Wednesday play...

2-1, +$90

Minnesota Timberwolves -2, laying $110 to win $100 -- I HATE to be fading the best and hottest team in the league right now and I generally don't fade teams playing their 4th game in 5 nights while on the Road that 4th game, but PORT has had 2 very, very difficult games in the the last 3 days as they erased a double-digit 4Q deficit at Detroit and beat them in OT with a Lillard buzzer-beater and then Lillard did it again last night at CLE as the Blazers won at the buzzer in a hard-fought back-and-forth game against the Cavaliers...And now they face the T'Wolves...Minny has been a good 1st-half-of-the-season team (the past few years when Kevin Love is healthy) and even though I think they are under-achieving slightly this season, tonight is a good spot for them to step up and beat the best team in the league (right now) on their home floor...

GL...

Also, if Lebron doesn't play, I like Indy and the Under, if LeBron does play, I like Miami and I will still pick the Under...I like my top 4 totals a lot and if Lebron doesn't play, I like my top 5 totals...Knicks under a solid play because Tyson Chandler returns tonight while OJ Mayo is out for MILW...Sac/Atl under good play because SAC is having issues with the offense getting Ruday Gay involved...Port/Min over, well, PORT is playing, need I say more?...NO/LAC over as there is a strong chart-play to the Over for the Clips as they have kicked their offense in gear big-time the last 2 games...

Sides:

1) Min, 2) Ind, 3) Was, 4) Char, 5) Det, 6) Atl, 7) Chi, 8) NY, 9) Dal, 10) SA, 11) Utah, 12) NO

Totals:

1) Atl un, 2) Min ov, 3) NY un, 4) NO ov, 5) Ind un, 6) Dal un, Char un, 8) Chi un, 9) Det un, 10) Was ov, 11) Utah un, 12) SA un

Tuesday...

I actually like a lot of plays tonight, so we'll see how well I am (or am not) seeing it right now in the NBA as I have been heating up with the exception of that last total play...

Cleveland Cavaliers +4.5, laying $110 to win $100 -- I also made a small play on the moneyline for CLE...The Cavs have finally been playing up to expectations the past 2 weeks after playing horribly the first 5 weeks...They have won 4 straight games at home against 2 good teams (DEN & LAC) and 2 other teams that were supposed to be good this year (CHI & NY)...This is an odd spot here to fade Portland, too...Portland is the last team in the league that has not had a NC (not cover) 2 games in a row this season...Tonight starts Week 8 of the season...So they have gone 7 weeks without ever Not Covering 2 games in a row...Indy was right with them until they lost to DET last night, so the Pacers have their FIRST NC2 streak of the year now at the end of Week 7...Every team but 3 in the league had a NC2 by the end of Week 3...PORT, Indy and (surprisingly) PHOE made it through 5 weeks without a NC2...I don't have time to check my database to see how many teams in the past 30 years made it into Week 8 without a NC2, but I doubt it is very many...This looks like a good spot to me for PORT to get their first NC2 as Cleveland is playing much better basketball the past 2 weeks as evidenced by their comeback against the Heat in Miami their last time out as they erased a 19-point deficit on the road to come back and take the lead in the 4th Quarter against the Heat until Miami won the game in the final 2 minutes...

GL...

Tuesday's Rankings:

Sides:

1) Cle, 2) Den, 3) LAL, 4) Sac, 5) NO

Totals:

1) Sac un, 2) LAL un, 3) Cle ov, 4) NO un, 5) Den un

Play #2 for the season...

Houston/Sacramento Over 213.5, laying $110 to win $100 -- The recent trade for Rudy Gay set up a new starting lineup that has Isaiah Thomas as the starting point guard now...And Thomas LOVES to run...He has started the last 3 games and scored 24, 20 & 29 points and the 29 came in Rudy Gay's first game as he couldn't play until all 7 players in that trade passed a physical...All 3 games were Overs and the Kings have gone Over 5 straight games now...And Houston?...Yeah, last time I checked, they also like to run and gun and welcome a fast PACE and oh by the way, the Rockets are 2nd in the league in PPG (and were 1st in PPG until Saturday night when PORT scored 139 vs. my Sixers to overtake the Rockets to move up to #1 in that category by a whisker)...I don't expect this game to be as easy an Over as the Port/Phi game was Saturday night, but I do expect this game to get into the 220's...

GL...

First play of the NBA 2013-14 season...

Indiana Pacers -3.5, laying $110 to win $100 -- This is the Pacers' SuperBowl tonight...This game has been circled on their calendar since the NBA schedule was released...And now we catch a perfect storm of strong trends all falling the Pacers' way tonight...Not only is this a Statement Game for the Pacers, it is also a revenge game as the Heat eliminated them from the playoffs last season and this is their first meeting since that elimination AND we have the Pacers off their worst loss of the season, getting trounced by the Thunder on Sunday, so it's a strong bounce-back spot...Everything points to the Pacers winning this game by 7 to 10 points tonight...

GL...

Denver a 28-point favorite in Week 6...

I don't know how many people remember the old betting tickets of the mid to late 1970s that people used to pass around at work and you'd have to pick a minimum of 4 games against the spread in college or Pro football and if you won all 4, I think you won $10 for every $1 bet on the ticket...My dad used to bring those home and I remember being fascinated by these things as I was always hell-bent on trying to win $10 for a $1 play...I was just a kid back then...

I was 10 years old in 1976 when the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-12) went to Pittsburgh (8-4) to play the 2-time defending SuperBowl champion Steelers...

And I am 99% sure that line was 28 points...When I heard on SportsCenter earlier tonight that this Jags/Broncos line opened at 28 points and was the biggest line ever, I immediately flashed on that ticket from 1976...I don't know what the "official" Vegas line opened at or went off at, but I remember seeing a 28 on that ticket...But considering those tickets were printed on Monday or Tuesday and passed around on Tuesday or Wednesday, I think it is safe to say that was an Opening line...

And the Steelers won that game 42-0 and it wasn't even that close as Terry Bradshaw didn't even play the 4th quarter as it was 42-0 after 3 quarters...

So ok, the Jags aren't an expansion team, but they sure are playing like one...And the Broncos aren't a 2-time defending SuperBowl champ, but they sure are playing like one...

Just saying...

Final Game of Year...

So of course worst of both worlds for me as the heat win but don't cover...I was driving home from work when it was halftime and missed the 2H line, which, of course, Miami covered...

I don't see how San Antonio recovers from that loss...With 28 seconds left, it was OVER...LeBron bricks a 3, but they get the offensive rebound and LeBron nails the three with 20 seconds left to cut it to 2 and then a 2nd crucial missed FT for SA by Leonard (Ginobili missed one with about 37 seconds left) left the door open for Miami to tie it and again, it was an offensive rebound that led to the Ray Allen game-tying 3 and then it was off to OT...

But, if any team can bounce back from a heart-breaking loss like that, I guess it is the Spurs...problem is that Miami played poorly TUE night and the Spurs didn't put them away...I think the Heat will play well tonight and blow them out...I am not touching the Game Line though, I'll wait and see if the 2H line has any value...

Final game bet of the year...

Obviously, I have been very dormant for months as I just noticed my last post was in March...Well that's because I am involved in 3 area local baseball leagues and March 11 was the week I started doing the schedule for 2 local leagues (1 with a lot of teams in it) and I have been swamped ever since...

I still have been playing 2H plays off and on the past 3 months...

But I have one last play for 2012-13:

Miami Heat -7, laying $105 to win $100 -- The line is not over the only "key" number in the NBA, which is 7 (right on it, obviously), so I am taking the Heat...The heat have been money this postseason in bounce-back games as they are 5-0 SU & ATS, winning every one of these games by double-digits...And they seem especially potent after getting blown out, which, is what pretty much happened Sunday night...I'll ride the Heat bounce-back angle one final time this postseason, as I expect this series to go to a Game 7...

GL...