Posts by Arthur Hill2

Bradley Kern6 said:Why on earth are the Spurs' odds so high when they’re such a powerhouse and Golden State looks so weak?🤷

It’s because none of their heavy hitters are going to play. Even the coach won't be on the bench.🙂

The New York Knicks managed to pull off the win, though I have to say, things got much tighter than anyone anticipated when they were facing an 18-point deficit with just six minutes left on the clock.

graniteotter6 said:Fortunately, I pulled Charlotte off my parlay because I remembered the Orlando Magic fans frequent this board, and by then, it was far too late to give you all a heads-up. 😁
Philadelphia under, you losers. 🙂
Chicago Bulls under, James Taylor3. 🙂
That leaves the "emotional rollercoaster" game, the over 204. And once again... 🤣 shout out to the losers who called that one, considering we were all collectively praying for a Brooklyn Nets collapse on Monday.
The LA Clippers are sitting at 5th in the West. Congratulations to the Memphis Grizzlies on moving on to the Conference semifinals.

What’s the rush? I still have my last couple of legs to go. 🙂

Jacob Kelly79 said:How certain is a Chicago Bulls win if the Indiana Pacers are running such a weak starting lineup?

I would say a more realistic coefficient sits somewhere around 1.40 to 1.50.

Dana Baker2 said:And an under for the Indiana Pacers and the total score too...🤷
The Chicago Bulls are clearly aiming for the best record in the league.

That could certainly be a factor, but the Chicago Bulls head coach made it clear that the goal right now is chemistry. As I mentioned before, the Bulls have only run their starting lineup through 14 games; they need more cohesion before the playoffs arrive. Plus, Rose has been dealing with some injuries, so this gives him a chance to get his legs back under him.

The Indiana Pacers starting lineup 🤣

Lawrence Castillo76 said:then playing him under Luol Deng wouldn't be a bad idea either

Yeah, absolutely. I highly doubt he’ll see more than 30 minutes of action. He’s essentially the workhorse here, carrying the entire load from scoring to guarding the best players in the league.🙂.

The Chicago Bulls starters are on the floor tonight, though I wouldn't expect them to see heavy minutes:

ESPN
Thibs is going to run the starters tonight. Just like we anticipated, he pointed out that this specific group has only shared the court for 14 games so far this season, which is his main reasoning.

It looks like Chris Paul might be playing through an injury 😕

stormyseal9;39145748 said:]I am speaking generally about the entire season. If you have been watching, Boston dealt with the most significant issues regarding "star" injuries[/B]. We all know how much Pierce, Garnett, Allen, and Rondo mean to them, but these so-called role players have proven they can hold their own against anyone. That isn't quite the case with Miami🤷. I would say it shouldn't surprise anyone if Boston goes a very long way this year. Unlike most teams, they possess both the talent and the experience of winning an NBA championship☕. As for current form, only the Spurs are playing better basketball. In my view, San Antonio are the top title contenders. OKC is good, but they still have growing pains—especially Westbrook, who is a great player but lacks consistency, something he has demonstrated over the last five or six games

The Bulls had 14 games with a full roster; Rose missed 25+ games 🙂

Frank Morgan30 said:We should take the Chicago game tonight as well. They are finally at full strength. I believe everyone will play because they want to improve their record relative to the Spurs, or at least that is my impression😁

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,7541464.story

graniteotter6 said:So they don't want home-court advantage in the playoffs? I need this for my analysis.😁

Of course they want it. You can see Durant was out there grinding for 49 minutes.🥳

Who else are you thinking of? The Clippers? If Paul is sidelined, he's sidelined.🤷

Barbara Barker ‏ @meanbarb
Tyson Chandler after practice: "We want to win our next two games and go into the playoffs with some momentum."

It looks highly probable that Paul is out for the Clippers tonight due to a groin injury. Personally, I think 1.65 is a solid line for a squad that has managed only a single loss at Madison Square Garden since their new coach took over. Hopefully 🤔

stormyseal9 said:Everyone seems obsessed with talking about Miami and Chicago lately, but they’re completely overlooking Boston. Honestly, the Celtics are in much better shape right now. People love to dismiss them as an "old" roster, but let's look at the facts: there isn't a single team in the league that boasts four elite, top-tier players like they do. Boston has proven they can go toe-to-toe with anyone, even without relying on massive superstars. Meanwhile, Miami is incredibly fragile; if they lose just one key player, they struggle, let alone losing two or three. At their current level, they're nothing more than a mediocre squad, roughly on par with the Wizards.☕

It’s entirely possible that Allen misses the cut for the playoffs.

Ray Allen is sidelined again. He sat out Tuesday night’s matchup against the Miami Heat while continuing to manage an ongoing ankle issue. It has been eight consecutive games without him. According to the official team report, the culprit is bone spurs in his right ankle.

I don't quite follow this section without the asterisks—which game are we actually talking about here? Besides, if you take the top two or three players off any roster in the league, every single team becomes mediocre. 🙂We should probably take these recent games with a grain of salt. Even though Boston absolutely dismantled Miami twice in a row, it’s hardly a definitive trend just yet.

Anthony Barrett37 said:Who on earth claimed Durant wouldn't show up tonight? He already dropped 8 points in the first five minutes...

☕

wiredcanyon39 said:2 @2.80 👍

NBAonESPN The NBA on ESPN
RT @WindhorstESPN: Dwyane Wade & LeBron James doing wind sprints after long shootaround. I'd guess they're both out tonight as well.

WindhorstESPN Brian Windhorst
Chris Bosh's injury is a hamstring. He's out tonight at Boston. Said its precaution, he'll be ready for playoffs.

johnhollinger John Hollinger
Heat double-crapping on me. Give me no LBJ/Wade for my Boston visit tonight, and perhaps no games in Atl this weekend as a result.

It looks like all three are out. It’s still unconfirmed regarding the Boston game, but I am betting that at least two of them will be missing from that big "core four" lineup.

The Boston coefficient has dropped down to 1.45 🤣

Eric Fox7 said:Look, you’re the one who claimed they were tanking just to secure a better pick in the draft—and honestly, do I really need to dig up those old posts? We already shut that argument down. It makes zero sense. Improving your position by just one or two spots doesn't change anything; when you're looking at the big picture, those minor shifts in draft order are practically meaningless.

The coaches are resting their key players for a few games before the playoffs kick off. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, really. But I honestly believe Miami screwed themselves over by assuming they could just coast through the rest of the season without their top two stars. That turned out to be a massive tactical error. That said, this isn't about them throwing games or being indifferent toward improving their record—which, by the way, could be incredibly important come the Finals. Because of that, it’s just plain foolish to suggest that the remaining games for Oklahoma and Miami don't actually matter.

That’s it for me today. End of play.

Wait, so they’re tanking, but they aren't actually tanking to secure a better draft position? 😕 What exactly is the point of throwing the game then? Why wouldn't you want to actually improve your odds by securing a better position?

It stands to reason, really. Given how vital the HCA is to Miami, they’ve clearly decided that playing at one-third capacity is a risk worth taking. It's their call, of course.

End of day for me too. There’s really no sense in beating a dead horse. 👋

I see you managed to sneak that provocation in through an edit. 🤣 Good grief, what an absolute troll. 🤣

Eric Fox7 said:@ Arthur Hill2

You’re still spinning your wheels on the same nonsense, even though you’re talking trash and we both already established that seedings matter if these teams meet in the Finals. Regardless, his excitement is 🙂

Keep enjoying your NBA education via Twitter feeds. 😉

Portland is exactly where they were before, so I don't see any actual tanking going on. Besides, with their roster depleted by injuries, they don't have the depth to contend for anything more anyway. 🤷

I was wrong about 🙂
The idea that he learns from Twitter 🙂(p.s. Is that really necessary? Let me dismantle your logic first before you resort to cheap shots, alright? ☕)
Where did I ever claim home-court advantage wasn't important? It’s just obviously not a deciding factor for Miami when Bosh is sidelined with those "bumps and bruises." 🤣🤣 And Wade had some phantom injury right before the finger dislocation, if I recall correctly.

Portland was definitely tanking. My smoking gun—that they aren't trading key assets for future picks—is something you haven't been able to refute because you simply can't..

James Taylor3 said:Wade and Bosh are just dealing with minor knocks; there's no way they want to risk them against heavy hitters like the Bobcats, Nets, or Raptors when they can just roll with LeBron inside. They only stumbled against Washington, and they've won six of their last seven.

Rest doesn't matter, and home-court advantage is a massive deal—you clearly just don't get it.

As for Portland, you completely missed the mark regarding their tanking. Just look at their record immediately after you posted that; they beat some of the best teams in the league and lost several close ones. They only decided to tank and play the bench during these last six or seven games, specifically because they're missing Aldridge, and occasionally Batum, Felton, and Crawford.

And my point still stands: there’s no incentive for them to lose on purpose. They aren't in a position to gain anything from it, and they haven't been for a while. Like Eric Fox7 and I said back then, they're sitting at the 2nd or 3rd spot, so a slightly better draft position wouldn't change their trajectory.
Part of the reason they're rotating heavily in these meaningless games is simply to see which of their new signings and bench players actually deserve a spot next season.

I'm not stepping back from this discussion because I'm admitting fault; I'm doing it because I see no point in indulging this.

Let me rephrase, because you seem to think I don't grasp how vital home-court advantage is. It feels more like you don't understand the disparity in how teams value it. Miami clearly views HCA as a much smaller variable than, say, Chicago does. There is a fundamental difference in perspective here.

A rested and ready Durant through every stage leading up to the Finals>>>>A fatigued and potentially injured Durant facing Miami with home-court advantage in an eventual Finals matchup🙂

Ultimately, we’ll just have to see how the Oklahoma City front office handles this mess. Tonight marks the first night they lack any real incentive to compete, aside from that potential edge against Miami, and the choice rests entirely on them.

Portland started tanking the very second they traded Wallace for a future pick. Is it really that difficult to comprehend that by doing so, they effectively weakened their own future? Or is it somehow logical to shoot yourself in the foot during the final sprint? 🙂

James Taylor3 said:You’re overlooking the overall matchup dynamics here. We have to consider the potential for a massive Miami vs. Oklahoma City matchup in the finals, where they currently sit at an even split. In a series like that, home-court advantage becomes an absolutely critical factor.

Miami has already started resting their starters for a few games now, which is a huge strategic move—specifically rotating two of their top three players. It is highly probable that OKC will end up taking a full week of rest before they even face the possibility of a home-court advantage against the Heat, assuming either team actually makes it that far.

On another note, it's been a while since I've heard from you or Eric Fox7. How are things going with Portland? Are they finally playing to win instead of tanking? ?

Hmm, it’s entirely plausible that we might see the Miami Heat showing up in Boston tonight without much of a perimeter threat. Wade is dealing with an injury, LeBron has been making public comments about needing some downtime—and honestly, if he’s looking for a break, Bosh probably should be too. Now I’m left weighing the risk of taking that +2 spread versus just waiting for more official news.

I should also mention that since Oklahoma missed out on the top seed in the West, their upcoming schedule feels pretty inconsequential. Because of that, those 28 points for Durant feel a bit excessive to me. In a worst-case scenario, I'm looking at a voided bet.

Still, we all get a little wiser every day after the closing bell.

Honestly, betting on individual player props these days just isn't worth the headache. Unless you're looking at a team absolutely desperate to clinch a playoff spot, most squads are just coasting. They're resting their starters, messing around in practice, or just playing games with the intensity levels. It's all just noise at this point.