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Case of the Mondays: Celtics Pushed to Game 7, Rockets Out in Six

by - 5/15/2017

Cleveland Browns WR Josh Gordon

The Western Conference Finals got off to an early start on Sunday thanks to the fact that no Game 7 was necessary in what had previously been a competitive conference semifinal showdown between San Antonio and Houston. James Harden failed to deliver as the Rockets got unceremoniously bounced out of the playoffs in front of their home fans. The Celtics, meanwhile, are back at home on Monday after they squandered a late lead in a potential clincher at Washington this past Friday.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook .

James Harden . Houston had no problem at the beginning of its series against the Spurs, winning by 27 points on the road in Game 1. To say it went downhill thereafter would be a gross understatement. The Rockets dropped four of the next five contests, including what proved to be there season-ender via a 114-74 humiliation last Thursday. Harden attempted a mere two field goals in the first half and finished 2-of-11 for 10 points before fouling out. He also scored only 13 points on 3-for-17 shooting in a Game 2 setback. San Antonio, which blew a 25-point lead and lost to Golden State 113-111 on Sunday, is a +13 road underdog on Tuesday .

Isaiah Thomas . Boston's star point guard has cooled off in a major way since erupting for 53 points in a Game 2 victory over the Wizards. He scored 13 points in Game 3, 19 points in the next road loss, 18 points three days after that, and he stumbled to an 8-for-24 performance (27 points) in a 92-91 Game 6 loss. Adding insult to injury for the Celtics, the NBA announced over the weekend that they should have had an extra second on the clock with which to work while trailing by one point before the final play of the game. Thomas had to fork up a desperation three-pointer that bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Boston is a -4.5 home favorite in Game 7.

Washington Capitals . Death, taxes, and the Washington Capitals melting down in the playoffs…. Washington has reached the playoffs nine out of the past 10 seasons and still has never even made it to the conference finals. That's right; not once during this stretch have the Caps won more than a single series in any one postseason. That is despite posting the best regular-season record in the entire NHL on three occasions. The disturbing trend of playoff failure continued when Alex Ovechkin and company lost Game 7 at home to the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins last Wednesday night. Washington won two in a row to force the decider only to thoroughly underwhelm in a 2-0 setback.Pittsburgh, which trails Ottawa 1-0, is a -190 home favorite in Game 2 on Monday.

New York Mets . Two divisions in baseball are already getting out of hand: the National League East (Washington leads by seven games) and the American League West (Houston leads by seven games). In the former, New York was trying to keep pace for a while but is now mired in a disastrous stretch both on and off the field. The Mets, who have lost four in a row, are without ace Noah Syndergaard because of a biceps injury. Fellow starter Matt Harvey was recently suspended, and closer Jeurys Familiar may miss the rest of the season due to a blood clot in his shoulder. The Mets are +650 to win the division.

Jason Day . On this day last year, Day was celebrating a victory at The Players Championship. He is doing nothing of the sort this time around, because it certainly wasn't Day's day on Sunday. The 2015 PGA Championship winner played well enough through three rounds to the tune of 70, 72, and 73 to tie for 20th heading into the final 18 holes. But that's when it all went downhill, as Day carded an 80-including a 42 on the back nine-with a quadruple bogey on 16 and a double-bogey on the island hole. He went into the water twice on the par-5 16then route to a nine and then got a 5 on the TPC at Sawgrass' most famous feature. Si Woo Kim won the tournament by three strokes at 10-under. Day is +1000 to win next month's U.S. Open; Dustin Johnson is a +650 favorite.

Atletico Madrid . Atletico Madrid lost a heartbreaker to its in-city rival in last year's Champions League final, 5-3 in penalty kicks. The two Madrid sides faced each other in the semifinals this time around, and once again Real had the upper hand. Cristiano Ronaldo and friends prevailed 3-0 at home in the first leg earlier this month before sealing the deal with a 2-1 road loss (4-2 on aggregate) last Wednesday. Real Madrid is a -125 favorite to beat Juventus in the Champions League final next month.

Josh Gordon . The Josh Gordon saga continues, and not in a good way. Last Thursday, the Browns' much-maligned wide receiver had his application for reinstatement denied by the NFL. Gordon has been suspended for 43 of his team's last 48 games, and he has not taken the field for a regular-season contest since Dec. 21, 2014. Cleveland suspended him for 10 games that year due to a substance-abuse violation and for the season finale after missing a walk-through the previous day. Gordon was also banned from the 2015 campaign for violating the substance-abuse policy yet again before being conditionally reinstated last year. The 26-year-old played in the preseason but remained on the suspended list and checked himself into an inpatient rehabilitation facility in October. Cleveland is -140 to finish with fewer than 4.5 wins during the 2017 regular season.

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