Saturday is looking fine

With most of the vacation in the rearview mirror, time to look ahead with 79-41 record here at 3Daily Winners. Let’s take a look at Best System that is 85.1 percent. How good are the Braves as home favorites, read today’s Top Trend to find out. Ron of the Left Coast Connection is having super week, check out his best bet for today. Good Luck

What I thought this week – If you ever get the chance to go to Sedona, AZ, don’t pass it up, one of the most remarkable places on this earth.

On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/3Dailywinners

Free Baseball System -1) Play Against all underdogs with a money line of +150 or more like Houston, with a starting pitcher whose strikes out three or less batters per start, after a game where the bullpen threw six or more innings. This is rather self-explanatory, big underdog with used pen and lousy starter has added to 57-10 record since 2006.

Free Baseball Trend -2) Atlanta is 21-4 as a home favorite of -110 or higher this season, winning by 2.4 runs per game.

Free Baseball Pick -3) Ron of the LCC is 12-2 this week in baseball and is on Philadelphia to have Minnesota seeing double.

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NBA Finals Thoughts

The Los Angeles Lakers are the kings of the NBA for the 11th time in L.A. and the 16th time in franchise history. When it is all said and done, that’s all that matters, but my goodness, we as fans had to sit and watch this less than epic Game 7.

In retrospect, given the choice between watching the Celtics and Lakers deciding contest and giving my dog peanut butter to lick from his mouth for roughly three hours, the latter at the very least had comedic possibilities.

There was no question both teams were putting in a great deal of defensive effort, how else would you explain 98 missed shots out of 154 taken? (Let’s not forget the 12 uncontested missed free throws the team from L.A. clanged off the rim)

However, it wasn’t all great defense. It was easy enough to spot the difference.

Wide open shots were careening off the rim like the basketballs were filled with helium. Yes, many shot attempts were certainly highly contested, yet if you witnessed the footwork of the players launching these wayward heaves, even when they created space being guarded by a single player, they were typically off-balance, leaning one direction while shooting the orange.
The best way to describe it for football fans, it was the equivalent of a quarterback having happy feet in the pocket after facing a relentless pass rush.

ABC/ESPN analyst and former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy went to the line, but did not cross it giving out his true feelings about what we was being paid to watch and describe.

Van Gundy notes about halfway thru the fourth quarter, this was some of the worst offensive basketball he could remember seeing in a game of this magnitude. He realized what he just said honestly as coach and reverted back to being an announcer, adding that indeed the defense was also very good, contributing to the poor execution.

If Van Gundy was given truth serum or an adult beverage or two, my bet would be he thought the players were in full C-word mode. Even Kobe Bryant touched on the subject in the post game news conference. “Tonight it got the best of me,” Bryant said immediately after the game after 6-24 shooting performance.

“Sometimes you want something so bad it slips away from you.”

You know how Betty White became a sensation again thanks to Facebook; already Bricklayers of America are petitioning on Facebook and Twitter both the Lakers and Celtics players be the keynote speakers at next convention based on their expertise.

In the end the Boston Celtics missed Kendrick Perkins or at least it seemed that way as they were clobbered on the boards 53-40, of which 23 were after a Lakers missed shot.

Though it felt like the C’s had the game well in hand at various points, the facts show they were outscored each of the final three quarters and the team that won the rebounding battle was 7-0 and 6-1 ATS in the series.

The game did supply NBA conspiracy theorists just what they wanted, the Lakers coming back to win the last two games at home in Game 7, once again you are correct. (At least in their own minds)

For NBA fans it’s on to the draft, while the rest of us put our noses back into studying baseball numbers to hopefully beat that sport on a daily basis.

Sunday Action - Over and Out

Saturday brought yet another 2-1 day, raising record to 77-40. The Best System is 46-11 since 1997. Had a choice of five perfect Top Trends, went with the one most likely to win in my opinion. Mike offers his Free and best play today. Good Luck

What I share today – I’m on vacation until June 22, thus no articles written by me until I return unless I have something really important to say here. I will try and have Free Plays, but it will be spotty, especially early in the week.

On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/3Dailywinners

Free Baseball System -1) Play Against any team like the Orioles who are nasty AL offensive team (4.5 runs or less a game), against a good NL starting pitcher with ERA of 3.70 or less, batting .240 or worse over their last 15 games. Mark this system down as 46-11, 80.7 percent.

Free Baseball Trend -2) A ton of great trends today, but I’m going with Detroit 11-0 in home games vs. NL teams scoring 4.3 or less runs a game on the season over the last three years.

Free Baseball Pick -3) Mike of the LCC is +4.70 legit units the last few days and has Tampa Bay as top play.

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NBA Finals Game 5 – Just Win Baby

Nothing official has come forward, but expect Paul Pierce has to be pleased going back to Los Angeles and he might even fly back with his teammates leading in the series. Say what you want about the Boston Celtics, this group is buoyant and tenacious, from the starters to the bench players and their coach might be a blast at a black jack table, hitting on 16 because he feels a five coming as next card.

If Glen Davis, Nate Robinson, Rasheed Wallace and Tony Allen sound like the makeup of an NBA expansion team, that belief would likely be correct. However, this group of bench jockey’s scored on the first nine possessions of the final stanza for the Celtics and largely cemented the game away against the Lakers regular starters.

Coach Doc Rivers took a gamble, not calculated, but heart-felt and emotional, that this contingent had just a bit more to give with over 240 seconds left in Game 4 and his team leading by nine points and waved back his starting subs back to the bench.

“Hell, Rondo and all of them were begging me to keep guys in. 'Don't take them out. Don't take them out,'" Rivers recalled. "It was great. That was the loudest I've seen our bench, and it was our starters cheering from the bench. I thought it was terrific."

This enabled the Celtics to tie the series and moved their record to 8-3 SU and ATS at TD Garden in the postseason with one more to go.

Boston could be gaining some advantages as the series is wearing on. Pierce was much more efficient in running off screen and roles, getting Ron Artest out of his face, scoring 19 points and handing out five assists.

The player formerly known as “Big Baby” has been a man, as Davis’ internal flame has him continually outhustling the Los Angeles big men and he found a way to not let his height be a detriment in the paint against the taller L.A. players in making seven of 10 shots and collecting five boards (four offensive).

Going from the speed and quickness of Rajon Rondo to Nate Robinson allows the Celtics to have accelerator to the floor like a NASCAR driver in a straight away if they choose for all 48 minutes.

The Lakers give the appearance of being in control, but cracks are formulating. Andrew Bynum knee not only limits him, but forces Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to log more minutes against the more physical Boston frontline.

Though Kobe Bryant scored 33 points in last conflict, the Allen Gang (Tony and Ray) are making life difficult, as witnessed by his seven turnovers.

Bryant said, "They got all the energy points, the hustle points, the second-chance points ... "

" ... points in the paint, beat us to the loose balls," Bryant continued. "I mean, that's how the game turned around."

For the third time in this year’s playoffs, Los Angeles is 2-2 and they are 19-6 ATS when a series is tied and 18-6 ATS in road games having lost two of their last three tilts. The extra day off should help Bynum and the exhausted looking Lakers should be fresher.

Sportsbooks have Boston as 2.5-point home faves with total slipping to 187.5 after a pair of Under’s.

The Celtics are 8-2 ATS in last 10 NBA Finals’ affairs and 5-0 ATS with two days off. They are 6-0-1 UNDER in last seven home assignments.

The Lakers are still a potent 37-21 as an underdog, including 5-2 ATS in previous seven tries. Phil Jackson must devise ways to get better looks and increase the tempo since his club is 15-6 UNDER as a road underdog of six points or less this season, which has them being outscored 3.9 points per game when this happens.

ABC will have Game 5 at 8:00 Eastern and the team that snares the most rebounds in 4-0 SU and ATS in the Finals.