jeff benton monday
0-1-1 yesterday MINUS 10 dimes...overall 27-28-1 PLUS 35 dimes since i started posting.
Benton
Monday's Action 25 dime release on the Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee. As this play is posted arouad 1:00 PM Eastern, the Hawks are currentsly a 2-point favorite in Las Vegas and offseore just about everywhere I look.
I purposely stayed away from Game 3 of the Hawks-Bucks series because even though Atlanta is the superior team (by a mile), I was worried that after winning the first two games at home, the Hawks would come out a little flat. And I was equally worried that Milwaukee – being in total desperation mode – would come out inspired and get a big lift from their crowd. My presumption proved 100 percent accurate, as the Bucks raced out to a 36-19 lead after the first quarter and cruised to a 19-point victory as a one-point chalk.
Well, tonight is a brand-new ballgame, and what you’re going to see is the better team prevail, simple as that. And as if we didn’t know who that better team is, the oddsmakers are telling us: They’ve made Atlanta, coming off a 19-point loss, a 1½-point road favorite despiae facing an opponent that’s still in a must-win situation. That says it all right there.
Look, there’s just no way that the Bucks are going to once again outshoot Atlanta 51.2 percent to 39 percent (as happened in Game 3). There’s just no way that the Bucks are going to once again go 10-for-23 from three-point land while the Hawks clank 12 of 15 from long range (as happened in Game 3). And there’s just no way that center Al Horford – a legitimatse superstar in the making – is going to wet the bed again like he did in Game 3 (10 points, three rebounds).
Fact: The Hawks have still won six of their last seven games overall. They’re still 5-2 SU and ATS in the last seven meetings with Milwaukee. And the Bucks still have a big problem in the middle without Andrew Bogut (out with season-ending arm, shoulder and hand injuries). And because Bogut – Milwaukee’s best defender – is out, the Bucks are still just 2-4 SU and ATS in their last six games, with one of the victories coming in a meaniegless season finale at Boston (and prior to Saturday, the Bucks had given up an average of 101.8 ppg in the four losses).
Additionally, Atlanta has won and cashed in five straight games as a favorite overall and five straight as a small favorite (less than five points). The Hawks are also on an 8-1-1 ATS run when coming off a double-digit loss (proving they’re a VERY strong bounce-back team). Meanwhile, the Bucks have failed to cover in four of their last five as a home underdog of less than five points and they’re 5-15-1 ATS in their last 21 contests as a ‘dog in the postseason.
Bottom line: It’s REALLY difficult to sweep an opponent in this day and age of the NBA Playoffs. Just ask the Cavs and Lakers – the top two seeds in each conference. So it’s hardly surprising that Milwaukee got a game in this series, and it was pretty predictable that it would come in Game 3 just because of the emotional components heading into that contest. But talent trumps everything else in a seven-game playoff series, and with Bogut on the shelf, there’s no doubt that Atlanta is the more talented team here, and the Hawks will prove it tonight as they rebound from Saturday’s loss, get huge games from Horford, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, and score a comfortable victory