futures

[DuckDogs]

Eastern conference - give me some of the pacers +1000

They seem to give miami fits, with the uncertainty about rose for the bulls, the Knicks?????

Why not @ +1000- I will take a shot:0074

 

[Happy Hippo]

Took Pacers last week at +1450 to win the Eastern Conference (2 units).

Also took this future: Pacers vs. Thunder in finals +2675 (1 unit).

I hope Granger can fit in nicely when he returns. Thunder on a mission - only team I see outing them is the Spurs, but I think they can get it done.

 

[Happy Hippo]

Rose says he is still far from returning. Wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't come back this season. I think Pacers match up with Bulls well, too.

Knicks are not playoff built, in my opinion. Live and die by the long ball - not going to last throughout long series.

 

[DuckDogs]

HH - I think it was a post by you awhile back (maybe the last time the pacers/heat played) that made me take a closer look at the pacers- I think there is a great chance they come out of the east:toast:

I should've pulled the trigger earlier :0074

 

[Happy Hippo]

HH - I think it was a post by you awhile back (maybe the last time the pacers/heat played) that made me take a closer look at the pacers- I think there is a great chance they come out of the east:toast:

I should've pulled the trigger earlier :0074

Good memory - yea that is right when I bet it!

 

[DuckDogs]

Took Pacers last week at +1450 to win the Eastern Conference (2 units).

Also took this future: Pacers vs. Thunder in finals +2675 (1 unit).

I hope Granger can fit in nicely when he returns. Thunder on a mission - only team I see outing them is the Spurs, but I think they can get it done.

I will ride along on pacers v thunder - +2800 @ 5D

 

[Happy Hippo]

Granger is returning tonight for the Pacers. Should be interesting to see how they work him into a lineup that is playing superb ball right now.

:0074

 

[Happy Hippo]

Granger looked like crap, but that was a good game to break him in. Will be interested to see how he does in the next couple weeks.

Indy climbing the ranks. Their offense is finally starting to come together. I think they move the ball side-to-side about as well as any team in the league (besides the Spurs), and that is what has to be done to beat the trapping defense that the Heat play so well.

 

[DuckDogs]

Hopefully he can fit in and they continue to play well, would be disappointing to add a player with that much talent and play worse....but it's all about chemistry

 

[Happy Hippo]

How I see the west panning out:

1. Spurs
2. OKC
3. Clippers
4. Nuggets (I think they will have a tying record at the end of the season with the Grizzlies, but as long as they win the last match up at home, they will hold the tie breaker)
5. Grizzlies
6. Warriors
7. Lakers
8. Rockets

FIRST ROUND

1. Spurs vs. 8. Houston - Spurs in 5

2. OKC vs. 7. Lakers - OKC in 6

3. Clippers vs. 6. Warriors - Warriors in 7

4. Nuggets vs. 5. Grizzlies - Nuggets in 5

SECOND ROUND

1. Spurs vs. 4. Nuggets - Spurs in 7, chance for upset here

2. OKC vs. 6. Warriors - OKC in 6

WEST FINALS

1. OKC vs. 2. Spurs - OKC in 7


I think the Lakers would be a lot happier if the Spurs slip to the 2 seed and they get to play them. That is a better match up for them than OKC.

I have not done the East yet - I follow the west a lot closer. Maybe someone who follows the east can project a playoff bracket for us :0074

 

[pt101]

Just copied HH's format and rearranged how I think the West will pan out.

1. OKC
2. Spurs
3. Clippers
4. Grizzlies
5. Nuggets
6. Warriors
7. Rockets
8. Lakers

FIRST ROUND

1. OKC vs. 8. Lakers - OKC in 5

2. Spurs vs. 7. Rockets - Spurs in 6

3. Clippers vs. 6. Warriors - Clippers in 5

4. Grizzlies vs. 5. Nuggets - Nuggets in 6

SECOND ROUND

1. OKC vs. 5. Nuggets - Nuggets in 7

2. Spurs vs. 3. Clippers - Clippers in 6

WEST FINALS

3. Clippers vs. 5. Nuggets - Clippers in 7

 

[Happy Hippo]

Good article about future bets.

 

[Happy Hippo]

"The Nuggets hold all the cards the Warriors don?t ? coaching experience, better home record and health. Home games in the final month and a half of the regular season will not be at a premium for either of these teams, with 14 for the Nuggets and 16 for the Warriors. The difference will be Denver?s huge home-court advantage. The Pepsi Center has been an absolute house of horrors for visitors teams for six-plus seasons (177-47, 79%) and this season has been no different, with Denver winning 24 of 27 (88.8%)."

 

[Happy Hippo]

"The Pacers are holding steady at second in the East and the Bucks are eighth. Opponents are shooting 51.4% from the ?runway? against the Pacers and 53.9% against the Bucks. Obviously, protecting the rim is not the be-all end-all in determining whether a team can beat the Heat four times in seven games, but I will tell you this: Outscoring them on a nightly basis won?t get you past them in a playoff series."

This would actually be a really intriguing match up if the Bucks hold on to the 8th spot. They match up very well against the Heat and could give them a good run. They are 4-5 SU against the Heat since the implementation of the "big three", and while I realize play off basketball is a whole different thing, this could be a good series. I don't think the Bucks will prevail, but they could force a long series. Larry Sanders is a BEAST at protecting the paint, and Miami thrives on it.

 

[Happy Hippo]

1. OKC
2. Spurs
3. Clippers
4. Grizzlies
5. Nuggets
6. Warriors
7. Rockets
8. Lakers

FIRST ROUND

1. OKC vs. 8. Lakers - OKC in 5

2. Spurs vs. 7. Rockets - Spurs in 6

3. Clippers vs. 6. Warriors - Clippers in 5

4. Grizzlies vs. 5. Nuggets - Nuggets in 6

SECOND ROUND

1. OKC vs. 5. Nuggets - Nuggets in 7

2. Spurs vs. 3. Clippers - Clippers in 6

WEST FINALS

3. Clippers vs. 5. Nuggets - Clippers in 7

Good stuff - we will have to revisit in a couple weeks when the standing are getting closer to being secure. If the Lakers get to match up against the Spurs somehow in the first round, I think this is their most advantageous match up, and there could be an upset there in the making.

There may be some value in taking a shot with the Nuggets coming out of the west. They have a deep bench, which is crucial in the playoffs and down the stretch...

 

[pt101]

That makes sense, Lakers vs Spurs, old vs old.

I do think there's value in Denver. They're pretty complete and are good on the offensive glass. If they had a skilled low post player, it would make them scary good. Faried, IMO should have been an allstar, but he's still a "clean up" player and not someone to run your offense through...maybe that part will develop in time.

I think there's definitely value in LAC and DEN as a futures bet because Spurs/OKC are overrated IMO.

 

[Happy Hippo]

That makes sense, Lakers vs Spurs, old vs old.

I do think there's value in Denver. They're pretty complete and are good on the offensive glass. If they had a skilled low post player, it would make them scary good. Faried, IMO should have been an allstar, but he's still a "clean up" player and not someone to run your offense through...maybe that part will develop in time.

I think there's definitely value in LAC and DEN as a futures bet because Spurs/OKC are overrated IMO.

So... Clippers can't hang with OKC. This isn't going to change in the playoffs, in my opinion. Horrible coaching yesterday at the end of that game, as is par for course with Del Negro. When teams take Chris Paul out of the game, the Clippers are not that good.

Good value in Denver - best of any team in the west, I think. I put a one unit on them earlier this week at +2000. That's probably it for me on futures. Invested 4 units, will see if any pay off :0074

 

[pt101]

Interesting..why do you think they can't hang? Close game yesterday that could have gone either way, no? I really think post season is a different brand of ball and Clippers are complete (sans coaching) like no other team. Hmm...an analogy I can think of would be the Pacers owning Miami, or typically the Celtics and Bulls owning Miami n the regular season.

For reference I'll just list last 7 games between Clips/Thunder (post CP3 era) if anyone is interested.
108-104 okc - close
109-97 okc - blowout
117-111 okc - close
92-77 lac - blowout
100-98 lac - close
114-91 okc - blowout
112-100 lac - blowout

Agree with Denver. I think they can compete with any team in the league in a 7 game series. Also, they have a tremendous home court. Can't believe the Lakers are 22-1 to win it all and Denver is 35-1...what? That's insane! WC odds are equally questionable. LAL might not be in the playoffs yet have better odds than Grizz, Nuggets. Guess Vegas can't get the picture of DH out of their heads, lol.

Western Conference Odds:
Oklahoma City Thunder +160
San Antonio Spurs +230
Los Angeles Clippers +415
Los Angeles Lakers +1025
Memphis Grizzlies +1425
Denver Nuggets +1600
Golden State Warriors +4000
Houston Rockets +4000
Utah Jazz +5500

 

[Happy Hippo]

Not really a close game yesterday, I wouldn't say. If the Clippers had won, it would have been very lucky. The Thunder controlled the game for 40 or so minutes. I think we could agree that both teams played as hard as they could yesterday - just as they will in the playoffs, being the match up it was, national tv, etc. I don't buy the argument that somehow they are going to play different in the playoffs than they did yesterday.

So, how are the Clippers more complete than the Thunder, or the Spurs, or even the Nuggets? I would be interested to hear what you mean by more "complete". And, I think coaching matters a lot in the playoffs - even more than in the regular season.

The Pacers went 1-3 against Miami during the regular season last year, and they took them to 6 games in the playoffs. This is the only season since the Lebron era that the Pacers have won the season series. I don't know about the Bulls and Celtics - don't follow those teams closely.

Western odds are crazy. But really, who wants to play the Kobe...err, the Lakers in the postseason??

I'm just not drinking the Clippers' kool-aid. I still have to be convinced.

 

[Happy Hippo]

Eastern conference - give me some of the pacers +1000

They seem to give miami fits, with the uncertainty about rose for the bulls, the Knicks?????

Why not @ +1000- I will take a shot:0074

Can't ask for more than a shot at this point!

One of the most impressive things that no-one talks about in the media, is that they are doing all this without Granger. My twitter feed was clogged with stuff about Rose all post-season, but never a mention of Granger. Difficult task ahead, but this team is tough.

Go Pacers

Cheers