THE SPORTS ADVISORS
NBA PLAYOFFS
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(2) Denver (8-2 SU, 10-0 ATS) at (1) L.A. Lakers (8-4 SU, 6-6 ATS)
The defending Western Conference champion Lakers, coming off a seven-game series with the Rockets, return after just one day off for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, hosting the streaking Nuggets at Staples Center.
Los Angeles, inconsistent throughout its series with Houston, eliminated the Rockets with an emphatic 89-70 rout Sunday, covering despite being an overwhelming 13-point home chalk. Kobe Bryant put up just 12 shots and scored 14 points, but he added seven rebounds and five assists. His supporting cast did most of the damage, led by Pau Gasol’s 21 points and 18 rebounds, as the Lakers killed the Rockets on the boards, 55-33. L.A. also outshot Houston 46.7 percent to 36.8 percent. The SU winner beat the spread in all seven games of this series, the final six of which were double-digit blowouts.
Denver has had five days off since finishing off Dallas with a 124-110 Game 5 victory Wednesday as a 10-point home chalk, keeping the Nuggets perfect against the spread in postseason play. Carmelo Anthony had 30 points, and Chauncey Billups added 28 points and 12 assists, and three others reached at least 15 points as Denver shot a torrid 58.5 percent, while Dallas shot a respectable 51.4 percent. The Nuggets needed just five games to dispose of New Orleans and Dallas.
The Lakers went 3-1 SU against the Nuggets in the regular season, with the squads splitting the cash and the home team covering in all four meetings. Most recently, L.A. rolled 116-102 as an 8½-point chalk on April 9, and the Lakers are on ATS rolls in this rivalry of 10-2 overall and 13-3 at Staples Center.
Los Angeles is 42-6 SU (24-24 ATS) at home this season, including 6-1 (4-3 ATS) in the postseason. Denver is 23-22 SU (25-20 ATS) on the highway (2-2, 4-0 ATS in the playoffs).
Denver is averaging an NBA-best 111.5 ppg in the postseason and it is outscoring opponents by an average of 16 ppg, with seven of its eight wins coming by double digits. Los Angeles is putting up 101.5 ppg and giving up 93.4 ppg in the playoffs, and its eight victories – all double-digit routs – have come by an average of 16.8 ppg.
Bryant has paced the Lakers through the first two rounds, averaging 28.6 ppg, the third-best scoring average in this year’s playoffs. Gasol is netting a double-double with 18.3 ppg and 10.1 rpg, making him the second-leading rebounder remaining in the postseason field, behind Orlando’s Dwight Howard (16.6). Like Gasol, Lamar Odom (12.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg) is also averaging a double-double.
Anthony is the fourth-leading scorer in the playoffs at 27.0 ppg, Billups is averaging 22.1 ppg and 7.3 assists per contest, and J.R. Smith has put up 16.3 ppg. The Nuggets also have four players averaging at least five rebounds per game – Nene (7.3), Anthony (6.4), Chris Andersen (6.1) and Kenyon Martin (5.1).
The Lakers are on ATS upticks of 7-3 at home and 4-1 as a home chalk of five to 10½ points, but they also carry negative ATS streaks of 1-6 after a SU win, 1-4 after a spread-cover, 1-5 after a victory of more than 10 points and 2-6 when laying five to 10½ points in the playoffs.
The Nuggets are on a 22-5 SU tear, and they are on a bundle of spread-covering sprees as well, including 20-6 overall, 7-0 after a SU win, 4-0 as a playoff pup (all this year, all on the road), 5-0 after three or more days off and 16-5 following an ATS win. That said, Denver is remains on ATS skids of 17-39-1 as an underdog of five to 10½ points and 0-4 as a playoff pup of the same price.
The under for Los Angeles is on surges of 8-2 overall (4-0 in the last four), 4-1 at home, 5-0 in the conference finals, 5-1 after a SU win and 24-9 with the Lakers laying points. The over has hit in Denver’s last four games, but otherwise, George Karl’s club is on “under” stretches of 7-3 on the road, 11-4 as an underdog, 17-5 as a playoff ‘dog and 9-1 with Denver catching five to 10½ points in the postseason.
Finally, in this rivalry, the total has stayed low in six of the last seven clashes overall and nine of the last 13 meetings in Los Angeles.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chicago Cubs (21-15) at St. Louis (21-17)
Ted Lilly (5-2, 3.27 ERA) guns for his fourth consecutive victory when he leads the Cubs against the slumping Cardinals and Joel Pineiro (4-3, 4.17) in the opener a three-game series between N.L. Central rivals at Busch Stadium.
Chicago took Monday off after dropping a 6-5 home decision to Houston on Sunday, snapping the team’s five-game winning streak. Still, the Cubs have won 11 of their last 15, going 3-2 on the road during this stretch. They’ve also won five of their last six against right-handed starters.
St. Louis wrapped up a weather-delayed three-game home series against the Brewers on Monday with an 8-4 loss. The Cardinals were swept in the series and have now also lost five of their last six, seven of 10 and 10 of 14, going 2-5 at home along the way and 1-5 in their last six against divisional opponents. Additionally, Tony LaRussa’s squad is in ruts of 1-4 on Tuesday, 1-7 against winning teams and 1-4 in series openers.
This is the third series of the year between these hated rivals, with the squads splitting the first six games and the home team winning four of those six contests.
Lilly is 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA in his last three trips to the mound, and he’s been the beneficiary of great offensive support, with the Cubs scoring an average of 6.7 runs per game during this stretch. In his most recent effort Wednesday against the Padres, Lilly allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings, winning 6-4 in a rain-shortened game. The veteran southpaw is 2-1 on the road despite a hefty 6.75 ERA.
Chicago is 25-10 the last 35 times Lilly has pitched, including 5-1 in his last six on the road, 6-1 in his last seven versus divisional foes, 10-3 in series openers and 13-3 against teams with a winning record. The Cubs are also 6-1 in Lilly’s last seven starts against the Cardinals and 4-1 in his five lifetime outings in St. Louis. For his career, the 33-year-old is 6-2 with a 2.99 ERA in 11 starts against the Redbirds (3-0 with a 2.38 ERA at Busch Stadium).
Pineiro is coming off a 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh as he gave up five runs on 11 hits in six innings. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 4.74 ERA in his last three outings after starting the season 4-0 with a 3.76 ERA in his first four starts.
Pineiro, whose last four appearances have come on the road, has pitched just twice in Busch Stadium this season, going 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, and he’s 8-2 with a 3.61 ERA in his career at Busch. Additionally, he’s 2-3 with a 5.28 ERA in five career starts against Chicago.
The over is 4-1-1 this year when these teams meet, but the under is still 5-1-1 in the last seven battles at Busch Stadium. For Chicago, the over is on streaks of 6-2-1 on the road, 11-4 on Tuesday and 4-0 when Lilly works on the highway. Conversely, the Cardinals carry “under” trends of 4-2 overall (all against the N.L. Central and 4-1 in series openers.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO CUBS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto (27-14) at Boston (22-16)
The smoldering Blue Jays take a four-game winning streak to Fenway Park, where they begin a nine-game road trip with lefty Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.68) matched up against veteran Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (4-2, 4.03) in the first meeting of the season between these A.L. East foes.
Toronto capped off a four-game series sweep of the White Sox on Monday afternoon with a 3-2 victory. The Blue Jays have given up three runs or fewer in seven of their last eight games, including the last five in a row. In addition to its four-game winning streak, Cito Gaston’s crew is on solid surges of 12-5 overall, 5-2 against the A.L. East, 4-0 against right-handed starters and 11-4 on Tuesday. However, they are just 5-6 in their last 11 road games and 1-4 in their last five as an underdog.
Boston returns home after a disappointing 2-4 road trip that ended with Sunday’s 3-2, walk-off loss at Seattle. The Red Sox offense has been pedestrian of late, producing four runs or fewer in six of the last seven games, and they’ve gone eight straight contests without tallying more than five runs. Still, Boston carries positive trends of 77-33 at home, 16-7 as a favorite, 7-2 against southpaw starters, 20-7 in series openers, 47-18 after a day off, 4-1 in divisional contests and 22-10 on Tuesday.
These teams split their 18-game season series last year, but Boston won four of the final five and six of the last eight clashes.
Since surrendering 10 runs (all earned) in just four innings an 11-3 loss at Kansas City on April 29, Tallet has been outstanding in his last three starts, yielding a combined six runs and 10 hits in 19 innings (2.70 ERA). However, he has just one win to show for it as the Blue Jays are 1-3 in his last four starts. Tallet has pitched into the sixth inning in five of his six starts this season, giving up a total of just seven earned runs in those five outings covering 31 innings (2.03 ERA).
Tallet has made five road appearances (three starts), going 2-1 with a 6.55 ERA. Also, he’s faced the Red Sox 16 times – but only one start – going 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. The one start came way back in September 2002 when Tallet was with the Indians.
Wakefield is coming off his worst effort of the season, as he got tagged for seven runs on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings in Anaheim on Wednesday, losing 8-4 to the Angels. That snapped Boston’s five-game winning streak with Wakefield on the mound. Still, the Red Sox are 36-16 in his last 52 home starts and 23-11 in his last 34 on Tuesday, but they’ve lost 11 of his last 15 against A.L. East rivals.
Wakefield is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his first two starts at Fenway Park in 2009, beating the Twins 10-1 and the Indians 13-3. He’s got a long history against Toronto, too, going 16-11 with a 3.76 ERA in 48 appearances (38 starts), including 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts last season.
The over is 4-1 in Tallet’s last five starts, while Boston is on “over” streaks with Wakefield pitching of 8-1-1 overall, 4-0 at home, 6-1 against the A.L. East and 19-7-1 when favored. However, the under is 13-3-2 in Wakefield’s last 18 starts against Toronto and 5-1-1 in his last seven against Toronto at Fenway Park.
Toronto is on “over” stretches of 10-4 as an underdog, 14-6 on the road and 4-1 against the A.L. East. Boston is 5-1-1 “under” in its last seven overall, but otherwise the Sox are riding “over” streaks of 7-3-1 at home, 17-7-2 as a chalk, 11-4 versus southpaw starters and 10-3-1 on Tuesday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE