Sports Picks & Predictions

The Jazz were able to sneak in the back door in Game 1 and we think they will play a better game overall here and we think they can keep this one within double digits. This is an inflated line as far as we are concerned and after playing pretty lousy most of Game 1 we think Utah will play better here. We think they will make more of a contribution on the offensive end to get this one over the posted number. This series has had a bunch of unders, but Game 1 was real close to going over and the Warriors probably took their foot off the gas a bit at the end of that game but we think that this one will be more competitive and the Warriors will still be taking the game seriously late in the fourth. That will help the total here, and we think this will be a very competitive game overall.

The Jazz were able to sneak in the back door in Game 1 and we think they will play a better game overall here and we think they can keep this one within double digits. This is an inflated line as far as we are concerned and after playing pretty lousy most of Game 1 we think Utah will play better here. We think they will make more of a contribution on the offensive end to get this one over the posted number. This series has had a bunch of unders, but Game 1 was real close to going over and the Warriors probably took their foot off the gas a bit at the end of that game but we think that this one will be more competitive and the Warriors will still be taking the game seriously late in the fourth. That will help the total here, and we think this will be a very competitive game overall.

We were going to go higher units on Washington here as we thought the spread would be about 4 but it opened at 5 at most shops and has been bet to this number, taking some of the value out of the home team. We still think that the Wizards will win this one and get back in the series. We think this series is pretty close despite the Celtics winning Games 1 and 2. It should be tied now but the Celtics had an amazing comeback in Game 2 and won it in OT. We don’t think Thomas can repeat his Superman performance from Game 2 and the Wizards will probably get a more well-rounded game on their side and Beal’s numbers are sure to even out after a poor shooting night in Game 2. Washington won both games in blowout fashion at home in this series during the regular season, and we expect them to get a comfortable win here.

Game 1 was the first Cleveland blowout in this series since last season. Toronto won big in one regular-season meeting but all the others were Cleveland wins by no more than four points. We just don’t see the Cavs winning big in both home games here to start the series and we think the Raptors are a live dog tonight. Toronto has been good after a loss lately and they are 5-1 ATS after a straight up loss. That means that this team is good at bouncing back lately, and we think that will be the case tonight. Cleveland has been one of the worst ATS teams this season and they are constantly overvalued by the oddsmakers. We certainly think that is the case tonight as normally the team that loses Game 1 is tabbed to bounce back and play better in Game 2 but we are getting an even better line here.

We think that Utah built a lot of momentum in their series win over the Clippers. We think that will carry over here. Everyone is criticizing the Clippers for losing to an “inferior” team, but we were very impressed with the Jazz and their defense, especially in their Game 7 performance in LA in the close out game. We love the Jazz here getting this many points and feel they will keep this one within double digits. They were able to control the pace in almost every game against the Clippers and they held them under 100 (one of the best offensive teams in the NBA) in six of the seven games of the series. We think that they will be able to disrupt the Warriors offense a bit and slow them down, and that makes all these points even more valuable. Golden State made it look easy against Portland but they face a much better team here in the second round and the Jazz will be competitive here. The nightlife isn’t the only reason the Warriors wanted to play the Clippers because they have a mental edge over that team but we don’t think they own the same against Utah and the Jazz will give everything they have in this series.

We think that Utah built a lot of momentum in their series win over the Clippers. We think that will carry over here. Everyone is criticizing the Clippers for losing to an “inferior” team, but we were very impressed with the Jazz and their defense, especially in their Game 7 performance in LA in the close out game. We love the Jazz here getting this many points and feel they will keep this one within double digits. They were able to control the pace in almost every game against the Clippers and they held them under 100 (one of the best offensive teams in the NBA) in six of the seven games of the series. We think that they will be able to disrupt the Warriors offense a bit and slow them down, and that makes all these points even more valuable. Golden State made it look easy against Portland but they face a much better team here in the second round and the Jazz will be competitive here. The nightlife isn’t the only reason the Warriors wanted to play the Clippers because they have a mental edge over that team but we don’t think they own the same against Utah and the Jazz will give everything they have in this series.

In Game 1 the Wizards hung right with the Celtics most of the game but they had a real poor third quarter where they were outscored by 20 points and that was the difference in the game. We had Boston in Game 1 for our free pick but we are going to use the zig zag theory here and we expect the road team to play a more complete game here on Tuesday night. Boston has now won five straight games after going down 2-0 in their series against the Bulls but for that reason we think they are starting to get overvalued because normally in this case the odds would sway towards the road team that is desperate for a win. We think they will play much better here and we expect a close game as we don’t see Washington playing two lousy games in a row.