San Antonio Spurs (47-36 SU, 42-39-2 ATS) vs. Golden State Warriors (59-24 SU, 35-47-1 ATS)
Time: Monday, April 16th, 2018 10:30 PM EDT
Where: Oracle Arena Oakland, CA
TV: TNT
by Keith, Professional NBA Handicapper, Predictem
Odds San Antonio +450, Golden State -600
Point Spread: Golden State -9.5
Total Line: 205.5
The San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors will meet for Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals set to take place at the infamous O or also known as the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The game is set for a tip-off of 10:30 PM EDT and will be televised on TNT for national audiences. In Game One, Golden State had their way with the Spurs as they defeated San Antonio 113-92 covering an eight-point line in the process. Golden State has been a perpetual thorn in the side for Greg Popovich’s crew as the Warriors have gone 9-1 SU against the Spurs in their last ten contests. Previous to San Antonio’s penultimate regular-season victory against the Warriors, the Spurs had dropped eight games in a row against the Warriors over this ten-game sample.
As a whole both teams enter on contrasting notions in to the postseason. San Antonio comes in as the number seven seed which is uncharacteristic of the Spurs given the fact they were the chief rival to Golden States supremacy in several of the previous seasons. Golden State is not the usual number one seed in this tournament bracket either, as they finished behind Houston for the best record in the West in the 2017-18 campaign.
There are several trends worth looking at in this contest. First off, Golden State is 7-3 ATS against San Antonio in the previous ten meetings. Moreover, the Over is 6-3-1 ATS in the last ten meetings in this series. San Antonio is 14-28 SU away from home whilst Golden State is 30-12 SU at home. Typically, Greg Popovich coached teams fare better on the road but for San Antonio, the Spurs have been atypically poor outside of the Alamodome. Golden State in their own right have lost more games at home this season than they have in their previous two seasons combined.
The Spurs feature advantages in the area of coaching experience. Greg Popovich is a man that knows how to work with whatever personnel he has to produce superfluous results. Off the radar, the Spurs are a dangerous team as they will be able to take advantage of several lofty point spreads as a lower seed in this competition.
As a defending NBA Champion, the Warriors are always an economical selection as they have won this tournament last year. This team has the elite talent and prowess to repeat again as NBA Champions. When combining this with an animated home environment, Golden State offers tremendous upside.
From the start, we have seen a lean take shape on the Warriors. Nevertheless, we have yet to see a line movement materialize. 73% of the public money and 83% of the ticket action are in on the Warriors in this market. On the Over/Under, we have seen the market fall by 1.5 points to its current station. Nevertheless, 93% of the public cash and 86% of the tickets are in the Over. 100% of the consensus also like the Over in this market.
Golden States recent successes in this series is what is driving the price of this market. When you couple this with the Game One scoreline, the public will have a propensity to back the Warriors even more given the current number on the table. However, San Antonio has a pedigree for excellence and it is seldom an occurrence where we see the Spurs offered at such an affable price. We will step in here and target the overreaction. Grab the points in this inflated point spread.
KEITHs PICK: San Antonio +9.5 at 5Dimes to get the best line on this game and guys if you don’t have an account here, now is the time to save money during the NBA playoffs and all season long in MLB!