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Round 2-NBA Playoffs-Western Conference

May 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

NBA-Western-Conference

Two epic matchups in the Western Conference featuring the San Antonio Spurs versus the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

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  • Game 1- May 5 Memphis @ Oklahoma City 93-91
  • Game 2-May 7 Memphis @ Oklahoma City 9:30 p.m. (EST) TNT
  • Game 3-May 11 Oklahoma City @ Memphis 5 p.m. (EST) ESPN
  • Game 4-May 13 Oklahoma City @ Memphis 9:30 p.m. (EST) TNT
  • Game 5- May 15 Memphis @ Oklahoma City TBA TNT
  • Game 6- May 17 Oklahoma City @ Memphis TBA ESPN
  • Game 7- May 19 Memphis @ Oklahoma City TBA 

2013 Regular Season Match-up

  • November 14 Memphis @ Oklahoma City 107-97
  • January 3 Memphis @ Oklahoma City 89-106
  • March 20 Oklahoma City @ Memphis 89-90 OT

Memphis Grizzlies’ Locker Room

This Memphis team seemed to have overcome the departure of ex-star Rudy Gay, but with the arrival of Ed Davis and Tayshaun Prince they have improved their defensive mentality. They lost by a mere two points in Oklahoma City where the Thunder have thrived all season.  Kevin Martin is a good sixth man but he doesn’t have the takeover mentality that James Harden has and the Thunder are missing it big time. The Grizzlies are first in points allowed at 89.3 points per game during the regular season and having beat the LA Clippers in six has given them great momentum coming into this series. They ran into a bit of emotion in game one against the Thunder. But look for the Grizzlies to lock in their defense and maybe surprise the Thunder.

Oklahoma City Thunder Locker Room

Take one game at a time, this Thunder team just isn’t dominating as they use to be anymore. Losing James Harden to Houston and now losing Russell Westbrook to injury, they miss a potential 50 points and 15 assists per game. The Thunder ESCAPED Sunday by a mere two points against the Grizzlies. Without Westbrook to pressure Mike Conley, Conley is able to distribute the ball equally and create plays off the ball.  This Thunder team averages 105.7 points per game this season and are 34-7 at home. To make this series in their favor, they need to win all their home games. If the Grizzlies manage to steal one in OKC, Kevin Durant will have an early exit this season.

Final Predictions

I think this Memphis Grizzlies defense is better than people give them credit for. Defense wins playoff games in the NBA

Memphis Grizzlies in 6

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Golden State Warriors Vs San Antonio Spurs

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  • Game 1- May 6 Golden State @ San Antonio 129-127 OT
  • Game 2- May 8 Golden State @ San Antonio 9.30PM (ET) TNT
  • Game 3- May 10 San Antonio @ Golden State 10.30PM (ET) ESPN
  • Game 4- May 12 San Antonio @ Golden State 3.30PM (ET) ABC
  • Game 5- May 14 Golden State @ San Antonio 9.30PM (ET) TNT
  • Game 6- May 16 San Antonio @ Golden State TBA ESPN
  • Game 7- May 19 Golden State @ San Antonio TBA

2013 Regular Season Match-up

  • January 18 Golden State @ San Antonio88-95
  • February 22  San Antonio @ Golden State 101-107OT
  • March 20 Golden State @ San Antonio 93-104
  • April 15  San Antonio @ Golden State 106-116

Golden State Warriors’ Locker Room

Epic game in the opener as the Warriors blew a huge lead in the final four minutes when the Spurs went on 18-2 run and took the Spurs to double overtime. Manu Ginobili hit a trey to seal the game with 1.4 seconds left. The Warriors rank third in the NBA with 45 rebounds per game during the regular season and without David Lee they still out-rebounded the front court of Matt Bonner, Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw. But during the final moments in game one, experience showed to be the difference when the Spurs locked down on defense and shut down the Warriors, causing them to turn the ball over. If the Warriors want to have a shot in winning, they need to play defense because the Spurs are not going to come out in game two like they did in game one.

San Antonio Spurs’ Locker Room

GINOBILI!!!!!! The  former sixth man of the year hit a game winning 3 with 1.4 seconds left allowing the Spurs to take game one at home. Averaging 25.1 assists per game ranking, which topped the NBA during the regular season, the Spurs showed why experience and teamwork plays a great part in winning playoff games. The big three in Ginobili, Duncan and Parker all showed up to play. Don’t expect any more game one come-from-behind wins from the Spurs, they were helped by Warriors inexperience.  The Spurs are 35-6 at home this season and so far are undefeated in the playoffs, they are going to have to shut down the dynamic backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who combined for 63 points. Defense is the key.

Final Predictions

I see the Warriors stealing a game or two in San Antonio but the Spurs are just as good enough to steal a couple on the road.  Look for every game to be exciting, and it’s going to be a great series.

Spurs in 7

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The Betting Corner : NBA Round 1, Day 3 & 4

April 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

NBA Betting Corner Round 1, Day 3 & 4

Bracket

Welcome! To the NBA Playoffs Betting Corner.

4/22/13

8PM ET on TNT

Series 0-1

          Chicago Bulls @ Brooklyn Nets          

 –

10.30PM ET on TNT

Series 0-1

Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Clippers

—–

4/23/13

7.30PM ET on NBATV

Series 0-1

Milwaukee Bucks @ Miami Heat

 –

8PM ET on TNT

Series 0-1

Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks

 –

10.30PM ET on TNT

Series 0-1

Golden State Warriors @ Denver Nuggets

  –

Our Sunday started out with an easy win as the total in the Indiana-Atlanta game went over. The Lakers-Spurs game (+9) was really close. The Bucks kept it close in the first half but just had a total meltdown in the second half. In the last game of the night, we had the total over 213 and the final score totaled up to 211,If you watched the game, you’re just as frustrated as me.

YTD Season: 3-4-1

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In the first game of the night, the Brooklyn Nets will continue to route the Chicago Bulls. I had the Bulls +5 because the Bulls are still a great defensive team and with Joakim Noah back, things were promising. Apparently not. The most productive center in the league, Brook Lopez, is playing great along with Deron Williams who’s been on a tear since the All-Star break. Noah came back but wasn’t a huge factor. The Chicago starters combined for just 50 points while the Brooklyn starters combined for 78.

Key(s) to winning- Rebounds

1 Unit (Brooklyn Nets -5)

clippers reserve

In primetime comes the highlight reel Los Angeles Clippers who will try to take a 2-0 lead in their series. The Clippers’ bench only scored nine more points than the Grizzlies bench but the difference in the game was rebounding, The Clippers out-rebounded the Grizzlies 47-23. There’s a saying in basketball, you control the board/paint, and you control the game. The Grizzlies just don’t have enough intensity to match up with the Clippers, especially in Los Angeles.

Key(s) to winning- Rebounds + Bench Production

1 Unit- (Los Angeles Clippers -5.5)

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On Tuesday we have the Miami Heat taking on the Milwaukee Bucks in what looks to be a four-game sweep for the King and his gang. Even though Brandon Jennings showed up and played a decent game in Game 1, the picture shows exactly what happened on Sunday. King James took matters into his own hands and flirted with a triple-double as the Heat erased any doubt in Jennings’ mind that the Bucks will win in six. In summary, the Bucks simply can’t handle the Heat. And with another blowout in mind, I don’t see any value in taking either the total points because it could go either way in a blowout situation.

Key(s) to winning- King James leading the way

0 Unit- (No value in either points or total)

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In more Tuesday action we have the still emotional Boston Celtics at New York taking on the Knicks and like I predicted in Game 1, the Celtics did put up a fight and could have easily covered the game, but were held to eight points in the fourth quarter. Boston also turned the ball over several times in the final two minutes. While emotions ran high during the first game, I feel like the Knicks showed the Celtics first hand why they are 31-10 at home this season. With New York’s stellar defense in the second half forcing turnovers, and with Boston lacking a true point guard, the Celtics had plenty of trouble taking care of the ball. I predict that the Celtics will win outright in Game 3 at home for their home crowd, but for Game 2, take the Knicks.

Key(s) to winning- 3pt% & FT%

1 Unit- (Knicks -6.5)

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The nightcap on Tuesday features a GoldenState team that is missing David Lee for the remainder of the playoffs. I had predicted that the Warriors would put up a fight and make it a tough series with Lee and Andrew Bogut being paint problems for the Denver Nuggets but it’s not happening now.The Warriors lost their main low-post threat and about 20 points per game to go along with 10 rebounds per game. With that in mind, the Nuggets were lucky to come out with a win via a buzzer-beater by 37-year-old veteran Andre Miller, who came off the bench with 28 points. It doesn’t look like George Karl will have the need to play Kenneth Faried with Lee out of the picture, so were going to keep going with the under for Game 2.

Key(s) to winning- Points in the paint

1 Unit- (Total under 207)

____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

Oh yeah, tell your friends too!

Chin Tan
Guest Sports Activist for The Cover 4

http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4

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The Betting Corner: NBA Round 1, Day 1

April 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Bracket

Welcome! To the NBA Playoffs Betting Corner.

Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks

Series 0-0

Golden State Warriors @ Denver Nuggets

Series 0-0

Chicago Bulls @ Brooklyn Nets

Series 0-0

Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Clippers

Series 0-0

Knicks/Celtics

At 3pm the 2nd seed New York Knicks will take on the injured riddled 7th Seed Boston Celtics. The Knicks are 31-10 at home this season while the Celtics are 14-27 away on the road.

1/7/13 Boston @ New York 102-96

1/24/13 New York @ Boston 89-86

3/26/13 New York @ Boston 100-85

3/31/13 Boston @ New York 89-108

This game is about emotion. With the chaos happening in Boston, the Red Sox took it upon themselves to completed a series sweep of the Cleveland Indians. In a similar situations, the Knicks opened their season at home after superstorm Sandy devastated the New York Area; they routed the defending champions Miami Heat 104-84. I see emotions running high inside the Celtics heart and they will come out with ready to play for their home town. Both these teams have similar stats in free throw % and 3pt % and whoever can dominate in both categories will win the game.

New York Knicks FT% .759 3PT% .376

Boston Celtics FT% .776 3PT% .358

Key(s) to winning- FT% & 3PT%

1 Unit (Celtics +7)

Warriors/Nuggets

Moving onto game 2 of the day at 5.30PM ET we have 6th seed Golden State Warriors on the road in the Mile High City taking on 3rd seed Denver Nuggets. Nuggets are 38-3 at home this season while the warriors are 19-22 away on the road.

11/10/12 Denver @ Golden State 107-101 OT

11/23/12 Golden State @ Denver 91-102

11/29/12 Denver @ Golden State 105-106

1/13/13 Golden State @ Denver 105-116

Playoffs are about defense. Despite having the 1st and 7th highest scoring teams in this matchup, don’t expect TOO much offense between these 2 teams. Basketball is a team sport and the Nuggets understand George Karl’s system of sharing the ball. The Nuggets rank 3rd in assist per game while the Warriors rank 15th. This game is going to come down to guard play matchup of Curry vs. Lawson, whoever can get their team more involved is going to win the game.

Key(s) to winning-Assist & Guard Play

.5 Unit (Total under 210.5)

Bulls/Nets

In the Evening 3rd game of the day at 8PM ET we have 5th seed Chicago Bulls in Brooklyn taking on the 4th seed Nets. Nets are 26-15 at home and the Bulls are 21-20 on the road.

12/15/12 Brooklyn @ Chicago 82-83

2/1/13 Chicago @ Brooklyn 89-93

3/2/13 Brooklyn @ Chicago 85-96

4/4/13 Chicago @ Brooklyn 92-90

This is going to be a defensive matchup with 2 VERY defensive minded coaches. Despite not having Derrick Rose all season, the Bulls have exceeded everyone’s expectations. The Bulls rank 8th in rebounding while the Nets rank 10th and the Bulls rank 3rd in points allowed while the Nets rank 6th.

If the Bulls can make the Nets play their game of basketball (grind it out/tough half-court set) the Bulls can surprise the Nets.

Key(s) to winning-Rebounds

1 Unit (Chicago +5)

Clippers/Grizz

The last and final game of the night at 10.30PM ET 4th seed Los Angeles Clippers 32-9 at home host the 5th seed Memphis Grizzlies 24-17 on the road, let the DUNKING Begin…

10/31/12 Memphis @ Los Angeles 92-101

1/14/13 Los Angeles @ Memphis 99-73

3/13/13 Memphis @ Los Angeles 96-85

4/13/13 Los Angeles @ Memphis 91-87

This is the only matchup we have that’s a repeat of last year’s round 1 matchup. The Clippers look to move on once again while the Grizzlies look for payback for last year’s disappointment. Both teams have trouble taking care of the ball at times with the Clippers 13.8 turnovers per game and the Grizzlies 13.2 per game. But with all said, the Clippers have the most productive bench in the league and I just don’t see Memphis matching up with the bench production that Clippers have.

Key(s) to winning-Bench Production & Turnovers

1 Unit (Total over 179)

Season YTD 0-0

Good Luck to all the betters and most importantly enjoy the games.

____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

Oh yeah, tell your friends too!

Chin Tan
Guest Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4

 

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