MattFargoCE's Blog
Posted Thursday, December 09, 2010 09:27 AM
The holiday season is upon us and that mean it is time to put chestnuts on an open fire and sing songs that are supposed to make us feel warm and fuzzy.
Well, chestnuts are disgusting (try one) and I don’t sing. Hey I like Christmas as much as the next guy but when I went to Home Depot in mid-October and saw their tree displays already up, I almost lost it.
Instead let’s wish everyone a “Happy Festivus” just as Morty Seinfeld would have wanted it.
Take a seat next to the aluminum pole and listen to my airing of grievances.
Miami Heat
Is it me or does everyone else that watches ESPN find it overly annoying that every time there is a score change in a Miami Heat game, they need to update it on the ticker? Or every third time the NBA Scores come around they show just the Heat score and no others?
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Posted Thursday, July 01, 2010 09:19 AM
Let the circus begin.
The 2010 NBA free agent class is the best in history and the hierarchy of teams could change dramatically. It is unlikely any of the big names will reach agreements on July 8th, the first day they can actually sign with a new team, but what about everyone else?
With names like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki out there, some guys who would normally be making news are being overlooked. Let’s look at the cream of the second crop.
David Lee
Lee is one of the most underrated players in the league and the Knicks would be smart to lock him up. He averaged 20.3 ppg and 11.7 rpg, the second straight season he has averaged a double-double.
The Bulls, Heat and Timberwolves are the three teams most interested in Lee’s services but the Nets could also be in the running if they fail to agree to terms with Bosh.
Rudy Gay
Gay is a model of consistency as he has very similar numbers over his last three seasons with the Grizzlies, averaging 20.2, 18.9 and 19.6 ppg and 6.2, 5.5 and 5.9 rpg. He is one of the reasons the Grizzlies are improving and could be a reason for a descent if he leaves.
New Jersey and Minnesota are the frontrunners to sign Gay
Raymon... [More]
Posted Thursday, May 27, 2010 09:31 AM
The Numbers
The Lakers are anywhere from -7 to -7.5 in this Game Five which is right around where they were favored by in Game Two at home. The total sits around 219 which is pretty close to where it has been the last two games. With the first four games of this series going ‘Over’ don’t be surprised to see this number go up higher.
Home Cooking
Home court advantage is important come playoff time and the home court has been a major factor in this series thus far as the host has won and covered all four games. The margins haven’t even been close which is rather surprising for a Conference Finals series.
The average margin of victory has been 12.8 ppg while the average cover has been 9.4 ppg so there has not been a lot of sweating taking place for bettors. The home team and the over, an ever popular square parlay, has cashed all four tickets thus far.
This trend has carried over ... [More]
Posted Thursday, May 20, 2010 10:02 AM
Everyone thought we were going to see a Lakers/Cavaliers NBA Finals. Well, that didn’t quite work out.
Everyone then thought we were going to see a Lakers/Magic rematch. Well, Boston is getting in the way again.
Now we are on a collision course for a Lakers/Celtics NBA Finals and it does not get any better than that.
Sure we won’t see LeBron vs. Kobe nor will we see Orlando trying to avenge last season’s Finals loss.
What we will get to see is the 12th meeting in the NBA Finals of the two most storied franchises in the NBA.
The series dates back to 1948 covering 272 meetings but it really did not get going until 1959, the first of seven championship meetings in the next 11 years. The Celtics brought home the NBA Title in all seven of those series’ with three of those going the seven-game distance.
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Posted Thursday, May 06, 2010 10:08 AM
The Numbers
Orlando opened as nine-point favorites with the total set at 189.5. We tend to see a Game Two line go down from the Game One line as the linesmakers bring the number down to offset players taking advantage of a better line for the losing team. That is not the case here and any zig zag bettors have an advantageous number.
Zig or Zag
The Zig Zag Theory was once a very popular betting strategy in the NBA Playoffs but because of its popularity, the markets caught up and since 2000, it has been a losing situational strategy.
This theory basically used to say to bet the loser of the previous game in the next game but linesmakers have caught up to this rationale in recent years as you will see that the line in the second game is usually lower even if the home team won that previous game in the series.
Orlando is favored by the same number as it was in Game One, which is uncommon... [More]
Posted Wednesday, April 21, 2010 12:38 PM
The Numbers
Portland opened as a 1.5-point favorite over Phoenix for Game Three with the total set at 205. That over/under is higher than both games played in Phoenix which is rather surprising as the under has been more frequent in Suns road games and Blazers home games.
The Skinny
Portland is feeling pretty good about things after leaving Phoenix with a series split and heading home for the next two games. Obviously the Suns are not feeling as good but they should have some confidence following a huge 29-point win on Tuesday.
The Blazers have won three of the five meetings this season including the lone game played at the Rose Garden. Portland came back from a 15-point deficit in that game as it outscored the Suns 35-21 in the final period and held on for the three-point win.
Game One losers have gone on to win best-of-seven series only 21 percent of the time which did not bode we... [More]