Jack Brayman
My free winner is on the Miami Heat, laying points to the Denver Nuggets in South Beach. The Heat are also embroiled in a playoff hunt, near the bottom of the Eastern Conference seedings.
While Miami has an identical record as Chicago and Indiana, all sitting at 37-39, the Chicago Bulls are in seventh place, the Heat are eighth and the slumping Indiana Pacers are ninth.
Denver is also in a playoff race, but ths story here is Miami, which has won three straight games against Denver.
I'll look for another big game from Hassan Whiteside, who is averaging 18.9 points over his past 10 games.
Take the Heat, as they pull away late for the win and cover.
1* HEAT
Brad Wilton
Sunday comp play on the Pacers plus the points as they play in Cleveland against the Cavaliers.
Not ready to jump on the Cavs "cover wagon" simply because they were able to both win and cover their last time out versus Philadelphia. The fact is, Cleveland is still on a 2-6 spread slide their last 8 games played.
True, Indiana has failed 7 straight versus the line away from home, and the Pacers current 1-5 straight up slide has them right on the cut line in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Still, Indy has a money-making 7-2-1 spread mark the last 10 series meetings versus Cleveland.
In what could possibly be a preview of an opening round playoff encounter, look for Indiana to give Cleveland a handful today.
Grab the points and the Pacers on Sunday.
1* INDIANA
Chris Jordan
I'm taking the home underdog Cardinals, and I don't want you listing pitchers in this one.
I know Jon Lester is on the hill for second straight Opening Day, and the southpaw is in after a 19-5 campaign, but he is going to struggle against the rival Redbirds.
As dominant as the Cubs were last season, does anyone realize the team that hung with Chicago the most last year was the Cardinals.
These are the two most dominant teams the past two seasons. And St. Louis would love nothing more than to make a statement in this nationally televised opener.
The Cubs narrowly won the season series last year, 10-9. Look for the Cards to steal this one tonight.
1* CARDINALS
Andrew Gold
Wizards vs. Warriors
Play: Wizards +9
While the Wizards have dropped back to back road games they now close out their west coast road trip I see being extra hungry here as they are tied for the 3 seed with the Raptors. The Warriors have all but locked up the #1 seed and with coming off 2 rockets wins and a big Spurs win I see them being a little flat here tonight. While the Warriors probably win this game, I see the hungry Wizards keeping it close
Chip Chirimbes
Chicago vs. New Orleans
Play: New Orleans -7½
With three straight wins and four out of their last five games Chicago has tied Miami and Indiana for the sixth playoff spot in the East. But, the Bulls who are 14-23 on the road are up against the Pelicans who have won six straight at home. Although Chicago is 7-1 ATS at New Orleans this is a different Pelicans team that has won eight of the last 11 with DeMarcus Cousins teaming up with Anthony Davis.
Black Widow
Memphis Grizzlies -7.5
Bets on road favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points (Memphis) revenging a loss vs opponent against an opponent that's off a road game where both teams scored 100 or more points are 67-32 ATS since 1996. The Lakers have essentially quit as they are trying to assure that they get a Top 3 pick in the draft and don't lose it.
Dave Price
Denver Nuggets +4
The Denver Nuggets are in desperate need of a win if they want any chance to catch the Blazers for the 8th spot in the Western Conference. Expect them to lay it all on the line to try and get a win here tonight in Miami. Denver is 15-5 ATS in road games off a road loss over the last two seasons. The Nuggets are 39-25 ATS as a road underdog over the last two years. The Nuggets are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games following a straight up loss. Denver is 15-6 ATS in the last 21 meetings, including 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Miami.
SPORTS WAGERS
BUFFALO -½ +133 over N.Y. Islanders
Regulation only. Note the 3:00 PM EST start. The Islanders are six points out with five games to go but they also have to leapfrog over Tampa Bay to catch the Bruins for the final Wild Card. Anything is possible but the Islanders have been overachieving for weeks, they’re missing their best player (by a wide margin) in John Tavaras, they have weak goaltending and they’re the second best team in this matchup, also by a wide margin. The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 victory over New Jersey. They had 10 PP opportunities and went 1/10. Despite the Devils being shorthanded the equivalent of one full period, including three, 5 on 3’s, the Isles scored twice. This is a mentally and physically tired team that now has to go to battle without the player they rely on most.
Buffalo is coming off a 3-1 loss to the Jackets but absolutely dominated play and simply ran into a hot goaltender. It happens all the time. Prior to that, the Sabres defeated Florida (4-2) and Toronto (5-2). That’s three dominating performances in a row by the Sabres and now they have a chance to unofficially bury their in-state rivals. Buffalo has won four of its past six games and its two losses over that span to Columbus and Pittsburgh were both underserving. The Sabres are playing their best hockey of the season and the news even gets better with the return of Rasmus Ristolainen. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman is a type of Ironman on the ice. He plays an average of 26 minutes, 42 seconds per game. which ranks fifth in the NHL. He plays against top players. He's a offensive force from the blue line on the power play. He's a key penalty killer when the Sabres need a defensive lock down. He often seems to get better as the game goes on but for the last three games, Ristolainen was shut down, suspended by the league for his hit on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel on March 21. He returns to the lineup here and as he put it, “is raring to go”. Buffalo is underpriced here in a big way.
Nashville +117 over ST. LOUIS
Money line - Regulation only. This wager is only at available at Pinnacle and we’re playing it this way because if the game is tied with 10-15 minutes left in the third, Nashville is not going to take any unnecessary chances in the offensive end because they only need a point. Going into OT for the Preds could very easily be anti-climactic so we’re going to eliminate that. Of course, we’re not expecting the game to go into OT (we’re expecting a win) but in case it does, we don’t want to be involved. Just to recap….Nashville needs one point in their final four games to secure a playoff spot or any loss by Los Angeles will also do the trick. The Preds are inevitably in but it certainly feels better to see an “X” beside your team name in the standings.
Nashville is coming off a 3-0 victory over the Wild yesterday. It was one of its most important games of the year so far but this one is even bigger. The Predators have to win it, probably in regulation, to have a chance to finish ahead of the Blues for third in the Central Division. That would set Nashville up to play Minnesota, the almost-certain No. 2 team from the Central, in the first round. That would make for a good series, previewed Saturday with a game won on the strength of Pekka Rinne at his best, Filip Forsberg at his usual and Kevin Fiala continuing on his ascent. Minnesota is a series the Predators would have a good chance of winning. They finished 2-3 against the Wild, winning two of the last three, all since January. If the Predators finish behind the Blues for third, they likely will end up the No. 2 wildcard team and play the No. 1 overall seed, Chicago. That would be a bad situation because they have a horrible playoff history against Chicago and a horrible history overall. Even before the puck drops, Chicago would have a big psychological edge. Nonetheless, first things first. Nashville is a focused team that’s playing well and it is intent on finishing with as many points as possible. Of course they can win here and we like the set-up.
At the beginning of March, the Blue Notes were in a fight for their playoff lives. However, they have reeled off 11 wins over their past 14 games since March 5 to secure a spot in this year’s postseason. However, over that 14-game span, St. Louis played Colorado three times, Arizona three times and Vancouver once. They also played the reeling Wild, Kings, Islanders and Sharks once each. The Blues toughest opponent over that span was the Ducks, who they played twice and split against. The Blues last seven games in order have come against Arizona, Colorado, Vancouver, Calgary, Arizona, Arizona and Colorado. A team can develop a lot of bad habits playing a slate of games against those aforementioned teams and the result of the Blues strong run has them overpriced. St. Louis has been feasting on cupcakes and may not be ready for what's in store for them here.
Arizona +231 over LOS ANGELES
OT included. The Kings have been the NHL’s most overpriced squad the entire season and now that they have no shot of making the playoffs, they’re even more overpriced. That doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s something we have to try and take advantage of. The Kings are 10 points back of the Preds for the final playoff spot so they have to win every game and pray the Predators go 0-4 with no ties in regulation. The Kings will also return home from a three-game trip through Western Canada in which they went 2-1 but one of those victories was against an extremely banged up Canucks squad that outshot the Kings, 35-29. No team in the NHL has scored two or fewer goals more times in a game than the Kings. 41 times, more than half of their games, Los Angeles has scored two goals or less and now they’re almost a 3-1 favorite in what is essentially a meaningless game. If the Predators pick up at least one point in St. Louis today (4:00 PM EST), this wager will have even more appeal.
Arizona is coming of a 6-3 victory over Washington and while they were outplayed, scoring six goals on the Caps can only boost their confidence for the final week of the season. The Coyotes last three victories were against Washington, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles so it’s not like they aren’t capable. Arizona now heads out for its final two road games of the season before coming home to finish up the year against Vancouver and Minnesota. The Coyotes are not going to come in here and lie down. There are players vying for jobs and their efforts will be evaluated. How each player plays 100% of the time is important. What we know for sure is that L.A.’s goaltending has been shaky, especially Jonathan Quick and he’s likely to go today. We also know that the Kings are an offensively challenged bunch that may not be motivated today since they are playing for nothing for the first time in a very long time. If Nashville picks up a point in the afternoon game, this line figures to drop but even if the Preds lose in regulation, the price here is too good to ignore.
Mike Rose
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
Play: Chicago Cubs -120
Busch Stadium used to be a venue the Cubs couldn't win in. That wasn’t the case in 2016 when Maddon’s sqaud came out on top in six of their nine visits. That record was tallied a season removed from managing just four wins through 11 tries. Jon Lester was one of the main reasons Chicago dominated the regular season and went on end their 108-year World Series drought. His 19-5 record and 2.44 ERA was good for runner-up in the NL Cy Young Award race, and the veteran looks ready to build off that Herculean effort. He was brilliant against the Cardinals last season with a 2-0 recored and a 0.87 ERA while allowing just 11 hits through 20.2 innings over three starts.
Carlos Martinez is the Redbirds’ staff ace with WainO now in his twilight years. The youngster improved in his second full season pitching to a 16-9 record and 3.04 ERA, but he had issues navigating through the Cubs powerful offense. He went 1-3 and allowed 30 hits and 16 ER over 30 innings while throwing to a 1.43 WHIP. Don’t expect much to change on Opening Night. Lester will dominate and the Cubs offense will find a way to push a few across the plate to open their 2017 campaign with win No. 1 of many.
Harry Bondi
MILWAUKEE (-6) over Dallas
The Bucks are a team that nobody wants to play right now, and for good reason. Milwaukee has won eight of its last 10 games and included in that stretch is three outright victories as an underdog over the Clippers, Trailblazers and Celtics. Dallas, meanwhile, is not only playing its third road game in five nights, but is also in a free fall that has seen it lose four in a row and eight of its last 11. With the Mavs already looking toward the offseason and the Bucks trying to improve their playoff seeding, we’ll ride the motivated and hot team at home minus the points.