Sharp bettors in love with Spurs in Game 1
By ANDREW AVERY
The San Antonio Spurs are out for revenge in the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. The Spurs lost in seven games in the 2013 final, and bettors like them, at the very least, to take Game 1 on their home floor.
Oddsmakers opened the Spurs as 3.5-point home faves in Game 1 and they've certainly been hot on their home floor. The Spurs are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven home games heading into Thursday's game.
"Spread opened at San Antonio -3.5 and early sharp bettors hit it hard and forced us to adjust the line twice," says Brad Kennedy of TopBet.eu. "It is currently sitting at San Antonio -4.5 and we are seeing very even action since the second adjustment."
Michael Stewart of CarbonSports.ag has reported similar action among their sharp bettors.
"We immediately booked sharp action on our opening number (-3.5) and we quickly went to Spurs -4," Stewart tells Covers. "We dealt that number pretty much most of the week, but did go to -4 (-115) early Tuesday morning as more money was coming in on the Spurs at -4 flat. Early yesterday evening we went to Spurs -4.5, the number we’re currently dealing. At 4.5, we’ve seen dead even money and dead even at bets written, so I very much doubt we’ll be moving off 4.5 and I firmly believe that will be our closing number."
By ANDREW AVERY
The San Antonio Spurs are out for revenge in the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. The Spurs lost in seven games in the 2013 final, and bettors like them, at the very least, to take Game 1 on their home floor.
Oddsmakers opened the Spurs as 3.5-point home faves in Game 1 and they've certainly been hot on their home floor. The Spurs are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven home games heading into Thursday's game.
"Spread opened at San Antonio -3.5 and early sharp bettors hit it hard and forced us to adjust the line twice," says Brad Kennedy of TopBet.eu. "It is currently sitting at San Antonio -4.5 and we are seeing very even action since the second adjustment."
Michael Stewart of CarbonSports.ag has reported similar action among their sharp bettors.
"We immediately booked sharp action on our opening number (-3.5) and we quickly went to Spurs -4," Stewart tells Covers. "We dealt that number pretty much most of the week, but did go to -4 (-115) early Tuesday morning as more money was coming in on the Spurs at -4 flat. Early yesterday evening we went to Spurs -4.5, the number we’re currently dealing. At 4.5, we’ve seen dead even money and dead even at bets written, so I very much doubt we’ll be moving off 4.5 and I firmly believe that will be our closing number."
Wunderdog Sports Free Pick
Miami Heat @ San Antonio Spurs
Pick: Under 100 1st Half
The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs have survived the rigors of a long season, and three rounds of playoffs to meet in an encore performance in the NBA Finals. This year, unlike last, the Spurs will open the series with the home court advantage. Last season the Spurs led 3-2 in the series and had Miami on the ropes in Game Six, leading by five with :28 seconds left only to lose, and then lost the series in Game Seven. Miami does not look to be as good this season as they were a year ago, but anytime you have LeBron James on the court, you have to respect this team. One edge that the Spurs may have is the defensive work that has been done on James by Kawhi Leonard. The two meetings this season were rather eyeopening as the Heat scored just 87.9 points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the court, and 114.5 when he sat. Leonard will get a lot of minutes as it is the playoffs, so he could be responsible for holding the Heat down in the scoring column. These teams are fairly evenly matched, and I expect a chess match early as the offenses try and see where they can attack and have success while the defenses come out playing strong to impose their will on the game. I see an early game tendency for the defenses to win out, much the same as we saw a year ago. Play the first half UNDER.
Miami Heat @ San Antonio Spurs
Pick: Under 100 1st Half
The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs have survived the rigors of a long season, and three rounds of playoffs to meet in an encore performance in the NBA Finals. This year, unlike last, the Spurs will open the series with the home court advantage. Last season the Spurs led 3-2 in the series and had Miami on the ropes in Game Six, leading by five with :28 seconds left only to lose, and then lost the series in Game Seven. Miami does not look to be as good this season as they were a year ago, but anytime you have LeBron James on the court, you have to respect this team. One edge that the Spurs may have is the defensive work that has been done on James by Kawhi Leonard. The two meetings this season were rather eyeopening as the Heat scored just 87.9 points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the court, and 114.5 when he sat. Leonard will get a lot of minutes as it is the playoffs, so he could be responsible for holding the Heat down in the scoring column. These teams are fairly evenly matched, and I expect a chess match early as the offenses try and see where they can attack and have success while the defenses come out playing strong to impose their will on the game. I see an early game tendency for the defenses to win out, much the same as we saw a year ago. Play the first half UNDER.
