Portland Trail Blazers vs. Phoenix Suns
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The final Game 1 of the Quarterfinal NBA betting playoffs tips off at 10:30 ET from the desert where the Portland Trail Blazers (50-32, 44-36-2 ATS) and Phoenix Suns (54-28, 48-33-1 ATS) collide. The Blazers held down the 6th seed in the West by taking out the Lakers, Thunder, and Warriors in the final week of the regular season. The Suns took out both Northwest Division leaders in their final two games of the regular season to snatch the 3rd overall seed in the Western Conference standings.

The Blazers will need to fill a huge void in their lineup for at least the first round of the playoffs with leading scorer Brandon Roy going under the knife to repair the meniscus tear in his knee. This is a huge hit for an offense that only averages 98.1 points per game; his 21.5 PPG will be sorely missed against the potent Suns. Where they’ll have to “Cowboy Up” is at the defensive end of the court where they come in ranked 3rd in points allowed (94.8 PPG), 18th in FG percentage allowed (46.4%), and 6th in defending the three (34.3%). HC Nate McMillan’s squad will most definitely look to get to the free throw line as much as possible considering the Blazers shoot 79 percent as a team (#3).

The Suns were arguably the most fun team to watch in the NBA this year, as they ranked #1 in the league in all of the major offensive categories. The team finished the regular season as the best scoring team (110.2 PPG), shooting team (49.2%), and three-point shooting team (41.2%) in the nation. PG Steve Nash had another phenomenal season at the ripe age of 36 to lead the team with 11 assists per game. C Amare Stoudemire is also playing like a man on a mission right now, as he has put up seven straight 20+ point performances and averaged 23.1 PPG throughout the regular season.

Portland won and covered the first two meetings of the year against the Suns winning105-102 as 1.5-point home chalk way back in December and 108-101 as 9.5-point underdogs in early February. The latter was played without Brandon Roy, so at the very least, the Blazers know they can win on the Suns court without him. They lost their most recent trip to the desert 93-87 in March, but pushed against the closing NBA odds. The favorite is 18-6-2 ATS the L/26 overall meetings, and the Suns have covered 13 of their L/17 as a home chalk (13-3-1 ATS).

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San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks
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The entire state of Texas will be tuned into TNT on Sunday night for Game 1 of the NBA playoff betting Lone Star State series between the San Antonio spurs (50-32, 44-37-1 ATS) and Dallas Mavericks (55-27, 37-44-1 ATS). The Spurs punched their tickets back to the post-season even though the squad had its play hampered by a multitude of injuries throughout every stage of the season. Dallas parlayed a huge move at the trade deadline to shoot up through the standings and eventually land the Western Conference’s #2 overall seed.

HC Gregg Popovich did a masterful job of coaching the Spurs this season, as one of his stars was out for a prolonged amount of time for almost every game this season. The one injury concern for the Spurs is the bum ankle of G George Hill who left after just six minutes against the Mavs in both teams regular season finale. He is listed as questionable for tonight’s game. The trio of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan are once again at the forefront of the Spurs scoring attack. Together, they rank in the middle of the pack offensively (#15 at 101.4 PPG), but San Antonio still plays solid “D” only allowing opponents an average of 96.3 PPG (#8).

The Mavericks have an elder statesman of their own in F Dirk Nowitzki. At 25.0 points and 7.7 points per game, the German national player is always a threat to take over a game from either the inside or the outside. His supporting cast is better than it has arguably ever been, though. Caron Butler is averaging 15.2 points per game as a Maverick, and the backcourt of Jason Terry (16.6 points, 3.8 assists per game) and Jason Kidd (10.3 points, 9.1 assists per game) is as good as any in the NBA. The Mavs head into the playoffs on fire having gone 8-2 both SU and ATS in its L/10 games.

San Antonio picked up the SU win and cover in these teams first meeting of the year back in November, but the Mavericks took each of the next three both SU & against the closing NBA odds most recently scoring a 96-89 home win and cover on Wednesday. The home team has covered six of the L/8 overall meetings in this NBA betting series, and the Spurs have gone a woeful 1-6 ATS the L/7 times they were tagged playoff underdogs in the 0.5 to 4.5-point range.

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Charlotte Bobcats vs. Orlando Magic
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The 2009 runner up Orlando Magic (59-23, 46-34-2 ATS) take their first step towards getting back to the NBA Finals when they welcome the division rival Charlotte Bobcats (44-38, 44-37-1 ATS) into Amway Arena for the #2/#7 2010 NBA playoff betting series. The Bobcats made some history this season by securing the franchise’s first winning season, and because of it, they were rewarded with their first ever playoff berth. The Magic cruised along all season and come into this one playing some real solid ball having won and covered each of their L/6 games of the regular season.

HC Larry Brown has built the Bobcats in the mold of his championship Detroit clubs which were known as squads that weren’t afraid to get down and dirty and play hard-nosed defense. The Bobcats ranked #1 in the NBA this year in defense at 93.8 points per game allowed. They also were in the Top 10 in field goal percentage (44.8%) and three-point percentage (33.8%) allowed. Offensively, Charlotte struggles as it ranks 28th in points scored (95.3 PPG) and hits a shade over 45 percent of its shots from the floor.

The Magic had the perfect mix of offensive abilities and shut down defensive mentalities in 2009-10, and their stats suggest that they are one of the best-rounded clubs in the playoffs. Orlando averaged 102.8 points per game for (6th) and 95.3 points against (4th). It also had a field goal shooting discrepancy of +3.2%, which is one of the best margins in basketball. Four players averaged scoring in double-digits, with C Dwight Howard leading the way with 18.3 PPG.

The Magic hold a 3-1 SU season series advantage heading into this NBA playoff betting series against the Bobcats, but both clubs secured a pair of pointspread covers. Charlotte won just 13 of its 41 road games on the year, but carries a 21-19-1 ATS tally with them into Amway for this one. Orlando dominated its opposition at home going 34-7, and it also made its NBA betting backers happy by covering 24 of those games.

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Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers
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The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers (57-25, 33-46-3 ATS) take their first step towards defending their title when they welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32, 48-34 ATS) into the Staples Center for the first of this seven-game series. The Thunder come into this 2010 NBA playoff betting series as the Western Conference’s 8th overall playoff seed after winning a franchise best 50 games. The Lakers fell woefully short of their predicted season win total, but nonetheless, are the conference’s top seed.

When you think of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the first name to pop into your head would most definitely be that of Kevin Durant. The Texas product just won the scoring title by averaging a shade over 30 PPG on the year. He along with Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook form the Thunder’s trio of scorers that account for 61.3 of the 101.5 PPG the team averaged on the year. They also convert at a high clip from the free throw line (#2 at 80.5%). Defensively they rank amongst the top 11 in points allowed, FG percentage allowed, and 3-point percentage allowed.

The Lakers weren’t by any means as dominant a team throughout the 2009-10 NBA betting regular season, but there were reasons why. Mainly injuries, as Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, and Andrew Bynum all missed a number of games due to them. Still, Kobe is still Kobe, and head coach Phil Jackson has already stated this team will be competing at full strength in the post-season; along with complaining about Durant getting to the charity stripe too much.

The Lakers went 3-1 SU against the Thunder this season, but Durant and company snagged three pointspread covers. That come as no surprise to NBA bettors since the Thunder finished up the regular season as the fourth best bet in the league. The Lakers struggled for their NBA betting backers at home going 16-23-2 ATS, but the Thunder were a solid squad to back as a visitor going 26-15 ATS.

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Below are free MLB Picks and baseball betting predictions for April 17th 2010 from Touthouse.com handicappers. If you are looking for free MLB baseball picks on a daily basis or premium picks from our MLB baseball betting experts visit Touthouse.com each day.

Free MLB Pick: Detroit Tigers -132 (Jeff Alexander)
Look for the Tigers to bounce back strong tonight behind ace Justin Verlander. The Tigers are 5-0 in Verlander’s last 5 starts, 6-2 in his last 8 road starts, 20-8 in his last 28 starts as a favorite and 16-7 in his last 23 starts vs. the American League West. Those stats are nice, but here’s the clincher. Verlander is a perfect 10-0 against the money line vs. teams whose hitters strike out 7 or more times/game over the last 2 seasons. The Tigers are winning by an average score of 5.8 to 3.1 against these teams. Take the Tigers.

Free MLB Pick: Arizona Diamondbacks +120 (Jimmy Boyd)
I’m not ready to pay juice for the Padres in this spot when you consider that they are 0-6 in their last 6 games following a win and 0-6 in their last 6 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game. Plus, the D-backs have taken 9 of the last 13 meetings in the series and they are 6-1 in their last 7 games following a loss. Kevin Correia has been solid for the Padres but he is just 2-5 lifetime when starting against Arizona. Meanwhile, Kris Benson is 2-1 lifetime when starting against San Diego. We’ll take the Snakes at a solid price today.

Free MLB Pick: Mets vs. Cardinals Under 7.5 (Freddy Wills)
I like the under here a lot as the Mets continue to struggle and so do the Cardinals at least against Johan Santanna. With Holliday questionable with the flu and the Mets bullpen pitching so well I really like this total. Cardinals send Garcia to the mound a guy the Mets have never seen. Garcia looked sharp in his recent outing and I believe he will be dominant here tonight.

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Below are free 2010 NBA Playoffs picks and predictions for April 17th 2010 from Touthouse.com handicappers. If you are looking for free NBA basketball picks on a daily basis or premium picks from our NBA basketball betting experts visit Touthouse.com each day.

Free Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers -11 (Dave Price)
The Chicago Bulls used a lot or energy down the stretch just to make the playoffs while King James and company were getting plenty of rest. I’m not worried about the Cavs showing any rust in Game 1 when you consider how sharp they looked in the first couple rounds of the playoffs last season. Look for the much fresher Cavs to send a message to the Bulls right away that this is not going to be a series. The Cavaliers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite of 11.0 or greater and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Bulls are just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games. Lay the points.

Free Pick: Denver Nuggets -5 (Black Widow)
The Utah Jazz have run into the injury bug entering the playoffs. Andre Kirilenko will not play tonight, and Carlos Boozer makes his return but he is far from 100% with a rib injury. The home team has won 9 of the last 10 meetings in this series. The Jazz are 3-14-1 ATS in their last 18 games as a road underdog of 5.0-10.5. The Nuggets are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 home games vs. a team with a winning road record. The Nuggets are 6-0-2 ATS in their last 8 meetings with Utah. The favorite is 23-10-3 ATS in the last 36 meetings. Take Denver and lay the points.

2010 NBA Playoffs: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks
Free Pick: Over 186 -110 odds
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This Total has obviously been set too low when you look at how these teams have played each other in the past. The OVER is 8-0 in the last 8 meetings, with the lowest combined score during this stretch at 193 points. The Hawks and Bucks have combined to score 200 or more points in 6 of their last 8 meetings. So as you can see, there is some serious value with this OVER tonight.

Atlanta is 25-7 to the OVER after 1 or more consecutive unders this season. The Bucks are 27-12 to the OVER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 70%) over the last 3 seasons. More recently, the OVER is 7-0 in Bucks last 7 vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. The OVER is also 14-3 in Hawks last 17 games following a S.U. win. With Andrew Bogut out for Milwaukee, they’ve had to sacrifice some defense and go with a smaller line-up while trying to get up and down the floor. Bogut was an excellent shot blocker, and without him inside the Hawks should dominate the paint all game long and score at will. Milwaukee will be able to get out in transition, though. Bet the OVER.