Get to the Point

By Jimmy Harris

It wasn't hard to spot the top pitching matchup on the Sunday MLB schedule. When a game has two starters with ERAs under 1.20 you can probably expect at least one solid pitching performance.

The game I'm talking about is Cleveland at Cincinnati, and the pitchers are Cliff Lee (6-0, 0.67) and Edinson Volquez (6-1, 1.12). The easiest wager to make on this game is obviously taking the UNDER on the total.

In Lee's seven starts thisseason the over/under results are 1-6, while in Vazquez's eight starts the over/under is at 3-3-2. Unless the total is below seven, which never happens, I'll take the UNDER.

The Celtics are headed to another Game 7 on Sunday versus Cleveland, and if the trends continue Boston should be on their way to facing Detroit. Boston hasn't lost a game at home during the playoffs.

The Celtics' problem is that they haven't won a single game on the road. Cleveland survived elimination in Game 6 on Friday night in what was a horribly-played contest for both teams. Cleveland and Boston both shot under 40 percent. LeBron James hit the necessary shots in the second half, but unless he can do that in Boston on Sunday night it won't matter.

I'll take Boston in this game based on one thing - the Celtics' dominating performance in Game 7 against Atlanta in the first round. Remember that one? Boston lost to Atlanta 103-100, but stepped up in Game 7 to destroy the Hawks 99-65.

Boston may not beat up on Cleveland that badly, but they should easily cover the spread. Watch the NBA line moves during the day here in the PointSpread.com live odds section.