The Raptors have been a dead nuts UNDER team in recent weeks. This is no surprise for anyone who has closely followed Toronto this year. The Raptors have emphasized defense from Day 1 under Dwane Casey this year after years of defensive ineptitude, and it’s really starting to pay off. The numbers don’t lie. Toronto has gone UNDER the total in each of their last five ballgames, allowing 92 points or less each time on a combined 41.4% shooting. For the season, they’ve held foes well under 44% from the floor. Casey: “I’m looking for a foundation, a defensive foundation of toughness.â€Â He’s finding that toughness on a nightly basis these days.
Both previous meetings between these two teams this year have been low scoring, defensive minded affairs: 95-90 and 90-85 Pacers victories. Now that Toronto has lost their best scorer, forward Andrei Read more
From a betting perspective, the Red Sox and Yankees are going to be inflated favorites often, and playing in the toughest division in baseball should provide rewards for taking back a tag on the underdogs.
Three other teams have started the season 0-3: Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves. The Giants lost each of their opening three games by one run to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Francisco is one of the preseason contenders for post season play.
Despite a long season of 162 games, the opening three games of the season can tell us a bit about future playoff Read more
The latest hyped Japanese player makes his MLB debut tonight in Texas, as Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish takes the mound for Texas (2-1). Having yet to throw a pitch in the Majors, the 25-year-old Japanese legend is being paid over $5 million this season after posting an ERA under 1.50 in 232 innings last year in Japan. But pitching in Japan is a far cry from the task of tossing against MLB hitters. Seattle (3-1) is an afterthought in the AL West this season, but the Mariners will be motivated against the hyped Darvish and Rangers. And with another fairly unknown commodity taking the hill for Seattle in right-hander Hector Noesi, we see plenty of value taking this huge underdog tonight. Noesi is on the other end of the pay scale, making less than $500K this season after coming over in a trade that sent pitcher Michael Pineda to the Bronx. Noesi had decent success pitching for the Yankees last season with 56 innings Read more
Today's segmentsRob Veno - MLB Every Game on the Board
Erin Rynning - NBA Every Game on the Board
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Kobe Bryant is listed as questionable for tonight's game at New Orleans. Bryant missed Saturday's game against Phoenix with a shin injury. Regardless if he plays or not, New Orleans seems bent on a little bit of revenge after losing in LA on a late three from Bryant, 88-85, back on March 31.
“I do think we play hard every night, and the guys know what we want to do because we try to keep the same system in place every day,†Hornets Coach Monty Williams said. “I think the league is a bit down offensively because of all the games, but I think because we have some guys Read more
"As a joke, a couple of us were saying we should have made it an emergency bill to get it through before the start of the baseball season," said Del. John Olszewski Jr., D-Baltimore County, the bill's sponsor. "But I'm quite happy. It's a straightforward fix that allows Marylanders to join most of the rest of the country."
“Hotel/gaming investors will respond positively as improved profits are reported. This will attract additional investment and investors, which will drive hotel and gaming industry revenue. This, in turn, allows the industry to ramp up investment in capital and labor,†he said.