Case of the Mondays: A New NBA Champion Will Be Crowned

by Ricky Dimon - 5/4/2015

There will be no repeat for the San Antonio Spurs as the defending NBA champions were eliminated in the first round-yes, that was the first round-by the Los Angeles Clippers over the weekend. Speaking of elimination, the Minnesota Wild are halfway there after losing two straight to the Chicago Blackhawks and Jim Furyk was when Rory McIlory made a 44-foot bomb for eagle at the match-play event.

All odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook.

San Antonio Spurs . San Antonio could have avoided a Game 7 in Los Angeles by taking care of business at home with a 3-2 series lead in hand. Instead, the Spurs lost inside the AT&T Center-again-and put themselves at the mercy of a hostile environment at the Staples Center on Saturday night. An appropriately thrilling end to an epic series saw the Clippers prevail 111-109 that culminated with a controversial final minute, ending on a last-second shot by Chris Paul followed by a clock malfunction prior to the Spurs' desperate attempt to answer. L.A. is +1200 to win the NBA title; the Golden State Warriors are -140 favorites.

Atlanta Hawks . It sure beats losing a Game 7, which is what the Hawks would have been playing on Sunday afternoon if they had lost Game 6 against the Brooklyn Nets. Instead, it was Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals vs. the Washington Wizards. While Atlanta was coming off a tough series with Brooklyn, Washington had disposed of the Toronto Raptors in four straight games. The well-rested Wizards took advantage of the tired Hawks by dominating the second half 51-35. Atlanta went a shocking 12-for-50 from the floor during the last 24 minutes. The Hawks are +550 to win the Eastern Conference; Washington is +600.

Minnesota Wild . It's safe to say Minnesota has had enough of the Chicago Blackhawks. Of course, that was already the case even before these Stanley Cup playoffs. Chicago has ousted the Wild from each of the last two postseasons, and it looks like more of the same will take place in 2015. The Blackhawks have a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series after dominating Game 2 by a 4-1 margin on Sunday night. Minnesota turnovers led to each of Chicago's first three goals before the 'Hawks added a relatively meaningless empty-netter in the final minutes. The Blackhawks are +300 favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

Ron Roenicke . All his team's first two-game winning streak of the season got Roenicke was fired. The Brewers won back-to-back contests for the first time all year when they beat the Chicago Cubs this past Saturday and Sunday. Roenicke was fired just a few hours later on Sunday night. After all, Milwaukee is still the worst team in Major League baseball with a 7-18 record. The club has given up 123 runs, second most in the National League-better than only the Colorado Rockies, who obviously have an excuse given their location. Milwaukee wasted no time hiring new manager Craig Counsell on Monday. The Brewers are +155 underdogs to win their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this week.

Manchester United . Man United has lost three consecutive English Premier League matches for the first time since 2001. The Reds have also failed to score a single goal in three straight while falling to Chelsea, Everton, and most recently West Brom. United's 1-0 setback against West Brom this past Saturday left it in fourth place on the EPL table behind Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal and it is in danger of dropping out of the top four because Liverpool is four points back with 61. It has been a tough few years for Man U and 2015 is no exception. Louis Van Gaal's club also got knocked out of the FA Cup by Arsenal two months ago. Chelsea is an even-money favorite to defeat Liverpool this Sunday.

Jeff Gordon . Gordan was on the pole for Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Talladega, and by all indications he had a car that was capable of winning. But the Rainbow Warrior was penalized for speeding on pit road during his last pit stop and that dropped him into 30^th position with 26 laps remaining. Gordon finished a disappointing 31^st. Dale Earnhardt Jr., on the other hand, cruised to his first win of the season and first at Talladega since 2004. Gordon is still without a victory in 2015, and he likely needs one in order to guarantee a spot in the Chase.

Jim Furyk . For the most part Furyk enjoyed a productive week at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play last week, but he lost on Sunday-not once, but twice. Prior to a mostly worthless third-place match against Danny Willett, Furyk lost a semifinal thriller to eventual champion Rory McIlory. Leading by one hole with two to play, the veteran with the funky swing looked poised to reach the final. McIlroy had other ideas. The world No. 1 birdied the 17^th to go all-square then made his eagle from more than 40 feet away on the 18^th to win. Unable to recover, Furyk went down to Willett 3 and 2 to finish in fourth place. McIlroy rode his momentum to a 4 and 2 victory over Gary Woodland in the championship. He is a +550 favorite to win next month's U.S. Open.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 3:30 PM
Expert:	Scott Spreitzer
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