NBA Playoff Record to Date: 13-13 ATS
Top Confidence Picks: 3-3 ATS
I've always said I'd rather be .500 with three half point losses than .500 with three half point wins. And by "always said" I mean I just said it now and will continue to do so...always. Here's my reasoning. If we'd been lucky enough to get those wins, we'd be 16-10 ATS, but if we'd already had those wins and were .500, unluckiness would have us at 10-16 ATS. The only reason I'm even mentioning those losses is because there have only been three and we've missed on all of them. Does that make us bad handicappers? No - just unlucky so far. It will balance out, it will become a moot point, and I will stop talking about it...right now.
Let's get to today's action, because we're only about two and a half hours from tip off.
Chicago Bulls (+2.5) over WASHINGTON WIZARDS: No Nene, no way way. Charles Barkley thinks the Washington Wizards - when healthy - are the third best team in the Eastern Conference. According to their W-L records, however, Chicago was better in the East and against the East by 4 and 2 games respectively. Stick those teams in the West, however, and neither one would have made the playoffs. What does all of this mean? Absolutely nothing. I honestly can't say the stats support our pick here. In fact, Washington is 28-11 ATS in their last 39 avenging a home loss and 19-6 ATS avenging losses where the opponent scored 100 plus. However, the Bulls are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 trips to DC, the road team is 20-8 ATS in the series, and the underdog is 10-1 ATS in the last eleven meetings. If defense wins championships or even just games, why is everyone making such a big deal about Chicago's offensive woes? Take the points.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (+2) over Los Angeles Clippers: Man, what a spectacle the owner of the Clippers has become since last we spoke of this series. Listening to the tape and reading the transcripts, what surprises me more than his racist comments about African Americans is that nobody's talking about what a controlling asshole the guy is. I'll bet you could have substituted just about anything or anyone for Magic Johnson in the alleged Instagram photos and Sterlings comments would have been almost identical:
"And I'm just saying that it's too bad you can't admire [Olaf the snowman] privately. And during your ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE, your whole life, admire [Olaf the snowman] -- bring here, feed him, fuck him, I don't care. You can do anything. But don't put [Olaf the snowman] on an Instagram for the world to see so they have to call me. And don't bring [Olaf] to my games. OK?"
I'm just sayin'. The guy is a jealous, controlling, old, ugly asshole. Racist on top of that doesn't really surprise me. Nonetheless, there's nothing to rally around here for the Clippers, so we'll take the home team to bounce back from the terrible officiating in Game 3 and send this series back to L.A. knotted at two.
PS: How much does a hipster weigh? Answer - an Instagram.
Toronto Raptors (+4) over BROOKLYN NETS: I still can't name a single Raptors player, but I just like the way those spunky Canadians play ball. It's like a whole team of Steve Nash's, Kelly Olynk's, and Cory Josephs skating on the hardwood like a bunch of pipe fitters at a gong show. Am I right or am I right? The Toronto Raptors are a great story and we like how they've now acclimated to the playoffs and are unafraid of the Brooklyn Nets - except when Pierce and Garnett take out their fake teeth to drink their Gatorade. Yikes. The underdog is 6-2-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings and we like that trend to continue. We're not only convinced Toronto gets the cover today, but likely the outright win.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (-2) over Houston Rockets: There are so many stats supporting another Rockets pick here. The underdog and the road team is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings, and the Rockets are probably the only team in the league that has gone 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games in Portland. We just don't see them duplicating their performance in Game 3. Although this series may still go seven, Houston is going to have to win home court back in Game 6 because it isn't happening tonight.
Top Confidence Pick: We're going with the Trailblazers and their Rip City uniforms tonight.
May the Spreads be With Us All,
Vinny and Marco
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