One thread should be more than enough for the playoffs.
I honestly don't know how much early action I will have. Usually, I can identify a few early series that I like but with the injuries right and so many unknown factors, I have been doing a lot of hemming and hawing. More on that later...
First, I'll give some general thoughts on several teams...
Denver:
Simply put, they are the best team in the league. Although I do not put as much faith into regular season match-ups as years ago, the proof was in the pudding in their Boston games. Hey, I had a pitchfork for Coach Malone many years ago. He was the one standing in front of true success for this team. He improved though, and they should repeat as champions with a healthy spring.
Boston:
This is a make-or-break season for the Celtics. They need to win it all or start to reconfigure this team a bit. Coaching is big in ultimate success, and they simply do not have a championship coach. Can the talent overtake that? They also have some postseason memories to erase.
I know they will be rooting for Chicago pretty hard tonight. I want Miami in there, for future bets but also because a Boston loss opens up more doors for me.
Philadelphia:
Joel is back, but is he ready to play 20+ games and lead this team to heights unseen in 20+ years? The subtractions of Glenn Rivers and Harden cannot be discounted. Those are two awful postseason performers. I love Maxey, he is a star. With that being said, the rest of the team is average at best. This playoff run is all about Embiid.
New York:
Love this team and Brunson is my favorite player at this point. The old-school style is great and the Garden should be rocking this spring. The offense is the concern though. They'll have to grind out some games and find unexpected offensive heroes. The return of OG in April is huge. He slowly built his minutes up. He was the catalyst of their mid-season defensive resurgence back in January. That is when I played their future. Dangerous team, yet a very tough 1st round match-up.
Milwaukee:
This team was expected in the EC Finals after the Lillard trade. As big of a Dame fan as I am, they lost so much defense with Jrue that they simply are not the same team. They can score though. The defense did improve when Doc came aboard, but that also means you receive Doc in the playoffs. That is a wash. The big question starting the playoffs is the health of Janice. We've seen incredible recoveries from him before.
LA Clippers:
The greatest threat to the Nuggets is a familiar issue; Kawhi's health. This is very unfortunate as we were able to see Leonard play the vast majority of the schedule this season. The one other issue with this Clippers squad -- Jimmy Harden. He isn't a great playoff performer, although he'll have his moments. They also ended up drawing the hottest team in the league. So many variables here.
LA Lakers:
Non-factor in my book. The Nuggets will dismiss them likely in 5 games. Maybe we see a 6th game but I highly doubt it. Don't let the media hype blind your eyes here.
Cleveland and Orlando:
These are both classic overachieving regular-season teams. This is not to discredit them at all, but we've seen these types over the years.. They win a few more than they should in the regular season due to coaching and less 'resting' than other squads. I have deep respect for both, and one will be in the 2nd round, but neither is a championship contender this season.
Oklahoma City:
Ah yes, the #1 seed and my 80-1 preseason bet. Very cool season for the Thunder. They also made out the best of the higher west seeds in a potential 1st round match. Either match-up will be a lot of fun, and likely a 6 game series. From there, they will have too face a tough road to 'hold serve' in the West. I think a 1st round series win and a competitive series vs Dallas or the Clippers is a helluva season.
Minnesota:
This is likely the most disrespected team entering the playoffs. I like that KAT has slowly come back and should be ready to roll minutes-wise soon, The Ant-Man is my 2nd favorite player in the league and a guy I expect big things from in the playoffs. I love the experience they received last year vs the Nuggets as well. Don't underestimate this team, although they dropped to the 3 seed.
Phoenix:
Yeah, not too high on this squad, as usual. Do you all remember when they were favored over the Nuggets last year to start the WC Semifinals? That was a series they started on the road. This is an NBA hype team. Yes, the guys can get hot and take over a few games. In a long series though, I don't see them having enough defense to win 4 games.
So, here are some general thoughts...
Those of you who like Milwaukee to make a run, take a peek at the Denver-Milwaukee finals exacta. I think you'll like the value there.
We always find a series that is a dead under series. Which one is that here? Despite the opening number, this could well be Philly vs New York.
The injury timelines are very fluid right now. That is a big crutch for me anything involving Milwaukee. He is a quick healer, but who knows? Indiana is also a bad defensive team, so that should be a wild series for sure.
So many coinflip series it seems.
Two series plays for now, more to come in general...
Denver SERIES -380 to win 2 units
Minnesota SERIES +112 risking 1 unit
The Minnesota series is like this -- better team and a better defense. I am playing small now because I think I'll be adding another unit during the series. I know I am heads-up versus other cappers here but I am a defense guy first and foremost. The experience last year was big as well.
This Denver series should be -475 at the lowest. We are receiving a discount here due to the name on the jersey. Simple as that.
MORE TO COME (GAME BETS, LIVE BETS AND PROPS)
I honestly don't know how much early action I will have. Usually, I can identify a few early series that I like but with the injuries right and so many unknown factors, I have been doing a lot of hemming and hawing. More on that later...
First, I'll give some general thoughts on several teams...
Denver:
Simply put, they are the best team in the league. Although I do not put as much faith into regular season match-ups as years ago, the proof was in the pudding in their Boston games. Hey, I had a pitchfork for Coach Malone many years ago. He was the one standing in front of true success for this team. He improved though, and they should repeat as champions with a healthy spring.
Boston:
This is a make-or-break season for the Celtics. They need to win it all or start to reconfigure this team a bit. Coaching is big in ultimate success, and they simply do not have a championship coach. Can the talent overtake that? They also have some postseason memories to erase.
I know they will be rooting for Chicago pretty hard tonight. I want Miami in there, for future bets but also because a Boston loss opens up more doors for me.
Philadelphia:
Joel is back, but is he ready to play 20+ games and lead this team to heights unseen in 20+ years? The subtractions of Glenn Rivers and Harden cannot be discounted. Those are two awful postseason performers. I love Maxey, he is a star. With that being said, the rest of the team is average at best. This playoff run is all about Embiid.
New York:
Love this team and Brunson is my favorite player at this point. The old-school style is great and the Garden should be rocking this spring. The offense is the concern though. They'll have to grind out some games and find unexpected offensive heroes. The return of OG in April is huge. He slowly built his minutes up. He was the catalyst of their mid-season defensive resurgence back in January. That is when I played their future. Dangerous team, yet a very tough 1st round match-up.
Milwaukee:
This team was expected in the EC Finals after the Lillard trade. As big of a Dame fan as I am, they lost so much defense with Jrue that they simply are not the same team. They can score though. The defense did improve when Doc came aboard, but that also means you receive Doc in the playoffs. That is a wash. The big question starting the playoffs is the health of Janice. We've seen incredible recoveries from him before.
LA Clippers:
The greatest threat to the Nuggets is a familiar issue; Kawhi's health. This is very unfortunate as we were able to see Leonard play the vast majority of the schedule this season. The one other issue with this Clippers squad -- Jimmy Harden. He isn't a great playoff performer, although he'll have his moments. They also ended up drawing the hottest team in the league. So many variables here.
LA Lakers:
Non-factor in my book. The Nuggets will dismiss them likely in 5 games. Maybe we see a 6th game but I highly doubt it. Don't let the media hype blind your eyes here.
Cleveland and Orlando:
These are both classic overachieving regular-season teams. This is not to discredit them at all, but we've seen these types over the years.. They win a few more than they should in the regular season due to coaching and less 'resting' than other squads. I have deep respect for both, and one will be in the 2nd round, but neither is a championship contender this season.
Oklahoma City:
Ah yes, the #1 seed and my 80-1 preseason bet. Very cool season for the Thunder. They also made out the best of the higher west seeds in a potential 1st round match. Either match-up will be a lot of fun, and likely a 6 game series. From there, they will have too face a tough road to 'hold serve' in the West. I think a 1st round series win and a competitive series vs Dallas or the Clippers is a helluva season.
Minnesota:
This is likely the most disrespected team entering the playoffs. I like that KAT has slowly come back and should be ready to roll minutes-wise soon, The Ant-Man is my 2nd favorite player in the league and a guy I expect big things from in the playoffs. I love the experience they received last year vs the Nuggets as well. Don't underestimate this team, although they dropped to the 3 seed.
Phoenix:
Yeah, not too high on this squad, as usual. Do you all remember when they were favored over the Nuggets last year to start the WC Semifinals? That was a series they started on the road. This is an NBA hype team. Yes, the guys can get hot and take over a few games. In a long series though, I don't see them having enough defense to win 4 games.
So, here are some general thoughts...
Those of you who like Milwaukee to make a run, take a peek at the Denver-Milwaukee finals exacta. I think you'll like the value there.
We always find a series that is a dead under series. Which one is that here? Despite the opening number, this could well be Philly vs New York.
The injury timelines are very fluid right now. That is a big crutch for me anything involving Milwaukee. He is a quick healer, but who knows? Indiana is also a bad defensive team, so that should be a wild series for sure.
So many coinflip series it seems.
Two series plays for now, more to come in general...
Denver SERIES -380 to win 2 units
Minnesota SERIES +112 risking 1 unit
The Minnesota series is like this -- better team and a better defense. I am playing small now because I think I'll be adding another unit during the series. I know I am heads-up versus other cappers here but I am a defense guy first and foremost. The experience last year was big as well.
This Denver series should be -475 at the lowest. We are receiving a discount here due to the name on the jersey. Simple as that.
MORE TO COME (GAME BETS, LIVE BETS AND PROPS)
