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Game of the Day: Thunder at Spurs
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs (-4.5, 206)
Oklahoma City got Serge Ibaka back and suddenly won consecutive games to get back into the Western Conference finals. Now the Thunder look to see if they can keep the momentum going when they visit the San Antonio Spurs in Thursday’s Game 5. San Antonio crushed Oklahoma City by an average of 26 points in the opening two games on its home floor before Ibaka returned from a calf injury and the Thunder turned the tide.
San Antonio let a 2-0 lead get away against Oklahoma City in the 2012 conference finals and is hoping to keep a similar thing from happening this time around. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich waved the white flag in the middle of the third quarter with his team down 27 in hopes of getting veterans Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker enough rest to make a Game 5 turnaround. Thunder forward Kevin Durant can’t explain his team’s sudden switch in fortunes but is aware the task will be tougher in San Antonio. “We’re going to have to ramp it up a little bit more going into San Antonio, but we just focus on game by game,” Durant told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s all we think about.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, TNT
LINE HISTORY: The Spurs opened as 4.5-point home faves with the total opening 206.
INJURY UPDATE: Thunder - G Reggie Jackson (Questionable, ankle).
WHAT THE SHARPS SAY: "Oklahoma City got Serge Ibaka back and suddenly won consecutive games to get back into the Western Conference finals. Now the Thunder look to see if they can keep the momentum going when they visit the San Antonio Spurs in Thursday’s Game 5. San Antonio crushed Oklahoma City by an average of 26 points in the opening two games on its home floor before Ibaka returned from a calf injury and the Thunder turned the tide." Covers Expert Steve Merril.
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Durant may have be the league MVP but running mate Russell Westbrook was easily the best player on the floor in Game 4. Westbrook had 40 points – three shy of his postseason high set against Miami in the 2012 NBA Finals – to go with 10 assists and five steals in a scintillating performance. “I’m not surprised at all,” Durant told reporters. “I almost expected him to go out there and play at a high level every time he goes out on the floor.” Westbrook played 45 minutes and committed just three turnovers – the Thunder had seven as a team – and helped Oklahoma City to a 21-0 edge in fast-break points.
ABOUT THE SPURS: Popovich was highly disappointed in his club’s Game 4 showing and the effort was so alarming that even soft-spoken forward Kawhi Leonard spoke out. “We were just not focused coming out,” Leonard told reporters. “We’re not playing consistently throughout the whole game. We’re playing in spurts or increments. We’ve just got to play the whole game.” The presence of Ibaka has negated the inside presence edge San Antonio enjoyed in the first two games but that is far from being the only dropoff for the Spurs. “I don’t know what it is,” Duncan said after the defeat, “but we need to fix it quick and go home and try to turn it around.”
TRENDS:
* Thunder are 12-3-1 ATS in the last 16 meetings.
* Under is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
* Spurs are 6-0 ATS in their last six home games.
* Under is 5-1 in Spurs last six overall.
COVERS CONSENSUS: Fifty-three percent of wagers at Covers Consensus are coming in on the Spurs. -
Thunder-Spurs Game 5: The game inside the game
By DAVID MALINSKY
When two of the top three teams in the NBA are tied 2-2 in a playoff series, one would normally expect there to have been a high amount of drama, and four games worth of solid data points to work with. Not this time. Instead there is a haystack filled with needles, and the key to breaking down Game #5 is to sort through it without pricking a finger, with much of the play-by-play of this series statistically useless.
Tuesday in Oklahoma City there was no drama and no mystery – the Thunder were by far the more aggressive team, and physically dominated the Spurts to the point of an early Gregg Popovich towel-toss. The presence of Serge Ibaka had an even greater impact on the San Antonio offensive flow, and Kevin Durant was splendidly efficient with the ball (31 points out of 22 FG attempts, five assists and no TO’s), but the biggest story was Russell Westbrook, who set the tone on both ends of the court.
Westbrook’s line of 40 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals belongs in the penthouse of NBA playoff performances, and the numbers did not lie. He exerted tremendous defensive pressure, an energy that was contagious to the rest of the team, and by halftime OKC already had seven steals and six blocked shots. Take particular note of the former – the Spurs only had seven turnovers in the half, each of them was a Thunder steal, and they led to a barrage of easy transition points.
One of the eternal challenges in handicapping is giving the proper weighting to which side of an offense/defense equation caused a one-sided performance. The old conundrum is whether it was “Good Defense or Bad Offense”, and of course “Good Offense or Bad Defense”. This time it was not much of a riddle - for the game there were only 13 San Antonio turnovers, but 12 of them were OKC steals, and fast break points were 21-0 to the victors. The Spurs also made 44 percent of the shots that were not swatted away, which is not bad offense. Of course like the previous games in the series, the overall numbers again lack merit, because the 4th quarter was again relegated to being little more than a scrimmage. But it was only a scrimmage for one team, which leads to a crucial issue as they now head to Texas.
Popovich accepted the outcome mid-way through the third quarter – Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green left at 6:46, Tim Duncan at 5:33 and Kawhi Leonard at 4:40, none of them to return. When asked about that as one of the first post-game questions Pops answered quickly with a one-word sentence – “Thursday”. Imagine what the box score would have looked like if frozen at Leonard’s departure, which was the culmination of a 76-41 OKC run, after falling behind 8-0 at the start.
Popovich has real X’s and O’s challenges ahead. For all of his mastery of the NBA chess-board he does not have ready answers when the Thunder play with that much defensive passion. But in keeping his key players fresh for the return home, he may have been handed an edge by Scott Brooks.
Westbrook played 45:29 on Tuesday, Durant 41:12, and even Ibaka 34:54. Some of that was discussed here in the prelude to that game – having had three days off before Game #3, and then a non-taxing affair, Brooks was in a prime position to play his starters long minutes. But why did he? That key trio did not leave the court for good until the 1:06 mark, Westbrook having played the entire fourth quarter to that point, and Durant logging 8:40 in the stanza.
That “why” could become the prime Game #5 storyline. The OKC win was based on energy, not intricacy, and what happens to the gas tank off of those minutes? Brooks was also risking injury, especially to Ibaka, and he wasted an opportunity to get Thabo Sefolosha back on the court, to try to have him re-gain some confidence. What if Reggie Jackson’s ankle is not ready for big-time minutes, and they need quality time from Sefolosha?
Tuesday may have been the best game Westbrook ever played, and perhaps the best from the Thunder under Brooks. But did the coach get so caught up in the moment that he might have created a negative impact for Thursday night? That should be one of your prime pieces as you begin to build the Game #5 handicapping puzzle. There has yet to been a game in this series that was competitive to crunch time; if that happens this time has OKC wasted some of its staying power for such an affair?Comment
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Thunder look to keep rolling with Ibaka
By ANDREW AVERY
Evidently, the San Antonio Spurs have a problem when Serge Ibaka is suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to a tweet from @ESPNStatsInfo, the Thunder are 6-0 straight up versus the Spurs this season. Furthermore, the Thunder are 6-0 against the spread in those games.
Ibaka missed the first two games of the series after it was thought that he'd be absent for the remainder of the Thunder's playoff run. But the big man returned the lineup for Game 3 and made an immediate impact with 15 points, seven boards and four blocks.
Serge and the Thunder are currently 4.5-point road dogs in Game 5 Thursday.Comment
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Canadiens at Rangers: What bettors need to know
Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers (-172, 5)
Rangers lead series 3-2.
Although he recorded his first career postseason hat trick on Tuesday, Rene Bourque wasn't done taking shots at the New York Rangers. "Everybody talks about how he's a great goalie," Bourque said of Henrik Lundqvist following the Montreal Canadiens' 7-4 triumph in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final. "Has he been better than (Montreal's Dustin Tokarski) this series? I don't think so." Lundqvist looks to silence Bourque and the Canadiens in Game 6 on Thursday as New York attempts to end the chippy series and advance to its first Stanley Cup final in 20 years.
Derek Stepan scored two goals in his return from a one-game absence due to surgery for a broken jaw. Stepan received his injury following a brutal hit from former Ranger Brandon Prust, who served his two-game suspension and is eligible to return on Thursday. Speaking of suspensions, John Moore received a two-game ban on Wednesday for his blindside open-ice hit on Montreal's Dale Weise midway through the third period of Game 5.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE CANADIENS: Bourque has provided quite the boost with his unexpected offense, scoring a team-leading eight goals in the playoffs after mustering just nine in 63 games during the regular season. Lars Eller is also raising some eyebrows as his two assists in Game 5 increased his point total to 13 - most among Montreal forwards. Eller struggled mightily during the end of the regular season, notching just six points in his last 35 contests.
ABOUT THE RANGERS: Ryan McDonagh continues to haunt the Canadiens by adding two assists in Game 5 to increase his point total to nine in five games in the series. McDonagh, who was acquired from Montreal as part of a seven-player deal that included Scott Gomez in 2009, recorded just three points in the previous 14 contests of the playoffs. With Moore sidelined, blue-liner Raphael Diaz is expected to be inserted into the lineup for the first time since playing two games during the second-round series versus Pittsburgh.
TRENDS:
* Under is 8-2-4 in the last 14 meetings.
* Canadiens are 1-4 in their last five games following a win.
* Over is 4-1-3 in Canadiens last eight road games.
* Under is 11-4-3 in Rangers last 18 vs. a team with a winning record.
OVERTIME:
1. Montreal G Carey Price spent time on the ice for the third straight day on Wednesday. He worked on lateral pushes with his skates and butterfly drops.
2. Lundqvist answered being pulled in Game 6 of the first-round set versus Philadelphia by stopping 26-of-27 shots in New York's series-clinching victory.
3. The Rangers have not won a playoff series in fewer than seven games since the 2008 Eastern Conference first-round series against New Jersey.Comment
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Rangers open as -190 faves for Game 5
By STEPHEN CAMPBELL
According to SportsInteraction, the New York Rangers have opened as -190 faves for Game 5 of the NHL Eastern Conference Final versus the Montreal Canadiens.
After coming up short in a wild Game 4 in Montreal, the books appear confident New York will bounce back at home. The Rangers, who have not been to the Cup Final since they last sipped from Lord Stanley's mug in 1994, have a 3-2 series lead and can punch their ticket to the final Thursday night.
The Habs could provide great value for betters as road dogs in Game 5. They're riding a wave of momentum after putting seven goals on the board at home while taking the Rangers to overtime in two of their last three games.Comment
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Cappers Access
Thunder +4
Phillies -120Comment
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MLB
Hot pitchers
-- Buchanan won his first MLB start, allowing two runs in five IP.
-- Vogelsong is 3-1, 1.64 in his last six starts.
-- Cole is 2-1, 3.86 in his last four starts.
-- Rangers won last three Martinez starts (1-0, 1.64 in last two). Deduno is 1-1, 3.09 in his last two starts.
-- Porcello is 6-1, 3.80 in his last seven starts.
-- Shields is 3-0, 2.67 in his last four starts. Dickey is 4-1, 3.89 in his last six.
-- Shoemaker is 2-0, 3.38 in his three starts.
-- Minor is 2-1, 2.29 in his last three starts.
Cold pitchers
-- Wheeler is 0-2, 6.88 in his last three starts.
-- Garcia has a 4.26 RA in his first two '14 starts.
-- Cingrani is 0-2, 6.19 in his last three starts. Collmenter has a 5.59 RA in his last five starts, but won his last two.
-- Haren is 1-3, 5.76 in his last four starts.
-- Chavez is 2-2, 4.50 in his last four starts.
-- Jimenez is 0-2, 10.00 in his last couple starts. Peacock is 1-3, 5.09 in his six starts this season.
-- Maurer is 0-3, 8.22 in his last three starts.
-- Peavy is 0-2, 6.59 in his last five starts.
Pitchers allowing runs in first inning:
-- Wheeler 4-10; Buchanan 0-1
-- Vogelsong 1-10; Garcia 1-2
-- Cingrani 5-8 (5 of last 5); Collmenter 4-8 (4 of last 5)
-- Cole 3-10; Haren 4-10 (4 of last 5)
-- Martinez 1-4; Deduno 2-4
-- Porcello 4-9; Chavez 4-10
-- Shields 1-11; Dickey 1-11
-- Jimenez 4-10; Peacock 2-6
-- Shoemaker 0-3; Maurer 2-6
-- Minor 1-5; Peavy 1-10
Totals
-- Four of last five Wheeler road starts went over total.
-- Last eight Vogelsong starts stayed under the total.
-- Eight of last ten Arizona games stayed under total.
-- Under is 7-1 in Pittsburgh's last eight road games.
-- Over is 5-2-1 in last eight Texas road games.
-- Nine of last ten Detroit games went over the total.
-- Under is 5-2 in last seven Toronto home games.
-- Three of four Peacock home starts went over.
-- Under is 9-4-2 in last fifteen Angel games.
-- Five of six Peavy home starts stayed under total.
Hot teams
-- Phillies are 5-3 in their last eight home games.
-- San Francisco won seven of its last nine games. Cardinals won ten of their last fourteen games.
-- Arizona won four of its last five home games.
-- Dodgers won six of their last nine games.
-- Rangers won six of their last eight games.
-- A's won eight of their last ten home games, lost five of last seven overall.
-- Toronto won last nine games, scored 22 runs in last three.
-- Houston won its last five games.
-- Angels won 13 of their last 19 games.
-- Red Sox won their last three games,scoring 18 runs.
Cold teams
-- Mets lost nine of their last fourteen games, but won last two.
-- Reds lost ten of last fourteen road games.
-- Pirates lost 16 of their last 20 road games.
-- Detroit lost eight of its last ten games.
-- Royals lost six of their last eight games.
-- Minnesota lost five of its last six games.
-- Orioles lost six of their last seven road games.
-- Mariners are 6-7 in their last thirteen home games.
-- Atlanta is 6-9 in its last fifteen games.Comment
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Today's MLB Picks
Detroit at Oakland
The A's wrap up their series with Detroit today and come into the contest with a 4-0 record in Jesse Chavez' last 4 starts as a favorite of -110 to -150. Oakland is the pick (-145) according to Dunkel, which has the A's favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Oakland (-145). Here are all of today's picks.
THURSDAY, MAY 29
Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. ESTGame 951-952: NY Mets at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Wheeler) 15.438; Philadelphia (Buchanan) 14.399
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1; 7
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-120); 8
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (+100); UnderGame 953-954: San Francisco at St. Louis (8:15 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Vogelsong) 15.482; St. Louis (Garcia) 16.730
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: St. Louis (-150); 7
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-150); OverGame 955-956: Cincinnati at Arizona (9:40 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Cingrani) 15.371; Arizona (Collmenter) 14.546
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Arizona (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (-105); UnderGame 957-958: Pittsburgh at LA Dodgers (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Cole) 14.522; LA Dodgers (Haren) 16.157
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-125); 7
Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-125); OverGame 959-960: Texas at Minnesota (1:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Martinez) 16.116; Minnesota (Deduno) 14.582
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Minnesota (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Texas (+100); OverGame 961-962: Detroit at Oakland (3:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Porcello) 14.989; Oakland (Chavez) 16.318
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 1 1/2; 6
Vegas Line: Oakland (-145); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (-145); UnderGame 963-964: Kansas City at Toronto (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Shields) 14.980; Toronto (Dickey) 16.716
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 2; 7
Vegas Line: Toronto (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (-120); UnderGame 965-966: Baltimore at Houston (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Jimenez) 15.213; Houston (Peacock) 16.340
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1; 10
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-135); 9
Dunkel Pick: Houston (+115); OverGame 967-968: LA Angels at Seattle (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Shoemaker) 14.472; Seattle (Maurer) 15.691
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/AGame 969-970: Atlanta at Boston (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta (Minor) 14.122; Boston (Peavy 15.763
Dunkel Line: Boston by 1 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Boston (-120); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-120); OverComment
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Today's NBA Picks
Oklahoma City at San Antonio
The Thunder head back to San Antonio tonight after evening up the series with a 105-92 win in Game 4 and face a Spurs team that is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. Oklahoma City is the pick (+4 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Spurs favored by only 1. Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma City (+4 1/2). Here are all of today's playoff picks.
THURSDAY, MAY 29
Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. ESTGame 519-520: Oklahoma City at San Antonio (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oklahoma City 127.486; San Antonio 128.598
Dunkel Line & Total: San Antonio by 1; 202
Vegas Line & Total: San Antonio by 4 1/2; 206
Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma City (+4 1/2); UnderComment
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Today's NHL Picks
Montreal at NY Rangers
The Canadiens stayed alive in the series with a 7-4 win in Game 5 and come into tonight's contest carrying a 6-2 record in their last 8 games after scoring 5 goals or more in their previous game. Montreal is the pick (+160) according to Dunkel, which has the Canadiens favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Montreal (+160). Here are all of today's playoff picks.
THURSDAY, MAY 29
Time Posted: 8:00 a.m. ESTGame 21-22: Montreal at NY Rangers (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Montreal 13.239; NY Rangers 12.134
Dunkel Line & Total: Montreal by 1; 6
Vegas Line & Total: NY Rangers (-180); 5
Dunkel Pick: Montreal (+160); OverComment
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WNBA Basketball Picks
Connecticut at Indiana
The Sun (1-3) head to Indiana tonight to take on a Fever team that is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games against a team with a losing record. Connecticut is the pick (+6) according to Dunkel, which has the Fever favored by only 2 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Connecticut (+6). Here are all of today's WNBA picks.
THURSDAY, MAY 29
Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. ESTGame 601-602: Connecticut at Indiana (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Connecticut 107.358; Indiana 110.038
Dunkel Line & Total: Indiana by 2 1/2; 134
Vegas Line & Total: Indiana by 6; 142
Dunkel Pick: Connecticut (+6); UnderComment
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Gamblers Data
Free Plays Thursday
Braves -105
Giants +125Comment
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Free Selection from Arthur Ralph Sports
Free Play Thurs: OVER 206 Spurs/Ok CityComment
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NBA
Thursday, May 29
Oklahoma City is 6-2 vs Spurs this year, 6-0 when Ibaka plays, 0-2 if he does not; Spurs shot 39.6%/39.8% in last two games, after making 58%, 50% in two series games here, with Ibaka out. OC has now won 12 of last 16 games with San Antonio, is 8-0 in last eight series games played here. Thunder was +17 in turnovers last two games. Nine of last twelve series games stayed under total. Home team covered eight of nine games in this round of playoffs so far. Lot of pressure on Spurs here; they led Thunder 2-0 two years ago, then lost in six games, when they had won 20 games in a row.
Over is 46-35 in playoffs this season, 4-5 in this round..
Favorites are 32-49 in playoffs this season, 8-1 in this round.Comment
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