The Los Angeles Clippers will look to stop the San Antonio Spurs’ 15 game winning streak tonight in game two of their best of seven western conference semifinal series. The Spurs kept rolling in game one with a 108-92 win.
San Antonio had over a week to prepare for their series against the Clippers and it was obvious they were rested and ready. Since April 12, the Spurs have won 15 straight and during that stretch are 13-1-1 ATS. Once again, the Spurs will be heavily favored in the second game, but anything can happen during the playoffs.
In game one, the Spurs started slowly, but led by 8 at half and blew the game wide open in the second half. Tim Duncan led the Spurs in scoring with 26 points and on the boards he hauled down 10. The 15-year veteran has seen his offensive output reduced this season with Tony Parker stepping up his offense. Parker however, only scored 7 points in the game, but led the team with 11 assists. Manu Ginobili added 22 points to the Spurs effort.
The Clippers must turn around their play of they expect to win a game, let alone the series. Chris Paul, their All Star point guard only managed 6 points on the night and did not score a basket the entire second half. Blake Griffin their big man had only 15 points on the night and played just 29 minutes due to a strained right knee.
The Clippers have had a difficult time from the free throw line all season and their frontcourt only visited the line four times the entire game. The team overall only attempted 13 free throws the entire game. The Spurs are now 18-1 SU in their last 19 games at home against Los Angeles. That record dates back over 10 years.
The total has ended OVER in 9 of the last 10 games in San Antonio. Since the Spurs lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on April 11, San Antonio is 8-0 SU in their last eight home games and they have scored over 100 points in each of those eight wins.
The line opened with the Spurs as a 10-point favorite and is now up to 11. The total is resting at 194. The Spurs will take this game SU and ATS and the total will make the OVER bettors winners.

The Los Angeles Lakers play game two tonight in Oklahoma City against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers lost the first game of the best of seven semifinal series against OKC by a margin of 29 points. The Lakers were completely fatigued in game one as they started out competitive and then trailed by 15 at half and 30 after three quarters.
The Lakers need more consistent play from big man Andrew Bynum who has not played as well offensively as he can. Pau Gasol had a terrific game seven versus Denver, but could not get on track in game one against OKC. Kobe Bryant once again led the Lakers in scoring but needs Metta World Peace, Gasol and Bynum to step up their games.
OKC is led by Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Westbrook was nearly unstoppable in game one with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists. He hit 10 of his 15 shots from the field. Durant, the leagues high scorer for the season added 25 and James Harden scored 17. The line has OKC as an 8-point favorite after opening at 7 points. The total for the game is at 195 ½. Take the Thunder to cover the spread and win SU. The total will end OVER.
The Boston Celtics visit the Philadelphia 76ers for game three of their best of seven series. The series is tied 1-1 and has been very competitive. Philly took home court advantage by winning game two and has played very well against Boston at home this season. Philly is 3-1 SU against Boston at home since the beginning of last season. In their two meetings this season in Philly, the 76ers were able to beat the Celtics handily. However, in each of those games, the Celtics played without a night’s rest.
Boston is only 12-10 ATS and 7-15 SU when they played on the road as an underdog this season. Boston was only 1-7ATS/SU on the road with no rest as an underdog, but the Celtics will have a day’s rest going into this game. With a day’s rest, the Celtics were 10-3 ATS in games on the road as the underdog.
The line opened with the Celtics an underdog by 3 ½ points and that has been tightened to 2 points. The total is 172 ½. Take the Celtics to upset Philly at home SU and ATS. The total will end UNDER.

The Los Angeles Clippers are coming off one of their biggest wins in the last 35 years. The Clippers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in game seven of their series to move on to the second round, for just the first time since the 1970s when they were known as the Buffalo Braves. The Clippers will meet the San Antonio Spurs tonight in game one in San Antonio.
The Clippers have been hobbled with injuries of late as both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were banged up in the series against the Grizzlies. Paul is nearly 100% after suffering a strained hip flexor in game six to go along with a jammed finger. Griffin strained his right knee in game six, played in game seven but is still bothered by the knee. He will most likely play, but may not be 100%.
The Spurs are very healthy for this time of the season and have all their players ready. Veterans Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili will be the keys to the Spurs’ success. All three players have played at least 10 years for the Spurs and all three have played their entire careers with San Antonio.
Just that experience of playing game after game and season after season with the same players is enough to give the Spurs a distinct advantage in this series. San Antonio will set their offense up using screens and will try to open the low post by hitting jumpers from the perimeter. Parker and Ginobili will also drive to the hoop to attract pressure and look to dish off to an open teammate.
The Clippers play more up tempo and will look to score off the break, but also can set up in half court sets with Chris Paul penetrating and either taking a short jumper or dishing off to Griffin or another player down low.
The line opened with the Spurs as an early 11-point favorite by has increased to 11 ½. The total is at 191 ½. This game will be won SU by the Spurs, but look for the Clippers to cash out ATS. The total will pay out to those who take the OVER.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has had over a week to wait for their second round opponent. Tonight they host the Los Angeles Lakers in the first game of their semifinal series. The Thunder swept the defending champion Dallas Mavericks to get to the second round. Los Angeles needed all seven games to finally put away the Denver Nuggets to get to the second round.
Oklahoma City will be firing away at the basket all night on offense with the NBA’s top scorer, Kevin Durant leading the way. Helping him offensively will be Russell Westbrook, the team leader in assists and the league’s sixth leading scorer.
Kobe Bryant will lead the Lakers and he will be looking for offensive help from Andrew Bynum, Paul Gasol and Metta World Peace. Peace returned in game seven for the Lakers after sitting out seven games for a flagrant elbow. He hit key shots in the game to keep Denver at bay.
The line has the Thunder as 7 ½-point favorites after first opening with them as a 6-point favorite at home. The total is at 191 ½. Smart money takes the Thunder SU and the Lakers ATS. The total will cash out OVER.
Boston hosts Philadelphia in game two of their best of seven series. Game one saw the Celtics overcome leads by Philly of as much as 13 points to win 92-91. The Celtics offensively will be powered by Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce. Garnett led all scorers in game one with 29, while Rondo posted his eighth career playoff triple double. The feisty point guard has 13 points, 12 rebounds and dished out 17 assists.
Philly will look to Andre Iguolala, Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday, Elton Brand and Stephen Hawkes for their offense. It is a total team effort for the 76ers. Philly must play better down the stretch, as they led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter but could not put the Celtics away.
The line opened with Boston as a 5-point favorite but has narrowed a bit to 4 ½ points. The total is resting at 173 ½. Smart money bettors are taking Boston SU and ATS, with the total to end OVER.

The Indiana Pacers face the Miami Heat in Miami today in the first game of their second round best of seven series in the eastern conference. During the season, the Heat was 3-1 SU against the Pacers. Even before the series has started, the teams are exchanging barbs back and forth. The coach of the Indiana Pacers, Frank Vogel was fined $15,000 by the league after saying the Heat is a bunch of floppers.
Miami had the fourth best overall record in the league, with four more wins than the fifth best team, the Pacers. Indiana has the league’s second best record at 16-4 since the first of April. They only trail the 18-2 mark of San Antonio in that category. Over their last 20 games, the Pacers are averaging over 100 points per game.
The Pacers have peaked at the right time and will be a handful for the Heat. The Heat was not tested in their first round against the New York Knicks and will face a much tougher front line in the Pacers than the Knicks. Roy Hibbert, David West and Danny Granger will be an imposing trio down low for Indiana.
Of course, the Heat are not slouch as they won 46 games on the season, are the defending eastern conference champions and have the league’s newly crowned MVP in LeBron James. The Heat also have Dwayne Wade who can post his opponent down low and take advantage of his strength and Chris Bosh who is a good scorer from anywhere on the court and plays tough defense.
Look for the first game to be a defensive struggle with each team trying to make their mark and set a precedent early. The current line has the Heat as an 8 ½-point favorite after opening with them as an 8-point favorite. The total is at 188. In this first game of the series, take Indiana ATS and the Heat SU. The total will pay out to UNDER bettors.

There are two games on the NBA calendar tonight. One will end a first round series and one will began a second round series. The Denver Nuggets head to Hollywood to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in the seventh a deciding game of their first round series. Denver has clawed back from a 3-1 deficit and the whole ball of wax is one the line tonight. Win and go on, lose and go home.
The Nuggets will look to Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Andre Miller and Corey Brewer for their offensive output. On the boards, the Nuggets will need a big game from Kenneth Faried and JaVale McGee to try to keep the Lakers big men in check.
Los Angeles will rely on Kobe Bryant to carry the load offensively with help from his supporting cast of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Ramon Sessions. Both Gasol and Bynum struggled in game six and their play will be crucial in the outcome of this contest.
The line has LA as a 5 ½-point home favorite with the total at 196 ½. Smart money bettors are taking the Nuggets plus the points. SU bettors like LA, with the total cashing out to the OVER bettors.
The Boston Celtics will take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight in the opening game of their best of seven second round series. Boston and Philly met on three occasions this season with Philly holding the advantage 2-1 SU in the three games, all three games were decided by 10 or more points.
Boston will be relying on the scoring of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo. Veteran leadership and savvy will come from guard Ray Allen. Philly is a complete team effort, as they have balanced scoring from Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Andre Igoudala and Stephen Hawes.
Boston comes into the first game of the series relieved they beat Atlanta in six and Philly comes in on cloud nine after defeating a shorthanded Chicago team. The line currently has the Celtics as the favorite by 5 points after originally opening with Boston as a 3 ½-point favorite. The total is 170. Take the Celtics less the points and the total to pay out on the OVER.

The Los Angeles Clippers host the Memphis Grizzlies in the Staples Center tonight. The quarterfinal playoff series between the two is 3-2 in favor of the Clippers. Los Angeles had an opportunity to eliminate Memphis in game five but the Grizzlies came through with the win 92-80 on their home court. Memphis will now look to win tonight to send the series to a seventh game on their home court.
Memphis won game five by dominating the play in the paint. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers’ forwards by a 56-24 margin. Marc Gasol and teammate Zach Randolph dominated the offensive boards and inside scoring over the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin and Caron Butler.
In this series, as well as in the regular season matchups the home team is 7-1 SU and ATS is 5-2-1. The Clippers are 4-0 SU at home in their four meeting this season with the Grizzlies in the Staples Center.
The Clippers must improve their defensive rebounding as they are giving up too many second chance points. Los Angeles also needs to shoot better from the free throw line. They set an NBA record for futility in game three as they only hit 13 out of 30 free throws.
The Clippers’ Paul and Griffin were both injured in the last game. Paul hurt his hip flexor and jammed a finger, while Griffin came down wrong and sprained his knee. Both will play tonight, but both could be bothered by their injuries.
The Grizzlies have lost 4 of 6 elimination games in their postseason history. Memphis has also lost 7 of 9 games away from home following a victory. The Clippers at home have been very strong following a loss. Los Angeles has won 13 out of 15 game in that situation and the UNDER has paid out in 12 of those 15 games.
The line opened with the Clippers as a home court 2-point favorite and has not moved. The game total opened at 182 ½ and is holding steady as well. Smart money bettors are placing their faith in the Clippers less the points on their home court. The total will cash out to those who take the UNDER.

The Los Angeles Lakers had the opportunity at home to end their quarterfinal series in game five, but failed to do so. Therefore, tonight they must face the Denver Nuggets, in Denver for the sixth game of their best of seven series in the western conference. The Lakers hold a 3-2 lead against Denver heading into tonight’s action.
Denver started shooting as soon as the game started Tuesday night against the Lakers and never looked back. Denver at one point led the game by 15 points and was able to hold off the Lakers late in the game to win 102-99. They covered the spread, as they were the underdogs going into the contest. The Nuggets will look to their bench once again to contribute offensively and they will try to find a way to contain the Lakers’ leading scorer.
The Lakers were able to make the game closer against Denver due to two late three-pointers from Kobe Bryant. However, the Lakers were not able to defeat the Nuggets even though Bryant had 43 points on the night. Denver was helped by their bench, as Andre Miller and Javale McGee combined for 45 points. The two reserves combined to shot 17 for 23 from the floor. On the night, the Denver defense limited the Lakers to 39% shooting from the field. In the loss, Pau Gasol only managed to score nine points, far below his average.
The Lakers are 5-1 SU playing on the road following a loss. Los Angeles is also 8-1 SU over its last nine games in the playoffs when they have an opportunity to close out a series. Denver is 3-7 SU over its last ten games at home following a win. In those same ten games, the Nuggets are only 1-9 ATS. The only time they covered in those ten games was late in the season against an Orlando team that was shorthanded due to injuries.
The current line has the Nuggets as 1-point favorites after opening at 1 ½ points. The total is at 197 ½. Smart money takes the percentages and puts cash on the Lakers to win SU, with the total paying out to the UNDER bettors.

The NBA calendar for May 9 only has two games on tap and both look to be intriguing matchups. The Memphis Grizzlies will host the Los Angeles Clippers in game five of their series.
The Clippers won game four on Monday in overtime to take a commanding 3-1 lead. The two teams have played very tough basketball in the first four games with tempers on edge. In just the first four games, there have been 13 technical fouls called. Besides being a tough series physically, it has been very close. Two games were decided by just a single point and Monday’s overtime game was decided by just four points.
The Grizzlies on defense need to slow down Chris Paul. Paul has scored well all series and has made a number of key assists as well. Offensively the Grizzlies need their big men to hit the boards and get second look shots. The line opened with the Grizzlies favored by 6 points and has came back to the current 3 ½ points. The total is 183 ½. Smart money will take the Clippers and the total to end UNDER.
In the second game, the New York Knicks face elimination, as they met the Miami Heat in Miami. The Heat hold a 3-1 series lead and just missed sweeping the Knicks on Sunday. The Knicks would like to become the first team in 101 attempts to win a seven game series after dropping the first three games.
To do so, the Knicks will need to get outstanding play from Carmelo Antony. The shooting guard had 41 Sunday night and was helped offensively by Amare Stoudemire who had 20. The Knicks will be shorthanded again tonight. Two of their point guards have gone down to injury and veteran Mike Bibby will be called upon to handle the offense.
In the seven meetings between the two teams this season, the Knicks have not scored 100 points in any of the games and have scored 90 or better in just one. The current line has Miami holding an 11-point favorite spread with the total as 183. Take Miami to end New York’s season and the total to end UNDER.

The Los Angeles Lakers can close out their best of seven western conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets with a win tonight at home in the Staples Center. The Lakers won the first two games of the series before the Nuggets were able to blowout the Lakers in game three.
However, in game four, the Lakers were able to make their shots in key situations and come out with a road win 92-88. In that game, the Lakers cashed out as the 2 ½-point underdog. It was just the second time in the last six games the Lakers covered when being the road underdog.
The Lakers can now close the door on the Denver season with a win tonight. If Los Angeles prevails tonight, they will have the task of taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder in one of the conference semifinal matchups.
In the last game, the largest lead any of the teams had was just seven points. The lead changes were many in the second half and two players Steve Blake and Ramon Sessions, became heroes for the Lakers. They each nailed consecutive shots from beyond the three-point line in the game’s final minute.
Six players for the Lakers were in double figures on the night. Their star, Kobe Bryant struggled during the season when playing in Denver, but scored a team high 22 hitting just 10 of his 25 shots.
When the Nuggets only score 91 points or fewer, they are winless in eight games since January 3rd both SU and ATS. Denver however, is 6-1 ATS when they play on the road following a loss and they are 5-1 ATS in their last six games playing on the road. The Lakers are just 3-6 ATS in their last nine home games following a win. However, the Lakers are 7-0 SU when trying to win to close out a series.
The current line has the Lakers as 6-point favorites after opening with them as the favorite by 5 ½ points. The total is resting at 199 ½. The Lakers will close out the series tonight against Denver at home. Take LA less the points with the total to end UNDER.