Mike Bets #515

Happy Wednesday. Yesterday was a 1-1 day. That’s not great. We’ve been in a bit of a funk here lately. Let’s try to get out of it with some winners. But first, let’s take a look at last night’s action, which included a big win for the Knicks and the Lakers stealing home court in San Francisco.

• Knicks 111, Heat 105 (Tied 1-1)

It looked for most of this game that the Heat might go up 2-0, but the Knicks finished strong in the fourth to tie things up instead. New York got a number of strong individual performances: Julius Randle neared a 25-point triple-double in his return, Jalen Brunson led the way with 30 points, RJ Barrett scored a fairly efficient 24, and Josh Hart came one assist shy of a triple-double. The Heat were spearheaded by Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent (43 combined points) and got at least 5 points from eight different players in Jimmy Butler’s absence, but it ultimately just wasn’t enough. The loss can only sting so much since they stole home court regardless, but Miami will definitely walk away feeling like they could have easily been 2-0 up even with some of the individual performances – and the free throw advantage – that carried the Knicks. We have ourselves a series.

• Lakers 117, Warriors 112

A massive Warriors run late in the fourth almost flipped this game entirely on its head, but the Lakers managed to come up with some big buckets and stops in the final ninety seconds to seal the win. AD had a monstrous 30 and 23 game, and figuring out how to limit that production will be a key for Golden State moving forward. D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder (19 points apiece) also came up big in support of Davis and LeBron (22 points and 11 boards). The Lakers got 73 points out of Steph, Klay, and Jordan Poole, and those three shot well from deep (18-40). But that trio also really struggled from inside the arc, combining to shoot just 8-24 on twos. That can’t continue. Poole largely played a good game though, and he doesn’t deserve much flak for taking a decent look at a tie in the final seconds. It’s difficult to imagine a better three-point look being produced on that possession. The Lakers shot terribly from deep, but they were significantly better from inside the arc, dominated the paint, and shot 23 more free throws. The Warriors need to compete at least a little better on the inside.

SERIES PREDICTIONS VS ACTUAL OUTCOMES

✅✅✅ = right team, right number of games

✅✅ = right team, one game off

✅ = right team

❌ = wrong team

First round tally: 4-4 on team picks, 2 within a game 

Second Round

Nuggets in 6 (original pick)

Celtics in 5 (original pick)

Knicks in 5 (Bucks>Cavs was original pick)

Warriors in 5 (Grizzlies>Kings was original pick)

TODAY’S PLAYS

NBA record: 245-216-7 ATS, 33-76 ML, 134-104-4 O/U, 2-10 parlay, 0-1 props, 0-1 series price -34.20 units

NBA regular season record: 225-198-7 ATS, 32-67 ML, 116-90-3 O/U, 2-10 parlay, 0-1 props, -23.62 units

NBA postseason record: 20-18 ATS, 1-9 ML, 18-13-1 O/U, 0-0 parlay, 0-1 series price, -10.58 units

• Sixers +7.5

• Sixers Celtics O216.5

SERIES BETS

• Warriors to win series (-150) – TWO UNIT PLAY

CBB record: 254-229-12 ATS, 57-83 ML, 5-5 O/U, 17-25 parlay, -9.83 units