| Powerful
Playoffs - May 26, 2006
The
NBA and NHL playoffs continue tonight
with Phoenix (+7.5) at Dallas and
Carolina (+120) at Buffalo.
Phoenix
(+7.5) at Dallas
NBA
Gambling - The Mavericks finds
themselves in a serious predicament
tonight as they host the Suns. Dallas
is already down 1-0 as Phoenix won
the Wednesday night opener, 121-118.
In Game One,
Boris Diaw exploded for 34 points
and Steve Nash had 27 points and 16
assists. It was an MVP type performance
for Nash, who has not always played
up to his standards in these playoffs.
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Dallas knows they can’t
afford to lose the first two games at home,
as that means they would need to win four
out of the next five games to win the series.
In addition, only two of those five games
would come at home. Detroit was in the same
circumstance as Dallas last night, and they
beat the Heat, 92-88 to even up their series.
There are two big injuries from Wednesday
night’s game that affect this contest
dramatically. The first is the Suns’
Raja Bell, who sustained a calf injury and
is reported to be out tonight.
Dallas’ Josh Howard sprained his
ankle in the first quarter and he is a game-time
decision. Howard missed 10 games during
the regular season with a sprain in the
same ankle. His loss would hurt more at
the defensive end as he gets most of the
assignments on Shawn Marion. Bell’s
loss really injures the Suns, as they were
really only playing six players before his
injury. James Jones and Eddie House will
be forced into major minutes and they are
both a major drop-off. If Howard is out,
it is also painful, but a player like Marquis
Daniels can more easily fill the void. The
spread is a lofty 7.5 points because the
odds-makers realize that Dallas is in a
must-win situation and they will come out
firing. Now, we just have to see if they
hit their target.
Carolina
(+120) at Buffalo
NHL Gambling - Carolina is down 2-1 in
the series after losing Game 3, 4-3. All
three games have been decided by one goal
and it doesn’t get much closer than
that. Game 3 was a penalty marred affair
that saw nine penalties called in the first
quarter. Buffalo converted 2-7 power play
opportunities overall and even the game-winner
came off a delayed penalty. Before the series,
not only was Carolina favored to beat Buffalo
(-125), they were considered the most likely
of the Final Four teams to win the Stanley
Cup. Despite all the frustrations that the
Hurricanes have had in the first three games,
they know that they can reclaim home-ice
with a win tonight. One final note, Carolina
goaltender, Cam Ward was pulled in favor
of backup, Martin Gerber after giving up
four goals last game. Ward has played very
good overall in the playoffs, and it would
be very surprising to see Gerber get the
starting nod tonight.
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Posted
by Q Friday
