Monday’s Best Bets: NBA, NHL & World Baseball Classic (3/20)
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 NBA bets.
NBA Best Bets
NBA Same Game Parlay
Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers
- Leg 1: DeMar DeRozan Over 23.5 Points (-120)
- Leg 2: Joel Embiid Over 33.5 Points (-122)
- Leg 3: Zach LaVine Over 3.5 Assists (-136)
The Chicago Bulls are heavy underdogs against the 76ers tonight. But I still think the Bulls battle.
DeMar DeRozan would be the reason why. DeRozan has added at least 24 points in four of his last five and nearly 60% of all his games. He’s taken at least 20 shots in his last four games and averages 40 minutes per game in March.
Hopefully, it’s Zach LaVine dishing him the ball. LaVine has earned at least four assists in his last seven games. He’s hit four or more assists in 62% of games this season and has nailed this line in eight of his last 10 games.
Finally, Joel Embiid has less than a month left in the regular season to prove he’s the MVP of the league. Embiid is averaging 33.5 points per game this season while shooting an field goal percentage of 54.6%. In March, he’s scored 36.1 points per game and attempted close to 20 shots per game. He hasn’t had a single game with less than 31 points this month. That’s how reliable he’s been.
Parlay Odds: +457
- Jason Radowitz
Check out our other NBA Same Game Parlay Odds, Picks & Predictions >>
First Basket Scorer
Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets
The Rockets and Warriors have played three games this season. Houston won the first tip, while the Warriors won the second and third tip-offs.
Golden State scored first when the Rockets won the tip and the Rockets added a first basket in a game where the Warriors won the tip.
But I write these articles on probability. The Warriors have a higher probability of winning the tip and scoring first.
Golden State has won the tip in 46% of games while the Rockets have only won the tip in 30% of games. Golden State scored 58% of first baskets. The Rockets are below 50%.
Klay Thompson is usually looking to get hot early for the Warriors. Meanwhile, Steph Curry rarely takes the first shot. So let’s ride with Thompson, who has 13 first baskets for the Warriors, despite missing some time earlier this season.
Bet: Klay Thompson (+460)
- Jason Radowitz
Check out our other NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions >>
NBA Prop Bets
Joel Embiid UNDER 33.5 Points vs. Chicago Bulls (-125)
The top seed in the Eastern Conference is a three-team race between Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia. The Sixers have been the hotter team of the three and come into tonight winning eight straight.
They'll get a hungry Chicago team that is playing for postseason lives as they sit in the 10th and final playoff spot. They are one of the better defensive teams in the leagues, and that will prove challenging for the odds-on favorite to win MVP, Joel Embiid. Nikola Vucevic is a premiere defender, and in the last matchup, he held Embiid to just 25 points and seven rebounds. I'm anticipating another tough battle and Embiid going under.
- John Supowitz
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NHL Best Bets
Florida Panthers (-182) vs. Detroit Red Wings (+150) | O/U 6.5 (-128/+104)
Don't look now, but the Panthers have gotten hot and are a point behind in the Wild Card.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has been inconsistent recently. He gave up five combined goals against Tampa Bay, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Vegas, but then 12 against Chicago, Winnipeg, and Montreal more recently. A great performance against New Jersey will hopefully give him confidence.
A couple of weeks ago, the Red Wings surged and were in playoff contention, but that quickly disappeared, and they got just five points in their last 11 games.
Neither side of the Red Wings has played well recently, and they are a -21 score differential in those 11 games.
Bobrovsky could not have his best game, and his offense will still be to support him as they have in recent wins.
Pick: Panthers 60 Min ML (-130)
- John Supowitz
Check out our other NHL Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions >>
World Baseball Classic Bets
Japan (-255) vs. Mexico (+215)
On Monday, Japan and Mexico will square off with a spot in the WBC Championship on the line. Angels SP Patrick Sandoval is taking the mound for Mexico, while the 21-year-old Roki Sasaki will start for Japan. In what should be a tightly contested game, I'm taking Mexico to win at +215.
This price is serious value for the Mexican team – getting plus-money on the team with a starting MLB pitcher on the mound is a bet I'll take any time. Patrick Sandoval posted a 2.91 ERA last season in 27 starts for the Angels with 9.1 K/9. He's a quality MLB starter by any measure and should give Mexico an edge in the starting pitcher matchup. Roki Sasaki is an excellent, hard-throwing young pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Baseball League. While Sasaki is very talented, his relative lack of experience at only 21 years old could be a liability on such a big stage.
Japan has more star power in their lineup, headlined by Shohei Ohtani. While Ohtani is, of course, one of the biggest baseball stars in the world, the Japanese lineup lacks the MLB talent top-to-bottom that the Mexican lineup boasts. Mexico's entire lineup is full of MLB players, with all nine starters from their last game owning spots on MLB rosters. The group is headlined by Randy Arozarena, star OF for the Tampa Bay Rays and one of the best players in the WBC so far.
All things considered, Mexico has the talent to hang with Japan despite their status as +215 underdogs. I'll take the ML and hope Mexico's MLB talent is enough to overcome Japan's star-studded roster.
Best Bet: Mexico ML (+215)
- Sam Smith
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