NBA Playoff Pick-a-thon Day 45: It's NC State vs The Russians All Over Again

POST-SEASON RECORD TO DATE: 48-28 ATS 

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5-5 ATS 

KYLE'S NHL PICKS TO DATE: 50-32-1

KYLE'S MLB PICKS TO DATE: 140-107-7

This is big. This is huge. This is, as my daughter loves to say, "All the way behind my back." This is now a single-elimination NCAA March Madness spectacular. It's NC State-Houston. It's Villanova-Georgetown. It's the dreaded, indomitable, cold war Russians in 1980. It's the New York Yankees against that other team whenever  they showed up in the World Series. It's Jennifer Aniston, Team Jacob, and Lindsay Lohan hitting the road to take on Team Edwards, Brangelina, and Rehab. Having never watched a Twilight movie, however, I'm not sure which team is really Indiana in this scenario.

                    

                                  Roy Hibbert's Team

Nonetheless, this is as big and huge and all the way behind my back as it gets in sports: a budding dynasty of superstars and future Hall of Famers against a young group of up-and-comers pushing them to their limit. It's the crumbling poise of a defending champion against the foul-mouthed youth of a neglected big man whose inexperience with national media came out when he told the "mother fucking" national media that they don't shine their lights on Indiana enough to know what the fuck they're talking about. It's truly an East Coast Goliath with 45 wins in 47 games coming into the series being pushed to a decisive seventh game by a fiery albeit slightly homophobic Mid-Western David. 

It's also the NBA, so it's hard to expect any surprises. It would be too easy, however, for us to take the Heat and give up the points. It would be too easy to win our first prop bet when Roy Hibbert gets called for a personal foul on the tip-off. It would be too easy to agree with the media and predict LeBron James putting the Big Three on his Big Back like "his Cleveland days" and carrying them into the Finals. 

                            

And by the way, enough already with that B.S. This is not the Cleveland Cavaliers. Chris Bosh is not Anderson Varejao and Dwayne Wade is no Boobie. Sure Wade's knee is banged up, but Bosh played lights out in the first three games of this series and is now struggling with a sprained ankle. A sprained ankle? Do you know what Kobe calls those? Regular ankles. You're 6'10" for chrissakes. Grab a freakin' rebound and stop your damn whining. 

                      

But I digress...again. There are infinite reasons to take the Heat: home court advantage, experience, superior talent, best player on the planet, and so on. For all of those reasons, Marco and I are putting our 20 games above .500 record on the line here and backing the Indiana Pacers - not just to cover but to win. This is, after all, basketball - a game that was designed by tall people for tall people, which is the only reason yours truly is sitting behind a keyboard writing about it rather than lighting up LBJ in Game 7. That and my age, diminished athleticism, and complete lack of ball handling skills and inside moves. 

Nonetheless, Marco and I agree that it would feel much more satisfying to be the guys counting our cash saying, "I told you Team USA would win," or "I just had a feeling about the Wolfpack," or "Luis Gonzalez has always been clutch with the broken bat singles in the ninth inning of Game 7's." 

              

Indiana Pacers (+7) over MIAMI HEAT So there you have it - in the simplest of terms. Indiana to win and cover. Would it be bad for ratings? Yes, terrible. Is it the unlikeliest of scenarios in a money-driven sports industry? Absolutely. Do we really think this is going to happen? I don't know, but we're the type of sports fan likes to say, "Maybe. It's possible," rather than the tainted one who firmly believes, "there is no freakin' way." 

Courage is not the absence of fear but the presence of faith.

You gotta believe,

Vinny and Marco

PS I don't usually include Kyle's NBA thoughts because we like to keep things separate, but if you want a more reasonable, less emotional opinion - he's backing the Heat with two prop bets on Chris Anderson over 13 and LeBron James over 28.5. That last one I agree with completely, but I think the Birdman comes out rusty, goes 1-8 from the field, and brings his playoff shooting percentage down to 90%. For more from Kyle...

KYLE'S CORNER: The Day the Earth Stood Still - then Reversed It's Axis

NHL: Overall: 50-32-1

MLB: Overall: 140-107-8

Sunday

NHL: 1-2
MLB: 3-5

So Chicago won the game of course. Unfortunately, it went over, and for the first time in history J. Quick was pulled in a playoff game. MLB had a few close games that went south when they could easily have gone north and made it 6-2. It's sad when a good system becomes bad luck. You know what they say about a gambler's bottom - it's when his system falls apart faster than he can lower his standards. We're not even close to that. Time to right the ship. 

MONDAY

NHL:

Boston @ Pittsburgh: If anyone watched game 1, Pittsburgh should have scored 6 goals, Rask made god-like saves, and so many posts were hit. They are the better team and this game will be an absolute statement.
Pittsburgh to win, in regulation, by -1.5, Pittsburgh over 2.5 goals. *Large play for me. 

MLB: Going small today just pitcher follows:

COL:   Chatwood (3-0, 2.12 ERA)

STL:   Lynn (7-1, 2.91 ERA)
PHI:   Kendrick (5-3, 3.27 ERA)

Good luck!

Kyle