4-24-15

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ROBERT FERRINGO (NBA PLAYOFFS)

3-Unit Play. Take #739 Houston (+1) at Dallas (7:00 p.m., Friday, April 24)

2-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 215.5 Houston at Dallas (7:00 p.m., Friday, April 24)

Houston has done a nice job of getting everybody involved offensively and used a rejuvenated Dwight Howard to spark a second half surge and a 2-0 series lead. They head into Dallas tonight with thoughts of a sweep and the status of the Mavs locker room is in series doubt. Dallas acquired Rondo at the trade deadline with hopes of getting to another conference or even NBA finals. There has been little to write home about since they got him due to a lack of cohesion with him and egomaniac coach Rick Carlisle. Carlisle has gone as far as saying that he doesn’t think Rondo will ever put the Mavs uniform on again answering with a hard ?NO!? when asked that exact question. No Rondo, No Chandler Parsons, an aging Dirk and Tyson Chandler, and overall disarray will lead to the Mavericks exit. The Rockets are 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings,5-1 ATS in their last 6 overall, 6-0 ATS in the last 6 quarterfinal games, and the under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings. Rockets go to 3-0 and mover towards what ultimately Carlisle and the Dallas brass may want which is a fresh start in 15-16. Houston 110-90

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DOC SPORTS (NBA PLAYOFFS)

4-Unit Play #739 Take Houston +1 over Dallas (7 p.m. EST, Friday) Can’t believe we are getting this line with the Rockets tonight as we had them handicapped as 6-point favorites after the way the Mavericks played such a stinker in their last game. Nowitzki looks old and does not seem to have any fire this postseason. The loss of Parsons hurts the Mavs big time. The Rondo situation is bizarre and a huge distraction. All the while the Rockets are just getting it done with ruthless efficiency and Dwight Howard seems to be back in game shape and has been a beast on the inside in this series. There are a lot of mismatches in these first-round series this year and we thought if the Mavs were to play a solid game it would come in Game 2, but that was anything but solid and the Rockets come into this Game 3 with all the confidence and momentum.

3-Unit Play #742 Take Washington -4.5 over Toronto (8 p.m. EST, Friday) This is another series we see ending early. The Wizards were inconsistent all season but this team is built for the playoffs and they have been as impressive as any team thus far. They have the size, the strong defense and the star player in John Wall. We actually thought that this line would be about a point higher and we would still back the Wizards at that number. Did not like the body language of this Raptors team in the second half of Game 2 and we just think the Wizards take care of business here and score another comfortable win in this series to put the Raptors on the brink of elimination.

4-Unit Play #743 Take LA Clippers +4.5 over San Antonio (9:30 p.m. EST, Friday) We have been behind the Clippers in both games thus far and won’t stop backing them here despite their Game 2 collapse in overtime. We just think that these teams are more even than the oddsmakers think. We think the series line here was out of whack and that the game lines, including this Game 3 number, are shaded towards the Spurs who are a lot more popular than the Clippers. But we see these teams as vary even and still think the Clippers have a great chance to win this series. We think both of these games in San Antonio will be close and we expect LA to steal one on the road so taking the points is the only way to go here for Game 3.

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INDIAN COWBOY (NBA PLAYOFFS)

5-Unit Play. #739. Take Over 214 Houston vs. Dallas (Friday @ 7:05pm est) With no Rondo look for Dallas to have a strong effort today. Look for Dallas to have a much better effort across the board today on the offensive end as this team will likely gel together and come together as a squad without him and consequently this game has a great tendency to go over this evening. Note that without Rondo Dallas has actually played better offensively, are likely to be a good underdog here and this game consequently has the chance to likely go over the posted total. No Rondo means increased pace, a team that comes together that is glad to see him go, more players getting involved with the offense, this team looking to avoid getting into a big hole and all that plays this team playing to the Over this evening.

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OC Dooley

2 Units Blue Jays / Rays Over 7.5

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Diamond Dog Sports

#903/904: Nationals/Marlins: Over 7.5 (+110) (2*)
Zimmermann/Latos

#907/908: Cardinals/Brewers: Over 7.5 (-110) (0.5*)
Martinez/Garza

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Dom The Dominator

NBA Rockets PK over Mavs

NBA Raptors+4 1/2 over Wizards

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Larry Ness' 10* Run-Line Game of the Month-AL

My 10* Run-Line Game of the Month (AL) is on the Sea Mariners at 10:10 ET.
Phil Hughes was a HUGE disappointment with the Yankees (56-50, 4.47 ERA in seven seasons) but shocked almost all by going 16-10 (3.52) in his first season with the Twins in 2014, as Minnesota went 20-12 in his starts, giving him MLB’s 4th-best moneyline mark (plus-$1,201). However, Hughes has opened 0-3 in 2015, allowing 24 hits in 18.2 innings for a 5.30 ERA and WHIP 1.39 WHIP (helped by allowing just TWO walks), while opponents are batting .308 against him (OBA was .268 in 2014). Slow starts are nothing new for the 28-year-old, as April is far and away his worst career month with a 6-15 record and 6.05 ERA in 31 starts. The Twins have opened 6-9 but 2-7 on the road, getting outscored on average, 5,1-to-2.44 RPG.
Minnesota opens a three-game weekend series in Seattle and while the Mariners are also just 6-9 (including 4-5 at home) PLUS own a 4.83 team ERA (ranking 28th out of 30 teams), the Twins will have to face “King Felix” in this one. Hernandez (2-0, 2.37 ERA) has made two home starts in 2015, sandwiching one in Oakland. He has allowed two runs and four hits in 14 innings at home. Dating to his last 2014 start at Safeco, he's 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA and .082 opponent batting average while striking out 29 in 19.1 innings. The right-hander is 10-2 in his last 15 home starts dating to May 23 and among pitchers with at least 10 home starts in that time, he leads the majors with a 1.56 ERA and 0.77 WHIP.
Hernandez is a modest 7-5 in 16 career appearances against Minnesota (Mariners are only 9-7) but that 2.08 ERA is nothing to sneeze at. “King Felix” has DOMINATED Minnesota recently, going 3-0 with an 0.79 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in four starts over the previous three seasons. The Twins haven't won a road series since taking two of three in Houston from August 11-13 of last season, going 0-7-1 in eight series, since (8-18 in games). Getting a series win here in Seattle will almost assuredly mean winning Saturday and Sunday, as Seattle wins tonight, “with room to spare!”