Thank you mothereffn Russell Westbrook!! A new NBA season has dawned and once again this little guys ego busts out our biggest play of the night!! If you watched the game, you watched him single-handedly knock the Thunder from what should have been a nice season-opening win. The Thunder go up 6 with a few minutes left and he decides to take the game over. With horrible plays. Not one play he made even made any type of sense, as he took worthless shot after worthless shot, drove the lane to get stuffed, or made horrendously bad pass after bad pass. And then somehow totally went the other way, leaving Tony Parker WIDE OPEN for the game winning basket with less than a second left!! Umm, and the head scratching in the NBA begins anew once again.........
Unfortunately we went for the gusto and went for the win on the ML for the slightly better odds, leaving the 2 points and the push on the board. Hopefully some of you took the points as I know there are a few out there that absolutely refuse to bet ML plays. Fortunately though, we did put together a 2-1 night in the NCAA FB action and a 3-2 night in the football action overall, so we ended up dropping a total of 3.5 UNITS on the day overall. So we have some making up to do today.......
But keep in mind it hasn't been an all-out loss as we still have the FREEBIE FOLLOWERS UP +2 UNITS so far on the week overall and we are going to keep it going with a big night tonight!!
WEBSITE FREEBIE PLAYS -- (YTD: 166-139 / +37.00 UNITS)
(NBA)
*2 UNITS* INDIANA PACERS (-7)
The Indiana Pacers have absolutely owned the Bobcats in recent seasons. Indiana has won 9 straight games against Charlotte, while also picking up the win in 3 straight meetings played in Charlotte, with two of those 3 wins coming by at least 14 points or more. Indiana has also posted a 7-1 ATS record in the L8 meetings between the two squads, covering in 3 straight meetings when playing the favorite and holding a 4-1 ATS record in the L5 against Charlotte when the Pacers are laying the points. Indiana has also posted a 5-1 ML and ATS record in their L6 meetings in Charlotte overall. The Pacers have also been unbelievable in the games immediately following a trip to Toronto, as they have posted a 15-3 ML record in their L18 follow-up games after a Toronto trip since the 2001-02 season. And in the history of the Charlotte Bobcats franchise, they have never started off the season on the right foot, as they have posted a 2-6 ML record in their season openers since the team began play, with both of those 2 wins coming against the same Milwaukee Bucks squad. They are a much better team in their first home game of the season though, as they have put together a 5-3 ML and ATS record in their 8 home openers in the franchise. The Pacers have also played well in their second game to kick off a season as well, going 4-1 ML in the L5 seasons in their second game, posting a perfect 3-0 ML and ATS record when on the road in that situation. And the Pacers should be by far the more talented team here today and should be able to run up and down the court with the Bobcats, who are relying on a starting lineup that consists of only 2 guys who played more than 22 minutes per game last season, and have no superstars with the combination of Sessions (30.5 MPG / 12.7 PPG in 2011-12); Haywood (21.2 MPG / 5.2 PPG); Henderson (33.3 MPG / 15.2 PPG) and Mullens (22.5 MPG / 9.3 PPG); although they do now also have the services of Kidd-Gilchrist, who is going to be immediately inserted into the starting lineup. The bench for the Bobcats has become quite upgraded in the last few years though, as their bench is comprised of former UCONN superstars such as Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon, to go along with T. Thomas and Diop. All in all though, they just don't match up well against this Pacers squad and we don't expect for them to here tonight either. Take the INDIANA PACERS to COVER as the big road favorites in tonight's battle........
*2 UNITS* LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (-2)
If we are wrong here, we are wrong, but the Clippers still have the ability to make themselves the talk of this star-studded town and I will take my chances that they make that happen at the beginning of the season, as opposed to towards the end of the season. We were right on the other night when we stated the Clippers would come up huge and they did not disappoint. Now they get to square off against a Lakers team playing their 3rd game in 4 nights to kick off the season. And they're already hurting and banged up, not too mention, old. The only downside is that the Clippers have had some moderate success against their LA counterparts in this battle in recent seasons, but they are 0-4 ML and 1-3 ATS when playing as the road team in this match-up. How can that possibly matter though? It's the same building. That's a pretty mind-boggling stat. But it should be broken tonight. Lakers will most likely have Kobe and although that would be enough in most seasons, it won't be tonight. The Clippers smell blood. Run with the LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS to WIN the hearts of La La if only for tonight.........
HOUSTON ROCKETS (+6) *BUY 1/2 POINT* (-120)
UNDER 203 HOUSTON ROCKETS @ ATLANTA HAWKS
Okay, so the original play here was going to be on the Rockets, but with all the public money that is flooding onto them, we really had to consider switching sides and taking the Hawks with the slightly reduced spread here. There is at least 70% of public action on the Rockets here tonight and I have heard as high as 85% in some cases, but, we just can't see how this one isn't at least down to the wire when all is said and done and finishes within the 6 point spread. Atlanta should be its usual decent team this season, even with the loss of Joe Johnson, and has been absolutely unbeatable in home openers, as they have posted a perfect 6-0 ML record in their L6 in their home building for the first time in a season, also holding a 5-1 ATS record in that span, with the only non-cover coming in a 4-point win back in 2009-10. They have been just as good when opening the season at home or on the road, as they have won every won of those games and also covered the spread dating back to the start of the 2006-07 season, holding a 5-0 ML and ATS record in that span. Sure the loss of Johnson will affect the Hawks to some degree here, but they did add Devin Harris and Kyle Korver in the offseason which should alleviate some of those woes, and Josh Smith should be healthy this season and ready to build on his career-high 18.8 PPG average last season. We told you in the write-up the other day that the Rockets will definitely struggle this season, as even with the additions of Harden and Lin, their roster is a little thin to really compete with the big boys, and although we also called the easy win in Detroit for the Rockets the other night, tonight should be a much tougher challenge. Besides, they did trail for a large portion of that game as well. Have to admit though, the Hawks are going to have to get a lot from their starters themselves this season, as their bench is equally unimpressive, perhaps even moreso than the Rockets. And the Rockets actually have fared well against the Hawks in recent seasons, picking up 3 straight wins against the Hawks and have posted a 6-4 ML record in their L10 meetings against the Hawks, with only one of those losses coming by more than 6 points, and that was a 7-point win, in Houston back in 2010. Houston covered as a 1-point favorite in their last meeting last season, but that was the first time in 6 games that a favorite had actually covered the spread. The underdog was 5-1 ATS in the L6 meetings between the two teams. Houston has also posted a respectable 2-3 ML record in their L5 in Atlanta, but those 3 wins for Atlanta were by 2, 3 and 6 points respectively. Yes, I understand this is a different Rockets team, but Lin went off against the Hawks in his one meeting against them last season, scoring 17 points with 9 assists and he even kept his TO down, giving up only 4 in the game. Harden has also fared well against Atlanta in his career, going for 10 points and 6 boards in his lone meeting against them in 2011-12, but he averaged 16 PPG in 2 games against them in 2010-11. So, in the end, it looks as if we have to bite the bullet and ride with the public here. But just to be safe, lay the extra juice and round the number back up to 6 and go with the HOUSTON ROCKETS and the UNDER in the ATL tonight........
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (+8.5)
If we saw one thing with these darn Thunder last night, it was how badly Russell Westbrook STILL wants to be the star and how devastatingly detrimental he can actually be to a championship caliber team. Now, don't get me wrong, we have loved the little guy around here since his UCLA playing day(s) (he was there so shortly), and we have won a ton of money with his help through the last couple of years, but seriously dude, he has to learn to play a legitimate point guard in the NBA and there desperate need for James Harden was glaring in that situation. It just dawned on me, why Westbrook seemed to struggle so horrendously last night in those crucial seconds. Because there WAS NO HARDEN there to run the point as he did during their crucial run through the playoffs, especially last season. Now we don't think the Blazers will come up with the outright upset here tonight (just can't imagine OKC going 0-2 to kick off the season) but the Blazers should definitely be able to keep this one within double-digits and it should be another tight game until the end. Portland comes in off their dominating home win over the Lakers to kick off the season, in a game the super-star powered Lakers basically never even led in, and if they can keep it close, there is a good shot at pulling an outright win out, if they can pressure Westbrook into making the same mistakes he made in the waning seconds of last night's game. He is pretty much playing out of position out there with Harden officially gone and that proved to be a huge detriment to the Thunder, albeit was a road game in one of the toughest places to play against one of the league's best teams. This Portland team may be ready to step up and make a claim as a contender for consideration in the West once again. They certainly looked like it against the Lakers. They certainly need to prove it here tonight against the Thunder in OKC. We'll take the chance. Roll with the PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS to COVER as the near double-digit road dog here.........
PHOENIX SUNS (-4.5)
We liked this play from its release and it has already gone up a half point for the Suns as favorites. Best jump on it here then. The Suns have done some obvious shuffling of their roster and the loss of Steve Nash should play a huge role this season, but this team is largely still intact without the old guys like Nash and Hill and newcomers like Beasley have been brought in to become the star players they have been destined to be. The Suns have owned Detroit in recent years, winning 6 of the L7 meetings between the two teams, with their only loss coming in 75-74 fashion during the 2010-11 season in Detroit. All of the Suns 6 wins in that span have come by 8 points or more, while they also hold a 4-0 ML and ATS record in their L4 meetings against the Pistons in Phoenix. Plus, the Suns are coming in off that tough 2-point loss at home against the Warriors the other night in their home opener, which should give them a bit of an edge for tonight's contest. Go with the PHOENIX SUNS to COVER as the home favorites.....
(NCAA FB)
OVER 51 WASHINGTON HUSKIES @ CAL GOLDEN BEARS AND WASHINGTON HUSKIES (+4)
Everyone is expecting a let-down for the Huskies here after their impressive home win over Oregon State last week, 20-17, but this spread might just be a tad too high, especially with the way Washington has absolutely dominated this series in recent meetings. The Huskies have won 3 straight against the Bears, also covering the spread in each one, and they are now 5-1 ATS in their L6 meetings and a 4-1 ML record in their L5 seasons against their division rival. This one should fly over today's low total, as these two teams usually combine to go over the total in recent meetings as well. They would have played over today's total in 12 of the L13 meetings between the two schools. That's right, these two teams that play against each other every year, have totaled at least 52 points in their seasonal showdown in all but one meetings since the 1998-99 school year. Cal has won 3 of the L4 meetings in Berkeley, with only one of those wins coming by less than 41 points there, but Washington did take the most recent meeting there two seasons ago, with a 16-13 win. Washington has also been brutal in their 3 road games so far this season, allowing 41 points to LSU in their first games on the road in 2012, while allowing 52 points to both USC and Arizona in their L2 away from home. California hasn't been much better at home themselves though, as they have posted only one win at home in Pac-12 play so far this season, albeit was in impressive fashion with a 42-17 win over UCLA there about a month ago. But this should represent their last chance to get a home win in Pac-12 play, as the last home game on their schedule is against Oregon next week, so they may very well come out primed and ready for this one tonight. They have also played a pretty brutal schedule at home so far, with last week's 21-3 loss against Stanford there, making them a mere 2-3 ML on their home turf, while also holding an even worse 1-4 ATS mark there. In fact, their only 3 wins on the entire season have come against that banged up UCLA squad, a weaker Washington State team, and a lower division opponent in Southern Utah. Cal should be able to score though, even if Maynard and company can't get the passing attack working, as the Washington defense is allowing nearly 185 YPG in the rushing game on defense, while the Bears offense is averaging a shade under 165 YPG in the rushing game themselves. Maynard had a huge game against the Huskies in his only career appearance against them last season, tossing for 349 yards and a TD without a turnover, but as seen in the 31-23 Washington win, it was all for naught. Mainly because of the game Washington's QB, Price, put together against them himself last season in that game, as he was also without a turnover and going for 292 yards and 3 TD. However, Washington gets the lean here with the points, as their only losses this season were against some of the most truly explosive teams, with 3 of their losses against 3 teams who have spent time at the #1 or #2 position in the national rankings (USC, OREGON and LSU), while their other loss against Arizona was also on the road and came immediately on the heels of two losses at Oregon and against USC in the two weeks before that. Everything seems to point to the underdog here. Take the WASHINGTON HUSKIES and the OVER in tonight's Pac-12 showdown........
There you have it!! That is our action for this FREEBIE FRIDAY night!!
Best of luck to all tonight!! Let's get that money!!
PORT PORT SPORTS