-point road win in the opener, Oklahoma City has bounced back with two solid victories as Los Angeles struggles to slow the Thunder attack. Oklahoma City has averaged 115 points in its two victories and shot 55.7 percent from the field in Friday’s 118-112 triumph.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers says the defensive play needs to improve and point guard Chris Paul is gearing up for a battle to knot the series. “We definitely have got to play with a sense of urgency,” Paul told reporters. “We understand that it’s not over. It’s not time to hang our heads.” Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have played solid back-to-back games while power forward Serge Ibaka stepped up with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting in Game 3. “He plays with every ounce of fiber he has for his team,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of Ibaka. “He’s really developed a nice midrange shot.”
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Remember all that silliness about Durant being “Mr. Unreliable” at the beginning of the month? His play is certainly again superior to the headline writers in Oklahoma City after a superb 36-point, eight-rebounds, six-assist outing in Game 3. Durant is averaging 31 points, eight rebounds and 6.3 assists in the series while Westbrook is averaging 27.7 points, nine assists and 7.3 rebounds. Just as important in Game 3 was the play of Ibaka and backups like Caron Butler, Reggie Jackson and Steven Adams. Butler and Jackson scored 14 points apiece and Adams collected nine rebounds.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Los Angeles typically excels in transition but that has been an ingredient missing in this series due to substandard defense and poor rebounding. The Clippers have just 37 fast-break points and it is hard to get out and run the floor when you have been outrebounded by an average of 14.3 boards. “In this series so far, we really haven’t gotten in transition at all,” coach Doc Rivers told reporters on Saturday. “They have taken that away from us because they’re scoring on us. We’ve got to do a better job of getting stops in a row so we can get some kind of offensive rhythm in transition.”
TRENDS:
* Road team is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.
* Over is 11-4 in the last 15 meetings.
* Over is 7-0 in Clippers last seven home games.
* Clippers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Westbrook is shooting 58 percent from the field in the series after an accuracy rate of just 38.2 percent in the first round against Memphis.
2. Los Angeles PF Blake Griffin had his best outing of the series with 34 points and eight rebounds in Game 3.
3. Butler is 6-of-22 shooting in the series – 5-of-12 from 3-point range but only 1-of-10 from inside the arc.Comment
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Cappers Access
Thunder +5
Wizards -4.5
Blackhawks -1.5(+162)Comment
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Free Selection from Arthur Ralph Sports
Free Play Sun Red Sox -125 w/ LackeyComment
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MLB
Hot pitchers
-- Niese is 2-1, 1.01 in his last four starts.
-- Nicasio is 2-0, 0.75 in his last couple starts.
-- Kershaw is 2-0, 0.66 in two starts this season. Hudson is 2-1, 1.85 in his last three starts.
-- Alvarez is 2-0, 1.80 in his last four starts.
-- Miller is 4-0, 1.93 in his last five starts.
-- Weaver is 3-0, 1.78 in his last four starts.
-- Ray allowed one run in 5.1 IP in winning his first '14 start.
-- Cosart has a 2.29 RA in his last three starts.
-- Tomlin allowed one run in 6.2 IP in winning his first '14 start.
-- Lackey is 2-0, 2.05 in his last three starts.
-- Seattle won last three Elias starts (2-0, 3.79). Guthrie has a 3.00 RA in his last three starts.
-- Phelps allowed one run in 5.1 IP in his first '14 start.
-- Kazmir is 1-1, 2.95 in three home starts. Former Athletic Gonzalez is 1-1, 2.49 in his last four starts.
Cold pitchers
-- Hamels is 0-2, 7.02 in his three starts this season.
-- Bailey is 1-1, 4.95 in his last three starts.
-- Harang is 0-2, 10.97 in his last couple starts. Jackson is 1-1, 5.29 in his three away starts.
-- Erlin is 0-4, 5.76 in his last five starts.
-- Morton is 0-4, 5.01 in his last five starts.
-- Hutchison is 0-1, 4.44 in his last four starts.
-- Deduno allowed four runs in five IP in losing his first '14 start.
-- Tillman has a 7.16 RA in his last three starts, but Orioles won his last four outings, scoring 29 runs.
-- Archer is 0-0, 6.89 in his last three starts.
-- Ross is 0-3, 11.25 in his last four starts.
-- Garza is 2-2, 6.35 in his last six starts.
-- Anderson is making MLB debut; he was 4-2, 0.69 in six starts in AA. Noesi is 0-1, 5.19 in his two starts for the Pale Hose.
Pitchers allowing runs in first inning:
-- Hamels 0-3; Niese 2-6
-- Nicasio 3-7; Bailey 3-7
-- Jackson 3-7; Harang 0-7
-- Hudson 0-7; Kershaw 0-2
-- Alvarez 2-7; Erlin 3-6
-- Miller 0-7; Morton 0-7
-- Weaver 1-7; Hutchison 2-7
-- Deduno 1-1; Ray 0-1
-- Cosart 4-7; Tillman 2-7
--Tomlin 0-1; Archer 2-7
-- Lackey 3-7; Ross 2-7
-- Guthrie 3-7; Elias 1-7
-- Phelps 0-1; Garza 3-7
-- Anderson 0-0; Noesi 0-2
-- Gonzalez 3-7; Kazmir 2-7
Totals
-- Seven of last eleven Pittsburgh games went over total.
-- Eight of last ten games at Citi Field stayed under; seven of Philly's last nine road games went over.
-- Five of last seven Cincinnati games stayed under.
-- 12 of last 14 Atlanta home games stayed under.
-- Under is 11-3-1 in last fifteen San Francisco road games.
-- Eight of last ten Miami road games stayed under.
-- Under is 5-2-1 in last eight Baltimore games.
-- Nine of last twelve Toronto home games went over.
-- Seven of last nine Minnesota games stayed under.
-- Under is 5-2-1 in last eight Cleveland games.
-- Seven of last nine Boston games stayed under total.
-- Six of last nine Kansas City games went over.
-- Nine of last twelve Milwaukee games went over total.
-- Over is 13-7 in White Sox home games this season.
-- Over is 10-3-1 in Washington road games this season.
Hot teams
-- Phillies won last two games, allowing six runs.
-- Pittsburgh won six of its last eight games.
-- Rockies won ten of their last fourteen games.
-- Atlanta won three of its last four games.
-- San Francisco won 12 of its last 16 games.
-- Marlins won eight of last eleven games; they're 3-12 on road.
-- Orioles won eight of their last ten games.
-- Blue Jays won five of their last seven games. Angels are 5-3 in their last eight away games.
-- Detroit won nine of its last eleven games.
-- Indians won six of their last nine games.
-- Boston won five of its last seven games.
-- Mariners won five of their last seven home games.
-- Bronx won six of its last nine road games.
-- Arizona won seven of its last ten road games. White Sox won five of their last seven games overall.
-- Oakland won its last three games, allowing four runs.
Cold teams
-- Cardinals are 4-9 in their last thirteen road games.
-- Mets lost eight of their last nine games.
-- Cincinnati lost three of its last four games.
-- Cubs lost six of their last seven games.
-- Dodgers lost five of their last seven games.
-- San Diego lost seven of its last eleven games.
-- Astros lost nine of their last eleven games.
-- Minnesota lost four of its last five games.
-- Rays lost six of their last seven home games.
-- Rangers lost five of their last seven home games.
-- Kansas City lost seven of its last ten games.
-- Milwaukee lost seven of its last ten games.
-- Washington lost its last four away games.
Umpires
-- Phil-NY-- Five of last seven TWelke games stayed under.
-- Chi-Atl-- There are no trends for rookie umpire Buckminster.
-- Col-Cin-- Six of seven Eddings games stayed under total.
-- Mia-SD-- Favorites won last five Demuth games.
-- SF-LA-- Four of last five TBarrett games went over total.
-- StL-Pitt-- Favorites won four of last five BWelke games.
-- LA-Tor-- Five of six Basner games went over the total.
-- Min-Det-- Five of six Fagan games stayed under; underdog won last five.
-- Hst-Balt-- Six of eight HGibson games went over total.
-- Cle-TB-- All five Nauert games went over the total.
-- Bos-Tex-- Favorites won six of seven Carapazza games.
-- KC-Sea-- Five of six Pattillo games stayed under total.
-- NY-Mil-- Both of rookie ump Woodring's games went over.
-- Az-Chi-- Three of last four Wolcott games stayed under.
-- Wsh-A's-- Underdogs won five of six Barksdale games.Comment
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NBA
Sunday, May 11
Washington shot 33% in awful Game 3 loss; Beal/Nene were combined nine for 33 from floor. Home team won six of last eight Wizard-Pacer games- Indiana is 6-4 in playoffs so far; they've lost two of last three visits here. Under is 23-19-3 in Pacers' away games this season. Seven of last ten Wizard games went over the total- five of six series games this season stayed under the total. Hibbert had 42 points in last two games, after going scoreless in three of previous four.
Clippers were 17-53 from arc last two games, after going 15-29 in Game 1 win; Thunder won four of last five visits to Staples. OC's starters were -76 in Game 1, +69 in Game 2; subs were +28 last game, with LA's bench -31, making 9-28 from floor. Clippers are 2-5 vs OC this season. Over is 10-4 in last 13 series games, 26-19 in Clipper home tilts. Seven of last nine Thunder games went over total. Ibaka was 9-10 in last game; Jackson/Butler gave good bench support, going 9-18.
Over is 39-23 in playoffs this season, 8-4 in this round.
Favorites are 22-40 in playoffs this season, 6-6 in this round.Comment
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NHL
Sunday, May 11
New York scored pair of first period goals in both series wins; they didn't score in first period in any of three losses, were blanked twice. Rangers went 2-3 on power play Friday, ending 9-game drought while man up; they're still -33 in faceoffs last three games. Rangers are 4-5 vs Penguins this year, lost 13 of last 18 vs Penguins overall, going 2-7 in last nine played here. Over is 6-2-1 in series games this season. Pittsburgh is 4-1 on road in playoffs, but 1 of 15 on power play in series. Rangers are 25-22 at home this season, not great, 3-3 in playoffs- they need win to force Game 7. Penguins get some extra rest if they win this game.
Minnesota was down 2-0 in last round, rallied to upset Colorado; Friday was first time they scored in periods 1-2 in this series- they held Chicago to total of 83 shots in series- five of nine Chicago series goals came in third period. Wild is 1-5 on road in playoffs, only win being Game 7 in Denver last series. Chicago is 2-9 on power play in series. Over is 6-2-2 in last ten series games. Blackhawks are 34-12 at home this season, 5-0 in playoffs; in their last eleven games, over is 7-2-2. Minnesota is 2-13 on power play in series.Comment
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StatFox Super Situations
INDIANA at WASHINGTON
Play Against - Road underdogs (INDIANA) an average offensive team (92-98 PPG) against a poor defensive team (98-102 PPG), after allowing 90 points or less 2 straight games 69-34 since 1997. ( 67.0% | 31.6 units ) 2-0 this year. ( 100.0% | 2.0 units )
OKLAHOMA CITY at LA CLIPPERS
Play On - Home teams vs. the money line (LA CLIPPERS) off a home loss, on Sunday games 103-59 over the last 5 seasons. ( 63.6% | 42.8 units ) 24-11 this year. ( 68.6% | 10.2 units )
OKLAHOMA CITY at LA CLIPPERS
Play On - Favorites vs. the 1rst half line (LA CLIPPERS) in a game involving two poor defensive teams (98-102 PPG) after 42+ games, after allowing 110 points or more 108-59 since 1997. ( 64.7% | 43.1 units ) 17-11 this year. ( 60.7% | 4.9 units )Comment
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ANTHONY MICHAEL
#725 Oklahoma City Thunder +5 (3:30 edt)
The Thunder looked very strong in game 3 and that momentum will have them ready to play here. They are comfortable playing the Clippers since they have covered 7 of the last 10 against them and the Clippers defense does not seem to have an answer for the OKC offense. Take this generous amount of points with the Thunder here.Comment
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Wild at Blackhawks: What bettors need to know
Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks (-199, 5)
The Minnesota Wild attempt to buck the trend in their Western Conference second-round series when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for Game 5 on Sunday. The home team has won each of the first four games in the matchup, with Chicago capturing the first two by a combined margin of six goals and Minnesota taking the next two by the same differential. The pattern was similar in the first round for the Wild, as the home club claimed each of the first six contests before Minnesota posted an overtime victory in Game 7 over the Avalanche in Colorado.
The reigning Stanley Cup-champion Blackhawks struggled at Xcel Energy Center, scoring a total of two goals in the two defeats. Chicago has lost two in a row for the second time this postseason, which it opened with a pair of overtime losses in St. Louis before reeling off six consecutive victories. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon helped the Wild even the series on Friday, registering a power-play goal and an assist as Minnesota improved to 5-0 at home in the playoffs while Chicago dropped to 1-4 on the road.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CNBC, TSN, RDS2
ABOUT THE WILD: Left wing Matt Moulson will miss his second straight game and defenseman Keith Ballard also will be sidelined as neither made the trip to the Windy City due to undisclosed injuries. Nate Prosser likely will replace Ballard, as he appeared in Minnesota's first nine games this postseason before being a healthy scratch for the last two. Matt Cooke made an impact in his return from a seven-game suspension on Friday, registering an assist as well as a game-high five hits.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Chicago will be without center Andrew Shaw for the fourth consecutive contest due to a lower-body injury, which he suffered in the series opener. Left wing Brandon Bollig also is unavailable as he received a two-game suspension for boarding Ballard late in the second period of Game 4. Marian Hossa hopes to continue his torrid pace in the series as he has collected a goal and seven assists over the first four contests.
TRENDS:
* Wild are 1-7 in the last eight meetings in Chicago.
* Home team is 7-0 in the last seven meetings.
* Over is 15-6-5 in Wild last 26 overall.
* Blackhawks are 6-2 in their last eight vs. Central.
OVERTIME:
1. Chicago is a perfect 5-0 at home this postseason, while Minnesota is 1-5 on the road.
2. Three of the nine players with more than one game-winning goal in the playoffs are participating in this series. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews shared the league lead with three, while teammate Patrick Kane and Wild RW Nino Niederreiter have two apiece.
3. The Blackhawks have been held to fewer than 23 shots in each game of the series.Comment
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