Mak's Monday Malfeasance

Afternoon (your time) gents, a 3-1 night on Sunday picking up an irrelevant unit due to player props being my only bets on a thin card. Tonight am going for two Road Dogg Jesse James's and a Bad Ass Billy Gun fave.  As always fellas, wishing you all the best of luck no matter what games you are on, peace out - - - MAK

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS  - 5.0 (-115) - - - I am not as high as I was to begin the season on the Cavaliers, mainly for two reasons, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller.  I expected a lot more from them production wise.  Shawn looks like he has missed a step and Mike just looks terrible.  I really don't think he planned on playing this year and looks out of shape and dare I saw, pretty pudgy all over.  The guy was a stud last year and looked to be in the best shape of his life, over the summer he hit way too many drive-thru joints.  Nevertheless, he is a vet and by the end of the season he will be in game shape and hitting threes again.  This is the 2nd game back for LBJ and I am sure he has been looking forward to getting back ti Cleveland and redeeming himself from the escapade that was opening night against the Knicks, I see Lebron putting in a different kind of effort tonight, one that has been absent at times this season.  Despite my angst when it comes to Marion's game, he did have a solid effort in his last game and hopefully that will get him back on track this season, starting will also help him for sure, he and LBJ are a very good defensive combo at the 2 and 3 positions, look for them to lock down the small Eric Gordon and the ultra-talented Evans tonight.  At the one position we have a match up of two stellar PG's, but Kyrie has historically had Jrue's number and is an overall better player, his quickness and court awareness will win this matchup with relative ease.  The 4 and 5 matchups are what is most intriguing to me.  Asik vs Varajao will me fun to watch, I just see Varajao showing up big tonight (boards and rim protection) at home today.  You all know I think Anthony Davis is arguably, going to become the greatest power forward to ever play the game, he is an all around stud and will once again have an outstanding game.  But Kevin Love is no slouch, he has yet to really have that break-out game, I am not sure he does it tonight with Anthony's defense, however he did put up 26 points and grabbed 19 rebounds the last time he met The Brow while he was a part of the Tims.  He is capable of having a great game against any power forward in the NBA.  David Blatt did an outstanding thing sending Waiters to the 2nd unit, the bench desperately needed scoring, and despite Lebron's idiotic (as per usual) comments about "looking to his coach for nothing", Blatt made a move that could allow the Cavs to survive until some roster improvements are made.  Tristan Thompson is a guy who will work to get the ball at all costs, that is needed on any and every winning team in the NBA.  Here is coping Mike Miller can nail a three or two.  Let's face it, the bench is terribly shallow right now for the Cavs, but the Pelicans are even worst believe it or not.  Ryan Anderson is struggling badly, Austin Rivers is playing great but has little to not chance at scoring over double digits.  The Pelicans are 7 deep, as are the Cavs, I just believe that the Cavs starters will actually outplay the outstanding starters for the New Orleans Pelicans tonight.  James sings Marley's redemption song tonight in Cleveland. (Anyone who understands the below nickname reference is a true NBA fan)

4 UNITS DION "MAHMOUD ABDUL-RAUF" WAITERS - - -

SAN ANTONIO SPURS + 2.5 (-110) - - - The Spurs are really missing Patty Mills, it is clearly evident that their bench scoring, 2nd unit ball movement and flow is affected when Patty and Marco are not there.  Joseph has struggles in that spot this year, but Cory is an excellent backup PG and I suspect him to have a solid game tonight.  Jamal Crawford's insertion into the starting 5 was a big surprise for me, I just do not get the move by Doc Rivers.  The 2nd unit of the Clippers is non-existent when it comes to scorers, having Barnes added to the mix does not help that.  I suspect that move to be a very temporary one, but since they won against Portland I am hoping that he keeps the lineup change tonight as it allows for a more favorable matchup for the Spurs.  Tony Parker will match CP3 in every aspect tonight.  Danny Green's defense should slow down J.J who has a sick game against Portland, I do not see him duplicating that 30 point performance.  If Jamal starts again, look for The Legend Of Big Hand to completely stop him, Leonard should also crash the glass (as he did last game with 14 boards) and look for a strong offensive game from him...finally.  Timmy always plays Blake well, but I believe Blake has a strong game tonight.  The 5 matchup may seem like a mismatch in favor of the Clipps, but it is actually the other way around.  First off, Jordan is not a great post up play and will not be able to use his size to his strength in that manner.  However, he should grab a lot of offensive boards tonight over the shorter Diaw.  Boris may look like a pudgy old man, but the guy is one of the most fluent big men in the league, his passing ability is outstanding, and he is able to drive and kick like a 2 guard.  Look for Boris to use his outside shooting to lure Jordan away from the paint and allow for easy penetration.  Off the bench, although thin without Splitter (who starts, but Boris would be a 2nd unit stud), Patty Mills and Marco, is still dangerous with Manu there.  He will play close to 30 mins tonight and should have a decent game.  Joseph will outplay Farmer and the two big men should contain Hawes, especially Baynes who is a very good post/mid-range big defender.  Look for the defending champs to prove that they are still a team to be reckoned with this season. 
3 UNITS TIM "1ST BALLOT" DUNCAN - - -

UTAH JAZZ + 2.5 (-110) - - - Going to talk game matchups here as well as my Utah season preview mixed in.  Odd line movement early on, but I will gladly take the extra point.  A great teaser option as well as I just do not see them getting blown out in Indy.  The Pacers have really surprised me, coach Vogul has them playing above and beyond their talent level.  The Jazz proved to me last night that this is not the same Jazz team that was woeful on the road in past seasons.  Their team has grit and hunger which is a rarity in young teams.  Tonight, C.J Miles may return, I have capped this game without Miles, but if he does return, look for the matchups to be a bit more favorable for the Pacers, nevertheless, I still like the Jazz men on the road..  Alex Burks the 40 million dollar man....yes I said 40 million dollars (over 4 fuckin years....crazy) will match up against a larger Soloman Hill who is playing great ball, I don't like this matchup for Alec as Soloman has the quickness to stay in front of Alec.  Trey Burks is slowly falling out of the rotation for my favorite rookie in this year's draft.  Hayward is proving he is worth every penny and, like it or not, is a star.  He is averaging the 2nd most free-throws in the NBA only behind Harden, he is shooting a great percentage from beyond the arc and his defense is much improved, both 6'8 players, Copeland and Hayward will battle but the quickness of Hayward will be way too much for Copeland to handle.  Roy and Scola are in for a long night vs the two young studs, Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors.  The maturity and control displayed on the court by these two youngsters is impeccable.  I really like this duo for years to come.  The bench will be key tonight.  Exum is in my opinion, the guy 5 years from now, will have GM's saying "shoulda taken the Australian outbacker", that is of course if Embid doesn't prove to be a bust.  Exum has an amazing assist to turn-over ratio per minute, he is mature well beyond his years.  I love Rudy Gobert, a huge man with rare quickness at his size.  Trevor Booker is playing the best basketball of his career, which is saying a lot considering he was excellent for the Wiz for many years.  Ingles is a huge surprise, he is a rangy big man who makes sound basketball plays on the court.  I really like the Jazz this year, I think they will surprise a lot of people, they will be especially difficult to beat at home.  I still don't think they have the overall depth and experience to crack a tough western conference, no chance at an 8 seed, but with internal improvement, this team could be very good this season.  The only thing that scares me about this game tonight is the fatigue factor and inexperience of the Jazz men, to me this is a testing point game to see how good the Jazz really are, they have all the talent to beat this Indy squad, but do they have the intestinal fortitude?  Will watch this game closely.

2 UNITS DANTE "AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI" EXUM - - -     

Covers is now bleeping out bad words??  Tisk tisk, that ruins like 10% of all my writeups.

best of luck mak

Like the spurs play, Clippers continue to get inflated lines as they re overrated if you watch all their games as I do, you can see this is a 7th seed at best in the west, and yes Doc is overrated.

Don't you want to back the Hawks tonight?

GL mak.. sent a friend request.. kill em today playa!!

Yes, cavs getting to redeem themselves after that home opener/stinker is a very strong psychological angle (imo). Good luck, Mak.

BOL mak, nice job last night

Appreciate the post, GL today.

Always appreciate hearing from you Louis, thanks for the well wishes and best of luck to you as well.

Always a pleasure FMC, BOL today.

Thanks for the post, nice avatar, BOL to you.

I totally agree with you about the Clips being out of home court advantage in the playoffs, no chance in my opinion.  That is one reason I have blasted the GS wins division future as I just think they are the best team in that division.

I also agree that the Clipps are overrated and lines continue to favor them, however I disagree about Doc Rivers, I think he is a great coach, the Celts were the Celts because of Doc, granted he had guys who actually played defense there and a different brand of basketball, I just think the depth is a question for LAC, otherwise they have a very good 6 man rotation, it just isn't enough for home court in the playoffs and hopefull not enough to beat the spurs by more than 2 tonight.  BOL to us.  Thanks for the post.

Totally agree with the Cavs pick, i think they win, blowout style. GL sir

Honesty Raider, you are going to be really shocked by this, but I actually think the KNICKS WIN TONIGHT!! Can you believe that garbage?  Never thought I would utter those words when they are playing the Hawks.

The home-and-home series started off with the Knicks playing very well against Atlanta, watching the game I actually saw a resemblance of what used to be the triangle offense...I was shocked!  They played really well but in typical Knicks fashion they collapsed.  I just have a feeling that the Knicks will want to exact some revenge tonight.  I think Fish is the best new coach in the league really, Blatt and Shaw, not so much, but Fish is a good motivator and understand players.  Once Jose and Bargnani get healthy and in the mix, I actually like the Knicks, but until then, I don't have a big enough pair in my pants to bet on them. 

BOL on your plays today Pug.

Love should also be able to take Davis out from the post, and make room for cutting guards, who should be able to finish fairly easy without Davis' rim protection (yeah Asik is a decent rim protector too). If he don't go out with Love, Love should be poppin' 3's all day long. Especially on the left side of the court. 

Mak, i like the Cavs wager.I think Lebron steps it up and takes over the team.I really believe the Cavs need him to do that in order to string a few wins together.

good luck mak.

plug:  check out a friend of mine on twitter @totals_guru

Thanks as always JB, man I am a lazy person, I have friend requests from 2 years ago, I hate how I have to press each individual person and accept them, I wish there was a way to accept all requests at the same time, something covers should think about.  My goal is to get through them by this coming weekend.  Will do it for sure JB, GL with your plays today, hope we kill em.

 

Thanks for your post, BOL today.