Mike Bets #36

I’m in pain. Last night was mind-numbing. The Bucks lost a quarter 13-40 with their season on the line. That’s unbelievable, and it’s not how anyone expected them to lose that game. No one ever expects that because it meant a total collapse from every person involved with the game. Credit to the Heat. They did the exact opposite down the stretch, but that game was in our hand until we just let it go. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen something like the last three minutes – where it looked like we basically gave up. It was a miserable performance.

And yet, I still believe. Bucks in 7. I’ll be riding with my team again tomorrow.

In last night’s other game, the Rockets rolled against the Lakers, which was soothing. All of the LA slander pointed in Milwaukee’s direction had to calm down when their own team got smacked. Houston won the fourth quarter 27-18, and that led to a comfortable fifteen-point win. Eric Gordon and Russ Westbrook combined for 47 alongside James Harden, who led the Rockets with 36. LeBron and AD combined for 45 and 22 for the Lakers – and LeBron threw in 7 assists – but only Alex Caruso (14) and Danny Green (10) joined them in double figures. Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points in 84 combined minutes. They’ll all need to be better to get LA back in this series.

Today, the Raptors look to tie up their series with the Celtics at 2-2 and the Nuggets and Clippers play Game 2 after an LA blowout in the opener.

On to the picks.

Record since the reset: 3-4 on individual bets, 1-0 on parlays, -67.00

The trench got deeper yesterday. Tomorrow, the Bucks bring us back. Positive vibes only.

Playoff Record: 37-40-1 on individual bets, 1-8 on parlays, -197.61

Total Record: 79-89-2 on individual bets, 6-37 on parlays, -260.14

Today’s picks –

• Raptors 1Q ML (EVEN)
• Raptors 1H ML (EVEN)
• Raptors ML (+105) – $45

Toronto is still due for a good shooting game in this series after three that ranged from terrible to below average. They have some momentum after the way they ended Game 3. Roll Raps.

• Clippers -9.5 (-110)

I will be rolling with the Clips until they lose. It’s true that the Nuggets likely won’t shoot 9-36 from deep again, but the Clippers didn’t turn in some sort of unrepeatable performance in Game 1. They were great, but Paul George can score more than 19. Lou Williams can score more than 10. Montrezl Harrell can score more than 15. They shot a little over 40% from deep, but they also only took 24 of them. They made just one more than the Nuggets, and they still rolled. The Nuggets should be better, but the Clippers could be just as good too.

Worst-case Scenario: -$90

Best-case: +$93

Today I win. Today we win. Up towards the mountain we go. All bets on my end are $15 unless otherwise noted.