From Covers:
The total for Game 2 opened at 177 points, a heftier drop than might have been anticipated.
“Last night we originally sent out 178, but we adjusted that to 176 in our morning brief,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club consulting service in Las Vegas, said Friday morning. “I wanted to keep it as low as possible, and we’ll keep it low until the scores say otherwise.”
San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich and the ABC camera crew played a role in Korner’s decision. Popovich was caught on camera multiple times last night urging his team to slow the pace of the game.
“He was yelling ‘Slow it down!’ and wanted everyone to touch the ball,” Korner laughs. “Everyone who watched the game last night heard the same thing and it really was a slowed-down game after the first few minutes.”
The Spurs had shown through the earlier rounds that they can play up-tempo basketball as well as they can bog it down. The threat of their offense went a long way towards the Game 1 total being considerably higher than the scores the teams posted in their regular season meetings.
Any questions about the Spurs’ preferred pace, however, were answered by Popovich in Game 1. Directly into the camera, no less.
The total for the opener meant 44-point quarters would have paid out for the under. The drop to 177 points for Game 2 nearly qualifies as ‘drastic’ in oddsmaking terms, but keep in mind that 44-point quarters would once again produce a payday for under-takers.
The first quarter in Game 1 totaled only 35 points despite the fast start, while the second, third and fourth quarters totaled 40, 38 and 48 points respectively.
The total for Game 2 opened at 177 points, a heftier drop than might have been anticipated.
“Last night we originally sent out 178, but we adjusted that to 176 in our morning brief,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club consulting service in Las Vegas, said Friday morning. “I wanted to keep it as low as possible, and we’ll keep it low until the scores say otherwise.”
San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich and the ABC camera crew played a role in Korner’s decision. Popovich was caught on camera multiple times last night urging his team to slow the pace of the game.
“He was yelling ‘Slow it down!’ and wanted everyone to touch the ball,” Korner laughs. “Everyone who watched the game last night heard the same thing and it really was a slowed-down game after the first few minutes.”
The Spurs had shown through the earlier rounds that they can play up-tempo basketball as well as they can bog it down. The threat of their offense went a long way towards the Game 1 total being considerably higher than the scores the teams posted in their regular season meetings.
Any questions about the Spurs’ preferred pace, however, were answered by Popovich in Game 1. Directly into the camera, no less.
The total for the opener meant 44-point quarters would have paid out for the under. The drop to 177 points for Game 2 nearly qualifies as ‘drastic’ in oddsmaking terms, but keep in mind that 44-point quarters would once again produce a payday for under-takers.
The first quarter in Game 1 totaled only 35 points despite the fast start, while the second, third and fourth quarters totaled 40, 38 and 48 points respectively.
