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NBA Conference Semifinal Tuesday...

B.A.R.

B.A.R.

CTG Partner
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21-9-1 40.90 units (LA -7 -110 2 units pending)


Well, got the nice sweep on that Boston game. It was a typical flat first half with a late rally in a Game One off a days rest. Much like the first game back after a road trip in regular season. Orlando has some serious issues though. Boston beat them on boards and Orlando just settled for garbage for the last 18 minutes. I don't see where I won't be on Boston for Game Two. In the late-game, it's early third as I type. Ref's scared me off the under and the under looks great right now. Oh well, hope for the second half play to come through.

Atlanta at Cleveland

Not much here to talk about in all honesty. Hawks should bow out in 4 or 5 games. The home crowd may be good for a Game 3 win. We'll see. Funny how the opening lines for Detroit and Atlanta are pretty similar. Books adjusting or overcompensating. I have no feel for this game at all and will just watch. Congrats to James on the MVP

Dallas at Denver

The big thing from Game one was the FT disparity. The nuggets shot 36 compared to 13 for the Mavericks. Obviously aggressiveness is big here but still the Mavs got called for 10 more fouls. Expect that to even out a bit. I think this is going to be a back and forth series. I expect at least two road wins. The Nuggets have been great at home but I expect a very close game here. I wouldn't be suprised at an outright Mavs win. I will gladly take the points though

Dallas +6.5 -110 3 units



Sorry for brief write-ups. I feel like shit, swine flu perhaps? Either way, pretty run down so taking some thera-flu and gonna pass out here hopefully right when this game goes final. Any additional questions, leave em..thoughts as well. GL tomorrow.
 
Heh, I don't drink caffeine anymore other than the occasional coffee. I actually had a few cups of pop at subway last week and felt a bit shaky.
 
Pulling for the Nuggets in this series, but this really looks like the right play here.

The only thing that makes me think twice is how the Nuggets have played at home so far in the playoffs. They've come out, hit hard, finished well.
 
NUGGETS

Those around the NBA continue to tout Denver center Chris Andersen, who has overcome a drug suspension to have a top-notch season, for NBA Comeback Player of the Year.
There's just one problem. The NBA has no such award.
But it once did. It was done away with before the 1986-87 season and replaced with the Most Improved Player Award because too many players coming back from drug problems were being handed trophies. Of the six who won the award during its 1981-86 run, Bernard King (1981), Micheal Ray Richardson (1985) and Marques Johnson (1986) had battled substance abuse.
However, if a special Comeback Player of the Year were handed out this season, it seems Andersen would do very well in the voting.
"He's been so awesome," said Denver guard Chauncey Billups. "I'm so happy for him. He has to be the player in the league that gets the Comeback Player of the Year. ... He's been phenomenal all reason in his role."
Andersen, then with the Hornets, was suspended in January 2006 for violating the NBA's drug policy. He was reinstated March 2008, but played sparingly in five late-season games with the Hornets.
But Andersen has been a different player since signing a one-year minimum contract last summer with the Nuggets.
Andersen during the regular season averaged 6.4 points and 6.2 rebounds and was second in the NBA in blocked shots with a 2.46 average despite logging a modest 20.5 minutes a night. During the first-round of the playoffs, Andersen showed his old teammates what they were missing when he averaged 7.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.80 blocks as the Nuggets walloped New Orleans in five games.
"For (Andersen) to be kicked out of the league for a couple of seasons and get himself back together and get his life back together and be a big-time contributor on a team like (the Nuggets), that says a lot about his character," said Hornets coach Byron Scott. "I was very proud that he got himself back into the league. He is truly one of my favorite people. He has an infectious personality. I thought he played extremely well in all five games (of the series)."
Andersen picked up right where he left off in Sunday's 109-95 win over Dallas in Game 1 of a West semifinal. He totaled 11 points, six rebounds and six blocks.
So how does Andersen feel about all this talk about his surprising play, and how he should be Comeback Player of the Year?
"I knew I was going to play like this," he said.
NUGGETS 109, MAVERICKS 95: The Nuggets bench-pressed the Mavericks in Game 1 of their West semifinal.
"We're going to have to raise our level of aggression," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said after his team was manhandled Sunday at the Pepsi Center.
Still, Carlisle was upset that Dallas shot a meager 13 free throws to 36 for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets, though, are an aggressive team while the Mavericks are known for their finesse.
Burly Denver center Nene scored 18 of his team-high 24 points in the first half. Nuggets star forward Carmelo Anthony, after being saddled by foul trouble, had 19 of his 23 in the second half.
"It was huge," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "We thought Nene had an opportunity to have a big game, but we never thought we'd get 18 out of him. But, with Melo in foul trouble and kind of searching for an offensive confidence, we got it from Nene."
The hot-shooting Mavericks did take a 24-16 lead after the first quarter. But the Nuggets moved out to a 51-47 halftime lead and put the game away with a 19-4 spurt in the fourth quarter that extended an 82-80 lead to 101-84.
Dallas star forward Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 28 points. But despite bodies being draped all over him, Carlisle was upset Nowitzki shot just five free throws, one being a technical.
Until the fourth quarter, when both benches were cleared, Nuggets reserves had outscored Dallas' bench 30-12. Reserve Denver center Chris Andersen finished with 11 points and six blocks.
"We've got the best bench in the league," said Denver guard Chauncey Billups.
NOTES, QUOTES
—Nuggets coach George Karl wasn't worried when his star forward, Carmelo Anthony, played just 12 minutes in the first half Sunday due to foul trouble.
"What I felt about Melo was his maturity," Karl said after his team beat Dallas 109-95 in Game 1 of a West semifinal. "His foul trouble didn't bother him. It didn't freak him out. It didn't take him to a dark side that we had to worry about. ... He came out in the second half and was a leader for us."
Anthony, who picked up his third foul with 7:03 left in the first half and went to the bench, shot just 0-of-1 in the first half for four points. But he scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half, shooting 5-of-5 for 14 points in the fourth quarter.
"The first half I kind of thought some calls could have went either way, but that's the way they were calling it," Anthony said. "But there really wasn't anything I could do. Was I kind of frustrated about that? Yeah. But I knew I had a whole second half to go out there and get back going."
Anthony picked up his fourth foul with 2:58 left in the third quarter. But he returned with 10:25 left in the game.
Seems Anthony's fourth-quarter goal was modest.
"Trying to get no fouls, man," said Anthony, who stayed clean until getting his fifth with 4:38 left in the game.
—Nuggets coach George Karl has plenty of confidence in his center. But he didn't expect to see what Nene did Sunday.
With Nuggets stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups managing to score a combined total of just seven points in the first half in Game 1 of a West semifinal against Dallas, the Nuggets needed offense. It came from Nene, who scored 18 of his playoff career-high 24 points in the first half of the 109-95 win.
"It was huge," Karl said. "We thought Nene had an opportunity to have a big game, but we never thought we'd get 18 out of him. But, with Melo in foul trouble and kind of searching for an offensive confidence, we got it from Nene."
Nene's previous playoff career high had been 18 points. He equaled that in the first half alone.
"It's a great feeling," Nene said. "We did it good. We took care of business."
In the second half, with Anthony finding his groove en route to 23 points, Nene turned to passing. He handed out four of his five assists.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Our defense was great. I thought our offense was good, but our defense was real good." — Nuggets coach George Karl, on his team's play in Sunday's 109-95 win over Dallas in Game 1 of a West semifinal.
ROSTER REPORT
ROTATION: Starters — Point guard Chauncey Billups, Shooting guard Dahntay Jones, Small forward Carmelo Anthony, Power forward Kenyon Martin, Center Nene. Bench - Guard J.R. Smith, Guard Anthony Carter, Center Chris Andersen, Forward Linas Kleiza.
PLAYER NOTES:
—G J.R. Smith is often needed to put up big scoring numbers. Smith did score 15 points in Sunday's win over Dallas, but he also looked to do other things. Smith handed out six assists and had three steals. If Smith continues to play an all-around game, the Nuggets will be very difficult to beat in their West semifinal series against the Mavericks.
—G Chauncey Billups got off to a great start in Denver's first-round series against New Orleans when he averaged 33.5 points in the first two games. It was hardly the same start for Billups in the West semifinal against Dallas. In Sunday's Game 1, Billups managed just six points on 2-of-8 shooting. But Billups didn't care in the slightest since the Nuggets won 109-95.
—F Kenyon Martin wasted no time in Game 1 of a West semifinal against Dallas showing this will be a physical series. Midway through the first quarter Sunday, Martin gave Dirk Nowitzki a hard shove to the floor and got a technical. Nowitzki insisted the play didn't bother him. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle believed it would have been a flagrant foul had the whistle not blown before Martin's shove.
—F Linas Kleiza played a limited role for the second straight postseason game. After not playing at all in the fifth and final game of a first-round series against New Orleans, Kleiza played a scoreless seven minutes Sunday in Game 1 of a West semifinal against Dallas. Kleiza knew before the playoffs started that his team might be cut. Nuggets coach George Karl has sought at times to go with an eight-man, rather than a nine-man rotation.
 
MAVS

Of all the one-on-one matchups dissected heading into Game 1 of the Mavericks' second-round series against the Denver Nuggets — whether it was Jason Kidd vs. Chauncey Billups, Josh Howard vs. Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki vs. Kenyon Martin or even Jason Terry vs. J.R. Smith — the least-talked-about one killed the Mavs.
Look at the center matchup.
Erick Dampier and the Mavs could not stop Nene, a similar storyline to the regular season when the Brazilian burned the Mavs for an average of 17 points and 7.3 rebounds in the Nuggets' 4-0 sweep.
Nene averaged 9.0 points and 7.8 overall for the season.
In Sunday's opener, Nene poured in 18 of his team-high and personal playoff-high 24 points in the first half. He was 8-for-12 from the field in the opening 24 minutes and finished 9-for-13. He dished off five assists and had three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Dampier, who twisted an ankle in the opening moments and spent a brief moment in the locker room before returning, finished with three points and six rebounds.
Nene and the Nuggets were the aggressors all game, taking it to the basket at every opportunity. Nene did most of his damage in the paint and made 6 of 7 free throws as Denver took 36 free throws to the Mavs' 13, leading to a 16-point differential.
That figure stuck with the Mavs after the game.
"We're going to have to raise our level of aggression if that's what's going to get us to the free throw line," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
NUGGETS 109, MAVERICKS 95: Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 28 points, but he cooled off considerably after a 6-for-6 start for 13 points with Chris Anderson pestering him for much of the game. Nowitzki finished 12 of 22 from the field. Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd all had 15 points. Denver used an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Five players scored in double figures, led by Nene's 24 points. Carmelo Anthony had 23, J.R. Smith scored 15, Anthony Carter had 12 and Anderson added 11, plus six blocked shots.
NOTES, QUOTES
—The Mavs turned the ball over seven times in 14 possessions once they pulled to within 86-82 in the fourth quarter. Jason Kidd had a game-high eight turnovers in Game 1 after committing just three turnovers in five games against the San Antonio Spurs.
—Dallas entered the series with the top-scoring bench in the league, but Denver's talented reserves stole the show in Game 1. The Nuggets' reserves outscored the Mavs 18-7 in the first half. Jason Terry was the only Dallas reserve to score in the first half.
—Denver outscored the Mavs in the paint, 58-30.
—The Nuggets have won five in a row over the Mavs this season and six straight overall.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We talked about protecting the ball a lot better. Just awful there in the second half, throwing the ball all over. We've got to give ourselves at least a chance to get a look at the basket or a chance to get fouled." — Dirk Nowitzki, on the Mavs' 20 turnovers in Game 1.
ROSTER REPORT
ROTATION: Starters — Point guard Jason Kidd, Shooting guard J.J. Barea, Small forward Josh Howard, Power forward Dirk Nowitzki, Center Erick Dampier. Bench — Guard Jason Terry, Guard Antoine Wright, Center Ryan Hollins, Forward Brandon Bass, Forward James Singleton, Guard Gerald Green.
PLAYER NOTES:
—G Jason Kidd came out of the first-round series victory against San Antonio boasting some of his best all-around play of the season. He had just three turnovers in the five-game series.
But, in Game 1 on Sunday against Denver, the Nuggets' quick-handed, pressure defense filled the passing lanes and that led to Kidd recording a season-high eight turnovers. That helped Denver stomp the Mavs in fastbreak points to the tune of 29-4.
Kidd's eight blunders, many of them passes that never found a receiver and bounced out of bounds or found the fingertips of Nuggets' defenders, is a Mavs playoff record for a game that didn't go into overtime.
The Mavs finished with 20 turnovers.
—F Josh Howard spent the entire season nursing a left ankle injury that will require surgery after the season. He went down in the first half of Sunday's Game 1 at Denver clutching his right ankle.
He went to the locker room and got the ankle re-taped, but it didn't take him long to get back in the game. Before he headed to the trainer's table, Howard had 11 points. He finished with 15 points on 7 of 16 shooting and just two rebounds.
"I can't avoid injuries," Howard said. "Right now I could get hurt walking off a plane."
As Howard proved with a strong series against the Spurs, he is essential to the Mavs' success. If he's gimpy on not only one ankle, but two, the Mavs are going to have a hard time at both ends of the court against the athletic Nuggets.
Howard is the Mavs' most athletic player, whether it's slashing to the basket or trying to defend Carmelo Anthony.
—G J.J. Barea was the topic of much discussion before Game 1 as to how he would fit in the series against the Nuggets, who present a bigger backcourt than the Spurs.
Barea remained in the starting lineup for the fourth consecutive playoff game, and he wasn't much of factor. Barea finished with four points and took just four shots, meaning he did little penetrating to the basket where he tended to burn the Spurs.
The diminutive guard did have five assists in his 23 minutes. Guard Antoine Wright, the player Barea replaced as the starter in Game 3 against the Spurs, didn't make much of a case to return to the starting lineup.
Wright had three points and five fouls in 15 minutes of action.
 
CAVS

There just isn't a way to measure the bond LeBron James has with the Cleveland fans.
To say they love him is an understatement.
With the exception of wearing a Yankees cap to an Indians game a couple years ago, they cherish his every move.
The Cavaliers don't wonder why they sold out 40 of 43 games this season at Quicken Loans Arena. They know the drawing power of this special player.
James can feel the bond between himself and the fans.
"The 20,000-plus fans have been nothing but great," he said. "I try to give them their money's worth. We have a great bond.
"They've watched me grow from an 18-year-old kid to a 24-year-old man. We relate to each other. We stick together. It's a great bond."
Cavs coach Mike Brown has been on board for the last four years. It didn't take long to feel the connection.
"He's become a local hometown hero," Brown said. "People watched him play since junior high.
"Everyone feels a connection to him because they watched him grow up and play in high school. Economically, people want to show their appreciation by reaching out to him and showing their support (at the box office). It's a win-win situation for the fans and the appreciation."
That could be one reason why he stays with the Cavs when his contract expires. He just couldn't go anywhere else in the league where he's treated any better than he is in Cleveland.
CAVALIERS 99, PISTONS 78: The Cavaliers wrapped up a four-game sweep of the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
They smashed the Pistons in Game 4 for only their second playoff sweep in franchise history.
"We have to understand this is a step for us in our journey," Cavs coach Mike Brown said.
The top-seeded Cavs were heavily favored to defeat the stumbling Pistons. They humiliated the Pistons in the best-of-seven series. They will now move onto the second round against the winner of the Atlanta-Miami series.
The Heat currently hold a 2-1 edge in the series. Game 4 is Monday night in Miami.
It was a case of too much LeBron James for the Pistons, which saw their streak of six consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference finals snapped. James averaged 32 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists in the four-game series. He had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists on Sunday.
James' aggression came through in the series, as he attempted more free throws than did the entire Pistons team. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward was 47 of 59 in the series, compared to 48 of 58 for the Pistons.
Hundreds of Cavs fans made the 210-mile trip to Auburn Hills for Sunday's game. It didn't go unnoticed to the players.
"They came all the way from Northeast Ohio," James said. "It was unbelievable."
NOTES, QUOTES
—Former Cavs coach Bill Fitch, 74, lives in Texas, but that didn't keep him from jumping aboard the Cavs' bandwagon. He not only subscribes to League Pass, where he can watch every Cavs game, he also gets satellite radio. "I listened to (Cavs radio broadcaster) Joe Tait the other night," Fitch said. "I don't know how you label him. He's like Mel Allen of the Yankees or Harry Caray of the Cubs. You can't mention the Cavs without Joe's name coming up."
—NBA commissioner David Stern is not a big fan of teams resting players down the stretch of the regular season. "Well, it's a bedeviling issue as teams get ready for the playoffs and they want to rest key players," he said on "The Monsters in the Morning" radio show in Chicago. When the topic of the Cavs' final regular-season game against Philadelphia came up, Stern said he wasn't a big fan of the tactic (the Cavs rested four key players, including F LeBron James). "Well, you know, that's a bit much," Stern said. "I think coaches should dress those guys. If they are well, have them take a few turns around the court. I understand it. So suppose they play and then he sits them, and they play eight minutes. It's the same thing in a way. They're able (to play), but he's holding them back."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "The sooner you can get it over with, the more you can rest and scout the next team." — Cavs G Delonte West, about their playoff series against the Pistons.
ROSTER REPORT
ROTATION: Starters — Point guard Mo Williams, Shooting guard Delonte West, Small forward LeBron James, Power forward Anderson Varejao, Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Bench — Forward Joe Smith, Guard Daniel Gibson, Center Ben Wallace.
PLAYER NOTES:
—The Cavs' starting backcourt of Delonte West and Mo Williams shot a combined one of 18 from the field in Game 3. But the Cavs were still able to prevail. Williams was 1-for-11, while West was 0-for-7. "In the playoffs, you can't look at the stat sheet," West said. "You look at the wins and losses. They tried to make it tough on us. Every time we came off a pick-and-roll, there was a defender there."
—Sources say Pistons F-C Rasheed Wallace asked for a buyout this year, but management declined. Some think the possible buyout would have been to join the Cavs. He's an unrestricted free agent this summer and could be someone the Cavs covet — at the right price. He seemed totally disinterested in the series against the Cavs, but many think the 6-foot-11, 230-pounder still has something left in his tank.
—G-F Wally Szczerbiak played just 38 minutes total in the first-round playoff series. The coaches must have felt he didn't match up well against the Pistons.
—The Cavs' bench was atrocious in Game 2. They shot a combined one of 11 from the field, 0-for-4 in the second half. They responded in Game 3 with 30 points, as F-C Joe Smith had a career playoff high 19 points and 10 rebounds and G Daniel Gibson had nine points. The bench was outscored, 30-13, in Game 4 on Sunday.
 
HAWKS

The Hawks have known for a week that if they could get past Miami they'd face Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Now that it's a reality, they can turn their attention to the Cavaliers full time. And Josh Smith insists the Cavs' 3-1 edge in the regular-season series means little now.
"The talent Cleveland has on their team is outstanding," Smith said, "from LeBron (James) and the rest of that starting five and all the way down their bench. They've got outside shooters and multiple guys that can work off the dribble and great energy from their bigs inside and then big (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) and Anderson Varejao holding it down.
"You have to be ready for everything with them. We just have to be ready to play. Because the postseason is a different animal from the regular season, so you really can't judge anything from what went on in the past."
With the Heat taking up so much of the Hawks' time the past two weeks, Hawks coach Mike Woodson hadn't given a ton of thought to the Cavaliers. Or at least that's what he was trying to get everyone to believe Sunday night.
"Now we have to start focusing in on Cleveland," Woodson said. "We'll watch the tapes and start breaking down film."
It won't take long for the Hawks to figure out that they're playing the league's best team and arguably its best player in LeBron James.
But before they moved on to the next gigantic hurdle on their playoff odyssey, the Hawks spent a few minutes enjoying their time Sunday night.
"These are the days you live for," said Smith, who pounded the Heat for 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds in their Game 7 win. "To see where we've come from to where we are now is crazy. And this isn't some Cinderella story. We've worked for every bit of this. We earned the right to be here. And now we're moving on to the next round."
HAWKS 91, HEAT 78: These are the moments Joe Johnson dreamed about when the Hawks were struggling to 26 wins in his first season with the team.
Johnson torched the Miami Heat for 27 points and led his team to a 91-78 blowout win over in Game 7 as the Hawks won a playoff series for the first time since 1999.
The Hawks won their first seven-game series in 39 years as Johnson woke up from a series-long slumber to carry them into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Cleveland. That series begins Tuesday night in Cleveland.
"This is what it looked like in my head," Johnson said of the visions he had of helping resurrect a franchise that was an afterthought when he showed up four years ago on the heels of a 13-69 season. "The packed house, the fans going nuts and us playing in meaningful games. This is a special feeling, to be out there in a game like this and knowing that we're moving on to the next round."
The Hawks are moving on because of the offensive and defensive showcase Johnson and his teammates put on against the Heat Sunday. They led by as many as 29 points in a game that was decided early in the fourth quarter.
Johnson outplayed Heat superstar Dwyane Wade and his teammate followed suit, wearing the Heat out on both ends of the floor in the seventh straight blowout in the series.
Johnson finished with a team-high 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting. He made six of his eight shots from beyond the 3-point line, including two over Wade in a 45-second stretch in the second quarter that allowed the Hawks to turn a back-and-forth affair into yet another rout.
"They got hot," Wade said. "They got their star, Joe, to hit 40-foot 3-pointers. And when that happens it's a tough night."
Johnson did more than that, though. He also had five rebounds and five steals, two while guarding Wade one-on-one in a mathcup of All-Stars that had been one-sided, in Wade's favor, in every game until Sunday.
"He's the foundation of our team," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said of Johnson, a three-time All-Star. "We've built around Joe Johnson and here he is now in his fourth year now, going into the second round of the playoffs, and that speaks volumes for Joe Johnson."
NOTES, QUOTES
—Zaza Pachulia got a standing ovation every time he ran to the scorer's table to enter the game.
Flip Murray was drawing double teams like Joe Johnson every time he looked like he might drive to the basket.
And no one should overlook the role Mo Evans played as a replacement for an injured Marvin Williams in the starting lineup from Game through Sunday's Game 7 finale.
For a bench crew maligned since the preseason as one of the league's worst, the Hawks' reserves showed up when it mattered most in this series.
"We weren't about to leave anything on that floor," Pachulia said after his eight-point, four-rebound performance. "This was a do-or-die game, and I know I didn't want to leave any energy on that floor. It was a huge game for our team, our franchise and the city of Atlanta. We had to come through and that's what we did."
Pachulia said Al Horford reminded the entire locker room after the game about the sacrifice championship teams make to win. And it involves turning a blind eye to the stat sheet and worrying about who does what.
"Al reminded us that it doesn't matter who does what when you win," Pachulia said. "And I'm glad he did. That was something we all needed to think of going into this next round against Cleveland."
—Once it became clear the Hawks' double-digit lead would hold up, it was only a matter of time before the hard fouls turned into something worse.
Heat forward Udonis Haslem was ejected for a flagrant foul 2 on Zaza Pachulia with 3:51 to play.
And Haslem didn't go quietly. He snatched his jersey off as he was escorted to the locker room, a move that's sure to earn him a fine from the league.
But the hard fouls slowed down after that, as the Hawks' starters were pulled from the game one-by-one over the next two minutes.
There weren't many hugs or handshakes shared afterwards, as both teams went their separate ways. And they're sure to see plenty of each other in the future, since they'll battle for position in the Southeast Division for years to come.
"It was a tough series, man," Joe Johnson said. "There were a lot of hard fouls. But that's playoff basketball. That's the way it's going to be every night."
—Dwyane Wade's 10-for-25 shooting effort was no accident. It was the result of the Hawks' sharpened defensive focus in Game 7.
Wade didn't have a single dunk in the game and had to deal with two and three bodies every time he tried to finish at the rim.
Hawks forward Josh Smith said that Hawks assistant coach Larry Drew went over the fine points of his defensive scheme one last time in practice Saturday and it paid off Sunday.
"Our defense was on the money," Drew said. "From all the adjustments we made to all the coverages, we were on the money from the beginning to end. What we did was, we kept mixing it up. The one thing we really wanted to do was make Wade work really hard. I know he got away from us a couple of times where he hit some 3-pointers. But the guy we thought that hurt us in game 6 was (Michael) Beasley. And we didn't let him get away from us like he did in Game 6."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "They're just terrific here at home. They play with a great deal of confidence and energy here at home. We've struggled against them here in this building all year long, but it's not just us, everybody else has struggled here as well. It's because they've built a pretty tough home court advantage." — Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the Hawks' edge when playing at Philips Arena.
ROSTER REPORT
ROTATION: Starters — Point guard Mike Bibby, Shooting guard Joe Johnson, Small forward Marvin Williams, Power forward Josh Smith, Center Al Horford. Bench — Guard Flip Murray, Guard Acie Law IV, Guard Mario West, Guard Mo Evans, Guard Speedy Claxton, Forward Thomas Gardner, Forward Othello Hunter, Forward Solomon Jones, Forward/center Zaza Pachulia, Center Randolph Morris.
PLAYER NOTES:
—G Flip Murray wasn't shy about shooting the ball in Game 7. He took 14 shots, nine of those from beyond the 3-point line, and connected on a total of four. But three of those were from deep. And they were shots the Hawks needed.
—C Al Horford struggled not only with that ankle injury during the Heat series. He also had a hard time finding a good offensive or defensive rhythm against the Heat. And that's something he'll have to rectify against Cleveland.
—F Mo Evans went scoreless against the Heat in Game 7 but the job he did defensively was fantastic. And despite playing just 22 minutes, he spent most of those helping bother Dwyane Wade into 10-for-25 shooting performance.

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Tonights Ref Over Under Numbers


Cleveland-Atlanta

Bavetta 37-34
Javie 30-38
Kennedy 28-40


Denver-Dallas

Callahan 33-23
Malloy 42-32
McCutcheon 37-35
 
Potential bad news for us, Mavs backers

Potential bad news for us, Mavs backers.........

Denver Post

May. 4 - 10:49 am et

Josh Howard finished Sunday's Game 1 loss to the Nuggets with 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting, but his injured right ankle caused him to settle for jumpshots during most of the second half.
"I wouldn't wish this on nobody," Howard said after the game. "It feels like I'm walking on pins and needles." Erick Dampier (sprained ankle) was also spotted hobbling in the locker room after the game and both players are probably at risk of missing Tuesday's game. Stay tuned for updates.
 
Dallas Morning News

May. 4 - 4:47 pm et

Josh Howard did not practice on Monday because both of his ankles are hurting, but he expects to play in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Howard indicated that he wouldn't play if it were a regular season game, and it's questionable how effective he'll be against the Nuggets' physical defense. "[The right ankle sprain] is not as bad as the other one," Howard said. "But at the end of the day, it hurts."
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/05/josh-howard-ankle-update.html
 
Yeah, that was/is a bit of a worry but the guy hasb een playing with an injury all year. Damp is bigger to me vright now to have that body up front.
 
Hope you're right about DAL... I watched Game 1 on tv and the Nuggets sure move fast. It made the Mavs look like slow motion but i'm a huge Carlisle fan so let's see what strategy he'll do to stop the versatile big men of the Nuggets.
 
How may units on Boston? Thanks. I have been tailing you during the playoffs, great run and thanks for making me money.
 
Sorry Ras, I put 4

Wanted to get it at that number before it hit 4.

I had planned on getting it at 4 or 4.5 before it came out at 2.5 at pinny last night
 
Word from inside the Mavs organization is that tonight is a good time to play the Mavs. I like the play.
 
i just wanted to post this regarding game 1 of nuggets vs mavs and possibly any future mavs games


Tonight's Refs: ABC ('Anybody But Crawford')

Our Stat Study Says Danny's Chances Of Mavs Fairness = 0.001119 Percent

By Mike Fisher -- DB.com


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We’ve got your referees for tonight’s Mavs-at-Thuggets Game 2; the NBA is apparently shipping in a crew from Ireland! And we’ve got some disturbing numbers on Game 1 crew chief Danny Crawford, who is increasingly looking like anything but the Mavs’ lucky charm.<o:p></o:p>



First to tonight’s trio: It’s McCutchen, Callahan and Malloy (“Ah, they’re all One of Us!’’ as ol' Grandma Murphy would say). <o:p></o:p>
Next, to the water-under-the-bridge of Danny Crawford’s Game 1 presence, where Dallas shot 13 free throws and Denver shot 36, where allegedly “soft’’ Dallas committed 29 fouls while Denver shot 19.<o:p></o:p>
Is all that, adding up to the Mavs’ 109-95 loss supervised by Crawford, all just coincidence.<o:p></o:p>
Sure. Maybe.<o:p></o:p>
But. …<o:p></o:p>
*As we pointed out before Sunday’s Game 1, in Mavs playoffs games worked by Crawford from 2001-to-2005, the Mavs record was 0-8. (Those years, Dallas was 41-37 in games NOT worked by Crawford.)<o:p></o:p>
*Now we’re updated to this additional info: Since 2001, the Mavs are 53-50 overall in playoffs. Dallas record when Crawford is NOT working the game is 52-35. Dallas’ record when Crawford IS working the Mavs game is. … 1-15.<o:p></o:p>
*Want more? The one Mavs win under Crawford’s watch was in the 2006 Phoenix series, a Dallas blowout victory. Also in 2006, in the NBA Finals, guess who worked Game 3 against the Heat, when Dwyane Wade was allowed to shoot as many FTs (18) as the entire Mavs team made, all leading to Dallas’ two-point loss? That would be Danny Crawford. <o:p></o:p>
And in Game 5, when the Mavs lost by one point? And Wade shot 25 free throws, again the same number shot by the entire Mavs team?<o:p></o:p>
Danny Crawford strikes again.
Seriously, Danny Crawford is the damned Grim Reaper. <o:p></o:p>
*And then there is the statistical likelihood of what it all means (thanks, Ole and Butternut and my man Nick Reed):<o:p></o:p>
Dallas’ playoff winning percentage without Danny Crawford is 59.77 percent.
Plug the numbers into this StatTrek website:
Use the following formula:
n = 16: the number of games officiated by Danny
k = 1: the number of wins when officiated by Danny
p = 0.5977: the probability that a win will occur without Danny -- our best inference of p is the games officiated by other crews.
What will you find?
That the probability that the extreme number of losses occurred by random chance is 0.001119 percent.
Thus, one time in every 100,000 occurrences would one expect this situation to present randomly.
My man Ole is not a statistician (nor am I). But he does medical research for a living and he notes, “To be considered non-random, most medical treatments need to show that there is less than a five-percent chance that the results of the studies were random.<o:p></o:p>
The results say Danny Crawford managed a 0.001119-percent chance that he has accurately officiated the Mavs’ playoff games. And if you play with this Vassar site it will suggest that the probability that Danny Crawford “influenced’’ the results of these games is 99.999 percent.
I’ll let you be the judge of what it all means, of whether Chancellor Stern might should do something about this, and whether the Mavs should not concern themselves with such material and just go play.
But I will say this, about Game 2: Thank God for the Irishmen.
 
Nice job on racking up the units BAR. Been quietly reading and watching the games close and I do believe Dallas is the play for tonight. Denver didn't play that great in game one. The greatest difference between the 2 teams in game 1 are FT attempts and TOs. A team pretty much can't win if they're being outnumbered from getting to the line and turning the ball over more than the opponent. It's Dallas tonight. GL.
 
Thanks for that WRite up you sent to me on Ray Ray and the Celts. Good Play last night. Luv to see my Team winning big on game 1. on you with the early buy on Boston for game 2. Ive been a long time follower I was told to come on this site from another capper you might know, He went my YoungMEezy. He refered me to this site. GL this week and keep up the good Work. B.A.R.
 
Atlanta 1st Quarter - Cavs every Quarter after that,

Gonna start @ 55 and go for,

1st Q - ATL - 55, 50 = 105,

2nd Q - Cavs - 105, 95 = 200,

3rd Q - Cavs - 200, 185 = 385,

4th Q - Might not play but, Cavs - 385, 350 = 735 off one game


Yes I try to be like Mr Bater by posting my plays in random threads throughout the site
 
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