khandor’s sports blog

For the benefit of those of you playing along at home …

This is what the Final Results would look like, if yours truly had been invited to participate in this year’s ‘exclusive’ NBA Playoffs handicapping event:

TrueHoop Stat Geek Smackdown Contest 2010

Participants

Mrs. Abbott – Henry’s mother [Mom]

Prof. David Berri – Wages of Wins Journal

John Hollinger – ESPN NBA Insider

Stephen Ilardi – Adjusted Plus/Minus

Jeffrey Ma – Bringing Down The House/21

Neil Paine – Basketball Reference Blog

Kevin Pelton – Basketball Prospectus

Haralabos Voulgaris – Former professional gambler

khandor – Sports Consultant

Correct Team Selected = 5 points

Correct Games Number Selected = 2 additional points 
 

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khandor’s Individual Series Selections

1st Round
WINNERS: Cleveland/#1, Orlando/#2, Atlanta/#3, Boston/#4, Los Angeles/#5, San Antonio/#6, Phoenix/#7 and Utah/#8
LOSERS: Zero/#0

2nd Round
WINNERS: Orlando/#9, Los Angeles/#10
LOSERS: Cleveland/#1 and San Antonio/#2

3rd Round
WINNERS: Los Angeles/#11
LOSERS: Orlando/#3

Finals
WINNER: Los Angeles/#12

Bold - Correct game number call.

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Congratulations to Jeffrey Ma for emerging victorious in this year’s ‘official’ contest!

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PS. For those who would like to verify the individual series selections made by Khandor’s Sports Service [KSS], please feel free to contact Prof. Berri, directly, as he was, in fact, sent each of those specific calls, via email, prior to the start of each round. Prof. Berri is currently working at Southern Utah University and his email address is available to the public at their web site.

The wagering line for today’s Game 6 in the playoff series between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic has now been published:

BOSTON -3.5/-104

with the wrong team listed as the betting favourite.

Hopefully you will enjoy this evening’s game.

If you take a look at the way Doc Rivers and Stan Van Gundy chose to use their players in Game 1 of this series, it should be clear to see what Orlando needs to do this evening in order to head to Boston, for Game 3, tied 1-1:

BACK-UP GUARD
Although JJ Redick can do an adequate job, defensively, chasing Ray Allen around, using him for 19 minutes against a team like Boston - specifically, at the Off Guard position - significantly reduces Orlando’s overall effectiveness, when it comes to any “help & rotate”, “switch” or “rebounding” situation.

SMALL FORWARD
Matt Barnes, at the best of times, is ill-suited to match-up with an ultra-physical multi-dimensional player like Paul Pierce.

BIGS
Boston has decided to beat on - and beat up - Dwight Howard with a “4 Bigs” rotation of Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis and Rasheed Wallace. As long as SVG elects to only use a 3-man rotation of D-12, Rashard Lewis and Marcin Gortat, Orlando is going to come out on the short end of positional match-up.

Instead of following this recipe for disaster in Game 2, what Orlando needs to do instead is:

BACK-UP GUARD
Match up Vince Carter vs Ray Allen, almost exclusively; and, then use, either, Jason Williams or JJ Redick vs Tony Allen, but NOT both of them.

SMALL FORWARD
Insert Mickael Pietrus [6-6, 215] into their starting line-up, beside Vince Carter; and, match him up, almost exclusive, with Pierce [6-7, 235].

BIGS
Use D-12 [vs Perkins or Wallace], Rashard Lewis [vs Garnett or Wallace], Marcin Gortat [vs Perkins] and, either, Brandon Bass [vs Davis] or Ryan Anderson [vs Wallace], in a “4 Bigs” rotation.

If SVG and Co. make these adjustments tonight, then, the Magic should be able to even their series with the Celtics … AND cover the number [i.e. -7/-105], in the process.

If you caught a glimpse of Saturday evening’s Game 3, between Atlanta/#3 and Milwaukee/#6, what you should have been able to observe was tangible evidence that:

Atlanta Hawks 89
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 107
Complete Game Info, Hawks lead series 2-1

1. The Bucks have the right combination of individual pieces - i.e. physically under-sized but strong and athletic - to give the Hawks heaps of trouble … when playing at home … despite the absence of Andrew Bogut/C;

2. Atlanta is sufferring from some sort of internal strife, at present, which is affecting the performances of Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Mike Bibby … each of whom gave far less than the “proper degree of team-focused individual effort” required to win a road playoff game against an inspired opponent;

and,

3. This is going to be a long series.

Watch the video highlights.

Focus on the effort levels, defensive execution, and the body language of Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Mike Bibby.

Pay close attention to the “relative quickness” for each player in the following individual match-ups between:

C - Al Horford vs Kurt Thomas
PF - Josh Smith vs Luc Richard Mbah A Moute/Ersan Ilyasova
SF - Marvin Williams vs John Salmons/Carlos Delfino
OG - Joe Johnson vs Carlos Delfino/John Salmons
PG - Mike Bibby vs Brandon Jennings/Luke Ridnour
==============================
G - Jamal Crawford vs Jerry Stackhouse
F - Maurice Evans vs Salmons/Delfino/Luc Richard Mbah A Moute
PF/C - Zaza Pachulia vs Dan Gadzuric
==============================
PG - Jeff Teague vs Luke Ridnour

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The current wagering line for this evening’s Game 4 is:

Atlanta -2/-106 [-131]
MILWAUKEE +2/-104 [+119]

For regular readers of this space …

Know that you will probably not see a better “investment opportunity” for the balance of the 1st Round of the playoffs than the Bucks +2/-104, this evening.

If you choose to hop on board, hopefully, you’ll be able to enjoy the ride!

A. GAME TIME!

… with the NBA Playoffs set to tip tomorrow afternoon.

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Enjoy the ride!

This evening’s home game against New York [8:05 PM ET] is a do-or-die affair for Toronto, in conjunction with the outcome of the Chicago/Charlotte match-up.

OPTION 1

If the Bulls lose and the Raptors win, then, Toronto will secure the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

OPTION 2

Any other result for either of these 2 games and Chicago will have:

i. Successfully overcome tremendously long odds during the last 3 weeks of the season,

ii. Earned the No. 8 seed with significantly improved play, and

iii. Be set to tip-off against the Cleveland Cavaliers/No. 1, in the 1st Round of the Playoffs, beginning this coming weekend.

Tune in and comment away, if you have something productive to contribute.

It should be a tonne of fun for what just might turn out to be the Raptors’ last game of the 2009-2010 season, as well as Chris Bosh’s final appearance at the ACC, as a stalwart player … albeit injured and out of the line-up, due to the facial fracture he sustained last week … for the home team. 

Click Here 

Toronto is currently listed as the solid home favourite [-7.5/-101].