Isn’t having sports and sports betting so much fun! Once again we have NBA and NHL playoff action all weekend along with a full daily slate of baseball.
The PGA Championship will continue in Tulsa, plus, we have UFC action from Vegas. Get ready!
About Last Night…
NBA
Everything that could go right did for Boston as they routed Miami 127-102. It was assumed Marcus Smart would play Thursday morning, but it was a surprise Al Horford was available for Game 2 when the news broke later that day. The line moved from +4.5 to +1 on the Celtics.
Right from the start the C’s were involved and almost immediately Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had that “What the ……” look and it only got worse. Boston outscored Miami by 30 points from behind the arc.
NHL
Tampa Bay has gone from facing elimination (twice) to a commanding 2-0 lead over Florida in four tilts. The Panthers were the overall top seed coming into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but have been held to two total goals at home. The real difference is the Lightning are 4 of 9 on the power play in this series, while Florida is 0-25 with a 1-man advantage in the playoffs.
St. Louis played Colorado tough in the series opener, falling in OT. The Blues dominated Game 2 and stunned the Avalanche 4-1 to even the series as +190 road underdogs.
Golf
Rory McIlroy went to the top of the leaderboard in the opening round of the PGA Championship with a 5 under par score. Several expected contenders like Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler were all over par. Tiger Woods seemed to hurt his surgically repaired leg and shot 74 and could miss the cut.
MLB
Boston’s Trevor Story has gotten off to a brutal start with his new team. Last night was different and Story became the first 2nd baseman in MLB history with three homers and a stolen base in a game, with the Red Sox winning 12-6 as -115 home favorites over Seattle. Watch for if this relaxes Story and he has a big rest of the year.
Trendy Talk
NBA
- The Dallas Mavericks are 8-1 ATS off a road blowout loss of 20 points or more.
- The games involving the Miami Heat after a 15+ point loss have hit the over in 16 out of 21. (Saturday)
NHL
- The games involving the Calgary Flames after they’ve won four of their last five games have hit the over in 9 out of 10 times it happened.
- The St. Louis Blues are 5-12 in home games when tied in a playoff series. (Saturday)
- Tampa Bay is 2-6 when having a four-game win streak this season. (Sunday)
MLB
- The Mariners are 31-16 (+28.6 Units) vs. an AL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.70 or better the last two seasons.
- Detroit is 9-1 (+13.6 Units) in road games after a game where the bullpen threw six or more innings.
- The Tampa Bay Rays are 30-12 in road games after two or more consecutive wins.
- The games involving the New York Yankees have stayed under in 14 out of 16 games when the total was between 8.5 to 10, this season.
- Luis Castillo and the Reds are 2-9 in an inter-league game since 2020.
WNBA
- Connecticut is 15-5 ATS after two or more consecutive wins.
- The Atlanta Dream is 6-0 ATS off a road win.
- The L.A Sparks are 10-2 ATS after allowing 75 points or more in 5 straight games.
BMR’s Betting Pulse
NBA
Does Dallas get blown out again or will they fight back and cover against Golden State in Game 2? Boston is back home after outscoring Miami by 30 points from behind the arc. Do the Celtics go up in the series Saturday?
NHL
The Rangers will look to even out the series against the Hurricanes before heading to New York for games 3 and 4.
MLB
We will cover the Yankees vs. White Sox twice this weekend, in the series lid-lifter and the ESPN Sunday night affair. Also for Friday, we have free picks on the Dodgers and Phillies and Padres at Giants. Come back Saturday for the lowdown on the Mets/Rockies middle game of their series.
UFC
This weekend is UFC Vegas 55 and our experts share their thoughts.
The Buzz
Things have gotten spicy in the SEC with Alabama’s Nick Saban accusing Texas A&M of buying “every player” with NIL agreements. Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher issued a fiery rebuttal, accusing Saban of being a “narcissist” and was even quoted saying: “some people think they’re God”.
Saban issued an apology of sorts to Texas A&M yesterday but didn’t back off his initial stance. Mark Oct. 8 down, that’s when the Aggies will visit Tuscaloosa, and some top sportsbooks and betting sites have installed the Crimson Tide as a -16 point favorite.
Maybe the New York Mets are snakebit after all with injuries. It’s been years since the franchise players have been relatively healthy. Having spent money and seemingly wisely, the Mets have been one of the best teams in baseball.
Now though, with Max Scherzer sidelined 6 to 8 weeks with an oblique strain and Jacob deGrom and Tylor Mcgill already out, that’s 60 percent of the rotation on the IL. The Mets are 9th in scoring in the majors and might have to do even better to keep winning.
Baker Mayfield remains without a team, but reports have the Carolina Panthers and the Seattle Seahawks interested, but only if Cleveland pays an undetermined amount of his 18+ million salary. Keep an eye on this one!
Out The Door
Tomorrow is the Preakness and the field is less than stellar without Derby winner Rich Strike and other top horses. Epicenter is the one to beat, but Early Voting, Secret Oath and Simplification could make it interesting. If you are looking for a long shot, Creative Minister could be the choice.
The Pac-12 joined the Big 12 in scrapping division play for football and the two best teams by record will play for the championship. Expect all other conferences to follow the NCAA rule change which will be good for the sport.
Schedules will now have a proper rotation of playing every team in the conference over a two to a three-year window. This won’t affect football bettors, but it always seemed ridiculous in the SEC you could have a redshirt year, play three years, have a medical redshirt, play one more year and still not face a team or two.
Who Is Right?
What NBA bettors consider the best option for Dallas and Golden State tonight is the over, with 70% of bets placed and 60% of the money.
Tonight’s MLB split action bets are the public at 55% to 60% on the over for the Braves at Marlins as well as for the Nationals vs. Brewers. However, the money is at better than 80% on the under in both cases.
Let’s get some winners, see you back here Monday
Calculators
