TTL Edition #67: Talkin’ Spreads, Totals, & Lines
NBA and MLB Picks, Puck and Run Twofer Tuesday Parlay, Eric Collins Hype Compilation, & “Impose Your Will”
Monday Recap:
TTL Pod Picks (2-2):
NBA: Knicks -2 W, Pelicans -2.5 W
NHL: Hurricanes -1.5 L
MLB: Phillies ML PPD, SEA/BALT o8.5 PPD
Chi Town Parlay: L
Welcome into this Tuesday Edition of the TTL Newsletter! After a few postponements, the TTL Crew goes 2-2 to start the week and didn’t have quite the start to the week we were hoping for. However, there’s no time to dwell on the past and you already know we’re locked & loaded for another full day of battle with the sportsbooks! To kick things off the Crew dishes out 2 MLB picks and 2 NBA picks. Then it’s time for the Special Play, and you know that with another Tuesday brings another Twofer Parlay. This week the Crew’s dishing out 1 run-line & 1 puck-line pick for the 2 legs of this extra juicy Twofer. To wrap things up RMag’s shares a compilation of Eric Collins’ most hype moments, and Colt gives some perspective on imposing your will. Thanks for scrolling through, and make sure you tell all your degenerate friends if you’ve been cashing tickets with the TTL Crew. It’s a beautiful day to place a few bets! Let’s cash some tickets!
TTL Picks
Washington Nationals vs St Louis Cardinals Under 7.5 (1st Pitch 6:45pm CST)
Despite the low total, we love the under in this matchup. Stephen Strasburg takes the bump for Washington and Jack Flaherty will take the ball for the Cardinals, and we love both of these guys to lock down their opposing hitters. After a rough outing to start the season, Flaherty bounced back last week, throwing 6 scoreless innings on just one hit. Strasburg only has one start thus far, but he looked incredible, throwing his own 6 scoreless inning outing on one hit. In addition, to the pitching matchups, these offenses have been very inconsistent, including a Nationals team that has been shutout three times already. Give us the under in a classic pitchers duel from start to finish. TTL Pick: Nationals vs Cardinals Under 7.5
Cincinnati Reds vs San Francisco Giants F5 ML (1st Pitch 8:45pm CST)
We’re locking in a play on the first 5 line for this cross-division NL matchup between the Reds and the Giants, and mostly because of the pitchers on the mound. Luis Castillo gets the bump for the Reds, and Kevin Gausman takes the hill for the Giants. Castillo got ripped in his 1st outing against the Cardinals throwing 73 pitches for 8 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 0 K, & 2 BB in 3.1 innings. He bounced back in his 2nd outing, but against a much lesser offense in the Pirates, throwing 81 pitches for 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 K, & 1 BB in 7 innings. Gausman has been the far better of the two. Through his 1st two starts against the Mariners and Padres, where the Giants beat the Padres with Snell on the mound, Gausman has thrown 186 pitches for 7 H, 11 K, 3 BB, & 1 ER in 13.2 innings. We like for the Giants to come out hot early at home, and for the jet-lagged Reds to come out soft after losing to straight to the Dbacks in Arizona, 3-8 & 0-7. TTL Pick: San Francisco F5 ML
Miami Heat vs Phoenix Suns -3 (Tip 9:00pm CST)
The NBA’s number one team against the spread hosts the Miami Heat tonight, in a big game for both teams’ playoff positioning. As mentioned, the Suns are the league’s best team ATS at 34-18, and spots like tonight are a huge reason why they are that successful against the number. As the home team, Phoenix is 19-9 ATS, 17-7 ATS as a home favorite, and 7-0 ATS over their last 7 home games versus a team with a winning road record. With no rest, the Suns are 8-4 ATS, and in non-conference games, they are 13-8 ATS, compared to Miami’s 10-12 ATS. The Heat did just take care of business on the road against the Blazers on Sunday, however on one day of rest, Miami is 14-21-1 ATS, good for bottom five in the league. The Suns have been a machine at home, and this evening’s matchup should be no different. Phoenix can smell the West’s one seed, and a statement win tonight, would go a long way towards that goal. TTL Pick: Phoenix Suns -3
Boston Celtics +1.5 vs Portland Trail Blazers (Tip 9:00pm CST)
The Celtics are currently 7th place in the East, and are traveling across the country to Portland, to play the 6th place Blazers in the West. Boston is in “win now” mode and holds a 5-1 SU (3-2-1 ATS) record over their last 6 games. The Blazers are 2-4 SU/ATS over their last 6 games, and could lose their grip on a playoff spot if they’re not careful. We believe tonight is going to be a rough story for the Blazers. Portland opened as 1 point favorites, and they are 15-16 ATS as favorites and 8-11 ATS as home favorites on the season. The Celtics are 10-9 ATS as a dog and 7-7 ATS as an away dog. After a slow start to the season on the road, the Celtics are picking things up and hold a 4-0 ATS record in their last 4 road games. The Blazers are coming off an utter collapse against Miami on Sunday and we see a lot of the same happening this evening. The Blazers are 11-16 ATS at home, and are 3-4 ATS as 1 to 2.5 point favorites on the season. We’ll take the point on the Celtics, and might even sprinkle a little on the moneyline, as they look to push their current winning streak to 4 games. TTL Pick: Boston Celtics +1.5
Special Play Of The Day: Twofer Tuesday Parlay
San Diego Padres -1.5 vs Pittsburgh Pirates (First Pitch 5:35pm CST)
To kick off this evening’s Twofer Tuesday Parlay, we go to turn to the Padres in a lopsided matchup. San Diego starts lefty Blake Snell tonight, and Snell has met expectations thus far this season. Over 9.2 innings this year, Snell has allowed just two earned runs, striking out 16 in the process. Along with Snell’s dominance, the Pirates have struggled mightily against left-handed pitching through the early portion of the season, hitting .207 with a .281 OBP against lefties. Give us the Padres by a million tonight.
New York Rangers -1.5 vs New Jersey Devils (Puck Drop 6:00pm CST)
This is an important game for the Rangers, and they could gain some serious traction towards a playoff push in the East, against the Devils who are completely out of contention. The Rangers are only 4 points behind the Bruins, who playoff Buffalo this evening, and Buffalo has looked like a team ready to end playoff runs lately. The Rangers are 28-13 ATPL overall and 16-6 ATPL on the road this season. The Devils are 24-16 ATPL, but only 10-12 ATPL at home this season. On 1 days’ rest, the Rangers are 20-8 ATPL overall and 9-5-1 SU after 1 day’s rest and a loss, and the Devils are 13-14 ATPL on 1 days’ rest and 5-10-1 SU after 1 days’ rest and a loss. Look for the Rangers to rebound big against the Devs here this evening.
Twofer Tuesday Parlay: Rangers -1.5, Padres -1.5 Total Odds = +318
RMag’s Sidebar
If you missed Miles Bridges’ poster slam on Clint Capela’s head the other day, it’s a must see. The dunk itself may be the dunk of the year, but it’s more than just a Miles Bridges highlight, it’s an Eric Collins masterpiece from the broadcasting booth. If you aren’t sure who Eric Collins is, do yourself a favor and enjoy todays’ clip. Since 2015, Collins has sat alongside Dell Curry as the Charlotte Hornets TV broadcasting team, and to say that Collins brings the energy would be an understatement. Imagine Gus Johnson, but if Gus was a full-time guy for one team. It doesn’t matter if it’s a buzzer beater, or a highlight reel play in the 1st quarter, EC is bringing the electricity. Unfortunately, the Bridges clip is not included in this video, so if you missed that one, do yourself a favor and check it out. If you close your eyes, you might think you are watching an actual murder.
Colt’s Inspiration Corner
“Impose Your Will”
Impose: to force something unwelcome, or unfamiliar, to be accepted or put into place. In everything that you do in this life, impose your will. Don’t take no for an answer, and find out by any means necessary how to make that answer a yes. Be a force to be reckoned with by the energy that you bring into every situation. Take control of your circumstances, and make them work for you, not against you. This may all seem a bit brash, but trust me it will all come full circle shortly.
No matter what you do in this life, I’m here to tell you that it IS NOT acceptable to give 100%. It IS acceptable however to give 150%. When you think that you’ve given everything that you’ve got, I promise you still have more to give. In those times where you think that there’s nothing else you can do, you have a decision to make. Either to stop right here and now, or to continue down the path and find a way where there is no way. If you choose to continue, I can assure you that you will come across unwelcome or unfamiliar stops along your path, but you must continue to impose your will and turn your obstacles into opportunities.
Move with a purpose in this life, and not only for the sake of moving. Don’t confuse activity for achievement, and analyze the direction that your life is truly going in. If you don’t like the direction that you find yourself going in, only you have the power to change it. When you’re presented with an opportunity to turn the “Ship” of your life around, open the sails and don’t look back. Don’t be like everyone else and get stuck at “what if”. The only way to turn your dreams into realities is by imposing your will, and no one else can do that for you.
Daily Challenge: Today’s phrase of the day is, “Impose Your Will”. Make the choice to force your obstacles and challenges to work for you; not the other way around. Move with the mindset that everything you do has the purpose of moving your life forward. Remember that nothing can overcome you, if you choose to overcome it. Impose your will, and force the unwelcome and unfamiliar to become welcome and familiar to you. Get comfortable being uncomfortable in the present, and watch the blessings roll your way in the future. Have a spectacular Tuesday my friend.