BURNS NBA
Game: Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game Time: 5/16/2008 8:00:00 PM Prediction: Boston Celtics
UNDER lakers/jazz
Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz Game Time: 5/16/2008 10:30:00 PM Prediction: under
*Blue Chip
CELTICS
Game: Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game Time: 5/16/2008 8:00:00 PM Prediction: Boston Celtics Reason: I'm taking the points with BOSTON. The Celtics' struggles on the road in these playoffs have been extremely well documented. That's given us excellent line value with what I expect will be an extremely determined Celtics team. Let's not forget that this team was 31-10 on the road in the regular season, the best mark in the entire league. Not surprisingly, the Celtics are also 10-5 ATS as underdogs, winning nine of those games outright. Additionally, they're 5-2 ATS (6-1 SU) when playing a game with a total in the 170s, including a 3-1 ATS mark on the road. They'll face a Cleveland team which is 2-4 ATS (1-3 ATS at home) when playing a game with a total in the 170s and which will be without one of it's major weapons in Daniel Gibson. Note that Gibson had 14 points and made two 3-pointers, helping the Cavs to a win in the last game (Game 4) here. You may also recall Gibson's memorable performance in Game 6 of last year's Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Pistons. In that game, Gibson had 31 points, including 25 in the second half. In other words, he's a very valuable contributor and I expect him to be missed. As Lebron had to say: "It's something we didn't want to happen. It's kind of the tale of our season?a guy goes down in the heat of a playoff series. He's very key to our team. It's not good seeing a guy who is that key to your team in a suit." At least Lebron already has a pre-made excuse. The last time the Cavs faced elimination was also here at Cleveland, last year in their series vs. the Spurs. You may recall that they lost that game outright, scoring only 82 points. Look for them to struggle again tonight, falling to 4-11 ATS on Friday nights for the season.
UNDER lakers/jazz
Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz Game Time: 5/16/2008 10:30:00 PM Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on the Jazz and Lakers to finish UNDER the number. I lost with the 'under' in Game 5 of this series but that won't stop me from pulling the trigger in Game 6. A closer look at the last game shows that the final combined score only just barely snuck above the number and that was only due to the teams combining for a dozen points in the final 1:10. With the Jazz facing elimination, even if the teams match that output in the final minute of tonight's game, assuming we can avoid overtime, I still expect a much lower final combined score tonight. Including their 104-99 win here in Game 3, the Jazz have seen the UNDER go a perfect 4-0 the last four times they were listed as home favorites of -6 points or less. Game 4 didn't qualify as they closed as underdogs. Likewise, the UNDER is also a perfect 4-0 the last four times that the Lakers were listed as underdogs of six points or less. Overall, the UNDER was 14-7-1 when the Lakers were underdogs this season and 12-6 when they played a road game which had an over/under line of 210 or greater. Looking back a bit further and we find the UNDER at 18-9 the last 27 times the Lakers were listed as road underdogs in the +3.5 to +6 range and 22-12 the last 34 times that they played a road game which had an over/under line of 210 or greater. Jerry Sloan has been the coach of the Jazz for a long time. When trailing in a series, he's typically seen his teams respond with a strong defensive effort. In fact, the UNDER is a profitable 22-11 the last 33 times that the Jazz and were trailing in a playoff series. During the same stretch they also saw the UNDER go 69-49-4 when listed as home favorites in the -3.5 to -6 range. That includes last year's Game 6 here against Houston. The Jazz were also trailing that series 3-2 and were favored by roughly the same number of points that they are toniight. They responded with a dominant defensive effort and held the Rockets to just 82 points, a game which fell below the total. The only other time that the Jazz have ever played a home game, when trailing 3-2 in a series, was way back in the 1998 Finals vs. the Bulls. That game also fell below the number as the teams combined for just 173 points, with Michael Jordan hitting the winner in the final seconds. Look for tonight's game to be much lower-scoring than expected once again with the final combined score falling beneath the generous number. *Blue Chip