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The NBA Playoffs roll on tonight with game two of the Wizards and Celtics as well as game one of the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz. Hopefully tonight is a little more competitive than last night which saw the Raptors and Spurs take beatings from the Cavaliers and Rockets.
The game to watch is the Celtics and Wizards. Boston took game one of this one, but did so by tying a playoff record for three-pointers as they went 19-for-39. That can’t continue if the Wizards want to have a chance in this series. Washington was hurt in game one after Markieff Morris came down on Al Horford’s foot and missed the rest of the game. He’ll be back for this one and he’ll be huge for them. Morris and Marcin Gortat dominating the rebounds is a big key for the Wizards in this series. We’ll have to wait and see how he looks, but if he is healthy that is a huge difference for Washington basketball.
Golden State rolls into tonight’s game after the longest break of anyone in the playoffs. They swept the first round while their opponent played the longest series of the round. That should benefit them with Kevin Durant and Shaun Livingston both recovering from injuries. This is a style nightmare for Utah and tonight could get ugly.
NBA Betting Tips:
It never bodes well for a series when game one has a -13 point line, but that’s the case for the Jazz and Warriors tonight. Utah did a great job against the Clippers and really showed themselves to be a tough team in the West. Unfortunately, they are not even on the same planet as the Warriors. They have been clicking early in these playoffs and I don’t think 16-0 is out of the question. The Warriors -13 will roll towards a sweep tonight.
Boston won’t shoot like they did in game one again tonight. Whether it’s because luck doesn’t go their way or things start to get dirty since the Morris injury, that game won’t happen again. If the game is mucked up and the three-pointers aren’t falling, this series overwhelmingly favors the Wizards. Expect Washington +5.5 to even the series tonight.
MLB Betting Tips:
The Washington Nationals have been crushing the ball to start the season. They ended April as the highest scoring team in baseball with the best run differential. The loss of Adam Eaton hurts, but Bryce Harper is still there and Ryan Zimmerman is suddenly back. This is a team that will score and score often. They face a fly-ball pitcher in Taijuan Walker tonight, who I don’t fully trust. He’s 3-1 with a 3.94 ERA this year which isn’t bad, but it feels like he’s the kind of guy that the Nationals can exploit. Which is exactly what I think they will do tonight. Washington -134.
Alex Cobb of the Rays has been slowly coming back from Tommy John surgery and is starting to look more like the top shelf pitcher he was before he went down. I don’t love him in most match-ups, but I like him against the Marlins. What I really love is Edinson Volquez against the Rays offense. Volquez is 0-3 with a 4.44 ERA early and Tampa tagged him for seven runs in August of last year. I’m jumping on Tampa Bay +131 tonight.
The Tigers pitching staff has been bad this year, but Justin Verlander is still good. He goes against the Indians and Corey Kluber tonight and this could be the best pitching duel of the evening. Kluber gets a bump for not having to face the Tigers with Miguel Cabrera and I just think this will be a low scoring game. Under 8 runs seems reasonable.
