Weekend Recap:
Not bad...not bad at all.
Going all the way back to Friday, it was an NBA-only weekend!
On Friday, we collected from the Monopoly guy, cashing the 3* GOW and both 1* Freebies. On Saturday, we dropped the early fraction-of-a-unit Freebie on Indiana, but came storming back with a 2* win on Chicago. On Sunday, we started the day with a nice 0.75-unit win on the Raptors (hoping folks joined me before the line move!), and ended the day with the Knicks laying a true sulfuric sphere. Saturday and Sunday were mostly a wash, but with Friday's success, it's tough to find fault with the last few weeks (minus that one terrible Wednesday).
All in all, NBA is chugging along, and that is going to be the general attack method from this point forward, excluding, of course, tonight's BCS Championship!
Pro Notes:
Despite doing some nice work, the "new" Season Pass didn't inspire any buyers, so we'll head back to a more familiar promo --
$79, every play for the week -- usually $140 for each play individually, so you might as well save 60 bucks right off the bat. Hell, you're probably going to buy 7 plays, why not save enough money to buy 3 more?
And, as always, the daily stuff -- NBA has been on a buttery roll, but tonight is all about College Football! While many might be firing off gigantic plays on this game, Bebe nation is going "anti" ... we will be playing this game for 1 unit. If you buy it, outstanding; if you get some monster play elsewhere, I understand. Either way, I hope everyone had as fantastic a College Football season as I did, and let's cap it with a small, reasonable win.
Sports Wagering: NBA
Memphis Grizzlies (-2.5) @ Charlotte Bobcats with a total of 192.5;
This game is a whole lot of nothin', isn't it? The Grizzlies are playing better, but are coming off a loss at the hands of the Thunder, who were on a bit of revenge. The Bobcats seem to slowly be picking up the up-tempo offense, and they've won 2 in a row while the team slowly gets healthy. There really isn't any sort of scheduling note to consider, nor is there much in the way of matchups worth mentioning. The only angle on this game is revenge, as Charlotte got blasted by 33 in Memphis earlier this year, which prompted a stern talking-to from Uncle Larry Brown. Do we think Charlotte cares enough to take out some revenge on the Grizz? Tough to say - Memphis's defense took a step back in that game with the Thunder, so I'm not positive what sort of effort we'll see from the Grizzlies in this one. If I had to sway in any direction, I'd sway slightly to the slowly improving home team on revenge, the BOBCATS, and just a hair to the OVER.
Houston Rockets @ Boston Celtics with a total of N/A;
Houston is struggling right now, and flat out, that is just not a team that I have any interest in backing. The simple fact is, Houston has had a wildly up-and-down record this year because of the team's schedule. That's it! They opened the year with a very tough 4 week stretch, then ran through some weaker competition, and now Houston is back in a tougher span, and as a result, the Rockets are getting beat. Boston is coming off a loss in Chicago, once again running out of steam on the second half of a back-to-back, and that vulnerability just isn't going away. But in this one, the C's are rested and ready to go. Houston, for what it's worth, has actually had some success on the parquet over the last few years, so it might be best to just lay off, but with the way Houston has been playing defense, covering is going to be tough. Small lean to BOSTON (line depending), and the OVER.
Detroit Pistons @ Chicago Bulls (-10.5) with a total of 189.5;
Detroit heads into Chicago looking to continue what's actually been a half-decent ATS span that has seen the Pistons go 8-3 against the number over the last few weeks. This is also a double-revenge game for the generally under-talented team from Motown. Chicago beat Detroit by 10 here in Chicago back in late October, then, thanks to a ridiculous rebounding edge, Chicago beat Detroit 95-92, grabbing 70 boards to Detroit's 48. So, the question is, while we know Detroit is going to be motivated to try to beat their divisional rival, do they have the bodies to do it? Chicago is bigger, faster, and stronger, and there's a reason the Bulls won that game that, really, they had no business winning. Covering 10 might be tough if Detroit can make a few bombs from the perimeter, so I do actually lean slightly to DETROIT, but not by much, and from a tempo standpoint, this game should land in the low 190's, so small lean to the OVER.