Monday's Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Who’s hot
NBA: Celtics are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 home games.
NBA: Over is 5-0 in Thunder last five games as a favorite.
NHL: Rangers are 41-20 in their last 61 games as a favorite.
MLB: Marlins are 10-2 in their last 12 overall.
Who’s not
NBA: The under is 2-8 in the 76ers' last 10 road games.
NBA: The Lakers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games in Oklahoma City.
NHL: Devils are 2-5 in the last seven meetings in New York.
MLB: Cubs are 2-12 in Ryan Dempster's last 14 starts.
Key stat
15 – The New Jersey Devils’ balanced scoring helped them cruise into the Eastern Conference Finals. The Devils have had 15 different goal scorers in their 12 playoff games and have been resting since ousting the Philadelphia Flyers on May 8.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Erik Bedard, Pittsburgh Pirates – Bedard will miss Monday’s scheduled start with back spasms after leaving last week’s start against Washington after just one inning. Bedard will be replaced by Brad Lincoln, who makes his first start of the season against the Marlins.
Game of the day
Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder (-7.5, 171.5)
Notable quotable
"This is a difficult matchup for us -- probably in some ways more so (than Chicago) because they have more athleticism. The athleticism is what's bothered us in the past. They have speed and athleticism and youth. That has been just as deadly for us." – Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of their matchup with the 76ers.
Notes and tips
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp left Sunday’s game with tightness in his left hamstring, the same injury that had him bow out of a contest last week as well. His status for Monday’s game against Arizona is uncertain. Kemp has played in 399 consecutive games, but the hamstring continues to give him problems. After setting the Dodgers franchise record for home runs in April, Kemp is yet to hit one in May. Kemp is hitting .359 with 12 homers and 28 RBIs.
Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin has named left-hander Brian Fuentes as his closer on Saturday. "We're closing with Fuentes for now," Melvin said after Saturday's game. "I didn't announce that, but that's the position that we're in right now. We're giving (Grant Balfour) a little bit of a break, and we're going to close with Fuentes for the foreseeable future." Balfour was named the closer entering the season. He has converted seven of his nine save chances, but has a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings. Fuentes, who saved Saturday's 3-1 victory over Detroit, has two saves in 14 innings this season with a 3.86 ERA. Fuentes, who has previously been the closer for Colorado and the Los Angeles Angles, earned this 200th career save on May 2.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ 96-87 victory Saturday night over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their first-round series allowed the Lakers to advance. But the Lakers face a quick turnaround before Game 1 against Oklahoma City at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday night. "We've got one day to rest," Lakers center Andrew Bynum said. "We're going to get it done and be ready to play those guys." The Lakers went 1-2 against Oklahoma City in the regular season, the victory coming April 22 in a controversial game. Lakers forward Metta World Peace was suspended seven games by the NBA for elbowing Oklahoma City's James Harden in that game, and World Peace just came off suspension Saturday night in Game 7 vs. Denver.