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Each game of the Knicks and Celtics thus far in the series has featured abysmal execution and offense that has led to all unders. It surely has been the most consistent playoff play thus far, and made many people very happy. The line continues to not budge and stays hovering around 181. This time around though I believe the game will go over the total. I do not believe both teams can continue to struggle the way they have been. Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith will figure out a way to get back on track. The Celtics seem to have figured out an offensive balanced attack. With Jason Terry finally scoring and Jeff Green taking the lead role, it is allowing Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to take on less of the burden.

This will finally be a time that the game reaches over the total

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Boston’s Ryan Dempster has been terrific as a Red Sox starter. The savvy veteran has been ringing up opposing lineups at a high rate. Today though Dempster should come back down to Earth a bit. Toronto’s lineup has not lived up to their potential yet, but will shake up Dempster enough today. J. A. Happ will out pitch Dempster today and I do not believe Dempster will make it past the fifth inning.

Take the Blue Jays as the underdog for a plus payout today

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In yet another possible closeout game in the NBA playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder come back home in a game five. A probable sweep was extended in game four when a no-call chest foul on Omer Asik and a blown layup by Serge Ibaka was missed.

Houston’s game plan has been the same throughout the series offensively. They’ve played the same philosophy offense they have all year, and that is to run and gun constantly. Their elite player James Harden has struggled a bit but overall as a team they’ve played well. Their offense is ran awfully similar to the way Mike D’Antoni cranked things into high gear while the Phoenix Suns head coach years ago.

The blame offensively for Oklahoma City continues to go squarely on Kevin Durant from the media. I do not see it that way. With Russ Westbrook out of the lineup, the Thunder do not have extended options to shoot and score. Second year player Reggie Jackson is doing a solid job, but the rest of OKC’s cast is just not offensive minded. When you see Serge Ibaka attempting and reattempting twenty footers you have to realize there are other issues.

Look for Houston to play another competitive game even if they get down double digits. They have the offense to snap back from a big deficit. With the way the Thunder have offensive limitations it’s a bargain to take the Rockets plus the big point spread.

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Today James Shields as a Kansas City Royals ace heads to the mound to face off against his old team at home in the Tampa Bay Rays. Typically you may be worried when a pitcher faces his old team, usually because it’s a pitcher that has barely made the rotation and is a journeyman. Shields is not that type and still has plenty of great pitching ahead of him.

What I like best in this matchup are two factors. Both Shields and Alex Cobb have been able to pitch six plus innings in all their starts this season. While doing so they’ve also pitched against some strong lineups with positive results. Shields last three starts have come against Detroit (3ER), Boston (1 ER), and Toronto (CG 3 ER). Cobb’s last three starts were against the Yankees (0 runs), Oakland (3 ER), and Boston (3 ER).

Take the under on todays matchup

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Yesterday saw the heavy favorites cover in Vegas. That surely sent the sportsbooks into a bit of a frenzy with all the payouts. Repeat bettors should be leery of extending a “double up” favorite bet on todays action.

One that I believe is the top underdog to take tonight are the Chicago Bulls. The Brooklyn Nets just lost in three overtimes and have had to face the music of the New York media the past few days.

This team is not built to face adversity and has struggled the entire series. The Bulls are flying high off an incredible performance, and will have added carry over to try and end the series tonight.

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Both games to start off in the Knicks and Celtics series have fell under the total. Doc Rivers needs to switch things up to keep his team from having a second half lull. Half court offense is not working. Look for him to speed things up to keep the Knicks from setting up defensively. Playing to the home crowd will help the Celtics forget their woeful performances.

This total would likely be around 190-194 if it were not for two second half meltdowns by the Celtics. This time around it will be an entertaining game and eclipse the total with ease.