Frank Sawyer of Hollywood Sports Reviewed

FRANK’S CUTTING ROOM FLOOR FOR FRIDAY, 5/15:

My “Cutting Room Floor” plays are the situations I considered the closest to being worthy of investment but did not make the “final cut” for my official plays today for subscribers. The last play I cut for Friday is with the San Antonio Spurs minus the points versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Six of the Western Conference semifinals series. San Antonio (69-24) took a 3-2 series lead after their 126-97 victory at home as a 9.5-point favorite on Tuesday. The Spurs have covered the point spread in 9 of their last 13 games after a win by 20 or more points. They have also covered the point spread in 17 of their last 26 games against teams with a winning percentage in the 51-60% range. Minnesota (55-38) has failed to cover the point spread in 7 of their last 10 home games after a straight-up loss on the road. And while the last four games in this series have finished Over the Total, the Timberwolves have failed to cover the point spread in 7 of their last 8 games after playing three or more Overs in a row. Take San Antonio minus the points. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer’s Hollywood Sports is on an 8 of 12 (67%) TOTALS TEAR with Game of the Year basketball plays — and now Frank furthers his 18 of 29 (62%) Basketball Game of the Year mark with his 25* NBA 2nd Round Playoff Total of the Year for the San Antonio-Minnesota O/U winner on Amazon Prime at 9:42 PM ET! DO NOT MISS OUT!

At 9:40 PM ET on Friday, we will be playing Under the Total in Game Six of the Western Conference semifinals series between the San Antonio Spurs (525) and the Minnesota Timberwolves. THE SITUATION: San Antonio (69-24) has won three of their last four games after their 126-97 victory as a 9.5-point home favorite in Game Five of this series on Tuesday. Minnesota (55-38) returns home looking to stave off elimination, trailing 3-2 in this series. 

REASONS TO TAKE UNDER THE TOTAL: The Spurs are dominating this series through their defense. They are ignoring Max Reid and Jaden McDaniels as shooters and are confident they will not make the extra pass. Julius Randle is struggling to make a difference on the offensive end of the court as well — The Timberwolves have just an Adjusted Offensive Efficiency of 95.7 when he is on the court in this series. The San Antonio defenders are getting more aggressive in generating steals — they forced 13  turnovers in Game Five. The Spurs have allowed more than 108 points just once in their series — and Minnesota has failed to score even 98 points twice. San Antonio has played 9 of their last 14 games Under the Total after a win by 20 or more points. They have also played 11 of their last 16 games Under the Total after not allowing more than 100 points in their last game. Additionally, the Spurs have played 11 of their last 18 games Under the Total when playing with two days of rest. San Antonio leads the NBA in the postseason with an Adjusted Defensive Efficiency of 102.0. They are limiting their playoff opponents to 40.9% shooting with a 31.6% clip from behind the arc, which is resulting in 101.8 Points-Per-Game. The Spurs have played 3 of their 4 playoff games Under the Total when leading in the series this postseason. They have also played 16 of their last 25 games Under the Total against teams with a winning percentage in the 51-60% range. Minnesota has played 4 of their last 6 games Under the Total after failing to score more than 100 points in their last game. And while the last four games of this series have finished Over the Total, the Timberwolves have played 12 of their last 18 games Under the Total after playing three or more Unders in a row. Furthermore, Minnesota has played 11 of their last 15 games Under the Total when playing with two days of rest, including 6 of those 7 games played at home. They have also played 21 of their last 28 games Under the Total when playing for the second time in five days, including 13 of those 15 games played at home. The Timberwolves have struggled all postseason on the offensive end of the court. Their half-court offense ranks 11th in efficiency in these playoffs — and they rank 12th with an Adjusted Offensive Efficiency of 107.7. But they have made it difficult for road teams to score in the postseason — those teams are making only 42.2% of their shots with a 28.8% mark from behind the arc, which is resulting in 102.8 PPG. Minnesota has played 30 of their last 48 games Under the Total against teams with a winning record, including 16 of those 24 games played at home. 

FINAL TAKE: The Timberwolves have played 13 of their last 19 games Under the Total when playing with revenge from a loss on the road. 25* NBA 2nd Round Playoff Total of the Year with Under the Total in the game between the San Antonio Spurs (525) and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Best of luck for us — Frank.