Suspensions shift lines
Should we even bother playing these first-round matchups?
The opening stages of the NBA playoffs were supposed to be competitive this year. They?ve delivered on a few fronts, yet the home team won every single Game 1 except for the unsurprising victory by the Indiana Pacers over the New Jersey Nets. The odds going forward suggest even more slaughter on the horizon for the underdogs; the closest line for the next couple of days is Cleveland ?4 ? in Game 2 of the Cavs series against the Washington Wizards.
Game 2 odds have an uncanny knack of barely moving, no matter what happens in Game 1. LeBron James? triple double in Cleveland?s 97-86 victory failed to budge the line; not even the Pacers series-opening win could put a dent in the 7 ? points the Nets continue to lay in Tuesday?s rematch. But there are a couple of cases where events have given bettors enough pause to reconsider their support.
The Ron Artest suspension is the big news item for Tuesday?s meeting between the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs were 8 ?-point faves on Saturday when they pounded the Kings 122-88. Now that Artest has been suspended for Game 2 after the league office reviewed a personal foul he committed against Manu Ginobili, that spread has gone up to 10 ? points and (possibly) counting. The drop-off between Artest and his replacement, Kevin Martin, seems to warrant more than just a couple of points ? especially with Sacramento?s thin bench getting thinner without Martin.
The other key line change came in Miami, where the Heat failed to reach the pay window in either of their first two games against the Chicago Bulls. Miami dropped the cash as a 9-point chalk in Game 1, then created a push Monday after laying seven points. Heat power forward Udonis Haslem was suspended for Game 2 after throwing his mouthpiece at an official (Haslem claims it was inadvertent) on Saturday.
Despite the lack of success for Heat bettors, their team managed to fend off fourth-quarter rallies to win both games straight up. Neither game was a gem by Miami standards. Although it?s clear there is nobody on the Chicago roster that can deal with Shaquille O?Neal (49 points, 23 rebounds and eight blocks after two games), the same can be said for the Heat and their lack of perimeter defense versus the Bulls. Ben Gordon led the way in Game 1 with 35 points; Andres Nocioni stepped up in Game 2 with 30 of his own.
Speculation continues to swirl around Dwyane Wade and his state of health, specifically his left calf. After leaving Game 1 with less than nine seconds left on the clock, Wade was seen propping himself up as he tried to descend the stairs at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday afternoon. He overcame his injury to dump 21 points and seven assists on the Bulls, adding five rebounds and four blocks to stave off a late Chicago surge. How will he perform in Game 3 after playing nearly all the first two matchups? At least he has until Thursday to recuperate.
The remaining first-round series had either minimal or no changes to their Game 2 lines. The Phoenix Suns saw their chalk reduced by 1 ? points after winning (but failing to cover) in their series opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-102. The Suns-Lakers situation is generating plenty of buzz. Kobe Bryant and Tim Thomas each scored 22 points, underscoring in both cases the value on team play in the postseason. Five players from each team finished in double figures in points; the difference, however, was L.A.?s 5-for-21 performance from beyond the arc. That errant shooting wiped out the Lakers? 47-36 advantage on the boards.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons keep rumbling to what looks and cooks like a return to the NBA finals for the third straight season. The Pistons eviscerated the Milwaukee Bucks 92-74 Sunday, yet remain 12-point favorites for Wednesday?s Game 2. Is there anything the Bucks can do to at least make it to the pay window? Their best hope lies in the left ankle of Richard Hamilton.
The prolific Detroit shooting guard is officially listed as day-to-day after spraining his ankle Sunday, but the injury isn?t considered serious. Hamilton had 21 points for the Pistons in Game 1; if his jump shot is affected by Sunday?s events, Detroit may decide to give Tony Delk (five points in the opener) more minutes off the bench. Not that Delk is to be sneezed at ? anyone who witnessed Boston?s 2003 postseason run will remember Delk?s 15.8 points per game as the Celtics upset the Indiana Pacers in the first round before bowing out to New Jersey. Or, to go back a little further, Delk led the University of Kentucky Wildcats to the 1996 national title. He might be adding to his trophy case come June.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
Should we even bother playing these first-round matchups?
The opening stages of the NBA playoffs were supposed to be competitive this year. They?ve delivered on a few fronts, yet the home team won every single Game 1 except for the unsurprising victory by the Indiana Pacers over the New Jersey Nets. The odds going forward suggest even more slaughter on the horizon for the underdogs; the closest line for the next couple of days is Cleveland ?4 ? in Game 2 of the Cavs series against the Washington Wizards.
Game 2 odds have an uncanny knack of barely moving, no matter what happens in Game 1. LeBron James? triple double in Cleveland?s 97-86 victory failed to budge the line; not even the Pacers series-opening win could put a dent in the 7 ? points the Nets continue to lay in Tuesday?s rematch. But there are a couple of cases where events have given bettors enough pause to reconsider their support.
The Ron Artest suspension is the big news item for Tuesday?s meeting between the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs were 8 ?-point faves on Saturday when they pounded the Kings 122-88. Now that Artest has been suspended for Game 2 after the league office reviewed a personal foul he committed against Manu Ginobili, that spread has gone up to 10 ? points and (possibly) counting. The drop-off between Artest and his replacement, Kevin Martin, seems to warrant more than just a couple of points ? especially with Sacramento?s thin bench getting thinner without Martin.
The other key line change came in Miami, where the Heat failed to reach the pay window in either of their first two games against the Chicago Bulls. Miami dropped the cash as a 9-point chalk in Game 1, then created a push Monday after laying seven points. Heat power forward Udonis Haslem was suspended for Game 2 after throwing his mouthpiece at an official (Haslem claims it was inadvertent) on Saturday.
Despite the lack of success for Heat bettors, their team managed to fend off fourth-quarter rallies to win both games straight up. Neither game was a gem by Miami standards. Although it?s clear there is nobody on the Chicago roster that can deal with Shaquille O?Neal (49 points, 23 rebounds and eight blocks after two games), the same can be said for the Heat and their lack of perimeter defense versus the Bulls. Ben Gordon led the way in Game 1 with 35 points; Andres Nocioni stepped up in Game 2 with 30 of his own.
Speculation continues to swirl around Dwyane Wade and his state of health, specifically his left calf. After leaving Game 1 with less than nine seconds left on the clock, Wade was seen propping himself up as he tried to descend the stairs at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday afternoon. He overcame his injury to dump 21 points and seven assists on the Bulls, adding five rebounds and four blocks to stave off a late Chicago surge. How will he perform in Game 3 after playing nearly all the first two matchups? At least he has until Thursday to recuperate.
The remaining first-round series had either minimal or no changes to their Game 2 lines. The Phoenix Suns saw their chalk reduced by 1 ? points after winning (but failing to cover) in their series opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-102. The Suns-Lakers situation is generating plenty of buzz. Kobe Bryant and Tim Thomas each scored 22 points, underscoring in both cases the value on team play in the postseason. Five players from each team finished in double figures in points; the difference, however, was L.A.?s 5-for-21 performance from beyond the arc. That errant shooting wiped out the Lakers? 47-36 advantage on the boards.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons keep rumbling to what looks and cooks like a return to the NBA finals for the third straight season. The Pistons eviscerated the Milwaukee Bucks 92-74 Sunday, yet remain 12-point favorites for Wednesday?s Game 2. Is there anything the Bucks can do to at least make it to the pay window? Their best hope lies in the left ankle of Richard Hamilton.
The prolific Detroit shooting guard is officially listed as day-to-day after spraining his ankle Sunday, but the injury isn?t considered serious. Hamilton had 21 points for the Pistons in Game 1; if his jump shot is affected by Sunday?s events, Detroit may decide to give Tony Delk (five points in the opener) more minutes off the bench. Not that Delk is to be sneezed at ? anyone who witnessed Boston?s 2003 postseason run will remember Delk?s 15.8 points per game as the Celtics upset the Indiana Pacers in the first round before bowing out to New Jersey. Or, to go back a little further, Delk led the University of Kentucky Wildcats to the 1996 national title. He might be adding to his trophy case come June.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
