John Chang
MIAMI HEAT -4.5 over Dallas Mavericks, 20 dimes
I have a lot of faith that Dallas can make a series out of this when it moves back to Texas. In the meantime however, Miami's defense has become the great equalizer of this year's playoffs. They play with such ferocity, size, and speed on the defensive end that there really isn't a team that can beat them at home. The Heat continue to roll through this postseason campaign undefeated at the American Airlines Arena. They locked down the young 76ers, the experienced Celtics, and the team that had the best regular season record in Chicago. Now, they gear up for game two against a Mavericks team that might already be starting to feel the weight of past playoff failures. Dirk's hand injury seems like it is going to be much more impactful than originally stated. This guy likes to dribble..Hard. Virtually all of his shots are set up off a couple of hard dribbles and a spin in the paint. This kind of injury could really hurt Dallas considering they shot so horribly in Game 1. In the first game, Miami had difficulties getting into a groove against Rick Carlisle's plan of switching between defensive schemes. After they adjusted to the Mavs defense, they became much more explosive on the offensive end, much like the Heat we all expect to see. Their hustle in the rebounding department was much more prevalent, and they managed to slow down the Mavericks' well known bench producers. Overall, Miami has shown they are much more prepared for the first few games of this series, as well as being much more equipped to win in a variety of ways. I look for an easy cover for the home team.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (-120, list both pitchers) over Houston Astros, 5 dimes
MIAMI HEAT -4.5 over Dallas Mavericks, 20 dimes
I have a lot of faith that Dallas can make a series out of this when it moves back to Texas. In the meantime however, Miami's defense has become the great equalizer of this year's playoffs. They play with such ferocity, size, and speed on the defensive end that there really isn't a team that can beat them at home. The Heat continue to roll through this postseason campaign undefeated at the American Airlines Arena. They locked down the young 76ers, the experienced Celtics, and the team that had the best regular season record in Chicago. Now, they gear up for game two against a Mavericks team that might already be starting to feel the weight of past playoff failures. Dirk's hand injury seems like it is going to be much more impactful than originally stated. This guy likes to dribble..Hard. Virtually all of his shots are set up off a couple of hard dribbles and a spin in the paint. This kind of injury could really hurt Dallas considering they shot so horribly in Game 1. In the first game, Miami had difficulties getting into a groove against Rick Carlisle's plan of switching between defensive schemes. After they adjusted to the Mavs defense, they became much more explosive on the offensive end, much like the Heat we all expect to see. Their hustle in the rebounding department was much more prevalent, and they managed to slow down the Mavericks' well known bench producers. Overall, Miami has shown they are much more prepared for the first few games of this series, as well as being much more equipped to win in a variety of ways. I look for an easy cover for the home team.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (-120, list both pitchers) over Houston Astros, 5 dimes
