Today we embark upon what promises to be an exciting up and down series in the West between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams survived seven game scares and both were blessed with the absence of difference-making big men in said deciding games. While Andrew Bogut was missed by the Warriors for the whole series, the loss of Zach Randolph for the Grizzlies was too much to overcome.
In the East, we have the top-seeded Jekyl and Hyde Pacers welcoming the surprising and talented sixth seeded Washington Wizards. With so much down time, many of the Wizards returned to Hogwarts to retool their magic powers. Will it be enough? Or will the dark arts of middle America be too much to handle? In a nutshell we'll say "No and probably," but that doesn't mean this series doesn't go seven. It just feels like one of those years.
This round Marco and I are trying two new things. First, we're removing the dated Kentucky Derby icon from our friends at 1Vice. Man, I think we only won a single game since that horse was on our page. That doesn't mean you shouldn't stop by and take advantage of their great customer service, easy payouts, and excellent bonuses, it just means you should wait until later today when they have their new 150% free play banner ready. Stay tuned. Secondly, we're going to try some of that - whaddya call it, whaddya call it - oh yeah, research. I mean it's not all about numbers, but when you find a compelling one you should always take it into consideration as either a trend or a bait. Here goes
Round 1 Stats
Top Confidence Picks: 7-7 ATS
Overall Record: 24-26 ATS
Round 2 Begins...NOW!
INDIANA PACERS (-4) over Washington Wizards: Fool me seven times, shame on you. Fool me tonight, and I'll be very disappointed. Everything you could imagine points to a Wizards cover if not an outright win. Washington is 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games against a team with a winning percentage of .600 or better and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall. Meanwhile, the Pacers are 8-20-1 against the East Conference of late and 4-11 ATS in their last 15 home games. The two stats, however, that helped us land on Indiana (besides the overwhelming evidence against this choice) is Washington's 3-9 ATS record at Indiana, but more importantly their 2-6 ATS record when playing on 3 or more days of rest. We believe rust will be enough to get Indiana off to the kinds of starts Chicago enjoyed against Washington. The difference - the Pacers have enough offensive fire power to hold the lead late.
Los Angeles Clippers (+5.5) over OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: Both teams have momentum coming off of big seven game series victories. The Clippers, however, have had to deal with both a hated division rival and the adversity of the racist, Donald Sterling cloud hovering above them off the court. Heading to Oklahoma City for a few days will be a welcome relief to the Los Angeles Clippers. Doc Rivers has done a terrific job in his first year as head coach, and getting out of that first round will provide pregame fuel to his motivational speeches. The compelling stat we found this time was that - although the Clips are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 with the Thunder - they are 13-5 ATS in their last 18 trips to OKC. Not many can boast that.
Top Confidence Pick: We'll role with the compelling dog - Clippers +5.5, but we honestly believe we've nailed both of these.
Just for fun: Pacers -4/Under 183.5/Clippers +5.5/Over 212
May the Spreads Be With Us All,
Vinny and Marco
I'm on the same over/under as you guys but definitely think Wizards can keep this game close. Haven't got a clear idea on the Thunder/Clippers game other than there is gong to be a lot points. Here's to a profitable Round 2.
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