Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #897 Friday 10* Top Plays Temple Owls (+) @ Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - The last 4 games between these teams have been decided by an average of just 3.8 points and now the Owls are a 6.5 dog in this one and it is a revenge spot. Temple lost at home against Cincinnati a week ago. The Owls enter this one off 3 straight losses but they got the big dog cover with a strong effort at Wichita State on Sunday. Temple is now on a 3-0 ATS run in road games and I look for the Owls to continue that strong run as travelers here. Though the Bearcats got the cover at Temple a week ago, Cincinnati is 2-9 ATS in their other games this season and I feel they are over-valued in this one. Opponents are actually shooting 47.5% against the Bearcats in their home games this season while the Owls are holding opponents to 40.9% in their road games this season. I am grabbing the hungry, undervalued dog in this one. 10* TEMPLE

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #534 Thursday 10* Top Play Detroit Pistons (+) vs Indiana Pacers @ 8 ET - While it might seem hard to trust a 6-18 team against a team playing around .500 this season, in typical contrarian fashion I am on the ugly dog here. In this case the Pistons have a rest edge as they were off last night after hosting the Nets on Tuesday. As for the Pacers, they were at Brooklyn last night to face those same Nets. That said, tough spot for Indiana here. Also, as bad as the Pistons full season record is, they have been more competitive of late. Detroit has won 3 straight home games outright as home dogs and that was against tough teams - Nets, Lakers, 76ers! Going further back, the Pistons are on a 7-2 ATS run last 9 home games so they have been strong as a host this season. The Pacers entered last night's game at Brooklyn on a 3-9 ATS run and I look for Indiana's covering struggles to continue here. 10* DETROIT

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #737 Thursday 10* Top Play Purdue Boilermakers (+) @ Minnesota Golden Gophers @ 5 ET - Early line movement toward Minnesota already and I understand that because of the revenge angle. However, there is a match-up issue here. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Golden Gophers by 17 in the first meeting and it was not entirely a fluke. Minnesota has been outrebounded by a margin of 2 boards per game this season while Purdue is outrebounding opponents by 7 boards a game on the season. Comparing these two teams' stats on the season, the Boilermakers are also the better shooting team. Purdue has won 6 of 8 games entering this one while Minnesota is off a win but that was preceded by 6 losses in 8 games. The Boilermakers also have a rest edge here having not played since the 6th while the Gophers just played on the 8th. Minnesota has a great home record this season but the odds maker set this line very low with good reason. Don't let the number scare you away. Look for the road team to roll in this one. 10* PURDUE

Non-Conf Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #520 Wednesday 10* Top Play Dallas Mavericks (-) vs Atlanta Hawks @ 7:35 ET - The Hawks are off a big win versus the Raptors Saturday and that snapped a 3-game losing streak for Atlanta. That said everything must be "all good" again and the Hawks back on track, right? No, not at all! They were very fortunate to not only beat the Raptors but especially by a double digit margin! Toronto had 97 shots from the field compared to just 74 for Atlanta. The Hawks had 18 turnovers compared to just 6 for the Raptors. So how did this win happen? Insane shooting that will not be repeated for Atlanta on the road here. The Hawks shot 57% from the field and made a ridiculous 19 of 36 from three point land. Just crazy numbers for shooting and that leads to value here with the Mavs as short home favorite. Dallas has gotten back on track with wins in 3 of its last 4, including a win at Atlanta, but the Mavericks are still flying under the radar with the betting markets because they are on a long-term poor ATS run. That can lead to special value in certain situations and that is precisely what we are seeing right here. Lay it! 10* DALLAS

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #644 Wednesday 10* Top Play Providence Friars (+) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 4 ET - The Huskies are a different team without leading scorer James Bouknight and he is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. Connecticut is now on a 1-3 SU/ATS run without him. As for Providence, reinforcements are very near to returning as both Jared Bynum and Jimmy Nichols are nearing returns. So when someone casually looks at this game, they see an 8-4 team laying just 1.5 points at a 9-10 team. However, as you can see, there is absolutely a reason this game is priced this way so do not be fooled by the 4-win team in this range. The Friars are off a home loss in which they allowed 92 points and they will be ready to respond big here and improve to 5-0 this season when off a game in which they allowed 79 or more points. Another disadvantage for UConn here is this is just their 2nd game in the past 2 weeks. The home team in a much better spot here from a situational and personnel perspective. 10* PROVIDENCE

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #631 Tuesday 10* Top Play St John's Red Storm (+) @ Butler Bulldogs @ 9 ET - The Red Storm are red hot entering this game on a 6-0 SU run and 8-0 ATS run. St John's next game after this is not for a full week. That  said, the Red Storm can absolutely lay it all on the line here with a strong aggressive effort. Speaking of aggressive play, that is the reason St John's is averaging twice as many (10) steals per game as Butler is (5) this season. Turnovers were a key in the first meeting between these teams and that was a Red Storm home win by double digits. Now in this second meeting, because Butler is at home, the host is a popular choice. The line opened up with St John's -1.5 but has flipped and is now up to a -2.5 on the Bulldogs! Love the added value here with the road dog. Butler enters this game off a home win versus DePaul but this was preceded by a stretch that saw the Bulldogs go 3-7 over 10 games. Butler is simply not as strong this season and the Red Storm are surging. Not only do they do a better job in terms of steals and blocked shots, St John's also has been the better shooting team this season across all categories - from the field, free throws, and three pointers. Grab the road dog Red Storm here plus the points but expect an outright win. 10* ST JOHN'S

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #560 Sunday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Clippers (-) vs Sacramento Kings @ 3:05 ET - The Kings have won and covered 7 in a row so, in typical contrarian fashion, I am on the other side here. Sacramento is in a very tough spot here as this game starts at Noon local time and this is after the Kings were in action yesterday at home against Denver. Sacramento did get an upset win in that game while LA enters this game angry off an upset loss so the situation is perfect. That is why I am willing to lay points here as I expect the Clippers to go all out here and roll to a win by at least a dozen points. Los Angeles does not play again until Wednesday and also they do not have another home game until next Sunday. Also, they were off yesterday so they are rested and ready to go all out here and they are not happy about their home loss to a Celtics team that was without Jaylen Brown. Look for them to make up for that here as the Clippers are a perfect 6-0 this season when off a loss! The Clips have won the last two meetings by an average margin of 28.5 points and roll again here. 10* LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

NBA TV Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #531 Saturday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (-) @ Sacramento Kings @ 5 ET - The Kings are hot so they are garnering the attention of the betting markets and I fully understand that. But in typical contrarian fashion, I like the Nuggets here. Denver is really ticked off heading into this game as they were up nicely at halftime against the Lakers Thursday and then had a horrific 2nd half. The Nuggets also play this game with double revenge against Sacramento. These teams met twice earlier this season and the Kings won each game including a 2 point win at Denver when the Nuggets were an 8 point favorite. The Nuggets have had enough of this Sacramento team this season plus are in a foul mood after what happened against the Lakers Thursday. Denver had won 11 of 15 before the collapse against the defending champs. Also, the Kings were on a 2-9 SU run before covering 6 straight games heading into this one. I am not totally sold on Sacramento just yet and feel the odds makers are on to something considering the Nuggets have lost both match-ups to the Kings and yet are now favored by more than the -1 they laid in the first meeting at Sacramento. Trust me it is not a mistake and I feel the road team wins by 7 to 10 here. 10* DENVER

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #609 Saturday 8* Seton Hall Pirates (+) @ Connecticut Huskies @ Noon ET - The Pirates are 9-5 their last 14 games and here is the key. 4 of those 5 losses came against ranked teams. The only other loss was in overtime. That said, you can see why I expect Seton Hall to now take advantage of facing an unranked UConn team and we get some line value based on the Pirates being on the road so the points are on our side. Seton Hall off a dominating win in which they allowed only 43 points and forced plenty of turnovers. The Pirates will build off that here. The Huskies are 8-3 this season while Seton Hall has 8 losses already this season and yet Connecticut is a very small favorite here even though they are at home. This is a typical contrarian situation for me and I feel the Pirates are the better team and will get the job done on the road here. The road dog is the better shooting team on the season and I like the way their defense played in their dominating win earlier this week. 8* SETON HALL

Early TV Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #860 Friday 10* Top Play Penn State Nittany Lions (-) vs Maryland Terrapins @ 7 ET - Why is a 6-8 team favored over a 10-8 team? Precisely why I am playing the 6-8 team. The fact is the Nittany Lions are off a bad loss at Wisconsin and in bounce back mode. Before the ugly loss to the Badgers, Penn State had beaten Wisconsin as part of a 3-1 SU and ATS run and that victory over the Badgers was at home where the Lions have won 3 straight and they should make it 4 in a row Friday. The Terrapins are off a win versus Purdue by the slimmest of margins but are on a 2-6 ATS run and off the nail-biter win, will fall flat here. Maryland averaging just 62.6 points per game on the road this season while the Nittany Lions are averaging 81.1 points per game at home this season. The Terps are the better team defensively but the home/road dichotomy for PSU is a big one and they again come up big at home with a strong shooting performance off a loss. 10* PENN STATE

Early Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #506 Thursday 10* Top Play Utah Jazz @ Atlanta Hawks @ 7:35 ET - The Hawks are in a very tough spot here. Even though they are at home and it is the Jazz who are the travelers, Atlanta had to do battle with Dallas last night while Utah was resting. The Jazz have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA for awhile and have won 12 of their past 13 games. The Hawks have been a little short-handed of late and now playing a back to back certainly won't help matters. Atlanta entered last night's game against the Mavericks having lost each of their past two home games so playing at home certainly hasn't translated to an automatic W for the Hawks this season. In fact they already had a 3-game losing streak in home games earlier this season. 11 of the last 12 wins for the Jazz have come by a double digit margin. Look for this one to as well. 10* UTAH

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #736 Thursday 10* Top Play Temple Owls (+) vs Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - I am a Philly guy and was surprised the Owls didn't get it done on Sunday against Tulane. The game meant a little something extra after the passing of John Chaney whose name is synonymous with Temple basketball. The fact is that Sunday's disappointing result had a lot do with getting outrebounded and also the Green Wave shot much better. The Owls actually had just as many shot attempts as Tulane did in the game. Now Temple catches a break with facing a Cincinnati team that has not played in 3 and 1/2 weeks. Not only that, the Bearcats have lost 6 of their last 7 games. The Owls had won 3 of 4 before Sunday's loss and will respond big at home here. Cincinnati will struggle after the long layoff. Temple head coach Aaron McKie is also an Owls grad and the loss of Cheney means something extra to him for sure and I really look for a tremendous effort from the home team here and, unlike Sunday, they are catching the right team at the right time and they are a dog. I will take it. 10* TEMPLE

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #681 Wednesday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (+) @ Providence Friars @ 7 ET - When I see two teams with similar records and yet the game is around a pick'em, I will immediately be looking at the road team. In other words the odds makers are telling us who the better team is just by the fact that the road team is not a dog even though they are away from home and facing a team with a similar record. In this case, I was already looking at this game as the Pirates fell just short of the cover for me against Villanova on Saturday. That game saw Seton Hall hurt by one long scoreless drought that ended up being the difference in the game. The fact is the Pirates had 6 more shot attempts from the field in the game but the Wildcats shot a ridiculous 10 of 22 from three point land. Now Seton Hall is taking on a Providence team that has lost 5 of its last 7 and 1 of those 2 wins came in OT! In fact, the Friars are 5-6 in their last 11 games but 3 of the 5 wins came in extra time including one was a double OT game. Included in this stretch was an OT win at Seton Hall and the Pirates will now take advantage of their shot at revenge here. 10* SETON HALL

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #550 Tuesday 10* Top Play Indiana Pacers (-) vs Memphis Grizzlies @ 8:05 ET - The Pacers will certainly be ready to go here. They are off a bad loss to Philadelphia where they blew a big lead late courtesty of a horrible 4th quarter and bad play in the final minutes. Now Indiana will take advantage of hosting a Memphis team that, after nearly two weeks off, will be playing the 2nd game of a back to back plus it is their 3rd game in 4 nights plus they have division rival Houston on deck. Horrible spot for Grizzlies and the Pacers come in angry after blowing that game against the 76ers Sunday. 10* INDIANA

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #540 Monday 10* Top Play Oklahoma City Thunder (+) vs Houston Rockets @ 8:05 ET - The Rockets are on a roll with 5 straight wins but 2 of the wins came by a margin of 3 or less points and the most recent one, though by double digits, had a lot do with being an ideal situation. Houston is off a win at New Orleans where the caught the Pelicans off a huge upset win over the Bucks and completely out of gas in a back to back. That said, the value here is with the home dog. Oklahoma City might have been looking ahead to this game when they got throttled and allowed 147 points to Brooklyn  Friday. Either way, that kind of ugly loss certainly caught their attention after entering that game off back to back road wins that were outright upsets as underdogs. That said, I look for the revenge-minded Thunder to get right back on track here. I know each of these teams are different in terms of their rosters compared to August through early September when the Rockets ousted them from the playoffs. However, there is no doubt this game means a little extra something to Oklahoma City and, coming off that ugly loss, they respond large here and very likely even get the outright win for some true payback. For added insurance, I am grabbing the points here. 10* OKLAHOMA CITY

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #853 Monday 10* Top Play Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+) @ Louisville Cardinals @ 2 ET - The Yellow Jackets should have Bubba Parham back for this one as he is making the trip to Louisville after missing the last game to attend his cousin's funeral. I like the set up here as this is a classic case of two teams going the opposite direction and this is particularly true as it pertains to the betting window. The Cardinals are off a loss that dropped them to 1-3 SU and ATS in their last 4 games. They scored only 50 points in that game and it was against a Clemson team that just got waxed at Duke. For some more comparative reasoning though that is the same Tigers team that Georgia Tech just beat by 18 points. Also, the Yellow Jackets just beat Florida State by double digits while one of Louisville's 3 recent losses was against the same Seminoles team and they lost by double digits. The Jackets really stepped up without Parham in their most recent game to beat the Noles and now they get a boost with his return. I like those factors as well as the fact we're getting some points here against a team that has not covered any of the last 4 times they were favored in the -3 to -6 range. Cardinals fade continues as the Yellow Jackets improve to 3-0 ATS in their last 3 meetings with Louisville. 10* GEORGIA TECH

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #819 Sunday 10* Top Play St John's Red Storm (+) @ Marquette Golden Eagles @ 3:30 ET - The last time the Red Storm lost a game it was at home against the Golden Eagles by a bucket. The last time Marquette won a game was that tight victory at St John's. The point is that now we get a chance at right back revenge and can ride a hot team and fade a cold team. That said, I like our chances here. In that first match-up the Red Storm actually had 13 more field goal attempts than Marquette but simply had an off shooting night. But this is a St John's team that is now surging with confidence courtesy of a 3-game winning streak and they have won 4 of their last 5 overall and are on a 5-0 ATS run. The Golden Eagles have lost back to back games and 6 of their last 9 SU. During this 9-game run, Marquette has covered just ONCE! Grab the value with the road dog in this one as they are primed for an upset so I will gladly take the points here. 10* ST JOHN'S

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #501 Saturday 10* Top Play Portland Trail Blazers (+) @ Chicago Bulls @ 8 ET - As long-time followers know I often like to go against the grain and I like the fact that this line is moving toward the Bulls in early market activity. I will fade the move and grab the extra value with the Trail Blazers. Portland was up by 20 in the first quarter of their eventual 3-point loss at the Rockets and they know they let one slip away there. Look for the Blazers to be extremely focused on getting back into the win column here. Portland is on a 5-2 ATS run in road games and had won 4 of 6 SU away from home prior to the tight loss at Houston. As for Chicago, they are just 2-5 SU in home games this season and plus the Trail Blazers have revenge from a home loss to the Bulls early this month. Payback time is here. 10* PORTLAND

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #648 Saturday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (+) vs Villanova Wildcats @ 3:30 ET - Seton Hall is loaded with seniors and juniors and that is the key to why they will bounce back here. The Pirates just lost an unbelievable game at home against Creighton Wednesday. Seton Hall had a huge lead rather late in the 2nd half and then witnessed a miraculous comeback as the Bluejays just had one of those shooting stretches where they could not miss. A younger team would be in trouble in their next game but Seton Hall is loaded with upperclassmen who know how to respond in a situation like this. The Pirates are at home which helps here and they also have plenty of confidence against the Wildcats. Though only 2-3 SU in the last 5 games against Villanova, Seton Hall has a knack for playing the Cats tough as the 3 losses each came by just 2 points apiece. The Wildcats are off a dominating win versus Providence but that was driven by a 19-9 turnover edge. They won't have that edge against the Pirates and, in fact, the turnovers are about equal in the last 4 meetings between these two teams. I expect Seton Hall to be very focused and motivated at home here after the way they lost to Creighton Wednesday and with the fact this is also a revenge game as the Pirates lost a tight one less than 2 weeks ago at Villanova. Payback time. Grab the generous points. 10* SETON HALL

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #572 Friday 8* New Orleans Pelicans (+) vs Milwaukee Bucks @ 7:35 ET - Too many points here. Of course the Bucks are the better team but they are on the road where they were only 2-5 ATS in road games this season prior to their win at Toronto on Wednesday. As for the Pelicans, they are only 3-3 SU in home games this season but all 3 losses came by a single digit margin and two of the defeats were by a margin of 2 points and 1 point, respectively. The point is that New Orleans generally does not get blown at home and Milwaukee generally does not blow teams out on the road. Also, this is part of a 3 games in 4 nights stretch for the Bucks as they are at Charlotte tomorrow. The Pelicans build off Wednesday's big win and will be difficult for Milwaukee to put away here. 8* NEW ORLEANS

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #897 Friday 8* North Texas Mean Green @ Rice Owls @ 3 ET - The Owls have 6 players averaging 19 or more minutes per game this season and 3 of them are on the injury report for this game. Evee (covid), Havsa (ankle), and Mullins (toe). That said, this is not an ideal set up for a Rice team that has lost 3 straight games and hosts a North Texas team seeking revenge for a loss in their last visit here. Also, the Mean Green have won 6 of their last 8 games and I have been particularly impressed with their defensive play as they have allowed just 62.8 points per game this season. North Texas has allowed just 49 points per game in their last two games. I know they have had a layoff here between games but that has become the new norm in 2021 and they are rested and ready to go here. Lay it. 8* NORTH TEXAS

Big Ten Blowout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #720 Thursday 10* Top Play Rutgers Scarlet Knights (-) vs Michigan State Spartans @ 7 ET - The Spartans are 10-0 SU against the Scarlet Knights and yet are the underdog in this match-up! Big mistake by the odds makers, right? Of course not! Long time followers know how I feel about "mistakes" by odds makers and the fact is Rutgers is in the better situation right now and at home and they are catching a Michigan State team that hasn't played in nearly 3 weeks due to covid issues. The Scarlet Knights lost by 23 at Michigan State earlier this month but actually took 10 more shots from the field in that game but simply had one of those games where the hoop seems so small and they could not get shots to drop. Also, Rutgers made a ridiculous 6 of 17 from the free throw line. Yes they are not a good free throw shooting team but they are not normally that bad of course. They are hitting 60.4% from the charity stripe at home games this season. The Scarlet Knights have also faced the tougher schedule than the Spartans this season and enter this game bolstered by a road win at Indiana. 10* RUTGERS

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #540 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:35 ET - The Lakers are in the middle of a 7-game road trip and when you look at this trip a couple of games caught LA's attention. One was at Milwaukee as they are considered the best team in the east and another was at Cleveland because of the LeBron connection there. That said, off a win over the Cavaliers and still undefeated in road games this season, Los Angeles opened up as a very small road favorite here with good reason. That reasoning is that this is actually a tough spot for them. The 76ers want this game and a very tough at home. They went 31-4 at home last season and are 9-1 at home this season. Joel Embiid will be back after missing the last game which was as much rest as it was anything else. The Sixers have actually won 3 of their last 4 with LA both SU and ATS plus the home team won each meeting last season by a double digit margin. I like the home edge and the situational edge and the markets of course will be backing the small road favorite here that is 10-0 SU in road games this season. That is why this line is moving higher and I'll gladly grab the additional value with the home dog that will prove to be the more motivated team here. Remember Sixers coach Doc Rivers was the Clippers coach and has extra motivation facing the Lakers as they battled hard again for LA supremacy last season before the Lakers of course ultimately prevailed and went on to win it all while Rivers and the Clippers parted ways. Big motivation here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #669 Wednesday 10* Top Play Creighton Bluejays (-) @ Seton Hall Pirates @ 7 ET - Revenge is often overplayed and I believe that will prove to be the case again here. Many will back Seton Hall seeking revenge for getting blasted at Creighton 3 weeks ago. However, there are multiple problems with that. The Bluejays have now won 3 straight over the Pirates and part of the reason is that it is a match-up issue. Creighton is a 3-point shooting team and Seton Hall tends to struggle to defend the arc. The other issue for the Pirates here is that this will be just their 2nd game played in 18 days as they have been dealing with multiple cancellations. As for the Bluejays, their schedule has been flowing just fine and that means the shots - just like the first meeting - will also be flowing just fine as well. 10* CREIGHTON

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #527 Tuesday 10* Top Play New York Knicks (+) @ Utah Jazz @ 9:05 ET - There are two ways to look at this game but I am choosing the latter. The first way to look at this match-up is that the Jazz are on an 8-0 SU and ATS run. Not only that, the 8-game run dates back to a loss against, you guessed it, the Knicks! So this is a revenge game for a red hot Utah team. However, here is how I look at this one. The Jazz are laying too many points here. They are off a string of big Western Conference wins and now face a non-conference opponent plus have back to back big games on deck against the Mavericks. I like the fact that the Knicks are on a 4-1 ATS run. Also, not only are 3 SU wins included in that run, note that the Knicks last 4 SU losses have all been by a single digit margin. The average margin of defeat for NY during this run was just 5.5 points. The Knicks have gone 7 straight games without a single loss by more than 9 points. I am grabbing the big underdog here. 10* NEW YORK KNICKS

Professional Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #503 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) @ Detroit Pistons @ 7:05 ET - The Pistons are still without Derrick Rose for this one. Blake Griffin is expected back tonight but he has not been as effective as in years past. As for the 76ers I am aware of the Joel Embiid situation but he might play with tomorrow being an off day for Philly too. Plus Dwight Howard has really raised his level of play at times when Embiid is out. The Pistons did get the cover on Saturday but Detroit outscored Philly by 18 points from 3-point land in that one. Had they simply been dead even from beyond the arc, the Sixers win that game by 22 points. Also, lets look at this match-up from another vantage point as well. Philadelphia is currently at the very top of the Eastern Conference standings while Detroit - you guessed it - is at the very bottom of those same standings. Yes the Pistons have a home court "edge" here but have lost 7 of 9 games on their home floor this season! The 76ers, were it not for the 3-point shooting disparity, would have won Saturday's game by 22 which is not a huge surprise as their other road wins this season have come by an average of 22 points per game too! When these teams met over the weekend, the Sixers were of back to back huge wins against the Celtics so it was the perfect spot to fade them and, indeed, the Pistons delivered the ATS cover. Now, things are back to normal and we can lay a rather small number here and have the best team in the east against the worst team in the east so far this season. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #850 Monday 10* Top Play Portland Pilots (+) vs Loyola Marymount Lions @ 5 ET - The Pilots perfectly fit the classic ugly home dog theory. Yes Portland enters this game on a long losing streak but the Pilots are 5-4 SU at home this season and they have revenge from a home loss in the most recent meeting between these West Coast rivals. Inexplicably, the Pilots lost that game to the Lions despite having 20 more shot attempts from the field. It was a terrible shooting nigh for Portland from everywhere on the floor and they lost the game despite only having 9 turnovers while Loyola Marymount actually had 22 turnovers in that game! Coming into this game the Lions are on an overall 0-4 ATS run plus this is a team that has gone 0-4 SU on the road this season. Of course Loyola Marymount is the better team and that is why they are favored big on the road but I feel the points will prove to be far too many and that the Pilots will be tough to put away in this one. I know the Lions rate as the better team defensively but also note that Portland is averaging 76 points per game at home this season while Loyola Marymount is averaging just 61 points in road games. The Lions may defeat the Pilots here but I expect the game to be decided by a very slim margin. 10* PORTLAND

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #573 Sunday 10* Top Play Oklahoma City Thunder (+) @ Los Angeles Clippers @ 4:05 ET - The Clippers beat the Thunder by 14 points on Friday. They outscored them by 14 points at the free throw line. Also, Los Angeles dominated Oklahoma City on the boards. The Thunder will respond after losing badly in those two key stat departments on Friday. Neither one of those stats was expected when you look at the full season statistics for these two teams. No I do not expect OKC to win this game outright but I do expect the points to prove to be too many for LAC to cover in the rematch. The Clippers 5 most recent home games preceding the blowout win included 1 outright losses and 2 wins by a margin of 5 or less points. Look for this one to fall into that latter category or very close to that in terms of the final margin here. 10* OKLAHOMA CITY

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #558 Saturday 8* Detroit Pistons (+) vs Philadelphia 76ers @ 8:05 ET - You likely have heard the expression when talking about the NFL "on any given Sunday". Well this may be a Saturday rather than a Sunday and it may be the NBA rather than the NFL but that expression is likely to hold true here. I would not be surprised at all to see the downtrodden Pistons upset the 76ers here because situations simply do not get much better than this. Last season Philadelphia was eliminated from the playoffs by their long-time rivals, the Celtics. Now, the last 3 days the Sixers have faced Boston twice and they rallied yesterday to make it a clean 2-0 sweep. Now Philly is in a back-to-back plus playing their 3rd game in 4 nights and one can argue that the Pistons are in the exact same situation here from a scheduling standpoint and that is somewhat true but not entirely. The Pistons were already in Detroit last night at home here hosting the Rockets. Also, Detroit is on a losing streak while Philly enters off back to back key wins. The hungry home dog may not get the upset here but they should at least get the cash and keep this game much closer than one would normally expect in this match-up. Note that the Sixers have lost 3 straight road games and 4 of their last 5 on enemy hardwood. 8* DETROIT

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #535 Friday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (+) @ Philadelphia 76ers @ 7:35 ET - Grabbing a good team off a loss is always worth a look. When that team is getting points it is even better. When that team is also playing with revenge against a divisional foe that is better still. Finally, it gets even stronger when the teams just met. The Celtics loss at Philly Wednesday is certainly fresh in their minds as they blew a 6-point lead they had entering the 4th quarter. Here is a stat too that is unlikely to be repeated tonight: the 76ers had 45 free throw attempts compared to just 20 for the Celtics. You think a shot an extra 25 points might have helped Philly in their eventual 8 point win? Of course it did and, even though Boston is still without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are perfect ATS this season when off back to back ATS losses and also perfect SU when they enter a game off a SU loss. Payback time here and, keep in mind, the Celtics had won 5 straight games against Philadelphia before that loss Wednesday. 10* BOSTON

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #502 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Boston Celtics @ 7:05 ET - This is a rivalry that goes back a long way as you know. But last season put an exclamation point on how one-sided things can be at times. Boston swept the Sixers out of the playoffs and that led to the firing of coach Brett Brown. Now Doc Rivers is the new man in charge and his players want revenge here. Yes the Sixers just struggled at Memphis but Joel Embiid did not play. He is back and is listed as probable for this game. Also, it is a home game for Philly and they are known for dominating at the Wells Fargo Center. Additionally, the Celtics are still without Jayson Tatum and he is not even making the trip to Philly due to health protocols. That is a major loss for the Celtics as he was on fire this season. Speaking of major losses, Boston just got blasted at home by 30 points by Orlando. Of course that makes this a bounce back spot for the Celtics but, keep in mind, their ATS losses have come in pairs this season and I look for the loss to the Magic to be the first of two as the hungry 76ers get their playoff revenge in a big way here. Embiid on the floor for Philly and Tatum not on the floor for the Celtics is absolutely a big deal! Home team by double digits in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Double Perfect Play - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #571 Tuesday 10* Top Play New Orleans Pelicans (+) @ Utah Jazz @ 9:05 ET - I have had great success with each of these teams as I am 3-0 my last 3 involving the Pelicans and 5-0 my last 5 sides involving the Jazz. Putting both of those streaks to the test here because I really like the value with the points being offered in this one. The last 4 meetings between these clubs have all been decided by a single digit margin. That includes 2 of the last 3 decided by just 2 points with the outlier decided by 6 points. All 3 of those results would get us a win in this one tonight. That said, the Pelicans come into this game off a confidence boosting win and 4 of their last 5 losses were by a single digit margin with 3 of the 4 decided by a margin of 5 or less. The Jazz have been hot and that is what has driven this line higher but their 5-game winning streak started with a win over the Bucks. Since then the last 4 teams they have faced all currently have losing records and a combined record of 21-31. I know the Pelicans also have a losing record so far this season but, without a doubt, they have underachieved. That is what is leading to value in this spot and I look for the revenge-minded Pelicans to get revenge for the July 30th loss to the Jazz. If they do fall short look for them to stay inside the number as they improve to 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games. 10* NEW ORLEANS

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #716 Thursday 10* Top Play Pacific Tigers @ 5 ET - I fully understand the line move here. Pacific hasn't played in a very long time and has only played one game in about 6 weeks. So I get it. But this is a Tigers team that went 11-5 in conference action last season and Santa Clara went just 6-10 in conference games last season. Not only that, the Broncos have only played 1 conference game this season. The point is that Pacific isn't that far behind everyone else in terms of conference games played and they are raring to go for their conference opener and they are at home and it is a day game. This is a very competitive team with a lot of heart and passion for the game. Having them at a home dog in this spot is something I won't pass up on. The Broncos are a decent program but I still expect more from Pacific than Santa Clara by the time this season goes into the books. As for this match-up in particular, even if the Tigers start a little slow they will eventually get back into a good rhythm within this game and on their home floor. The Tigers catch the Broncos off an upset win at St Mary's and that make this a great spot to fade them. Santa Clara was off back to back losses by double digit margins prior to that win over the Gaels. 10* PACIFIC

PA Insider - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #534 Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Miami Heat @ 7:05 ET - The Heat simply missing too many guys due to health protocols in this covid-impacted world we currently live in. Additionally, the Sixers are off a road loss last night in which they got blasted. They will now bounce back at home where they went 31-4 last season plus are 5-1 this season. While the 76ers have only 1 home loss this season, Miami has only 1 road win this season and plus Philadelphia has revenge from getting blasted by 31 points the last time they faced the Heat. This is actually a triple revenge spot as Philly has lost 3 straight against Miami and the set-up and the situation is perfect with the Heat outmanned in this game to a large extent. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Perfection Play - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #866 Monday 10* Top Play DePaul Blue Demons (+) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 6 ET - The set up here is a perfect one. The Huskies blasted the Blue Demons by 21 points when these teams met earlier this season but that was at Connecticut and DePaul simply had an off shooting game. Now the Blue Demons are at home plus star Huskies guard James Bouknight might miss this game. He scored 20 in the first meeting but is dealing with an elbow injury now. With UConn not scheduled to play again until a week from tonight it would make the most sense for the Huskies to keep him out of tonight's game and try to get better recovery for him before putting Bouknight back in game action. That said, the play here is the hungry home underdog that is entering this game off a home loss. The Blue Demons are playing just their 3rd home game of the season and do shoot better at home plus have more confidence on their home floor. It all adds up to substantial line value here with DePaul now catching nearly a half dozen points in this one. You have a 1-loss team facing a 1-win team here and this is going to get the attention of the betting markets and I love fading the masses here given the above situational value aspects we have in play for this one. The Huskies are off back to back road wins and I foresee a let up here while the hungry Blue Demons respond off of 3 straight losses including a home defeat and, in the process, get some revenge too. If the host does fall short I expect it to be by the slimmest of margins. Grab the points. 10* DEPAUL

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #508 Sunday 10* Top Play New York Knicks (+) vs Denver Nuggets @ 6:05 ET - The Nuggets are in a back to back spot and off a big win at Philly yesterday and have a challenging match-up at Brooklyn on deck. That said this is absolutely a flat spot for them. After all, they blasted the Knicks by a 37 point margin the last time they faced them in New York. However, that was then and this is now and this is a different New York team and the Knicks are off a home loss Friday that ended a stretch of 3 straight wins SU and ATS and an overall 5-1 SU/ATS stretch. That said, I fully expect a big bounce back effort from the rested Knicks here at home and they'll take advantage of catching the Nuggets in a back to back. Also, Denver was just 3-5 SU this season entering yesterday's match-up with the 76ers and the Nuggets also have played a weaker schedule than the Knicks have. All signs here are point to great line value with the home underdog and I will take it. 10* NEW YORK KNICKS

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #569 Saturday 10* Top Play Phoenix Suns (+) @ Indiana Pacers @ 7:05 ET - As a general rule I love taking a look at winning teams as underdogs. Of course that is because you have a team that wins more than the lose SU and they are also getting points to work with as well. So this game already caught my eye and I am well aware of the fact the Suns are off an OT game last night. However, a few keys from that game: the Suns lost, the Suns blew a 23 point lead, and no one played ridiculously high minutes for Phoenix. In other words, the Suns will be ready to go tonight and they are fired up and they are hungry for a victory after letting that game slip away last night. Note that Phoenix is 2-0 this season when playing the 2nd game of a back to back and also 2-0 this season when off a loss. Indiana is a quality team too of course but will they be complacent here off back to back wins? Also, the Pacers are 4-2 SU their last 6 games but two of those wins came by a victory margin of 2 or less points. That said, if you had played Indiana at -3 or more in each of their last 6 games you went just 2-4 ATS. I know the Pacers have a scheduling edge but I love the hunger factor for a Suns team whose starters didn't play all that well last night. The bench actually was better and now I look for the starters to come out hungry tonight and the bench to continue their strong play. Grab the points! 10* PHOENIX

Big Ten Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #859 Friday 10* Top Play Purdue Boilermakers (+) @ Michigan State Spartans @ 7 ET - Both these teams have been struggling ATS and I have no hesitation in fading a ranked Michigan State team in this one. The Spartans are ranked and at home and yet opened up as a rather small favorite here. Sure enough the early market move here is on Michigan State and yet, prior to back to back wins, the Spartans had lost 3 straight games SU. Also, prior to a rare cover in their most recent game, Michigan State had failed to cover 7 straight games! As noted above, Purdue has also had ATS problems this season but I like the fact the Boilermakers are off back to back SU losses for the first time this season. They are in the perfect bounce back spot here considering the situation and they have won each of their last two meetings with Michigan State. The Boilermakers also have played the tougher schedule so far this season and I feel the betting markets aren't properly factoring that in as they pound the Spartans here. We have excellent line value here with Michigan State off a huge blowout win where everything went right while Purdue is off back to back losses. By the way, the Spartans have a huge game on deck with red hot Iowa so this is a good spot for the Boilermakers from a situational advantage too. 10* PURDUE

Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #536 Thursday 10* Top Play Memphis Grizzlies (-) vs Cleveland Cavaliers @ 8:05 ET - Even though the Grizzlies are still without Ja Morant, they are certainly in much better shape than the Cavaliers right now. Yes, Memphis is off back to back losses but they faced the Lakers and lost the 2nd of the 2 games by just a bucket. Prior to those 2 losses the Grizzlies had won 2 of 3 and that included a 15-point blowout win over Charlotte. As for Cleveland, they have lost 4 of their last 5 games and all 4 of the losses have come by a margin of at least 9 points. In fact, the average margin of the 4 defeats was 15 points and I would not be surprised to see another big loss here as the Grizzlies are anxious to bounce back after back to back losses. Memphis has not lost 3 straight games yet this season. The set up here is perfect as the Grizzlies are 0-4 at home this season and desperate for a big home win and the wounded Cavaliers come in here as the perfect punching bag for the home team to take out their frustrations. 10* MEMPHIS

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #730 Thursday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (+) vs Iowa Hawkeyes @ 7 ET - The Terrapins are off back to back losses and have not lost 3 straight games all season. Maryland had a great first half at Indiana on Monday but then fell apart in the 2nd half of the game. Fired up about the horrific 2nd half on the road against the Hoosiers, the Terps respond in a big way at home on Thursday. I know Iowa ranks as one of the top teams in the nation but they are on the road and off a hard-fought 2-point win in their most recent game. Also, the Hawkeyes have one Big Ten loss this season and it came at Minnesota. Up next for Iowa is a home game against, you guessed it, the Golden Gophers. That said, I really like the situational value here with the home dog Terrapins in this one. This is particularly true as the line on the Hawkeyes has been climbing this morning and Iowa is now favored by as many as a half dozen points in this one. We're getting some line value here because of the way Maryland's most recent game finished so poorly for them in the 2nd half. That said, we won't see that happen again here as now the Terrapins are at home and also lost their most recent home game against a red hot Michigan team. The situation is perfect for a home dog bounce back here and I would not be surprised to see an outright upset here but will grab the points just in case the Terrapins fall just short. 10* MARYLAND

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #517 Wednesday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (+) @ Miami Heat @ 7:35 ET - This is a revenge game from the post-season as the Heat took the series 4 games to 2 back in September. Revenge is never an automatic but I like this spot quite a lot because I have tremendous respect for Brad Stevens as a coach and I know he'll have his guys ready for this one. Yes I know Marcus Smart missed Boston's most recent game but that was precautionary more than anything else. It was a back to back spot and it was facing a struggling Raptors team and Smart has been dealing with a thumb injury so they let him rest it. I know he listed as questionable for tonight as of early game day morning but I am quite positive he'll be playing tonight and I know Boston very hungry for payback here. Also, the Heat have been quite unimpressive early this season. Miami is off a win and is 3-3 this season and has yet to win back to back games. I look for that trend to continue here as the Heat again follow a win with a loss but I am grabbing the points as added insurance in case the Celtics fall short by the slimmest of margins in this one. In looking at the hustle stats for this one, Boston has been the better rebounding team, they have been getting many more blocks and also turning over the ball less in comparison with the Heat. We're getting line value here with the Celtics courtesy of the injury situation. Lets take advantage and fade Miami in this one! 10* BOSTON

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #502 Tuesday 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) vs Utah Jazz @ 7:35 ET - Brooklyn will be without Kevin Durant (covid protocol) but the markets have over-reacted in my opinion. Now the Nets are as much as a 5 point home dog in this game and, keep in mind, others are going to step up big with KD being out. Especially in the first game without a superstar, you often see the rest of the team give a massive effort. So this may not last for the full 7 days he is out but I certainly expect it to be the case in this first game. That said, I feel the Jazz are being vastly over-valued here. We are getting line value here because they just blasted the Spurs by a 21 point margin courtesy of red hot outside shooting. I don't expect a repeat of that here as I expect some solid defense from an inspired Brooklyn team that is off back to back losses. 3 of the Nets 4 losses this season have come by a margin of 5 or less points and I am well aware of their 5-game ATS skid. Keep in mind that skid came with Durant on the floor. All I am saying is just watch how everyone steps and gives a huge effort tonight with KD absent. I am expecting an outright upset but will bet this one at plus the points for the added insurance. Look for a valiant effort from the hungry home dog in this one as they get some payback against a Jazz team that has held the upper hand in recent meetings between these two non-conference foes. When Utah has won a game this season and scored at least 110 points in that victory they are 0-2 SU and ATS in their next game. The Nets won the only time they entered a game off B2B losses this season. Look for them to again respond in that situation as they once again avoid a 3-game SU losing streak. 10* BROOKLYN

Big Ten Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #869 Monday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (+) @ Indiana Hoosiers @ 8 ET - The Terrapins are off a double digit home loss to Michigan and have had to wait 3 full days for this chance to atone for that defeat. Maryland has held the upper hand in this series and has beaten Indiana 3 straight times. The Hoosiers are priced this way today because they are at home but this situation should favor the hungry road dog. Indiana comes into this game quite content after finally getting a W in their most recent game, albeit by only a bucket versus Penn State. That, however, was preceded by B2B losses for the Hoosiers and, overall, they have failed to cover in 3 straight games. I look for that trend to reach 4 straight games with another ATS loss here. The Terps were off B2B covers before the loss to the Wolverines who continue a surprisingly impressive start to the season. That said, lets not put too much weight into that loss and I look for the hungry Terrapins to bounce right back here. 10* MARYLAND

Philly Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #573 Monday 10* Top Play Charlotte Hornets (+) @ Philadelphia 76ers @ 7:05 ET - The Hornets are off back to back losses by a double digit margin which included getting beaten badly at Philly on Saturday. However, that was the 2nd night of a back to back for Charlotte and, after getting down huge in the first quarter, the Hornets actually played even with the Sixers the rest of the way. That said, the value is with the big dog here as now Charlotte comes into this game rested and they were 2-2 SU in their first two games this season with each loss by 7 or less points. As for Philadelphia, they have gone 5-1 SU this season but 2 of their first 3 wins came by a margin of 7 or less points. Now, after back to back blowout wins for the 76ers but back to back blowout losses for Charlotte, I look for the Hornets to prove to be the hungrier team in this one tonight. That does not mean an outright win but it does mean, unlike Saturday's loss, they should stay within single digits throughout this one. 10* CHARLOTTE

Big Ten Punisher - Michigan has my respect but they are a little overvalued here based on their hot start to the season. Keep in mind, the Wolverines finished in the lower half of the Big Ten and were projected to again finish there this season. In the early going this season they are 8-0 and they are off a big win at Maryland. That is helping lead to line value here because Northwestern is improved this season but coming off a loss to a very strong Iowa team. Look for the Wildcats to bounce back here and they have been the better 3-point shooting team in comparison with Michigan early this season and also have defended the arc better as well so far in this campaign. That said, the Wolverines might still win this but only by a bucket or two and I like the value with the hungry road dog coming off a loss. Michigan also has another big game, Minnesota, on deck. 10* NORTHWESTERN

Contrarian Crusher - Memphis already adjusting to life with out Ja Morant - at least for a bit - and I expect the Lakers to be a bit disinterested here. Los Angeles is off back to back wins over San Antonio and also they know Morant is not playing here. Could Le Bron Jams skip this game or be limited with his ankle injury? Either way I do expect LA to get the win here but not to cover this enormous spread on the road. The fact that the Grizzlies are off a win in their most recent game also helps their confidence levels heading into this one. 10* MEMPHIS

ESPN Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #634 Saturday 10* Top Play Rutgers Scarlet Knights (+) vs Iowa Hawkeyes @ 2 ET - I don't expect Ron Harper Jr to miss another game. I am well aware of his ankle injury situation. Even if Harper does miss this one note that Mathis really stepped up in his absence in the win over Purdue a few days ago. Overall this Rutgers team has great depth in the backcourt so they can get the job done here even without Harper but I am expecting him back here. This is a scrappy Scarlet Knights team that hung it's hat on defense and playing hard last season. This season they have been more about the offensive production but still their defensive numbers are more impressive than that of Iowa. Of course the Hawkeyes offensive production has been incredible again this season but this is still a team that is allowing opponents to hit 35.3% from beyond the arc plus that lost 2 of 3 games preceding the home win versus Northwestern a few days ago. Rutgers has revenge from losing a tight one at Iowa in their most recent meeting. Speaking of tight ones, the Scarlet Knights have a 6-2 ATS record against the Hawkeyes because they have historically played them tough and I look for that to continue here. Not only that, this is the best Rutgers team we have seen in many seasons and they are at home and, after the line move toward Iowa, the Scarlet Knights are now catching 3.5 points in this one. This looks like a great spot for the scrappy underdog! I'll take it! 10* RUTGERS

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #529 Friday 10* Top Play Memphis Grizzlies (+) @ Charlotte Hornets @ 7 ET - Of course this is a contrarian play as Ja Morant is out for the Grizzlies. The odds makers were aware of this when they set this line with Charlotte favored by only a bucket. Of course the betting markets though are all over the Hornets here and the line is now up to a 4.5 which is offering great value on the underdog in my opinion. Keep in mind, after an ugly first half at Boston on Wednesday the Grizzlies did outplay the Celtics in the 2nd half as they started to adjust to being without Morant. I like backing Memphis here, hungry off a loss, while Charlotte comes into this game perhaps feeling a little too good about themselves. The Hornets enter this one off back to back wins plus this is a front end of a back to back as they are at Philly tomorrow. The only other time this season that Charlotte was in the front end of a back to back they suffered a home loss. This could be another one here and, if the Grizzlies do fall short look for it to be by only a bucket in a game that is likely to be a tight one and has potential for an upset. 10* MEMPHIS

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #873 Friday 10* Top Play Old Dominion Monarchs (+) @ Florida International Golden Panthers @ 7 ET - This line opened up with Old Dominion favored by about a bucket and now they are an underdog by about a bucket. Long time followers know I love fading the moves in situations like this and this one certainly fits the bill nicely. Florida International beat Old Dominion when these teams last met about a year ago and that makes this a revenge spot. Also, the Monarchs have played the tougher schedule so far this season so, in my opinion, they are more battle tested and proven than the Golden Panthers. I also like the fact that FIU is off a huge win over an overmatched opponent (Carver Bible!) but that followed losses in 2 of their 3 immediately preceding games. Also, the Golden Panthers allowed 84 points per game in those 3 games. Note that Old Dominion has allowed 66 points or less in 3 of their last 4 games and their only loss during that stretch was to a tough VCU team. Fade the line move here and grab the road dog. 10* OLD DOMINION

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #738 Thursday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (+) vs Michigan Wolverines @ 8 ET - The Wolverines are ranked and 7-0 this season plus playing with revenge from losing the most recent match-up between these teams. The Terrapins are off an upset win at Wisconsin which was preceded by losing 3 of 4 games. In other words, this seems like the perfect situation for the Wolverines and yet the line opened up as only a pick'em in this game. Get the feeling someone knows something? Exactly! The odds makers are very sharp and they set this line this way for a reason. Of course the markets are jumping all over it and the line is now up to a -2 on Michigan. I will gladly go with home dog Maryland in this one. The Terrapins actually will use the one over the Badgers to get a jump start with their momentum and between December 22nd and January 7th this is the only home game for the Terps. That said, they definitely want to make the most of it and I look for them to play with plenty of confidence here following the big win at Madison. Also, Michigan has not been a dog all season and has been favored by at least 7 points in all games. Conversely, this is the 4th time already that the Terrapins have been a dog and, also, the Terps were a very short favorite one time too. Suffice to say it is the home dog that has played the tougher schedule so far this season and that helps our cause here too. They are battle tested. 10* MARYLAND

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #685 Wednesday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (+) @ Xavier Musketeers @ 7 ET - Bad news for Xavier here. This game is at Cincinnati! But in all seriousness, the road team has won and covered 4 straight in meetings between these two and I am looking for that trend to continue here in a big way on Wednesday. The Pirates have revenge from losing at home to the Musketeers in their most recent meeting and now they can return the favor here right before the New Year. Seton Hall's only loss (SU or ATS) in their last 6 games was the loss to Xavier. That said, I am looking for revenge bounce back here as the Pirates improve to an overall 6-1 SU/ATS their last 7 games with an upset win here at the Cintas Center. Look for Xavier to suffer "unbeaten letdown" here as they were a perfect 8-0 on the season entering their last game but then got upended by Creighton. In typical contrarian fashion, I am playing on a 4-loss team that is on the road and facing a 1-loss team and yet with a spread of only 2.5 on the game. Something looks "fishy" doesn't it? Of course you know what that usually means! Lets fade the masses here and look for a huge game from the Pirates in this one. 10* SETON HALL

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #558 Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Toronto Raptors @ 7:05 ET - the 76ers are off a loss but it was without joel embiid...the sixers are 2-0 su in games he has played this season and they are just a 2 point favorite in this match-up...the raptors are 0-2 su this season even though they played two teams that finished with a losing record last season...now toronto faces a philly team that went 31-4 in home games last season...the sixers were very tough at home up until the mid-march point of last season when our world got changed by covid...philly will come up with a big home win here to respond after the bad loss at cleveland...i like taking quality teams off a loss and this is a great spot with embiid expected back and having fresh legs and also the revenge factor...yes the sixers can't forget the playoff loss at toronto back when kawhi leonard was there in the spring of 2019...that infamous series defeat ending philly's season...they didn't get the payback they wanted last season but did win the only game played in philadelphia and i expect them to get this one as well on their home floor...10* PHILADELPHIA

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #824 Monday 10* Top Play Indiana State Sycamores (+) vs Drake Bulldogs @ 5 ET - The Bulldogs are now 10-0 this season after beating the Sycamores by 18 points yesterday. The key for Drake was dominating the boards plus knocking down 9 of 18 three pointers. The fact is that they opened as a small favorite here despite being undefeated on the season. Long time followers know I am a contrarian and grabbing Indiana State in this spot is certainly going against the grain. Yes I know they are only 3-3 on the season but they have played a tougher schedule than Drake and it will be tough for the Bulldogs to beat them easily on consecutive days. I expect Indiana State to win outright but am happy to grab the points as any Sycamores loss is likely to be much closer than yesterday's result. I like the fact that Indiana State did a much better job of getting to the free throw line in yesterday's game. More of the same expected here and I am fading the 10-0 team and expecting an outright underdog upset in this one. Grab the points here. 10* INDIANA STATE

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #501 Saturday 10* Top Play Atlanta Hawks (+) @ Memphis Grizzlies @ 5:05 ET - The Hawks won big in their opening game while the Grizzlies fell short against the Spurs. I know that would make this a bounce back game for Memphis at home but there is a reason the odds makers opened up Atlanta as the favorite in this one. Now with the line move all the way up to a 3 there is excellent line value with the underdog Hawks. Getting a big win like Atlanta did gives them confidence and certainly the Spurs team that the Grizzlies got hammered by is not the strong San Antonio level of team which use to see in years past. That said, the fact that Ja Morant had a huge game versus SA but Memphis still got hammered is absolutely not a good sign. Simply put, the Grizzlies are being over-valued here and I am happy to fade them in this spot with a Hawks team that will be playing with extra confidence and got a lot of contributions from all over the floor in their season opening win. 10* ATLANTA

Contrarian Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #758 Friday 10* Top Play Minnesota Golden Gophers (+) vs Iowa Hawkeyes @ 8 ET - The first time the Golden Gophers got tested this season it was a disaster but that was on the road as they got hammered at Illinois. After that wake-up call, I look for Minnesota to respond much better the 2nd time around and it certainly helps that they are at home this time. This line opened up at a 5 and then flew up to as high as a 7 as of Thursday afternoon. I love fading the line move here. Certainly I understand the move as the Hawkeyes are a great team but also this is a potential trouble spot for them. Iowa is off a dominating win versus Purdue and that was a bounce back game for them after they had lost to Gonzaga in their prior game. Now the Hawkeyes are in a potential flat spot and playing their 3rd game since the 19th while the rested Golden Gophers are playing for just the 2nd time since the 20th. Of course it goes without saying that the highly-ranked Hawkeyes are the better team but this is one of those situational plays that is loaded with value and is too good to pass up on. The Golden Gophers lost by just 3 points to the Hawkeyes last season at home and the prior season when they hosted Iowa they got the win. Grab the big dog value here and fade the line move as the high-scoring Hawkeyes are not going to go away without a fight in this one. An outright upset certainly would not be a complete shock and even if the home dog does fall short here I expect it to be by just a bucket or two. 10* MINNESOTA

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #578 Friday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (-) vs New Orleans Pelicans @ 12:05 ET - Perfect set up here. The Heat lost outright as a favorite in their season opener on Wednesday at Orlando while the Pelicans got a huge outright upset win as an underdog in their season opener Wednesday at Toronto (game played at Tampa Bay). The Pelicans made only 50% of their free throws but knocked down 45% of their threes while the Raptors shot only 30% from beyond the arc. Of course that was the difference in the game. Adding some additional value here is that the Heat lost their most recent game against the Pelicans. Look for Miami to avenge that road loss with a huge win here at home.  The Heat were a little sloppy in their opening game loss but the Pelicans had even more turnovers (24) in their season opening win. New Orleans survived that thanks to strong 3-point shooting but don't look for a repeat of that here against a determined home team that is angry off a season opening loss after playing in the NBA finals last season! 10* MIAMI

Philly Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #558 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76'ers (-) vs Washington Wizards @ 7:05 ET - We saw yesterday that teams that re-tooled or re-shuffled after disappointing finishes to last season really responded in a big way. The Clippers knocked off the Lakers and the Nets blasted the Warriors. Look for this trend to continue as remaining teams start getting their season underway and that includes the Sixers tonight. Philadelphia has new management and a new head coach and I expect the personnel on the roster to respond very well. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are both on the injury report for tonight but those two stars are both listed as probable for Philly. As for the Wizards, they now have Russell Westbrook joining Bradley Beal. However there is a problem because there is still just one basketball to share and this could be problematic with those two and certainly there will be some growing pains early in the season. Each of the last 3 times the 76ers have hosted the Wizards they have gotten the win and cover. Look for that trend to continue here as Philly, similar to Brooklyn and the Clips yesterday, open the season with a big resounding win tonight...a statement victory if you will. Look for Doc Rivers to help Philly be "all business" tonight and finally start to play in a way they are fully capable of but simply couldn't under prior coach Brett Brown. Philly set up much better now for success and it shows right away here at home on Wednesday. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Contrarian Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #667 Tuesday 10* Top Play East Tennessee State Buccaneers (+) @ Alabama Crimson Tide @ 7:30 ET - The Crimson Tide are off a loss but actually are now 1-5 ATS their last 6 games and have lost 2 of their last 3 SU. Additionally, this is their final game before Christmas and the SEC schedule beckons after that. In other words, how focused can they really be here? Exactly! That said, I look for the Buccaneers to surprise in this one. Even though they lost a lot of talent from last season's team and have a new coach, they did reload with solid talented newcomers including a number of Division I transfers. Additionally, their coach was not new to the program, he had already been with them. That said, after getting throttled in their season opener (an excellent wake-up call) I like what I have seen from East Tennessee State. They have won 4 of their last 5 games and their only 2 losses since the season opener have come by a combined margin of only 5 points. ETSU is in the same conference as Furman and they are two of the top teams in the Southern Conference. What does that have to do with this game? Furman recently played Alabama and they lost by just 3 points. I look for a much tighter game here than many are expecting. If you look at the offensive shooting percentages of these two teams, Alabama and East Tennessee State are nearly identical. On the other end of the floor, the Crimson Tide are allowing 43% from the field while the Bucs are allowing just 36% from the field. I also expected ETSU to be the more motivated team here and I like the way the players have responded to their new head coach this season. Ever since game one of the season, East Tennessee State has been very competitive and I fully expect that to continue here as Alabama continues to be inconsistent and will struggle to pull away in this game. Grab the big points with the motivated big dog as the Buccaneers are looking to make the most of this opportunity against an SEC program. 10* EAST TENNESSEE STATE

Philly Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #773 Monday 10* Top Play St Joseph's Hawks (+) @ Tennessee Volunteers @ 6 ET - The Volunteers are 4-0 both SU and ATS but have played a much weaker schedule than the Hawks have faced. St Joseph's is 0-4 SU on the season but this will be the 4th time in 5 games that they have been a sizable underdog. This is too many points in my opinion. I know the Hawks are allowing a ton of points this season but they also can score well as they have plenty of starting experience on this team. St Joseph's is averaging 77 points per game on the season and Tennessee has another game scheduled for Wednesday. In other words, the Volunteers will want to save a little in tank for that game. That said, with a huge lead the Vols will take their foot off the gas and St Joseph's has enough scoring firepower to make plenty of runs in this game. The Hawks, if it comes down to it, can absolutely get in the backdoor here with this pointspread in the low 20s. The Volunteers are a high-quality team but they are being over-valued here because of their strong ATS start this season. Grab the big dog value on the other side in this one. 10* ST JOSEPH'S

Contrarian Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #855 Friday 10* Top Play Loyola Chicago Ramblers (+) vs Richmond Spiders @ 6 PM ET - This is a neutral site game being played in Indiana but that location still favors the Ramblers plus lets not forget they have an extra day of rest compared to the Spiders heading into this game. Also, I like the fact that Richmond is off a win that saw them bounce back from their first loss of the season while Loyola now enters this game off their first loss of the season. Also, even though they lost at Wisconsin, Loyola Chicago played quite well and the key difference was 3-point shooting. The Badgers shot a ridiculous 56% from beyond the arc in that game. The Ramblers played well overall and, had they shot the same percent from 3 point land that Wisconsin did, they would have won the game outright and they were a 7 point dog in that one. Here Loyola is a much smaller dog but I sense an upset is coming in this one. Richmond really misses guard Nick Sherod (out for the season - knee). Of course the Spiders are still a very talented and experienced team but so too are the Ramblers. Also, Loyola is shooting better from three point land than Richmond is plus they are allowing only a 39.4 field goal percentage while the Spiders are allowing 44.4% from the field so far this season. With this line having gone from a 2 to as high as a 3.5 in early market activity, there is even more value in a game I am expecting the Ramblers to win outright. 10* Loyola (IL) Chicago Ramblers

ACC Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #694 Wednesday 10* Top Play Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+) vs Duke Blue Devils @ 9 ET - Duke blasted Notre Dame again last season and has now won the last two meetings by an average margin of 28 points per game. Additionally, the Blue Devils are a ranked team heading into this game while the Fighting Irish are projected to finish near the bottom of the ACC again this season. That said, this line opened up at a 3.5 and appeared to be a gift to those wanting to back Duke, right? Well you know what that usually means and, in this match-up there is definitely more than meets the eye. First off Duke big man Jalen Johnson is out with an injury. He was leading the teams in blocks, tied for team lead in rebounds, and one of the top scorers for the Blue Devils. That holds even more significance here because Notre Dame has been getting big games from 6'10 Nate Laszewski both on the boards and in terms of scoring. He should have a big game here and I also like the fact the Blue Devils have had a lot of recent cancellations and will be playing for the first time in over a week. Also, the Fighting Irish have played the tougher schedule early this season. Revenge game and the home team wants this one badly. Grab the points. 10* NOTRE DAME

TV Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #814 Monday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (-) vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ 6 ET - The Terrapins certainly are NOT on the level of last year's team. However, coming off an embarrassing loss at Clemson in which the Terps were never in it on the road, they will respond in a big way at home here. Maryland has revenge here against Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights beat them last season. Keep in mind that followed 8 straight wins for the Terrapins in his series. Also, though Rutgers is improved this season, they have a couple injury issues. Caleb McConnell is out indefinitely with a back issue and he is a key player. Also, one of their biggest stars, Geo Baker, is doubtful for this game because of an ankle injury. He had hope to go but he has actually been downgraded in terms of his injury status. That said, note that Rutgers is ranked and they are undefeated on the season and yet they are an underdog here against a Terrapins team that already has a loss and that everyone knows is a step down from where they once were. Looks funny doesn't it? Exactly! In typical contrarian fashion I am on the perceived "wrong side" of what looks a little off here and will gladly lay it with Maryland given all of the above. Note that the Terps simply had an awful game at Clemson in their most recent game and also had an awful shooting night the last time they faced the Scarlet Knights which was at Rutgers in March. This one is at College Park and it is payback time. 10* MARYLAND

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #607 Wednesday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (+) @ Clemson Tigers @ 5 ET - Both of these teams are playing solid defense early this season but it is the production on the offensive end that is going to be a difference maker in this one. The Tigers are scoring 69.7 points per game on 43.9% shooting from the field including just 30% from three point land. The Terrapins, on the other hand, are scoring 84 points per game on 56% shooting from the field including 42.5% from beyond the arc. When Maryland needs a bucket, they have guys who have been able to consistently get it. I do not believe that the same holds true for Clemson in terms of the number of scoring options. I also like the line here as, of course, it looks easy to take the small home favorite in a match-up of undefeated teams early this season. Another edge to the road dog here is the fact that the Tigers have not played in a week and this will be only their 2nd game since November 26th! Conversely, the Terrapins just played on December 4th plus will be playing their 4th game since November 27th. Big edges for the road dog in this one and I expect them to get the win in convincing fashion. 10* MARYLAND

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #794 Tuesday 10* Top Play Kansas Jayhawks (-) vs Creighton Bluejays @ 5 ET - At first glance it might seem enticing to take Creighton here. After all, the Bluejays have had blowout wins in each of their first 3 games. However, the Jays have faced much weaker competition than Kansas has. So even though these teams are very close in the rankings right now and even though Creighton is certainly a strong team, only the Jayhawks have been truly battle tested early this season. Kansas has faced Gonzaga and Kentucky already this season. Also, while the Jayhawks have only Nebraska-Omaha on deck, Creighton has instate rival Nebraska on deck. Of course the Bluejays won't overlook playing a highly ranked Kansas team but the point is that another big game does loom for the Jays while that is not the case for the Jayhawks. Traditionally Creighton relies heavily on their 3-point shooting but they are only making 33% of their threes this season while the Jayhawks, despite facing tougher competition, are making 39% of their three-points so far this season. Don't be surprised if that is a difference maker in this game. The Bluejays are a strong team but they are a little over-rated and un-tested early this season and that is giving us excellent line value here with a short number to lay on a high-quality favorite. Lay it! 10* KANSAS

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #666 Saturday 10* Top Play Utah State Aggies (+) vs BYU Cougars @ 9 ET - I love when lines flip like this as Utah State has gone from being a 2.5 point favorite to now being a 1 point dog. When you have a core nucleus of leadership in guys like Bean, Queta, and Miller you are in good shape. That said, those guys weren't even the leading scorers in the Aggies most recent game which also was their first win of the season. Utah State has played a tougher schedule than BYU early this season but now has some momentum with their win over a solid Northern Iowa team in which the leading scorers were Anthony and Worster who combined for 39 points while the aforementioned 3 key guys combined for 39 points as well. Great team effort and this is a quality team that is looking for revenge against a BYU team that has defeated them in each of the last two meetings. The Cougars lost a lot of key senior leadership from last year's team. Though they are 4-1 SU so far this season, BYU has played a softer schedule. There were two challenges among the 5 games as Brigham Young faced USC and St John's. In those two games the Cougars scored an average of 63.5 points per game and allowed 73.5 points per game game. Look for a similar deficit here as the Aggies, building off their first win of the season and having already endured their early season growing pains, pull away as this game goes on. 10* UTAH STATE 

TV Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #824 Friday 10* Seton Hall Pirates (+) vs Oregon Ducks @ 9 PM ET @ CHI Health Center Omaha in Nebraska - The Pirates are just 1-2 SU on the season but their first loss came by just a single point to a solid Louisville team. Now, off a loss by double digits to Rhode Island - a respectable Atlantic 10 team in their own right - I expect a huge response from Seton Hall here. Keep in mind, the Pirates game prior to that was a big win by a 22 point margin over a well-coached Iona team as Rick Pitino is one of the, if not the, best in the business in terms of college hoops coaches. I feel Seton Hall has an edge over the Ducks here because the Pirates have 3 games under their belt already while Oregon has played only 1 game. For the Ducks that was a loss to a Missouri team likely to finish near the bottom of the SEC. Oregon came into this season highly regarded but the fact that Will Richardson is out for 6 to 8 weeks is a big loss for their backcourt. They opened up as nearly a pick'em in this game and, as usual, the betting markets 'took the bait' and this line has risen to as high as a 3.5 as of early Friday morning. I'll gladly grab the value with the underdog Pirates in this one. 10* SETON HALL

ESPN Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #752 Thursday 10* Top Play USC Trojans (+) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 7 ET @ Mohegan Sun Arena @ Uncasville, CT - The location of this game would seem to favor Connecticut of course. However, USC is the play here. Not only do the Huskies have a couple guys banged up, I also feel we have some value here in terms of who these teams have played so far. The Huskies haven't really been tested yet as they faced overmatched foes in Central Connecticut State and Hartford. Conversely, USC faced a tough BYU team in its most recent game. In fact, the Trojans were an underdog in that game and yet they dominated and won the game by 26 points. Whenever I see a line like this (UConn playing what is, in essence a home game and yet hardly favored) it grabs my attention. Upon closer inspection I see the contrarian value here given the situation. Having already been tested by Brigham Young, the Trojans will be better prepared to handle a challenging game. Also, the way Southern Cal played against the Cougars, they showed they came to Uncasville, CT to compete at the highest level and I expect that to lead to another convincing win in this one. 10* USC Trojans

ESPN Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #627 Tuesday 10* Top Play Kentucky Wildcats (+) vs Kansas Jayhawks @ 9:30 ET @ United Center in Chicago, IL - Each team has an early season loss but the Jayhawks lost to Gonzaga and Kansas was an underdog in that big match-up. Converesely, the Wildcats lost to Richmond and they were favored by a half dozen points in that game. As a result, there is some anti-Kentucky sentiment impacting this line as it has risen from near a 3 to as high as a 5 as of gameday morning and I like the value with the underdog in this one as I fade the line move. Kentucky took the last meeting between these teams in January of 2019 and the Wildcats did it with physicality. The Cats shot poorly from three point land but won the game because they got to the free throw line more than the Jayhawks plus they dominated the glass. Don't be surprised if we see a similar approach here and I'll grab the aggressive (and highly talented) underdog in this one. There is a reason this line was priced so low despite Kansas having a much higher ranking. I would not be surprised to see an outright upset here and am happy to grab all the points I can get with this one. 10* KENTUCKY

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #723 Saturday 10* Top Play Rhode Island Rams (+) vs South Florida Bulls @ 5:30 PM ET in the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic @ Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT - The location of this game certainly favors the Rams and I also love the situation here. While Rhode Island is 0-2 this season they faced Arizona State and Boston College and they lost those games by an average margin of just 5.5 points. While the Bulls won their only game so far this season, it was against Florida College and South Florida actually trailed that game at half time! The Bulls were facing a much tougher battle-tested team here as they take a major step up in class for this one. South Florida is seeing Alexis Yetna and Xavier Casteneda both try to battle through injuries. They may not be 100% here. As for Rhode Island, they have played tough in each of their first two games even though they have been without starting forward Jermaine Harris but they could get him back here. Either way, I look for them to get the big win as, off back to back losses but having played much tougher competition, the Rams respond in a big way here and take it to South Florida. The Bulls have only played 1 game and that was 3 days ago and they will be a little rusty here and are facing a tough Rams team that is hungry for a win. 10* RHODE ISLAND

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #621 Friday 10* Top Play Pepperdine Waves (+) vs UCLA Bruins @ 3 ET - The Waves get a shot against the big boys here and I expect them to make the most of it. Pepperdine comes from a smaller conference of course but they returned 4 starters from last season's team and I feel strongly that they are on their way up this season. Already the Waves looked strong with a win over UC Irvine Wednesday. The Bruins entered the season ranked but lost their season opener Wednesday. Granted they played a strong San Diego State team but it was certainly not impressive that they lost by 15 points to the Aztecs as a 3 point favorite. Johnny Juzang was expected to be a contributor for UCLA this season and he is out with a foot injury. Also, big man Jalen Hill is a starter but he is dealing with a knee injury right now and is questionable for this game. I like the fact the Waves are coming off a big win by a double digit margin to start the season and they want this game against their "big brother" whose campus is very nearby. This game played at a neutral site and the scrappy underdogs get the win here. If not an outright upset win look for them to at least stay inside the number. 10* PEPPERDINE

ABC Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #712 Sunday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:30 ET - This line is now moving to 5.5 as of early game day morning and that means even more value with Miami. The Heat are resilient, hungry and determined. Those are all attributes you want when backing an underdog and I love getting significant points again with these scrappy guys as they are proving they won't go down without a fight. I would not be surprised to see them force a Game 7 but also certainly don't expect them to lose this game by more than a bucket or two even if they do fall short of the upset. Keep in mind that Miami is now 14-6 SU in the post-season and two of the losses were very tight games (one in OT) decided by an average margin of 4.5 points. Look for another tight game here as the Lakers last 7 games played on "regular rest" of 2 or less days between games are just 4-3 SU. Los Angeles has cooled off from their early post-season dominance and each loss shakes their confidence a little more while we're also seeing the confidence of the Heat grow with wins in 2 of the last 3 games. More of the same here. 10* MIAMI

ABC Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #709 Friday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 9 ET - The Heat don't get blown out often. They have had a very solid post-season and I would not be surprised to see them dig deep and extend this series. The extra time off certainly was welcome for Miami as they have been battling through injuries. That said, having been off since Tuesday's game, this Friday match-up might end up going to the hungrier team. Even if the Heat are unable to extend the series, I expect a very tightly contested game decided by only a bucket or two. Again, Miami will dig deep here. The Heat have played 19 post-season games and only 4 of the 19 have resulted in a loss by more than 6 points. The line on this game, as of early gameday morning, is available as high as a 7.5 and I'll gladly grab the points here given the above. Having Bam Adebayo back, and now playing his 2nd game since coming back, will be a key for the Heat in this one. Again, the extra rest between games could help Adebayo and the Heat get over the hump in this one. Either way I do NOT see the Lakers winning this one by a big margin. 10* MIAMI

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #708 Tuesday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Los Angles Lakers @ 9 PM ET - This is from my write-up on Sunday's game and, not only did most of these things hold true, I expect it it continue in Game 4 now that Miami has momentum on their side in this series after the outright upset win in Game 3: **Couple of unlikely stats so far in this series as the Lakers are getting better 3-point shooting than expected from unexpected sources and also have dominated the offensive glass. Having a slight edge in either one of those categories is not a surprise but to have a huge edge in both of them is highly unlikely to continue. The Heat, now down 0-2 in this series, are extremely hungry. Miami also could get Bam Adebayo back for this one (expected) as well as Goran Dragic (possible). Either way, whatever Heat players are on the floor are going to give a valiant effort in this must win situation. I am expecting huge games from Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Jae Crowder and Duncan Robinson. Look for role players like Kelly Olynyk, Kendrick Nunn, and Andre Iguodala to also come up big if called upon. This is a "rally the troops" game for a well-coached Heat team that shouldn't be catching nearly double digits again in this spot. We have seen what this team is capable of throughout this post-season and I wouldn't count a resilient bunch like this just yet. A lot of line value here, given the situation, with this under-valued hungry big dog.** Again, they got Game 3 and will follow the same recipe in looking to get Game 4 as well which would not surprise me. What would surprise me is that if they do fall short it is by more than a handful of points. I just don't see that happening here. The Heat are in this one all the way and just might pull off another shocker. Grab the points with the still-hungry dog as Jimmy Butler again looks to will his team to victory. They have the right pieces around him to surprise again here! 10* MIAMI

ABC Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach Rotation #706 Sunday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:30 ET - Couple of unlikely stats so far in this series as the Lakers are getting better 3-point shooting than expected from unexpected sources and also have dominated the offensive glass. Having a slight edge in either one of those categories is not a surprise but to have a huge edge in both of them is highly unlikely to continue. The Heat, now down 0-2 in this series, are extremely hungry. Miami also could get Bam Adebayo back for this one (expected) as well as Goran Dragic (possible). Either way, whatever Heat players are on the floor are going to give a valiant effort in this must win situation. I am expecting huge games from Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Jae Crowder and Duncan Robinson. Look for role players like Kelly Olynyk, Kendrick Nunn, and Andre Iguodala to also come up big if called upon. This is a "rally the troops" game for a well-coached Heat team that shouldn't be catching nearly double digits again in this spot. We have seen what this team is capable of throughout this post-season and I wouldn't count a resilient bunch like this just yet. A lot of line value here, given the situation, with this under-valued hungry big dog. 10* MIAMI

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #715 Friday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 9 ET - Ever heard the expression that it is the wounded dog that bites the hardest? It is very true! The Heat are wounded in more ways than one here as they got embarrassed by their ugly loss in Game 1 plus suffered multiple injury issues. With the situations involving Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo look for Kelly Olynyk and Kendrick Nunn to step up big time in Game 2. The Heat still have plenty of talent on this team and they are very upset that they played like garbage after jumping out to a solid double digit lead in the first quarter. Keep in mind the line on Game 1 ended up at 4.5 but now the line on Game 2 is up to a 10 as of early Friday morning. I understand the viewpoint of the marketplace but that doesn't mean I agree with it. The Heat didn't get this far without being well-coached and making proper adjustments and they will be ready for Game 2. Do they win this one outright? Probably not BUT it would not totally shock me that is for sure. The fact is I do expect them to keep this game to a single digit margin as they fight all the way through it. There is no quit in this Miami team and they have yet to lose back to back games in this post-season. Watch Heat players simply playing out of their minds in this game! They will be that fired up and ready to respond and will stay aggressive throughout this game! The Lakers 4 games prior to the blowout win in Game 1 featured 1 SU loss and 3 SU wins ALL by 10 or less points. We've got great line value here. I'll take it. 10* MIAMI

Perfect Matchup - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #701 Wednesday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 9 ET - The Heat are 12-3 SU in the post-season and one of those 3 defeats came by just 3 points in overtime. Miami got past the Bucks and Celtics. The Lakers are a bit fortunate as they missed facing Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers and, instead, got a tired Nuggets team. Denver had gone too far in seeing each of their first two series turn into 3-1 deficits before rallying to win each series in 7 games. That left them out of gas in terms of facing the Lakers and once Anthony Davis hit that game-winning last second shot in Game 2 of the series that was the handwriting on the wall for a tired Nuggets team. Denver managed just 1 win in the series with Los Angeles. The only time the Lakers won Game 1 of the series in this post-season was when they caught the Nuggets in a very tough spot for Denver as they were worn out after rallying against the Clippers to take that series in 7 games. The Lakers now face a much tougher test than a tired Nuggets team. Just like their first two series of this post-season, Los Angeles drops this opening game. As added insurance I am grabbing the points here but I am expecting an outright upset. The Heat present some different defensive looks that could give the Lakers some trouble until they adjust. By the time they do, it could be too late for Game 1 and this Heat team has been shooting lights out from beyond the arc. More of the same here. 10* MIAMI 

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #718 Sunday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Boston Celtics @ 7:30 ET - The Heat were outrebounded by a double digit margin in the Game 5 loss. Miami also made just 19% of their 3-pointers in Friday's loss. The Heat lost the game by 13 points but were outscored by 15 points (5 threes) from beyond the arc as the Celtics were the better shooting team Friday. If you think any of the above stats are going to be repeated on Sunday you have another thing coming. The fact is that Miami is the better team in this series and now, after a loss and wanting to avoid a Game 7 where anything can happen, the Heat are the hungrier team. Boston was a little hungrier in Game 5. Now the shoe is on the other foot. This one is all Heat. I am expecting an outright win as I just don't see Jimmy Butler and Company being denied in this one but I will grab the insurance of having the points - as high as 3.5 as of game day morning - as added insurance in this one. 10* MIAMI

TNT Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #711 Saturday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 9 ET - Though the Lakers Anthony Davis is listed as questionable I am sure he is going to play here. Still I like the Nuggets in this one. Even though LA had a dozen more free throw attempts in Game 4, the Lakers still only won the game by a half dozen points. That says something right here. What we also know about this Denver team is there is no quit in them. They were down 3-1 in each of the prior two series and rallied to win both. I am not saying that happens here but I am expecting them to go toe to toe with the Lakers in this one all the way. If the Nuggets do fall short look for it to be on a buzzer beater type scenario like how Davis beat them on the late 3 in Game 2. The fact is the Nuggets have been hanging tough with the Lakers in each of the past 3 games and I see no reason that won't continue here. That being the case, give me the points! 10* DENVER

Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach NBA Rotation #715 Friday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Boston Celtics @ 8:30 ET – This line opened up at a -2 on Boston and is already up to a 3.5 as of Thursday afternoon. I fully understand the line move since the Celtics are in a “win or go home” situation but the odds makers set this number very low for a reason. In typical contrarian fashion I am against the move here. I will gladly grab the extra points being offered but it is certainly not without reasoning! The fact is that the Heat seem to have Boston’s number. No matter the situation, no matter the score, Miami just keeps battling and finding a way and they have frustrated this Celtics team and shattered its confidence. Look at the box score from Wednesday’s Game 4 and you will see that Boston actually shot better from 3-point land than the Heat did plus the Celtics made 4 more 3-pointers than did Miami and yet they still lost the game. It speaks volumes that Boston outscored the Heat by 12 points from beyond the arc and yet still lost the game by 3 points. Whether it is Herro or Butler stepping up, the Heat just keep coming at the Celtics and keeping them on their heels and that makes for a very dangerous underdog. I’ll take the points here. 10* MIAMI

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #710 Thursday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 9 ET - The Nuggets were in a bit of a tough spot in Game 1 as they were off a grueling 7 game series where they rallied from a 3-1 deficit against the Clippers. Likewise, in that series they had lost Game 1 to the Clippers after rallying from a 3-1 deficit to knock the Jazz out of the post-season. The point is that maybe the Lakers weren't really that good in Game 1 of this series but rather that Denver was simply out of gas. The Nuggets have now been the better team in each of the last two games and only lost Game 2 because of a miraculous last second shot by Anthony Davis. In other words, there is no way I would lay big points here with a Lakers team that has been the lesser team so far in this series and that has given all the momentum to the Nuggets in this series. Denver believes. Let me repeat that...Denver believes! They have confidence because of what they've been able to accomplish when everyone has counted them out throughout this post-season. As a result, even if they did go down 3-1 in this series they still would not be shaken in their confidence. I actually don't expect that though. I expect the Nuggets to continue to outplay the Lakers and to get the upset win here. I will grab the value of the points however because if the Nuggets do fall short I expect it to be by only a bucket or two. They are 4-2 SU their last 6 games and the only big loss was Game 1 of this series and we all understand that was not the best situation, to say the least, against a rested Lakers team. 10* DENVER

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #713 Wednesday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (-) vs Miami Heat @ 8:30 ET - The Celtics got back into the series with a win in Game 3. Keep in mind they were up 5 late in the 4th quarter of the Game 2 loss and they lost Game 1 in overtime. In other words, and considering Boston had big leads in each of the games too, the Celtics could easily be up 3-0 in this series. Now that's not to say Miami doesn't deserve to be here because they most certainly do and they have earned their 2-1 series edge. However, my key takeaway from all this is two-fold. One is that the Celtics have confidence from the ability to establish double digit leads in games. Two is that Boston has swung momentum after finally hanging on for a win in Game 3. Another added factor that has me backing the Celtics here is the extra time off. Keep in mind that gave Hayward extra rest as he recovers from injury and having him back and as healthy as he has been in a long time is a big plus for Boston. After losing Game 3 on Saturday you know Miami couldn't wait to get back on the floor. Instead they've had to wait around for extra days due to the scheduling quirk. This favors a Celtics team and head coach Brad Stevens as he was able to make even more adjustments and is generally regarded (and rightfully so) as the best coach in the NBA. I wish the number was a little lower but even at the -3 range the Celtics are the play here for sure as they should take this one by at least half a dozen points. 10* BOSTON

Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #708 Tuesday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 9 ET - Murray and Jokic combined to hit just 3 of 13 from beyond the arc in Game 2 and yet the Nuggets still should have won the game outright. Denver was outrebounded by a double digit margin Sunday night by the Lakers and yet still should have won the game outright. Only an incredible clutch shot by Anthony Davis bailed out Los Angeles in that one and I am expecting another strong game from a desperate Nuggets team here. Look for Denver to be stronger on the boards here and also hit better from long-range. Additionally, one has to like the fact that the Nuggets had 33 free throw attempts compared to just 19 for the Lakers. I liked the way Denver was aggressive and attacking and resilient as the game went on. They just never gave up and it has been their MO throughout the playoffs and they are showing they are certainly not going to stop now in the Western Conference Finals either...not on your life! There is simply no quit in this resilient Nuggets team and I am expecting their best game of the series tonight. Denver, including regular season and post-season, is 7-3 SU when they enter a game on a SU losing streak of 2 or more games. The 3 losses saw 2 of the defeats come by 5 or less points. The Lakers are favored by 6.5 in this game. I feel the Nuggets have a great shot at the outright upset here and, as you can see from the above, +6.5 in this situation would have netted a 9-1 ATS record in the Nuggets 10 such prior occurrences. Like I said, you are going to see the best of this hungry underdog tonight! 10* DENVER

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #705 Sunday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:30 ET - The Lakers shot 53% from the field, 42.3% from beyond the arc, had 37 free throw attempts...and still only won Game 1 by a dozen points. If I am Los Angeles that is cause for concern. Don't be surprised when the Nuggets get an upset win here in Game 2 but if they do fall short it will be by much less than a dozen points because I don't expect any of those ridiculous stats to be repeated for the Lakers in Game 2. Give me the generous points here in this one as the Nuggets are 3-1 SU the last 4 times they have been off a SU loss and they respond big in this one. Everyone watched the Lakers blast Denver in Game 1 but this line has not moved from the Friday number for a reason. The sharps are on the Nuggets in this one while the public will continue its love affair with the Lakers here. I expect this to cash easily as we grab an angry, hungry, and determined underdog in this one. 10* DENVER

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #703 Saturday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (-) vs Miami Heat @ 8:30 ET - The Celtics have blown huge leads (each were double digit margins) to lose each of the first two games in this series. Certainly credit is owed to Jimmy Butler and the Heat but the Celtics have the best coach, Brad Stevens, in the NBA. Also, Boston's players are fired up and were angry after the game two loss. In that game, after blowing yet another double digit lead, the Celtics battled back to go up by 5 points with about 3 minutes to go in the game. Boston still ended up on the wrong end of the final score and now it is payback time. The only time the Celtics were off back to back losses in this post-season they then blasted the Raptors by 22 points in the next game. Including regular season occurrences too, Boston is 7-2 SU this season when they enter a game off 2 or more consecutive losses. With this line having dropped down from a 3 to a 2.5 there is even more value with taking the Celtics to bounce back large in this game. Look for them to do just that. 10* BOSTON

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #733 Friday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 9 ET - The Lakers have won 8 of 9 games and all 8 wins have come by 8 or more points. So what did the books use as an opener for this game? 6.5 which of course is already attracting Lakers money. That opening line tells me the book makers (arguably the "sharpest people in the room") like the Nuggets here. Going against the public bettors in typical contrarian fashion here I am with the book makers and on the other side of the public. I am grabbing the Nuggets - currently a +7 as of early Friday morning. Keep in mind the Lakers did lose Game 1 of each of their series OUTRIGHT and I am not saying that will happen here but that is certainly a good sign that Denver could surprise the Lakers a bit in this first game. There could be some rust for Los Angeles too since they have not played since Saturday - a span of nearly a full week. A little rest is good but too much rest is certainly not. As for the Nuggets, they have won 3 straight and 7 of 10 games. Also, in those 10 games only 2 were defeats by more than 6 points. Additionally, Denver has a good cycle of consistently playing without any long layoffs. That is because the Nuggets have seen each of their first two series go 7 games. Everyone continues to doubt Denver but they just beat the Clippers. Yes, the LA team led by Kawhi Leonard who knows a thing or two about winning NBA championships. In other words, give the Nuggets some credit and don't be surprised when they are in this game to the final buzzer. 10* DENVER

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #731 Tuesday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Boston Celtics @ 6:40 ET - The Celtics are off a 5-point win to close out Toronto but that was preceded by losing 3 of 4 to the Raptors. Also, Boston's win that preceded the tough 1-3 stretch came by just 3 points. The point is that the Celtics have only 1 blowout win in their last 6 games and I like having the value of the couple points here with the rested Heat in this one. I know one could argue that Miami has had too much rest and could be rusty here but I just don't see Jimmy Butler and company staying rusty for more than a few minutes into this game - if even that! The Heat are 8-1 in the playoffs and the lone loss came in overtime! Miami won the one game between these teams in the bubble (August 4th victory) and I look for them to get the upset win in Game One of the Eastern Conference finals as well. Grab the points with the Heat on Tuesday. 10* MIAMI

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #723 Saturday 10* Top Play Houston Rockets (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 8 ET - The Rockets lost Game 4 by 10 points and that was with Harden making just 2 of 11 shots from the field! That said, and in a "win or go home" situation for Houston in Game 5, I am looking for an underdog bounce back in this game. After getting the upset win in Game 1, the Rockets have lost 3 straight games but none by more than 10 points. I realize the smallest margin of defeat in this series has been 8 points but if Houston falls short in this one look for it to be by a bucket or two. When the Rockets have entered a game on a losing streak of 3 or more games this season they went 4-2 SU and one of the two losses came by just 5 points which means, at today's number, Houston would be 5-1 ATS in this role. After a disappointing effort in Game 4, look for the Rockets to respond here. Keep in mind, prior to that one, they had won Game 1, led Game 2 going to 4th quarter, and were tied in Game 3 going to 4th quarter. I don't see the Lakers being able to pull away again here against a fired up and determined underdog playing for their playoff lives. 10* HOUSTON

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #718 Friday 10* Top Play Toronto Raptors (+) vs Boston Celtics @ 9 ET - The Raptors have won 3 of the last 4 games but the public doesn't want to hear that. Undoubtedly Toronto is certainly no longer an attractive team to the betting masses as Kawhi Leonard jettisoned to LA to join the Clippers after winning it all with the Raptors. Now the Celtics are the popular choice in the east and have some of the bigger stars that the betting masses tend to fall in love with when the reality is something different. Grit, hard work, determination, momentum...those are some of the key factors that lead to wins in games like this. That said, when Boston was up 2-0 in this series and felt like they could take their foot off the gas they ultimately paid for it by losing 3 of the next 4 games in this series. That has not only, of course, given the Raptors life it has also given them confidence. I expect them to close out a great comeback with yet another win tonight but if they do fall short it will be by the slimmest of margins in my opinion. That said, there is value in having the points on your side in this one. Grab the underdog as the Raptors proved again in Game 6, there is no quit in this team. I really like what I am seeing from this group and expect it continue with a Game 7 win. So, as per usual, I am going contrary to the popular choice, give me the points. 10* TORONTO

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #709 Wednesday 10* Top Play Toronto Raptors (+) vs Boston Celtics @ 6:30 ET - Brad Wanamaker scored 15 points off the bench for the Celtics on Monday. The rest of the Boston bench scored a TOTAL of 3 points! To put that in proper perspective, the Raptors bench scored 44 points in Monday's loss. Yes, the Celtics starers vastly outplayed Toronto's starters in Game 5 but I don't see that happening again here in Game 6. You know the Raptors, whom had won 2 straight before Monday's ugly loss, will respond big. I also certainly don't expect the Celtics to shoot 49.4% from the floor while the Raptors shoot just 38.8% from the floor like we saw in Game 5. Nor do I expect the Celtics to go to the line 27 times while the Raptors get just 13 free throw attempts. Boston is a popular choice in this one but the line move is giving us even more value with the Raptors now getting as much as 3.5 points as of early game day morning. I'll take it! I am expecting a Game 7 to result in this series and if the Raptors do fall short here look for it to be by just a bucket. Grab the points! 10* TORONTO

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #702 Monday 10* Top Play Toronto Raptors (+) vs Boston Celtics @ 6:30 ET - Sometimes a series can turn on one shot and that is what you're seeing here in this one. When the Raptors got the last second 3 to win Game 3, they took that momentum right into Game 4 and now have won back to back games. Keep in mind, Toronto won 7 of 8 regular season games in the bubble, had won 4 straight regular season games prior to the pandemic-forced shutdown and now have won 6 of 8 playoff games. In other words, this is a Raptors team that has won 17 of its last 20 games. Certainly Boston is a very good team and also has the best coach in the NBA. However, some self-doubt is creeping in as they are not knocking down shots like they had been and the Raptors are the much more confident team right now. That said, I am happy to fade the line move here and grab the couple points now being offered with Toronto. Keep in mind the Raptors also led Game 2 by 8 points heading into the 4th quarter. It is a tight series and I like having the momentum and the points on my side! 10* TORONTO

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #745 Friday 10* Top Play Milwaukee Bucks (-) vs Miami Heat @ 6:30 ET - Now we play the Bucks. After losing Game 1 everyone jumped on Milwaukee in Game 2. I had the Heat as you know. Why? Because I am a contrarian capper by nature and I saw the world jumping on the Bucks so, of course, I was on the other side. Now you have a case where there are finally non-believers about this Milwaukee team and we're seeing a lot more attention on Miami. So what do I do? Pound the Bucks here! After coming so close to a win in Game 2 but ultimately falling just short, Milwaukee puts it all together here and gets a resounding win by a double digit margin. You can almost feel it before it happens and there will just be a special focus from the Bucks (a very talented team of course) in this one after the way the game on Wednesday was decided late in such frustrating fashion for Milwaukee. Now it is payback time. The last 3 times the Bucks entered a game on a losing streak of 2 or more games they are a perfect 3-0 SU and the average margin of those 3 wins was 11.3 points per game with none of the victories coming by less than 7 points. That certainly works for our purposes here! 10* MILWAUKEE

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #729 Wednesday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Milwaukee Bucks @ 6:30 ET - Everyone will be on the Bucks to bounce back here in Game 2. In typical contrarian fashion, I'll be on Miami! The Heat played (and swept) a tough team in round one of the post-season when they knocked off the Pacers. Milwaukee got a "cake walk" match-up with facing the lowly Magic and yet they struggled to pull away from Orlando often in those games. Yes, the Bucks did win 4 straight from the Magic after dropping the opener but I am just talking about the fact that there were long stretches where Milwaukee just looked a bit "out of sorts" in that series. The bad news for Bucks fans is now they are facing a Heat team that is much stronger than the Orlando team they faced in round one. Miami is scrappy and that helped lead the way to a lot of Bucks turnovers in Game 1 and the Heat were active on the offensive glass. Jimmy Butler is a very driven player and is helping lead his teammates to victory. Until (unless?) Giannis Antetokounmpo does the same for the Bucks there is some concern in Milwaukee for sure. Also, the Bucks Eric Bledsoe is dealing with a strained hamstring too and will not be 100 percent even if he plays tonight. As I mentioned in the intro here, the world will be lining up on the Bucks off a loss but there is a reason the odds makers opened up Game 2 with a line of Milwaukee -4. As fully expected, the betting markets feel the odds makers made a mistake and have run this line to a -5 and I would not be surprised to see it go higher as the day goes on but I want to get this play out to all customers early. 10* MIAMI

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #719 Monday 10* Top Play Miami Heat (+) vs Milwaukee Bucks @ 6:30 ET - The Heat are well-rested after sweeping the Pacers in the first round. The Bucks did win 4 straight over the Magic after the losing the first game but went stretches where they truly didn't play that well against an Orlando team that they really should have dominated. Keep in mind, Miami faced a much tougher team in the first round than did Milwaukee. The Heat took on an Indiana team that finished 17 games over .500 while the Bucks took on an Orlando team that finished 7 games under .500 in the regular season. Also, Milwaukee seems more distracted by the incidents taking place in Kenosha, WI which makes sense, of course, because that city is practically a suburb of Milwaukee. The Heat didn't have that distraction come up until after they had already finished off the Magic in round one and I like what I am hearing and seeing with the Miami players heading into this first game of the round two series. Combining the factors above with the fact we get a handful of points here and I have no hesitation in grabbing the dog in this one. 10* MIAMI

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #713 Sunday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) vs Utah Jazz @ 8:30 ET - The Nuggets won Game 5 and this followed a Game 4 loss that came by a margin of just 2 points. Denver also could get Gary Harris back for this game. He has worked his way back to be being closer and closer to a return. Now, after some extra time off because of the postponement of games, Harris might actually be ready to see some action here. The return of a starter, though he would likely come off the bench in this one, would be a boost to the Nuggets for sure. Either way, I like Denver in this one as they most certainly have proven they are not going down without a fight in this one. Remember Games 2 and 3 were blowout losses for the Nuggets but they have responded since then for sure. A Game 7 in a first round playoff series would be good for the NBA wouldn't it? Looks like they just might get it with this series. Keep in mind the Nuggets were a 4.5 point favorite in Game 1 of this series which they won in overtime. Now they are a 2.5 point dog in Game 6 of this series. I feel the line value here is clearly with Denver in this spot. The Nuggets, as noted above, got their tails kicked in with the ugly losses in Games 2 and 3 but they have since responded and the hungry dog bites the hardest as they say. Great line value with the underdog in this one especially when you factor in the potential return of Harris. Either way, for me, this is a great situation for backing the dog that is still down 3-2 in this series and welcomed the extra rest. 10* DENVER

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #703 Saturday 10* Oklahoma City Thunder (+) vs Houston Rockets @ 6:30 ET - Now, thanks to the extra time off afforded by the boycotts and resulting postponement of NBA games, Russell Westbrook is expected back for the Rockets for this one. However, he could be on a minutes limitation and also will Houston be able to seamlessly adjust with him back on the floor? Keep in mind, we're still seeing a struggling James Harden from 3-point land as Luguentz Dort continues his strong defensive play on the perimeter for the Thunder. After falling into an 0-2 hole, Oklahoma City changed things up in a bit and went to a smaller lineup at times and it has certainly worked as this series is now tied up at 2 games apiece. Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder, a pair of point guards, have picked up their level of play and the small ball approach has paid dividends for OKC. I am expecting more of the same here in Game 5 and am happy to grab the handful of points being offered. We're getting even more value here now because the markets have reacted to the Westbrook news and have pushed the Houston spread higher. The Rockets continue to jack up a lot of threes and I fully understand that is part of their normal game but with Harden making just 11 of 39 the last three games (thanks in part to Dort covering him in these games) Houston is just a bit "off" right now. Will they be able to easily adjust to Westbrook being back on the floor? I am not so sure about that! This (Rockets being just a bit "off" in recent games) has opened the door for the Thunder to take advantage and they will do so again here. Grab the points! 10* OKLAHOMA CITY

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #714 Tuesday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) vs Utah Jazz @ 6:30 ET - The Nuggets had a miracle cover in Game 4 when Murray hit a "meaningless" 3-pointer in the final seconds to get in the backdoor for the cash for Denver backers. From that standpoint, it would seem that Utah would be the play here. After all, the Jazz had no business not winning ATS in Game 4. However, a closer look shows something very different. The Nuggets had 100 shots from the field and shot 49% while the Jazz had just 73 shots from the field and yet Denver did not win that game outright! Are you kidding me? So what happened is that the Jazz hit a ridiculous 14 of 29 three pointers. Also, Utah had 36 free throw attempts compared to just 13 for the Nuggets. These unusually statistical disparities are highly unlikely to repeated here in Game 5 and I am riding with the highly motivated underdog here in Game 5. Not only did Denver come up just short in Game 4, the Nuggets are also highly motivated as this a win or go home game. The Jazz have a 3-1 series lead. Look for that to be a 3-2 lead for Utah after tonight's game goes into the books. 10* DENVER

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #744 Sunday 10* Top Play Dallas Mavericks (+) vs Los Angeles Clippers @ 3:30 ET - The Mavericks announced that Luka Doncic's MRI showed "nothing alarming" and that he would be a game-time decision. That is another way of saying everything is fine but we just don't to announce it yet so everyone can wonder whether Doncic will play or not. Of course his ankle was hurting him bad after he got hurt and then it stiffens up on you and you can't move well out there on the floor once that happens. But now after receiving treatment ever since, Doncic will be ready to go here I am sure. We have strong big dog value here with the Mavericks in my opinion. The two losses they have had in this series each came by 8 points and that includes Friday's loss which featured a team-record 45 point 2nd quarter from the Clippers. Note that the Mavs beat the Clips by double digits in Game 2. Now, down 2-1 in this series and facing a key Game 4, Dallas is going to battle tooth and nail throughout this contest with Kawhi Leonard and company. That said, if the Mavericks do fall short look for it to be by a margin of only a bucket or two. Grab the big points! 10* DALLAS

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #736 Saturday 10* Top Play Oklahoma City Thunder (+) vs Houston Rockets @ 6 ET - The Thunder got a boost defensively in Game 2 as Dort returned to the lineup. He is the best perimeter defender Oklahoma City has and he was a big part of the reason the Rockets Harden was held to 5 of 16 from the field. Though the Thunder still ultimately lost the game their confidence is up after leading the game going to the 4th quarter. The Thunder had too many turnovers compared to Houston and that cost OKC the game. Oklahoma City is a perfect 5-0 SU the last 5 times they have entered Game 3 of a playoff series down 2 games to none. This is a contrarian play as the line has moved toward the Rockets and I love the Thunder in this spot as they finally put it all together on both ends of the floor after playing much better defense in Game 2. Look for Game 3 to be a complete game for the underdog. 10* OKLAHOMA CITY

Contrarian Crusher – Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach NBA Rotation #716 Thursday 10* Top Play Milwaukee Bucks (-) vs Orlando Magic @ 6 ET – It was the first game in a week for Giannis Antetokounmpo on Tuesday (he missed the final game of the regular season after the head butt incident) and, overall, the Bucks looked like the same team that casually went through bubble play as there was no real need to push hard. Now, the push needs to come after they got embarrassed by the Magic and lost by a double-digit margin as a double-digit favorite. While many will look to again grab the big dog here (how can they again be favored by so much after Game 1 played out like it did?) I am on the other side of this game in typical contrarian fashion. Remember last season the Magic beat the Raptors in a Game 1 upset and then proceeded to lose the next 4 and get ousted from the playoffs. I am not saying the same thing happens in this one but I just know the Bucks got their “wake up call” and will be ready to respond in a big way here on Thursday. Look for Milwaukee to be much better on the defensive end and I also do not expect Middleton and Lopez to again combine for 6 for 21 from the field. Off the bench Connaughton and DiVincenzo combined for 2 for 10 from the field. Again, unlikely to be repeated! Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Bucks teammates bring their “A game” to this one and the Magic aren’t going to again hit nearly 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point land, nor 95% from the free throw line. Everything clicked for Orlando in Game 1 but the Bucks give them a dose of reality here and that is why I am more than willing to play the big number for a top play in this one. 10* MILWAUKEE

TNT Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #705 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (+) vs Boston Celtics @ 6:30 ET - This line makes no sense really except that sentiment is very anti-Sixers right now. The fact is this line is very close to the same it was for Game 1 even though the 76ers led Game 1 outright by 6 points early in the 4th quarter. Additionally, Gordon Hayward (played 34 minutes in Game 1) is now out for the rest of the series with a Grade 3 ankle strain. He'll be replaced by Marcus Smart but that further weakens a Celtics bench that the Sixers Alec Burks outscored all by himself as he had 18 points and the Boston bench had just 8 points in the opener. As much as I don't 100% trust Joel Embiid I do expect him to finish this game much better than he finished the Game 1 match-up as he couldn't get the big buckets when he needed to. The Sixers are desperate to even this series up and the situation is perfect for them to do just that after falling just short in Monday's game and now Hayward being out. The Celtics are short-handed and Philly is hungry and did win 3 of the 4 regular season match-ups between these teams. I'll gladly grab the points here. 10* PHILADELPHIA