41 Expert Picks

No Trout has to be deflating for the Angels….and while KC got into California last night….it was after a day game. Michael Wacha is solid….let’s back KC. Half unit play

This is simply a play that Igor won’t give up more than 3…and the Rangers won’t lose this bet via empty net goals.

I don’t usually play overs that are juiced….but watch the game. DMitch has the ball CONSTANTLY…bake in that the Celts will throw varied looks at DMitch designed to get him to give up the ball…and he should find a way to 5 assists.

Sonny Gray fanned 12 Brewers on April 21, and I like him to record at least seven strikeouts Thursday in Milwaukee. The Brewers are striking out at the seventh-highest rate. Gray has gone six-plus innings in four straight starts.

Donovan Mitchell had 12 potential assists in Game 1, but finished with just five assists. Mitchell's Cleveland teammates should shoot better in Game 2 and help Mitchell clear this prop total. Mitchell continues to draw massive defensive attention and is averaging 5.5 assists in the Cavs' four playoff losses.

I'm playing the Royals again on Friday at (-108) as my sims have them winning 56 percent of the time with Alec Marsh vs. Griffin Canning, which implies a moneyline of -127. Canning has struggled with his fastball, and the Royals don't strikeout much vs. RHP (2nd fewest in MLB at just 17.9%).

No OG means freed up Siakam. He should thrive

Luka Doncic doesn’t seem right at the moment. He’s gone under his PRA in nine of his last 15 games when the line is set at 50.5. In the playoffs, his gone under, 50 PRA, in six of eight. Doncic shot 6/19 from the floor and had the worst +/- out of anyone in game one. He should have some positive regression in regard to scoring, but he isn’t 100% healthy. Oklahoma City is healthy with plenty of young above average on-ball defenders to continue throwing him off his game.

I am surprised that KC isn't a bigger favorite against an middling Angels team. While it's a tough travel spot for both clubs, the Angels are 4-11 at home and without their best player in Mike Trout. I also would give a slight edge to Michael Wacha in this spot as well. I like the Royals to roll.

The Carolina Hurricanes return home after two one-goal losses. They are committing stupid, silly penalties that are easily fixable. The Rangers have scored four power-play goals in the first two games. Unacceptable! Carolina out-shot New York in both games, 82-62, and will play with their hair on fire in this must-win game.

We have taken note of the improved efforts lately from the White Sox, as some of the well-traveled pitchers in Pedro Grifol's beleaguered rotation have started to produce. Including ex-Nat Erick Fedde, who in fact posted a very respectable 2.40 ERA in April, while the Pale Hose bullpen has plugged some earlier leaks. Still, the Chisox offense, though upgraded lately, cannot be trusted to help out too much, and Cleveland starter Ben Lively (2.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP in four starts) has been performing much better than anticipated. Play Cleve-Chisox "Under"

Thus far in the second round, no sign of the venerable NBA Playoffs zig-zag that reappeared earlier in first-round games. And this would seem one of the least-likely zig-zag candidates in the various Game 2s of the second round, as the Cavs looked completely outgunned in the opener on Tuesday. In fact, Cleveland has looked outgunned on the road this entire postseason, losing and failing to cover all four to date at Orlando and Boston, and not scoring more than 96 points in the process, either. It won't help if rim protector Jarrett Allen is out again (as expected; ribs), and the surging Celtics have allowed fewer than 100 points in all but one of six games in these playoffs. Play Celtics

Those who were on the "over" in Game 1 of this series can feel a bit aggrieved after the pace stalled later in the 4th Q. All after the game was trending "over" much of the way on Tuesday...that is until Jason Kidd cleared his bench midway thru the final stanza, and an amateurish display by the Mav reserves who helped conspire for that scoreline to land on 212 instead of the mid-to-high 220s as that game was headed. As long as the Mavs aren't so far behind that Kidd decides to rest Luka and Kyrie again in the late going, look for this scoreline to look more like some of the explosive results we saw in earlier meetings. Play Mavs-Thunder "Over"

I was pondering Rangers puckline but this ML has come down 20 cents so I'll back the desperate home team. The Blushirts aren't going unbeaten in these playoffs. Probably. Perhaps having the last line change will help the Canes slow a New York offense that scored four in each of the first two games. Generally, teams are better on special teams at home and that's why Carolina is down 2-0. The Rangers are 4-for-9 on the power play and 10-for-10 on the penalty kill.

"If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck." So it goes in the second round of these NHL playoffs, which to date has seen one "over" result after another...all six of them, in fact, including Game 1 of this series in Big D two nights ago. The Stars blew a 3-0 lead in that one, though flurries of goals have been common in these playoffs for the Avs, who now have 32 of them thru their first six in the postseason, and all Colorado results landing "over" in that span. The Dallas offense can answer, however, in a faster-paced matchup than the opening round vs. VGK. Play Avs-Stars "Over"