Bettor's best friend: Thursday's wagering tips (MSI)
Lines
to keep an eye on
Cavaliers at Celtics – The sportsbook
5dimes currently has Boston listed as 2.5-point favorites in this
matchup while every other book is offering the home team as a 1-point
fave. The total of 194.5 is also lower than the 196 most shops are
working with. Lines tend to move toward 5dimes numbers by gametime so
you might start to see them swing in these directions.
Yankees at
Tigers – Opening total of 8.5 has been bet down to 8.
Athletics
at Rangers – Opening total of 9 has dropped to 8.5.
Weather
to watch
(Forecasts are extracted from Weather.com the night
before the game.)
Athletics at Rangers – A 50 percent of rain is
called for with scattered thunderstorms in the DFW metroplex.
Astros
at Cardinals – Wind will blow in from left field at 15 mph and there is
a 30 percent chance of rain.
Yankees at Tigers – A 90 percent
chance of rain is in the forecast.
Who’s hot
Oakland
had won three straight games and 5-of-6 going into Wednesday.
The
Celtics and Cavs have played to the OVER in seven of their last 10
meetings.
Washington has won four of its last five games, all as
underdogs.
Who’s not
Cleveland is 3-6 ATS in its
last nine outings.
The Mariners are 2-8 over a 10-game stretch.
Kansas
City was on a six-game slide heading into Wednesday’s action.
Key
stat
83 – Percentage of NBA teams that go on to win a
playoff series when taking a 3-2 advantage after Game 5.
Injury
that shouldn’t be overlooked
Seattle placed shortstop Jack
Wilson on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring.
Wilson is hitting .253 this season and while that doesn’t seem like much
of a loss, it is a pretty decent average in one of the worst lineups in
baseball. The veteran is also a contact hitter that will put the ball
in play. The Mariners called up Matt Tuiasosopo from Triple-A to replace
Wilson on the roster.
Game of the day
Cleveland
Cavaliers at Boston Celtics (-1, 196)
Notable quotable
"That's
just (expletive). That's really not fair. That's just not fair."
--
Mets' rightfielder Jeff Francoeur, reacting to the decision to move the
Blue Jays-Phillies series to Philadelphia, which will afford the rival
NL East Phillies three additional home games.
Tips and notes
-
A few weeks ago when LeBron leaving Cleveland rumors began to swirl,
NBA commissioner David Stern said, "hopefully, he'll stay.” The last
thing the commish wants is to have King James leave one of his
small-market teams. The Knicks, Bulls and others are going to do just
fine without LeBron but the Cavs won’t survive from a marketing
standpoint without him. One way Stern could possibly keep James in
Cleveland is getting him back for a Game 7 at the Q and then on the road
to a championship.
- Before Johan Santana’s last start, Mets
pitching coach Dan Warthen said that the team’s ace was incurring high
pitch counts early in games because of a plan that calls for him throw
mostly inside fastballs the first time through the lineup. That gameplan
was exercised so Santana’s changeup would be more effective later in
the game. If we know this then other teams know this. Santana gave up
four earned runs in his last outing and 10 earned in the previous.
-
The Yankees and Tigers were forced to play a doubleheader Wednesday
because of a rainout. The Phillies and Rockies were in the same
situation. New York’s and Detroit’s starters in the Game 1 went 7.0
innings so only three relievers were used. Philadelphia used three
pitchers out of the bullpen in Game 1, which went to 10 innings, while
Colorado expensed four relievers. Bettors will want to check the box
score for these Game 2’s from Wednesday because the Yanks-Tigers series
continues with an afternoon game Thursday and the Rockies host the
Nationals that night. If there aren’t many relievers available, the OVER
can sometimes be a smart wager.