Cavaliers run over favored Bulls, bettors
Some things are too predictable. It has been said and written countless times, but it’s just a matter of time before Matthew Dellavedova brings a championship to Cleveland.
Why did LeBron James return home to the Cavaliers? He could see the potential in the Big Two. When in rhythm and playing with one heartbeat, Dellavedova and James can be an unstoppable duo. Forget about Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Definitely forget about Derrick Rose and the Bulls, who were run off the court and out of the playoffs Thursday, when Dellavedova shot the Cavaliers to a 94-73 win in Chicago and put James a step closer to another NBA Finals.
A majority of bettors — the public and so-called sharps — backed the Bulls in their must-win spot in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“There was a late rush on the Bulls,” said Jimmy Vaccaro, South Point sports book oddsmaker. “We needed the Cavaliers.”
The Bulls showed up early and quit late, producing 29 second-half points in a pathetic offensive display. It’s probably the end of the line in Chicago for Tom Thibodeau, a good coach who will find a new job soon. He’s a favorite to land in New Orleans.
The two favorites were landing on most parlay tickets, but those bets blew up. The Bulls were laying 2½ points and laid down without a fight.
James flirted with a triple-double (15 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds) but shot 7-for-23 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Kyrie Irving limped off with an injury early in the second quarter, and Kevin Love was watching with a dislocated shoulder. It’s a shrinking Big Three.
Dellavedova, a backup point guard who hit three 3s and scored 19 points in place of Irving, earned a big hug from James after the game. In the 2013 draft, Cleveland used the No. 1 pick on forward Anthony Bennett from UNLV. Bennett, who was traded to Minnesota last summer, looks like a bust. Dellavedova signed with the Cavaliers as an undrafted free agent.
He’s a good story, but the Cavaliers are not winning a championship if they need to count on big games from Dellavedova.
Cleveland will open as at least a 2-1 favorite over top-seeded Atlanta in the East finals, if the Hawks can get past the Washington Wizards.
“I’m not sure how many people are going to be Hawks believers,” said Jeff Sherman, oddsmaker at the Westgate Las Vegas sports book. “I’m not one of them.
“But I don’t think it matters who comes out of the East because I don’t give them much of a chance against whoever comes out of the West. If it’s Clippers-Warriors in the West, that would be more intriguing than the NBA Finals.”
Favorite bettors also got burned Thursday with the Clippers, who failed to cover 8½ points and close out Houston, which rallied late for a 119-107 win in Game 6 in Los Angeles. The momentum seemed to switch before the half when the Rockets resorted to the questionable strategy of intentionally hacking DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers’ version of Shaq.
Jordan made his first two free throws, and the Clippers quickly turned a five-point deficit into a 64-62 halftime lead. The Hack-A-Shaq backfired on Rockets coach Kevin McHale, and hopefully the tactic soon will be a thing of the past. It’s bad for basketball.
What should the NBA do about it? The solution is simple. The league should turn back the clock to the 1970s and bring back the 3-to-make-2 rule. If an intentionally fouled player is awarded three free throws — getting a third shot if he misses either of the first two — the advantage of fouling a poor shooter essentially would be negated.
In Game 3 of the West semifinals, the Rockets put Jordan at the line an absurd number of times (34), and he made a ridiculous number (14). It’s ugly, and nobody wants to see it.
I expect to see the Clippers bounce back, and I’ll bet on them to win Game 7 on Sunday.
It was 10:27 p.m. when the Rockets, who trailed 87-68 in the third quarter, finished their remarkable comeback. Vaccaro missed the Clippers’ collapse. He also missed Jason Terry’s 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go that put the score over the total of 220.
“It’s too late,” Vaccaro said. “I can’t make it past the middle of the third quarter.”
Never go to sleep on an NBA game. Usually, all you really need to see is the fourth quarter, which is when Dellavedova and the Cavaliers put the Bulls to sleep.
■ BOTTOM LINES — As of now, there is no outcry from boxing fans for a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. rematch. Vaccaro suspects that might change as time passes and people forget Mayweather’s boring unanimous decision May 2.
Vaccaro posted a line on their next fight — Mayweather minus-200, Pacquiao plus-185 — with a stipulation it must go by Dec. 31, 2016.
“It’s just a hunch,” Vaccaro said. “I still think they’re going to fight again.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.
