HANDICAPPING THE TOURNEYS

Via Tony George

Ah yes, Bracket Madness is here, and office pools are buzzing already on Monday, and of course Las Vegas is bracing for the biggest wagering event of the year. The only hetero-sexual males not having some sort of action in March Madness this week and weekend are in the cemetery. Yes indeed it is Kentucky and everyone else this year, but they will have to side step some landmines here as they will face teams vastly better than the weak SEC offered them in the regular season in this tourney. They have Kansas (who will be out early), potential rematch with Wichita State and ACC Tourney Champ and red hot Notre Dame in their region. While there is not only the March Madness bracket to fill out, there are hours of handicapping to be done if you’re interested in the Las Vegas Angle perspective (which I am), there are a few basic items that should help you not only with that side of the coin, but also filling out office pool brackets. Last year I was monitored by Sports Watch, a respected sports handicapping monitoring service and I finished ranked Number One with an against the spread record of over 71% with 46 selections. Some luck involved, yes, but also experience in what works and what does not work after doing this 23 years. Here are some items to consider during March Madness, and do NOT forget the NIT Tourney which starts Tuesday along with the 2 Big Dance "Play In" games, because the NIT Tourney goes by the wayside in many peoples mind, and it is one of the better opportunities to make some dough if you know what to look for and understand the set up of this tourney (home -road) since highly seeded teams get to play at home. I have been highly successful in this tourney and urge you to follow it as well. Here are some Key Points to consider: March Madness - The Big Dance One of the keys to the March Madness - and DO NOT forget the NIT tourney, is good guard play. Ball handling, turnovers, and shooting skills advance teams in these post season tourneys. Also an overall view of the teams free throw percentage, as we all know that at days end many of these games come down to free throws in the final 2 minutes. Look at teams who won conference championships, good guard play was abundantly apparent. NIT Tourney The NIT Tourney is about motivation, much like a bowl game. Numerous teams are disappointed they missed the cut in the big dance and while they may be a "Name Brand" team and open up with a home game (games are home and road in this tourney till the final 4), a small conference team catching points in this scenario will many times upset a team from a power conference, as they are dialed in to win. Short Notes: NIT games played on home floors until Final Four. Look at road records of opposing teams, many times it is why they did not make it to the big dance .

THE UNDERDOGS

HOUSTON vs PORTLAND

James Harden, the Houston Rockets (43-20) travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers (41-20) in a Western Conference showdown. Harden (27.1 ppg) has played on a elite level all season and carried the Rockets offense in Dwight Howard's absence. The Rockets, who are 19-11 on the road this season, are sixth in the NBA in scoring (103.3 ppg) and rely heavily on the 3-point shot to fuel their attack. They take one-third of their field goals behind the arc and connect on 11.6 per game to lead the league in both categories.

The Trail Blazers have the fourth best record in the Western Conference, including a 23-6 mark at home. However, the Trail Blazers suffered a major blow March 5th when starting guard and third leading scorer Wesley Matthews (15.9 ppg) tore his Achilles tendon. In his absence, LaMarcus Aldridge (23.2 ppg, 10.5 rpg) and Damion Lillard (21.4 ppg) must shoulder even more of the offensive burden. The Blazers are in the top 10 in scoring offense (102.4 ppg) and defense. Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

They split two meetings in Houston this season. Recent Betting Trends:
Rockets are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
Road team is 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
Underdog is 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings.

SPORTSBUCKS PICK:
HOUSTON +2.5

The loss of Wesley Matthews is going to cost them tonight as the added depth is needed to beat great offense like the Rockets. Houston three point shooting has been the key all year and it carries them again tonight. Harden is the MVP and he shows why tonight....

LA. CLIPPERS vs OKC

Since Blake Griffin went down with his surgery the Los Angeles Clippers have been trying to find their new identity. Coming off of a 13 point defensive oriented win against Minnesota, L.A. will have to change things up going forward.

Next up on the schedule for the Clippers is a visit to the home stadium of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City has been struggling to find wins without Kevin Durant in the line up but superstar Russell Westbrook has been doing everything in his power to keep the team afloat.

Los Angeles is 2nd in the league in points per game with a beefy 106 point average. Of course they have had to make do without Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin on the court and this has turned the team into a more grind it out type of offense. Chris Paul continues to be fantastic dishing the ball around but scoring has had to get spread out. J.J. Redick is coming off of a 26 point outing and he is carrying more of the load.

The Thunder are one mans team right now: Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has put on a phenomenal, borderline video game type show in the past week or two. He is averaging a triple double and looking deadlier on the court by the game.

Recent Betting Trends:

Clippers are 15-7 ATS in the last 22 meetings in Oklahoma City.

Clippers are 1-6 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

Road team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

Underdog is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

SPORTSBUCKS PICK:
LA. CLIPPERS +7

Despite the Thunder's struggles without K.D. the Thunder are still favorites at home against L.A. The Thunder are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 and we like them to win again, problem for OKC is they have not been winning with big margins and think we see another close game.

THE RETURN

Russell Westbrook is not a human. Days after suffering a gruesome injury to the cheek, he will soon be back in action. He is scheduled to return tomorrow against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.