kentucky

Las Vegas - Took the Heat to win the series against the Celtics, but not ready to invest in Miami to wear the crown. Think that King James is gonna hoist his 4th trophy, but don't wanna lay almost 4/1. So, we'll go game by game to try and make a few bucks.

Quick look at the regular season results. Miami played twice against the Lakers and lost both. In the first matchup, out in L.A., it was the Purple & Gold (-8.5) posting a 95-80 win, with the total of 218.5 going WAY Under. In the second game, down in South Beach, the Lakers (+5.5) picked up another W, 113-110, and the total of 212.0 was an Over.

If anyone knows how to game plan for LeBron, it's GOTTA be Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley. They spent four years together and gobbled up two titles. So, they'll probably mix and match with Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder, which gives them fresh bodies and 18 fouls.

However, now Coach Spo has to plan for one of the top 10 players in the NBA, Anthony Davis. AD is phenomenal and has been fabulous in the playoffs, but just step back and look who has been guarding him. We're talking about Nikola Jokic in the Denver series, who runs and moves about as fast as the Statue of Liberty. Then P.J. Tucker in the Houston series. P.J. could actually move his feet, but at 6'5", he had no chance at slowing Davis. And in the opening series against Portland, Jusuf Nurkic at 7'0" and lugging around 290 pounds didn't have a prayer. In the key matchup of this series, it's gonna be Kentucky, class of 2011-2012 vs. Kentucky, class of 2016-2017. Think John Calipari is gonna use this for a recruiting tool? AD at 6'10" and 253 or so will be looking at Bam Adebayo, who is listed at 6'9" and 255 pounds. So, basically, AD is looking in the mirror. Bam can score, Bam can defend and Bam can dribble. Maybe the most brilliant move by Spo in the last game against the Celtics was putting Adebayo at the point, bringing up the ball, and absolutely destroying Boston's defense. Of course, it ain't gonna be easy against Davis, who is on the NBA All-Defensive team, but note that Bam made the second All-D team. Delicious matchup.

Some trends for your handicapping efforts. The Heat have covered 12 of the last 15. The total has gone Over in five of Miami's last six games, and four of L.A.'s past five. And when Jimmy Butler has scored 20 or more points in the playoffs, the Heat are 7-0.

Will start out slow, and just advise a Leaning Tower of Pisa on Miami to cover the +4.5, very, very small, and then a few prop bets. Taking both Anthony Davis and Danny Green to go Over 1.5 baskets from downtown. Taking Tyler Herro Over 3.5 assists. And finally, there's a matchup of who will score more points, Duncan Robinson vs. Kyle Kuzma. We're on DUNK!!!

If Chris Bassitt starts for Oakland, we're ALL OVER the A's. This Bassitt guy is, as Dan Patrick would say, EN FUEGO!!! Tell me Eck. How about a September ERA UNDER ONE!!! Yup, he has allowed one teeny tiny earned run over the last 26 innings for a 0.35 ERA!!! Lotta exclamation points, but MAN, he deserves each and every one! I'm not the most athletic dude on the block, but gonna ride the Athletics in this spot to even up the series.

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