Notes: Hawks hoping to pull even in Game 2
Al Horford has struggled with his shot in the last five games, but he has 19 blocked shots through seven postseason games.
Published on Wednesday, 5/4/16, at 1:19 p.m. Eastern.
–My picks should’ve gone 3-0 last night. However, Kyle Lowry hit a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to force overtime in Game 1 of the Toronto-Miami series. The Heat would win in OT so I still cashed that winner, but ‘under’ backers took an unfathomable beat when the game went ‘over,’ albeit barely, in the extra session. As if that wasn’t enough to frustrate bettors like me who had the ‘under,’ now we find out this morning that Lowry stepped on the sideline before the shot. I must admit that (due to the angle we all saw live and the fact that TNT never showed a replay from the other side) I didn’t even consider that he might have gone out of bounds at the time. Anyway, I felt I cashed a fortunate winner with Golden St.’s frontdoor cover in the late game so, as usual, these things even out.
–I’m 10-4 with my last 14 NBA selections. I have both the side and total for the Hawks-Cavs tonight if you want to check that out here.
–Toronto is a 4.5-point home favorite for Thursday’s Game 2 against Miami. The total is 189, while the Heat is +170 on the money line (risk $100 to win $170).
–Lowry’s struggles are to the point of insanity at this point. He went 3-of-13 from the field last night and 1-for-7 from downtown. And remember, that’s with the halfcourt heave counting.
–Nice stat line from D-Wade last night: 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
–The Heat won outright as a +155 money-line underdog.
–For Saturday’s Game 3 at Portland, Golden St. is listed as a 3.5-point road ‘chalk’ with a total of 212.5 points. Steph Curry is ‘questionable.’
–Golden St. had to outscore Portland 34-12 in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Game 2 at Oracle Arena to capture a 110-99 win as a nine-point home favorite. Damian Lillard had 25 points in the losing effort, but he went scoreless in the final stanza. Klay Thompson scored a game-high 27 points for the winners, while Draymon Green produced 17 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots.
–The odds to win the East at 5Dimes currently look like this: Cavs -390, Heat +725, Raptors +950 and the Hawks are at 20/1.
–The current odds to take the West at 5Dimes: Warriors -155, Spurs +200, Thunder +885 and the Trail Blazers are +12500.
–Odds to win the NBA title at 5Dimes:
Warriors -114
Spurs +338
Cavs +368
Thunder +2075
Heat 40/1
Hawks 100/1
Raptors 100/1
Trail Blazers 300/1
–With Kobe out of the league now, I’m ready to call James Harden the most selfish, ‘me-first’ player in the NBA.
–I hope Mike Budenholzer gives Kris Humphries the minutes he’s been giving to Mike Muscala tonight.
