Locks
MLB – Rays Team Total under 3.5 @ Orioles (-110): 6:05 PM CT on MASN2
The Tampa Bay Rays have been hot at the plate lately, particularly last night when they touched up the Baltimore Orioles for 13 runs. The perfect time for regression is tonight when they go up against one of the hottest pitchers in baseball in John Means.
The lefty leads the American League in ERA and WHIP, has allowed a total of 3 runs over his last 5 starts, and no team has put up more than 3 runs in regulation in any of his starts this season. Perhaps most impressive is that he bucked the trend of post-no-hitter regression, tossing 6 shutout innings in his last start after the no-no two games ago.
I see that continuing against a Rays team that struggles with left-handed pitchers, batting just .216 with a .648 OPS versus southpaws this season. Look for Means to go deep into this game after the Orioles had to give the bullpen lots of work last night, and I see him easily holding the Rays down in this one.
NBA – Spurs @ Grizzlies -4 (-110): 6:30 PM CT on ESPN
The last time the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies, it was Dec. 23rd and both teams were playing their first game of the season. A lot has changed for both teams, with their rosters and stylistically, creating what I see as a bad matchup for the Spurs.
They’ve had trouble containing the backcourt of the Grizzlies this season, particularly Ja Morant, and the two Memphis blowouts saw extremely balanced production from the guards. San Antonio really struggled down the stretch, losing 10 of 12 to close the season with defense being the main culprit, and I see that continuing here against a Grizzlies team that averaged 127 PPG against them this season.
This line of 4 points can be an awkward number to lay or take in the NBA, but the early smart money jumped on Memphis and you should too. The Grizzlies have looked like the better, more motivated team and they know how to handle the Spurs so I’ll lay the points here.
Degenerates
No degenerates today.
Tiny Nick is 258-167 ATS (+80.6 Units) on his Locks since joining Zone Coverage.
Every day he will offer his Locks and Degenerate picks. Locks are the games he’s confident in. Degenerates are entertaining but riskier picks.
