Frank Sawyer of Hollywood Sports Reviewed

FRANK’S CUTTING ROOM FLOOR FOR THURSDAY, 1/15:

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 Thursday is with the Golden State Warriors minus the points versus the New York Knicks. Golden State (22-19) has won nine of their last 13 games after a 119-97 victory at home against Portland as a 10.5-point favorite on Tuesday. The Warriors stay at home where they have covered the point spread in 5 of their last 8 games as a favorite laying 6.5 to 12 points. This is their eighth game in the last two weeks — and they have covered the point spread in 5 of the last 7 home games when playing for at least the eighth time in the last 14 days. New York (26-150 has lost six of their last eight games after a 112-101 upset loss at Sacramento as a 10.5-point favorite last night. The Knicks have now failed to cover the point spread in 14 of their last 19 games on the road. Jalen Brunson is doubtful to play tonight given an ankle injury — and that certainly does not help this team that has failed too cover the point spread in 7 of their last 11 games against teams with a winning percentage in the 51-60% range. Take Golden State minus the points. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer is still on a 14 of 22 (64%) NBA run with featured 25*/20*/10* plays (after losing with Philadelphia last night) that fuels his 28 of 44 (64%) NBA featured plays winning streak! Frank BOUNCES BACK tonight by furthering his 13 of 17 (76%) NBA sides run with featured plays with the SUPER SIDE SITUATION! Want ONE MORE WINNER for Thursday? BANK on Frank!

At 10:10 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing the Portland Trail Blazers (516) plus the points versus the Atlanta Hawks (515). THE SITUATION: Portland (19-22) has lost two games in a row after their 119-97 loss at Golden State as a 10.5-point underdog on Tuesday. Atlanta (19-22) saw their three-game winning streak snapped in a 141-116 loss in Los Angeles against the Lakers as a 1.5-point underdog on Tuesday.

REASONS TO TAKE THE TRAIL BLAZERS PLUS THE POINTS: Portland only made 29.8% of their shots from behind the arc on Tuesday, which was their worst shooting effort from distance in their last 11 contests. They will be without Deni Avdija tonight, who is dealing with a lower back injury. But the Trail Blazers just got Jrue Holiday back from injury after he missed 27 games to an injury — and they may also see Jerami Grant return from his Achilles injury. Shaeden Sharpe is still around to lead this team tonight — and rookie Caleb Love has been a preseason surprise as an undrafted free agent. Portland had won six games in a row before this recent two-game stretch — and they have covered the point spread in 6 of their last 9 games after losing two or more games in a row. Additionally, they have covered the point spread in 8 of their last 13 home games with the Total set at 230 or higher — and they have covered the point spread in 10 of their last 14 home games as an underdog. Atlanta was expecting to be a better defensive team after trading away Trae Young — but they let the Lakers nail 55.9% of their shots from behind the arc and 57.8% of their shots overall on Tuesday. Under head coach Quinn Snyder, the Hawks have failed to cover the point spread in 14 of their 15 games when following a loss on the road by 20 or more points. This is a tough road spot for this team as they finish their four-game road trip out west tonight. This is their seventh road game in their last eight contests. Atlanta has failed to cover the point spread in 18 of their last 28 games after playing their last three games on the road. This is their third game on the road since Sunday — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 14 of their last 22 games when playing for the third time on the road in a five-day span. This is also their fourth game on the road since Friday — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 9 of their last 11 games when playing on the road for the fourth time in the last seven days. Furthermore, the Hawks have failed to cover the point spread in 12 of their last 19 games when favored.

FINAL TAKE: Atlanta has failed to cover the point spread in 7 of their last 9 games when favored by 3.5 to 9.5 points — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 17 of their last 25 games on the road when laying up to six points. The Trail Blazers have covered the point spread in 12 of their last 15 games as an underdog in the 3.5 to 9.5 point range, including eight of those 10 games played at home. 10* NBA Thursday Late Show Bailout with the Portland Trail Blazers (516) plus the points versus the Atlanta Hawks (515). Best of luck for us — Frank.

THE SITUATION: The Hawai’i start to the 2026 campaign of the PGA Tour begins with the Sony Open at the Wai’alae Country Club in Honolulu (after the traditional Sentry Tournament of Champions last week at Kapalua was canceled due to a water drought and logistical issues). This is a short Par-70 course on a flat track with tree-lined fairways and plenty of dog legs. The big hitters are not rewarded this week, as accuracy off the tee and reaching the green in regulation are at a premium. The rough is relatively short, with it growing out to 2 1/2 inches. The fairways feature 83 sand bunkers — and water comes into play on five of the holes. The fairways average 36 yards in width. The 120 professionals will encounter greens that average a large 7100 square feet in size. The Bermuda greens average up to 12 feet on the stimpmeter. The cut after 36 holes will include the top 65 scorers plus ties. It is not uncommon for wind coming off the Pacific Ocean to play a role in this event. Wind gusts are expected to reach 20 miles per hour on Thursday and Friday before calming down over the weekend.

TOP OVERLAY BET: J.J. Spaun (+1800 odds at DraftKings). Recommended Prop Bet: Spaun (7113) versus Collin Morikawa (7114) in Round One head-to-head props. This prop goes off the board at 12:43 PM ET.

Our Top Overlay Bet on the golfer who offers the best value relative to the odds is on J.J. Spaun who is listed at +1800 odds to win this tournament at DraftKings. Spaun has finished in the top 25 in nine of his last two PGA Tour events — headlined by winning the US Open last summer. He last played on December 4th at Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas where he finished in fourth place. He is legit. He finished 7th on the PGA Tour last season in Shots-Gained: Total. He was eighth in Shots-Gained: Tee-to-Green and fifth in Shots-Gained: Approach the Green. He should have a chip on his shoulder this week after leading after three rounds at this event last year before missing the eventual playoff by one road stroke. He also finished in a tie for 13th place here in 2023. In many ways, his strong start to the season here last year helped catapult him to his break through year. He finished sixth on the PGA Tour by gaining +1.22 strokes per round last season. 

Spaun is linked with Collin Morikawa in Round One head-to-head props. Morikawa slumped last season — and there is few indications he is ready to break out of those doldrums out of the gate this year. He last played at the Baycurrent Classic in mid-October where he settled for a tie for 14th place — yet it was his best result in his last seven events. His short game was a mess last year. He ranked 113th in Shots-Gained: Around the Green and 156th in Shots-Gained: Putting. This is the first time he is playing this tournament since 2021. Take Spaun (7113) versus Morikawa (7114) in Round One head-to-head props. Best of luck for us — Frank.

Money Management advice: I like to consider the three "to win" prop bets as lottery tickets. If your typical bet is X, then I am fine if you wager 10-30% of X into each golfer to win — just be consistent with that method from week-to-week. I am also fine if you are more ambitious with these bets and wager up to X on each golfer-per-week. Over the course of the season, we have been profitable -- so I preach consistency with the investments each week. I am also OK with a slow uptick in the initial investment if the bankroll warrants -- maybe go from 20% of X to 25%.  For the head-to-head prop bets, treat them as either 10* or 20* bets (if you choose to invest in them) -- and stay consistent from week-to-week.