Rob Q. Ink - A Philly Sports Blog

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the Philadelphia sports scene, but honestly not much has been all that exciting. Here are a few Quinn’s Quickies: Stop me if you heard this before: The Sixers are on the verge of another early exit from the NBA Playoffs. Down 3-1 to the New York Knicks after a rather uninspired 4 th quarter in Game 4, the Sixers are likely done this week. Through the first three games, I would have had no problem saying that Philadelphia was the better team. They coughed up Game 1, had Game 2 flat out stolen by the NBA, and won Game 3. In Game 4, they simply disappeared in the last quarter. (By the way, the Knicks weren’t much better, and there’s no way they’re getting past Boston.) I don’t know what you do with this team. Joel Embiid is too good to trade, but he just can’t shake the injury bug. Tyrese Maxey is an All-Star, but he refuses to take control of the team. I’ve defended Tobias Harris many times, but he gave you nothing this series. I’ve heard the Sixers

Despite winning their final eight games, the Sixers could not avoid the NBA Play-in round, and will be facing the Miami Heat and Philadelphia fan favorite Jimmy Butler for the seventh seed of the actual NBA Playoffs. The loser, as I understand it, will face the winner of Chicago and Atlanta for a final chance to secure a spot in the playoffs with the eighth seed. In case you didn’t hate the Play-in concept enough – an 82-game season coming down to potentially two games so corporate entities can make even more money – it makes it difficult to get the odds on the playoff series since the series aren’t all set. But I did find odds for the series that are set to begin this weekend, along with some interesting odds on winning the NBA Championship. The Sixers have been fairly dominant when Joel Embiid plays. Checking his game log they were 31-7 when he played by my count. (Literally, I counted, so this is far from official.) Yet, the fan in me worries about a play-in situation against t

Some closing thoughts on the “madness” that was: ·          In the end, I made out pretty well with my college basketball picks on the “Ink.” Connecticut came through with their second consecutive Men’s College Basketball Tournament Championship, pushing my ho-hum record for picks of 8-9 to a very nice +$448.62. Grabbing UConn at +500 for $100 to win the Tournament was about the only good move I made in what was a rather quick college hoops season for me – not focusing on it until late January. We’re on to the NBA Playoffs . . . ? ·         My strategy of parlaying high seeds in the tournament on the moneyline for bigger bets with lower than typical rewards for parlays mostly tanked. Auburn and Kentucky going out early cost me – but that’s the risk. Somebody’s getting upset early; avoiding them is the hard part of the bet. ·         Many thanks to my brother and JZ getting involved in the Ink Brackets group . I edged out my brother Jim in the championship game for the win. I prom

A few quick thoughts heading into the weekend: ·         I don’t love either Final Four game tomorrow. My picks have been weak for the Tournament, going 1-4 for -$43.48. (I’ll have a picks recap below, including a correction to my overall record.) I might try to pull the spreads down for a parlay, but earlier in the week, the “juice” was too high. I still like my pick on Connecticut to win it all at +500 for $100 to win $500. I thought about doubling down when they were basically even money going into the Elite Eight. But Purdue worries me a bit. Obviously, I’m thinking UConn and the Boilermakers win on Saturday. ·         Larry Bowa said what I’ve been thinking for quite a while. On Ah Jeez , speaking of the Phillies, he said, “When we hit home runs, we win. You know, we got to get away from that.” I don’t know when the front office is going to get that through their heads. For years, I’ve watched this team start slow, heat up in the warmer months, and the playoffs become a crap s