Big Al McMordie Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

At 9:10 pm, our selection is on the Los Angeles Clippers minus the points over Oklahoma City.  The Thunder have lost 23 of their last 24 games, and are clearly pointing ahead toward the draft lottery.  They've lost their last five games by 21, 39, 28, 16 and 16 points.  Los Angeles still has an incentive to win this game for playoff positioning, and will also look to remove the stench from a 122-115 loss at Houston on Friday.  The Clippers are 22-7 ATS their last 29 on the road off a loss.  Take the Clippers minus the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 9:10 pm, our selection is on the Portland Trail Blazers minus the points over Denver.  If the Trail Blazers win this game, they will avoid the dreaded play-in round, and be seeded #6 in the Western conference.  Denver also would like to win, but their benefit of securing the #3 seed rather than the #4 seed isn't as great as Portland's.  It's true that Denver won its 3rd straight game (and 2nd straight by double-digits) when it defeated Detroit, 114-103, on Friday.  But the Nuggets are a poor 3-14 ATS off back to back double-digit wins.  Meanwhile, Portland falls into a 28-6 ATS division revenge angle of mine which plays on certain revenge-minded home favorites of -6 (or more) points in the regular season.   Lay the points with the Trail Blazers.

At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Atlanta Hawks minus the points over Houston.  The Rockets are 17-54 this season after upsetting the Clippers to snap a 7-game slide.  But faithful followers know I love playing against bad teams off wins.  And this is a great spot to do so, given it's Houston's final road game of the season.  The Rockets fall into a 13-57 ATS system of mine which goes against certain teams in late season games, while Atlanta applies to a 120-55 ATS 'momentum' system, based on its 116-93 victory over Orlando on Thursday.  Lay the points with the Hawks.

At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Brooklyn Nets minus the points over Cleveland.  The Cavs have not been competitive down the stretch, as they've lost 12 of 13 games, including a 15-point defeat at the hands of Washington, on Friday.  Interestingly, the Nets have dropped both meetings this season to the woeful Cavaliers.  And they lost each by 12 points!  With that as a backdrop, we'll take Brooklyn to close out their season with a big win this evening.  Brooklyn falls into a 166-98 ATS revenge angle of mine, while Cleveland is a nasty 13-31 ATS off a point spread defeat this season, and 27-48 ATS off a loss by 15+ points.  Take the Nets.

At 3:40 pm, our selection is on the Golden State Warriors minus the points over Memphis.  The Grizzlies won their fifth straight game on Friday, with a 1-point triumph over Sacramento.  They'll now travel to San Francisco to play a critical game (for both teams) vs. Golden State.  Because of the importance of this afternoon's game, Warriors' coach Steve Kerr rested his stars on Friday because this Sunday game would be for "all the marbles" anyway.  But the Warriors won that Friday game, 125-122.  That was the Warriors' fifth straight win and cover, and I look for them to stretch their streak to six straight this afternoon.  The Warriors fall into an 84-45 "Last Home Game" system of mine, while Memphis applies to a negative 48-76 ATS "Last Road Game" system which goes against certain teams in their final road game that are headed to the playoffs.  And Memphis is also a wallet-breaking 24-42 ATS off 5+ wins.  Take the Warriors minus the points.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the New York Knicks minus the points over Boston.  Last night, the Knicks defeated Charlotte, 118-109, in overtime, and they'll now take on the Boston Celtics, who are locked into the #7 seed after winning yesterday vs. the Timberwolves.  That win by the Celtics snapped their four-game losing streak, which was important for Brad Stevens' team.  But off that win, I expect a less intense effort by the Celtics this afternoon, given there's really nothing to play for.  New York lost by two points in the previous meeting vs. Boston, but is 15-6 ATS when playing with revenge this season.  And the Knicks also fall into 74-37 and 64-34 ATS "Last Home Game" systems of mine.  Take New York minus the points.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the Washington Wizards minus the points over Charlotte.  This season finale is important to each of these two teams because of playoff positioning.  But we'll take the homestanding Wizards, who play this game with revenge from a double-digit home loss to the Hornets on March 30.  The Wizards are 51-33 ATS when playing with revenge, including 17-9 ATS this season.  Moreover, Washington won its previous game, 120-105, on Friday vs. Cleveland.  And the Wizards are 11-1 ATS this season off a double-digit win.  Lay the points.

At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the St. Louis Cardinals over the San Diego Padres.  San Diego has taken the first two games of this 3-game series, so it will be up to lefty Kwang-Hyun Kim to help the Redbirds avoid the sweep.  Kim has thrived in the underdog role, as the Cardinals are a sensational 7-1 with him on the hill, when dressed up as the dog.  San Diego will also turn to a southpaw this evening, as rookie Ryan (son of David) Weathers will toe the rubber for the Padres.  We'll go against the young pitcher, as St. Louis is 5-2 this season vs. lefties, while the Padres are a poor 29-37 (minus 14 games on the moneyline) vs. opposing lefty starters. 

At 2:10 pm, our selection is on the Milwaukee Brewers over the Atlanta Braves.  The Braves go for a three-game sweep this afternoon after beating Milwaukee on Friday and Saturday.  Yesterday's loss dropped the Brewers record to .500 for the first time in over a month.  This afternoon it will be up to RHP Freddy Peralta to keep his team at or above the .500 mark.  It's hard to have a better start than Peralta did in his last outing as he held the Cardinals to just one hit in seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk.  But his bullpen couldn't seal the deal and so Peralta will hope for a better outcome today against Atlanta and young RHP Huascar Ynoa.  That last start lowered Peralta's ERA down to 2.77 in seven starts covering 37 innings with a 0.95 WHIP (Peralta also has two innings of relief under his belt).  Peralta has always done by far his best work here in Milwaukee.  In 40 career games (13 starts) at Miller Park, Peralta is 12-3 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 160 strikeouts in just under 120 innings.  Take the Brewers.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 1:10 pm, our selection is on the New York Mets over the Tampa Bay Rays.  One of the big questions surrounding players who opted out of playing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic was whether they would be able to come back and be effective after a year off.  Well, Mets' veteran RHP Marcus Stroman has answered that question with an emphatic "yes I can."  Stroman's first season in New York was the second half of 2019 (after 5 1/2 with the Blue Jays) and he was solid if nothing else (4-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 11 Mets starts).  And now after a voluntary year off, the 30-year-old is having one of his best campaigns, going 2-2 with a 2.03 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in seven starts covering just over 40 innings.  Stroman is very familiar with the Rays and Tropicana Field from his years in the AL East.  In six starts at The Trop, he is 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in just under 40 innings.  And, finally, the Mets do some of their best work recently before the sun goes down as they are 8-4 in their last 12 games during the day.  Take New York.

At 2:10 pm, our selection is on the Chicago White Sox over the Kansas City Royals.  After a red hot start, the Kansas City Royals came back down to earth and most people probably figured that they were done winning meaningful games for the season.  But here we are on Sunday afternoon with KC having won two of the first three games of this series against the mighty White Sox.  But today it will be a tall order as the Sox send out one of their brightest young stars -- and they have quite a few -- in RHP Dylan Cease.  After some uninspiring results in his first two seasons in the Majors, Cease has flourished in 2021 so far.  In seven starts, the 25-year-old is 2-2 with a 2.80 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a strikeout rate of 12.5 per nine IP.  Cease still has to cut down on his free passes but if he can do that -- and it seems as though he's starting to -- he could be one of the dominant starters in the league.  Despite their taking two of three so far, including last night, the Royals are still just 4-14 in the last 18 meetings with the White Sox.  Take Chicago.