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Case of the Mondays: Everything Tight in the Eastern Conference


by - 4/23/2018

Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers

Three of the four Eastern Conference first-round playoff series are tied at 2-2, and that has to be considered bad news for Toronto, Boston, and Cleveland. Of course, it could be even worse for the Cavaliers; they trailed Indiana 2-1 before just barely pulling out a road win in Game 4 on Sunday. As for the Raptors and Celtics, they took care of business in their first two contests at home before losing twice on the road.

Odds provided by MyBookie.ag unless otherwise indicated.

Toronto Raptors . Toronto is actually the No. 1 seed in the East. It did not really seem like that going into the playoffs (how could it when LeBron James has won the conference a million years in a row?) and it certainly doesn't seem like that now. The Raptors battled through a tough opener against Washington and dominated Game 2 only to fall in the nation's capital in the next two contests. They lost 106-98 on Sunday, blowing a 14-point third quarter lead. Toronto is still -345 to win the series.

Portland Trail Blazers . Only one team got swept in round one of the NBA playoffs, and it wasn't even Minnesota (vs. Houston) or San Antonio (vs. Golden State). It was none other than Portland, which went in as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference but promptly got erased by New Orleans in four straight games. The Pelicans averaged more than 120 points over the last three contests. "It's not how we envisioned it happening for us, especially getting home-court (advantage)," said star guard Damian Lillard, who shot just 35.2 percent (30 percent from three-point range) in the series and averaged less than 19 ppg. "We just weren't playing our best basketball…. And then we come in here against a team that probably played their best stretch of basketball when they had to." New Orleans awaits either Golden State or San Antonio in the next round. The Warriors are -10.5 home favorites in Game 5 on Tuesday.

Columbus Blue Jackets . After the Capitals lost each of their first two games at home during West Conference first-round playoff action against Columbus, Alex Ovechkin vowed that they would return to Washington, D.C. tied 2-2. Not only did the Caps do that, but they also won again this past Saturday-4-3 in overtime-to seize a 3-2 advantage in the seven-game set. Four of the five contests have required overtime, with the Capitals' 4-1 victory in Columbus last Thursday being the only exception. Washington is a -115 road favorite in Game 6 on Monday.

Matt Harvey . "I'm a starting pitcher" is what Harvey had to say following his most recent subpar outing, which came last Thursday when the Mets visited Atlanta (six runs in six innings of a 12-4 loss). Two days later, he was no longer a starting pitcher. With Jason Vargas returning from a broken hand, New York manager Mickey Callaway demoted Harvey to the bullpen. The 29-year-old is 0-2 with a 6,00 ERA through four starts, which is especially concerning given that he also slumped throughout 2017 with a 6.70 ERA. New York is +550 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the National League Pennant.

Jalen Hurts . It was always going to be tumultuous offseason in Tuscaloosa for Hurts, who sat out from the second half and overtime in the National Championship as Tua Tagovailoa led Alabama to a thrilling win over Georgia. Hurts has decided-at least so far-to return for his junior season, although there have been plenty of transfer rumblings. With Tagovailoa sidelined by a finger injury, Hurts was the focus of this past weekend's spring game. He completed just 19 of his 37 pass attempts for 195 yards while throwing one interception without a touchdown. "I was not disappointed in the way Jalen played," head coach Nick Saban assured. "I think we have some guys that can rush a little bit…and there was way too much pressure on the pocket for the quarterback to operate like we like." Tagovailoa is +650 to win the Heisman Trophy.

Arsene Wenger . The longtime Arsenal manager announced last week that this season will be his final one. "I'm happy when the fans are happy and [I was] ready to suffer to make them happy," Wenger explained. "Every single decision I made during my 22 years was for the good of Arsenal and every single decision was with the priority of doing well for the club…. I leave a club that is in a very good position. My target was always to do that and give continuity to the guy who comes in after me so we can be better in the next 20 years. That's my wish." The Gunners were plenty good during Wenger's 21-year reign, but they have not won the English Premier League since 2004. With Arsenal struggling in sixth place on the EPL table and 11 points out of fourth, it will have to triumph in the Europa League in order to secure a spot in the 2018-19 Champions League. Wenger is by far the most successful manager in Arsenal history and no Premier League manager has ever enjoyed a longer tenure with one club. The Gunners are +250 to win the Europa League.

Zach Johnson . Tied for first and by far the biggest name on the leaderboard heading into Sunday at the Valero Texas Open, Johnson had to like his chances. Instead, he bogeyed two of his first six holes and stumbled to an even-par round of 72 while just about everyone else went low. Andrew Landry carded a 4-under 68 to pick up his first career victory on the PGA Tour, beating Sean O'Hair (66) and Trey Mullinax (69) by two strokes. Johnson finished in solo fifth place. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods is +450 to win a major in 2018.

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