Best MLB, NBA, NHL & WNBA Bets (5/21)

by Kelly Kirby |
May 21, 2023

No matter your sport of choice, there's always sports betting action to be had. We'll have you covered each and every day with our daily best bets. Here are all of our best bets across each major sport in action today.

Today's Best Bets

Here are today's best bets.

MLB Best Bets

Arizona Diamondbacks at Pittsburgh Pirates

- Leg 1: Diamondback Moneyline (-130)
- Leg 2: OVER 8.5 Runs (-118)
- Leg 3: Merill Kelly OVER 5.5 Strikeouts (-112)

The early start for the Pirates was a great story, but they have quickly fallen. They are just 4-12 over their last 16 games, and luckily, they haven't taken too far of a dive in the standings. Roansy Contreras is in the middle of a bad stretch at the moment by losing three-straight starts with a 5.71 ERA.

The Diamondbacks are another early surprise that keeps on delivering, and although they've fallen out of first, it's only because the Dodgers got really hot. The offense wasn't good last year, but now they're fourth in average and eighth in OPS. Merrill Kelly has been great as a part of this top of the rotation and has quality starts in five of the last seven outings.

The pitching matchup heavily favors the D-Backs, and they will grab the series win.

Parlay Odds: +519

-John Supowitz

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NBA Playoffs Best Bets

Pick: 0.7u on Celtics 1Q ML (-140)

This is such an important game for the Celtics, and their lineup has had success on the road early in games this postseason. They've gone 4-2 SU on 1Q ML on the road during this postseason. The typical difficulties of playing in a road atmosphere are negated early in Miami with a crowd that often takes time to fill in once the game starts. The Celtics have taken the first quarter in both games of this series, including coming back from a nine-point deficit in Game 1.

Given the stakes, I expect Boston to continue this first-quarter success on the road in Game 3. I'm taking their 1Q ML as one of my best bets.

-Ryan Rodeman

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NHL Playoffs Best Bets

Dallas Stars (+106) at Vegas Golden Knights (-128) | O/U 5.5 (-110/-110)

Not to be outdone by the Panthers and Hurricanes, the Golden Knights and Stars also decided to play some extra hockey, just not to an extreme extent. Brett Howden would be the hero as he grabbed the game-winning goal and gave Vegas their first win against Dallas all season.

In Game 1, the Golden Knights' defense played very well, especially on special teams, by being successful on both penalty kills. A substantial number of Dallas' shots came further away from the crease, preventing second-chance opportunities. Although Dallas snuck a couple by, there is still a ton of confidence in that blue line for this series.

You have to praise Adin Hill, who, in the carousel of the Vegas goaltenders, has been the right choice between the pipes. In the previous game, he had 1.57 goals saved above expected and saved 3-of-4 high-danger shots and has a .947 save percentage in five games.

Dallas got the first goal of the matchup, but you never felt like they were trying to put this game away. They did not feel a sense of urgency until they saw themselves in a deficit. You saw that they went from one high-danger shot and a 27.99 expected goal percentage in the second period to five and 64.62 in the third. They have skaters that can be difference-makers, and you saw them get more aggressive in their offensive zone later when they were behind.

A big concern should be Jake Oettinger. This was another poor performance after not playing well second round. In the last game, he had just a .882 save percentage and gave up three goals from 10 high-danger shots. Another alarming factor is the blue line allowing ten high-danger shots.

The optimism for the Stars is, after all of that, they still got this game into overtime because this should have been an easy win for Vegas. Dallas has rebounded after losses, and Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson put up goals, so I expect a better effort.

That doesn't mean the Golden Knights will slow down. My best bet is another high-scoring matchup.

Pick: Over 5.5 Goals (-110)

-John Supowitz

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WNBA Best Bets

Washington Mystics at Connecticut Sun

The Washington Mystics won in their first game of the season against the New York Liberty, 80-64. Natasha Cloud added 14 points and shot 42.9% from the field for the Mystics.

Washington had an average offensive rating but looked good defensively, holding New York to 64 points. The Mystics assisted on 71.9% of shots made but struggled to do much of anything on the offensive glass. They're also average on the defensive glass.

However, the Mystics shot an effective field goal percentage of 50%. If they can keep that up, they'll be near the top of the standings this year.

Meanwhile, Connecticut defeated the Indiana Fever, 70-61, in their first game of the season. DeWanna Bonner added 19 points in that game, while Alyssa Thomas did most of the dirty work. Connecticut shot an effective field goal percentage of 34.8%. If that continues, Connecticut will have trouble consistently winning. Still, despite missing shots, the Sun added 38% of offensive rebounds, so they're at least active on the glass.

I like Connecticut to shoot better and believe they'll be much better on the offensive glass than Washington. Let's back Connecticut at -1.

Bet: Connecticut Sun -1 (-110)

-Jason Radowitz

WNBA Best Bets, Picks & Predictions

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