Itll be a cold day in hell when I pass up a take-back like this against the Hurricanes. Heres a team that hasnt won at home all month and over its last three home games has been outscored 15-2. The Lightning are struggling right now but so what, theyre used to it and have been struggling all year. Thing is, theyre coming off games against New Jersey, Chicago and Washington, arguably three of this years elite teams and will take a giant step down in class when they face the least talented team in the league. Teams like Detroit, Washington, Boston and San Jose are favored by this much and the Canes are not close to being in that same category. Yeah, the Canes might win here but the Lightning surely has a shot and the tag makes them an absolute must play. Play: Tampa Bay +2.10 (Risking 2 units).
100* Play Columbia (+3.5) over Brown (NCAA)
(Ivy League Game of the Year)
Columbia is 7-0 ATS when the total posted is between 120 and 129.5 this
season
Columbia is 11-3 ATS in road games over the last 2 seasons
Columbia is 16-1 ATS in road games after allowing 60 or less in two
games
Columbia is 8-1 ATS after failing to cover the spread in the last game
Illinois State +3 (Max Bet Play)
I live near Siena so I follow the MAAC closely. Other than the Saints, this is a poor conference this year, Niagara has an impressive record but most of their wins came from conference play. Illinois State is by far and away the more athletic and deeper squad between these two teams. Plus, Niagara has a huge game with Siena on deck. I like taking the road teams in these Bracket Buster games because a lot of times the team from the much tougher conference is playing away from home. I'll take the three points here but we won't need them. The Redbirds win this game by double digits.
nba. new orleans @ lakers over 206' (500*)
nba. ok city+9 (30*)
nba. lakers-9(20*)
nba. ok city @ phoenix over 233'(20*)
nba. cleveland-7 (10*)
nba. charlotte+2' (10*) free play
Play: VCU +1(POD)
Comments: INDIAN COWBOY'S PLAY OF THE DAY: 4 Unit Play. #883. Take VCU +1 over Nevada (Friday @ 9pm est). Man, I'm really excited about today. We're searching for winning week 6 of 7 in college hoops and we find ourselves at 2-2 in college ball this week and +22 units in February. We're not as rolling as we did in January with the pace that led us to +66 units, but no worries. I feel great about the trio card going today and in particular, I feel great about our Friday night college play as we look to get on the plus side of the week. From there, we will look to have a solid weekend. We are all Rams today! VCU is a top 80 team and there is a reason in my opinion why this game is essentially a pick-em. Why do you think that this game is a pick-em on a Friday night card as a bracket buster? It's because it is a nice setup imo for an outright winner for the Rams who I would have still taken even if they were favored by 2 in this contest. VCU is no joke folks, they are a solid team and Nevada has yet to beat a top 100 team all year. VCU remember is a top 75 team that. Considering Nevada has already lost to Louisiana Tech at home who is a top 150 team, New Mexico State who is a top 150 team as well and lost to Idaho by a few points at home who is also a top 150 team. By no means am I saying that VCU is perfect. But, what I am saying is that this team did go on the road to beat Hofstra who is a top 150 team, defeated Drexel by nearly 30 who is a top 125 team, defeated Akron who is a top 100 team at home, beat the Richmond Spiders who is a top 125 team on the road and even beat New Mexico a top 50 team on neutral footing while only losing to Rhode Island on the road by just 6 points. Make no mistake, the Rams can play and have beaten similar teams on the road such as Nevada. I'll take VCU here given how well they are playing, the fact that with Maynor, Sanders, Pish and Burgess this team has decent depth and plays about 9 deep, shoots over 70% in free throws per game, top 100 in the nation in 3 point shooting as well as top 100 in points per game. Let's roll with the Rams for the outright here as the public likely takes a hit with Nevada who although will start off strong I believe lacks the scoring as well as depth to hang in there for a full 40 minutes against VCU.
INDIAN COWBOY'S PLAY OF THE DAY: ORLANDO MAGIC vs CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Play: 4 Unit Play. #852. Take the Charlotte Bobcats +2.5 over the Orlando Magic (Friday @ 7pm est). (POD
Comments: INDIAN COWBOY'S PLAY OF THE DAY: 4 Unit Play. #852. Take the Charlotte Bobcats +2.5 over the Orlando Magic (Friday @ 7pm est). Note, we have two plays today because of Monday's no action and I want to make sure clients receive 7 full days of action that they paid for. What better day to go 2 plays given the value on Friday Night's NBA action as we come off travel Thursday in the Association. I like the B's with the revenge angle today. Remember, this team was a 8.5 dog at Orlando only to lead most of the game and then end up losing in OT. What did the Bobcats do after that game? They simply came back home and beat Indiana at home by 9. Jordan's team is doing well given the depth that this team has and now with the return of Wallace and Bell, this team is playing even better. Remember, this team is just 10 games from being .500 which is the holy grail it seems in the East to making the playoffs. Plus, with the Bucks losing Michael Redd they very well could fade out of the picture. Heck, the Bobcats have covered their last 5 games, 3-1 over their last 4 games straight up (albeit relatively non-competitive teams), but are 32-22 ATS this year. Yes, Rafer Alston will now be a Magic, but you think all will be fine and dandy in a road game vs. the Bobcats who have revenge? I don' think so. And yes, the Magic come off a terrible loss at New Orleans, but with 77% of the public on the Magic as the biggest consensus play, the line continuing to move down, the Bobcats with revenge, at home, against a Magic team that might not be in sync right off the bat with their new found point guard, this makes sense to me to ride Charlotte here. It just goes with the many principles that I believe in selecting a play. Get your tums! The Bobcats are 5-0 ATS as a home Underdog of late.
Play: 4 unit Play. Take Over 234 between the OKC Thunder @ the Phoenix Suns (Friday @ 9pm est).
Comments: 4 unit Play. Take Over 234 between the OKC Thunder @ the Phoenix Suns (Friday @ 9pm est). If you are looking for some outright winners tonight as those are my fav, you might want to take a look at Atlanta on the road at Portland catching the "eerie" 5 points as I think that is a bit of a trap. I also think the Bulls might win Outright at home and bury 70% of the public - then again, the Nuggets did beat the Sixers by being favored by 70% as well as they were looking to keep pace out west. But, for today's 2nd pod to make to make up for the lack of NBA games on Monday, let's go with the over in Phoenix. Since the return of Gentry as coach to the Suns, who is the last remnant of the Mike D'Antoni era of this team, Phoenix is back to being Phoenix. Heck, Amare put up 40 points against the Clippers and on back to back nights this team dropped 140 points. Wow. Bear in mind this was with 70% of the public on Phoenix in both games and that was with the Clippers having some revenge. Gentry is a player's coach and the players love the guy b/c he lets them run and gun. What is interesting about this game is that the side continues to go down as the line for the Thunder has actually dropped from 10 to single digits and even some 8.5's around. OKC has lost to the Suns the last 2 times albeit relatively close games. I like the over not only b/c Phoenix is determined to keep scoring as they were absolutely sick and tired of Porter and his incompetence, but want to show Steve Kerr to stop messing with this team and trying to make us "defensive" and "let us just be us". With that in mind, if Phoenix can put up 130 today, I don't see why the Thunder who love to shoot, can't put up 110. With no Chris Wilcox, this team will have to rely on its outside shooting. Granted, the Thunder have no bench, I feel like if they can hang in there and score 60 in the first half which is very possible for this team, a minimum of 40-50 will be sufficient in the second half as the Suns will not stop scoring. And, who knows, if this is a competitive game, why is it so impossible to think that OKC can't put up 120? I just cannot see OKC covering this game with the Under which is what it will take for me to lose this wager. Plus, with the line coming down it makes me think that Phoenix could be in for a competitive game against OKC which means it is more reason to go possibly dog and over. The over is 12-2 for the Thunder as a road dog by this margin and the over is 4-1 for the Suns as a favorite by this margin
The Cavs are 2-0 against the Buck so far this season, with Mo Williams exacting a measure of revenge against Redd and the Bucks. Here Redd is out for the season and the Cavs could be flat here.Cleveland is off a game in Toronto in which they outshot the Raptors 58.0% to 36.5%. Ilgauskas led all scorers with 22 points. To contrast their fine shooting, Cleveland committed 20 turnovers, eight of which were steals by the Raptors. All this points to the points as the correct play. Cleveland is 0-7 ATS (-8.8 ppg) on the road after a game in which they has more than 10 refereed turnovers and 0-5 ATS on the road after a game on the road in which they shot at least 55% from the field, losing every game SU by at least 13 points. Also, Cleveland is 0-5 ATS (-14.7 ppg) a favorite with at most one day of rest after a road win in which they scored less than 10% of their points from the three-point line. The last nail in the coffin for Cleveland is the fact that they are 0-4 ATS after a win on the road in which Lebron James was NOT the Cavaliers' high scorer.The Bucks have a bunch of players who are taking advantage of their time on the court and are playing with energy. Teams like this are terrific as a significant dog, as they are underestimated by their opponent and they can get in the back door for the cover. Indeed, the last three times the Bucks were getting more than five points they won straight up. They did lost as a 1 point home dog vs the Bulls, but that was not their spot. Cleveland will just be happy with a W here. With the Bucks 8-0 ATS (8.2 ppg) at home with at most one day of rest after a game in which the percentage of their baskets that were assisted was at least ten percentage points lower than their season-to-date average, well grab the ample points.
Denver shellacked Chicago in their earlier meeting 114-101, back November. As a matter of fact, the Nugget's are 8-2 ATS their last 10 vs. the Bull's. The Nugget's are streaking, winning 3 in a row and 8 of their last 10. They are 4-1 ATS their last 5 on the road. Their "D" is very underated, with only 3 teams in the NBA holding opponenets to a lower shooting perecntage. Chicago has 4 new players in the lineup tonight. It will take the "new look" Bull's a while to mesh. This is an ideal time for the Nugget's to takle advantage of that weekness during this transition. The Bull's are 3-9 ATS their last 12 at the United center. Denver is 5-1 ATS their last 6 vs. the Eastern conference, 14-5 ATS their last 19 as a road favorite, and 36-17-1 ATS their last 54 games on 1 days rest. Chicago is 3-7 ATS their last 10 home games vs. teams with a winning road percentage of over .600, 4-10 ATS their last 14 games on 1 days rest, and 1-4 ATS their last 5 games played at home. Denver keeps rolling.
This total might be set right if both teams had their best scorers available. But they don't.Al Jefferson, the Timberwolves' lone consistent inside scoring threat, is gone for the season.The Pacers are missing their two top scorers, Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy. Minnesota also no longer has traded Rashard McCants.So who picks up the scoring left by the absence of these stars? Who indeed? The Timberwolves are now relying more on Sebastian Telfair. That's a situation no NBA team wants to be in.
Comments
NBA:
2* Blazers -4
3* Hornets/Lakers over 207
4* Knicks -2
NCAA:
1* Nevada -1
NHL:
3* Wings/Ducks over 5.5
45-19 SOCCER SIDES AND TOTALS
Friday:
Portugal league:
FC Porto
NBA Basketball
Hawks +5 over Trailblazers
NCAA Basketball
No plays today.
nba early release
phoenix under 231.5
Tampa Bay +2.10 over CAROLINA (REG) PINNACLE
Itll be a cold day in hell when I pass up a take-back like this against the Hurricanes. Heres a team that hasnt won at home all month and over its last three home games has been outscored 15-2. The Lightning are struggling right now but so what, theyre used to it and have been struggling all year. Thing is, theyre coming off games against New Jersey, Chicago and Washington, arguably three of this years elite teams and will take a giant step down in class when they face the least talented team in the league. Teams like Detroit, Washington, Boston and San Jose are favored by this much and the Canes are not close to being in that same category. Yeah, the Canes might win here but the Lightning surely has a shot and the tag makes them an absolute must play. Play: Tampa Bay +2.10 (Risking 2 units).
Daily Premium Hoops & Hockey Winners for Friday
NCAA Basketball
100* Play Columbia (+3.5) over Brown (NCAA)
(Ivy League Game of the Year)
Columbia is 7-0 ATS when the total posted is between 120 and 129.5 this
season
Columbia is 11-3 ATS in road games over the last 2 seasons
Columbia is 16-1 ATS in road games after allowing 60 or less in two
games
Columbia is 8-1 ATS after failing to cover the spread in the last game
50 units Cornell
25 units Memphis Grizzles
1000 Units Atlanta plus the points over Portland
1000 Units Dallas plus the points over Houston
1000 Units Indiana/Minnesotta UNDER the total
all 4 units, writeups later.
Charlotte 2.5 over Orlando
Phoenix -Okl City over 234
VCU
NBA 3-PACK OF WINNERS! (INCLUDING AN 80% CLUB STAT)
Pacers / Timberwolves Over 213
Hawks / Trailblazers Under 192
Hornets / Lakers Over 207
NHL UPSET SPECIAL
2* Tampa Bay Lightning +180
1000* - Niagara Purple Eagles
500* - Dallas Mavericks
new orleans hornets
BIG TICKET
Atlanta under
Memphis over
Charlotte
Milwaukee
Washington
Date: Friday, February 20, 2009
NBA POWER PLAY GAME OF THE MONTH
864 Houston -3 8:05 EST
Illinois State +3 (Max Bet Play)
I live near Siena so I follow the MAAC closely. Other than the Saints, this is a poor conference this year, Niagara has an impressive record but most of their wins came from conference play. Illinois State is by far and away the more athletic and deeper squad between these two teams. Plus, Niagara has a huge game with Siena on deck. I like taking the road teams in these Bracket Buster games because a lot of times the team from the much tougher conference is playing away from home. I'll take the three points here but we won't need them. The Redbirds win this game by double digits.
Here are Today's Picks: Final
NBA: (9PM) Suns - Thunder // TOTAL: OVER 230.5
NCAAB: (7PM) Cornell - Yale // SPREAD: CORNELL -4.5
nba. new orleans @ lakers over 206' (500*)
nba. ok city+9 (30*)
nba. lakers-9(20*)
nba. ok city @ phoenix over 233'(20*)
nba. cleveland-7 (10*)
nba. charlotte+2' (10*) free play
Play: VCU +1(POD)
Comments: INDIAN COWBOY'S PLAY OF THE DAY: 4 Unit Play. #883. Take VCU +1 over Nevada (Friday @ 9pm est). Man, I'm really excited about today. We're searching for winning week 6 of 7 in college hoops and we find ourselves at 2-2 in college ball this week and +22 units in February. We're not as rolling as we did in January with the pace that led us to +66 units, but no worries. I feel great about the trio card going today and in particular, I feel great about our Friday night college play as we look to get on the plus side of the week. From there, we will look to have a solid weekend. We are all Rams today! VCU is a top 80 team and there is a reason in my opinion why this game is essentially a pick-em. Why do you think that this game is a pick-em on a Friday night card as a bracket buster? It's because it is a nice setup imo for an outright winner for the Rams who I would have still taken even if they were favored by 2 in this contest. VCU is no joke folks, they are a solid team and Nevada has yet to beat a top 100 team all year. VCU remember is a top 75 team that. Considering Nevada has already lost to Louisiana Tech at home who is a top 150 team, New Mexico State who is a top 150 team as well and lost to Idaho by a few points at home who is also a top 150 team. By no means am I saying that VCU is perfect. But, what I am saying is that this team did go on the road to beat Hofstra who is a top 150 team, defeated Drexel by nearly 30 who is a top 125 team, defeated Akron who is a top 100 team at home, beat the Richmond Spiders who is a top 125 team on the road and even beat New Mexico a top 50 team on neutral footing while only losing to Rhode Island on the road by just 6 points. Make no mistake, the Rams can play and have beaten similar teams on the road such as Nevada. I'll take VCU here given how well they are playing, the fact that with Maynor, Sanders, Pish and Burgess this team has decent depth and plays about 9 deep, shoots over 70% in free throws per game, top 100 in the nation in 3 point shooting as well as top 100 in points per game. Let's roll with the Rams for the outright here as the public likely takes a hit with Nevada who although will start off strong I believe lacks the scoring as well as depth to hang in there for a full 40 minutes against VCU.
Play: 4 Unit Play. #852. Take the Charlotte Bobcats +2.5 over the Orlando Magic (Friday @ 7pm est). (POD
Comments: INDIAN COWBOY'S PLAY OF THE DAY: 4 Unit Play. #852. Take the Charlotte Bobcats +2.5 over the Orlando Magic (Friday @ 7pm est). Note, we have two plays today because of Monday's no action and I want to make sure clients receive 7 full days of action that they paid for. What better day to go 2 plays given the value on Friday Night's NBA action as we come off travel Thursday in the Association. I like the B's with the revenge angle today. Remember, this team was a 8.5 dog at Orlando only to lead most of the game and then end up losing in OT. What did the Bobcats do after that game? They simply came back home and beat Indiana at home by 9. Jordan's team is doing well given the depth that this team has and now with the return of Wallace and Bell, this team is playing even better. Remember, this team is just 10 games from being .500 which is the holy grail it seems in the East to making the playoffs. Plus, with the Bucks losing Michael Redd they very well could fade out of the picture. Heck, the Bobcats have covered their last 5 games, 3-1 over their last 4 games straight up (albeit relatively non-competitive teams), but are 32-22 ATS this year. Yes, Rafer Alston will now be a Magic, but you think all will be fine and dandy in a road game vs. the Bobcats who have revenge? I don' think so. And yes, the Magic come off a terrible loss at New Orleans, but with 77% of the public on the Magic as the biggest consensus play, the line continuing to move down, the Bobcats with revenge, at home, against a Magic team that might not be in sync right off the bat with their new found point guard, this makes sense to me to ride Charlotte here. It just goes with the many principles that I believe in selecting a play. Get your tums! The Bobcats are 5-0 ATS as a home Underdog of late.
Play: 4 unit Play. Take Over 234 between the OKC Thunder @ the Phoenix Suns (Friday @ 9pm est).
Comments: 4 unit Play. Take Over 234 between the OKC Thunder @ the Phoenix Suns (Friday @ 9pm est). If you are looking for some outright winners tonight as those are my fav, you might want to take a look at Atlanta on the road at Portland catching the "eerie" 5 points as I think that is a bit of a trap. I also think the Bulls might win Outright at home and bury 70% of the public - then again, the Nuggets did beat the Sixers by being favored by 70% as well as they were looking to keep pace out west. But, for today's 2nd pod to make to make up for the lack of NBA games on Monday, let's go with the over in Phoenix. Since the return of Gentry as coach to the Suns, who is the last remnant of the Mike D'Antoni era of this team, Phoenix is back to being Phoenix. Heck, Amare put up 40 points against the Clippers and on back to back nights this team dropped 140 points. Wow. Bear in mind this was with 70% of the public on Phoenix in both games and that was with the Clippers having some revenge. Gentry is a player's coach and the players love the guy b/c he lets them run and gun. What is interesting about this game is that the side continues to go down as the line for the Thunder has actually dropped from 10 to single digits and even some 8.5's around. OKC has lost to the Suns the last 2 times albeit relatively close games. I like the over not only b/c Phoenix is determined to keep scoring as they were absolutely sick and tired of Porter and his incompetence, but want to show Steve Kerr to stop messing with this team and trying to make us "defensive" and "let us just be us". With that in mind, if Phoenix can put up 130 today, I don't see why the Thunder who love to shoot, can't put up 110. With no Chris Wilcox, this team will have to rely on its outside shooting. Granted, the Thunder have no bench, I feel like if they can hang in there and score 60 in the first half which is very possible for this team, a minimum of 40-50 will be sufficient in the second half as the Suns will not stop scoring. And, who knows, if this is a competitive game, why is it so impossible to think that OKC can't put up 120? I just cannot see OKC covering this game with the Under which is what it will take for me to lose this wager. Plus, with the line coming down it makes me think that Phoenix could be in for a competitive game against OKC which means it is more reason to go possibly dog and over. The over is 12-2 for the Thunder as a road dog by this margin and the over is 4-1 for the Suns as a favorite by this margin
Cleveland at Milwaukee
Pick: Milwaukee +8
The Cavs are 2-0 against the Buck so far this season, with Mo Williams exacting a measure of revenge against Redd and the Bucks. Here Redd is out for the season and the Cavs could be flat here.Cleveland is off a game in Toronto in which they outshot the Raptors 58.0% to 36.5%. Ilgauskas led all scorers with 22 points. To contrast their fine shooting, Cleveland committed 20 turnovers, eight of which were steals by the Raptors. All this points to the points as the correct play. Cleveland is 0-7 ATS (-8.8 ppg) on the road after a game in which they has more than 10 refereed turnovers and 0-5 ATS on the road after a game on the road in which they shot at least 55% from the field, losing every game SU by at least 13 points. Also, Cleveland is 0-5 ATS (-14.7 ppg) a favorite with at most one day of rest after a road win in which they scored less than 10% of their points from the three-point line. The last nail in the coffin for Cleveland is the fact that they are 0-4 ATS after a win on the road in which Lebron James was NOT the Cavaliers' high scorer.The Bucks have a bunch of players who are taking advantage of their time on the court and are playing with energy. Teams like this are terrific as a significant dog, as they are underestimated by their opponent and they can get in the back door for the cover. Indeed, the last three times the Bucks were getting more than five points they won straight up. They did lost as a 1 point home dog vs the Bulls, but that was not their spot. Cleveland will just be happy with a W here. With the Bucks 8-0 ATS (8.2 ppg) at home with at most one day of rest after a game in which the percentage of their baskets that were assisted was at least ten percentage points lower than their season-to-date average, well grab the ample points.
MTis FORECAST: Cleveland 95 MILWAUKEE 93
PORTLAND -5
MEMPHIS -5
HORNETS/LAKERS OV 207
Denver at Chicago
Play: Denver -2.5
Denver shellacked Chicago in their earlier meeting 114-101, back November. As a matter of fact, the Nugget's are 8-2 ATS their last 10 vs. the Bull's. The Nugget's are streaking, winning 3 in a row and 8 of their last 10. They are 4-1 ATS their last 5 on the road. Their "D" is very underated, with only 3 teams in the NBA holding opponenets to a lower shooting perecntage. Chicago has 4 new players in the lineup tonight. It will take the "new look" Bull's a while to mesh. This is an ideal time for the Nugget's to takle advantage of that weekness during this transition. The Bull's are 3-9 ATS their last 12 at the United center. Denver is 5-1 ATS their last 6 vs. the Eastern conference, 14-5 ATS their last 19 as a road favorite, and 36-17-1 ATS their last 54 games on 1 days rest. Chicago is 3-7 ATS their last 10 home games vs. teams with a winning road percentage of over .600, 4-10 ATS their last 14 games on 1 days rest, and 1-4 ATS their last 5 games played at home. Denver keeps rolling.
Indiana at Minnesota
Play: Under 213
This total might be set right if both teams had their best scorers available. But they don't.Al Jefferson, the Timberwolves' lone consistent inside scoring threat, is gone for the season.The Pacers are missing their two top scorers, Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy. Minnesota also no longer has traded Rashard McCants.So who picks up the scoring left by the absence of these stars? Who indeed? The Timberwolves are now relying more on Sebastian Telfair. That's a situation no NBA team wants to be in.