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Wednesday’s Best MLB, NBA & NHL Bets (5/1)

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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 our best bets across each major sport in action today.

Today’s Best Bets

MLB Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Chicago Cubs @ New York Mets

If you have not yet seen Chicago Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga pitch, he is worth the price of admission. Imanaga has led the Cubs to victories in all five of his starts after pitching to a minuscule ERA of 0.98 and a 0.80 WHIP. Per MLB Stats, Imanaga’s career is off to a historic start, as he became the first pitcher in nearly 80 years to begin a career 4-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA in his first five career games.

The Mets rank eighth in slugging against left-handed pitchers this year. Still, we expect Imanaga to neutralize them in this matchup, especially since they walk at the second-lowest rate in the league against lefties and rank 20th in BABIP against southpaws. New York entered Tuesday having lost six of eight games and scoring just 10 total runs in those six losses. Until Imanaga shows us he is vulnerable, we will keep banking on low-scoring games from his opponents.

Pick: Mets team total Under 3.5 (-122)

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NBA Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics

Despite winning against the Miami Heat in Game 5, the Celtics had their worst offensive output of the playoffs. Sure, they scored 102 points instead of the 101 in Game 3. But analytically, the Celtics only added 108.5 points per 100 possessions. In Game 3, the Celtics scored 108.6 points per 100 possessions.

After that Game 3 matchup, the Celtics responded with 125.6 points per 100 possessions, shot a 55.6% effective field goal percentage with just 6.1% of turnovers and dominated the Heat for a 20-point win.

The Celtics allowed 122 points per 100 possessions and played their worst defensively in that Game 3 matchup. Still, in Game 5, the most recent matchup, the Celtics played their best defense of the playoffs, holding the Heat to 94.6 points per 100 possessions and a 45.9% effective field goal percentage.

The Boston defense has improved drastically as the series has progressed. Meanwhile, the offense tends to bounce back after low outputs.

Consider backing the Celtics to take care of business and move on to the next round at -14.

Bet: Celtics -14 (-110)

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NHL Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook)

Los Angeles Kings @ Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers won both games in Los Angeles last week, which gives them a 3-1 series lead as they return home. Game 5 is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. 

Coach Jim Hiller made the goaltending switch in Game 4, going from Cam Talbot to David Rittich. While it was a losing effort in a 1-0 affair, Rittich looked serviceable, making 12 saves on 13 shot attempts (.923 SV%). Rittich has now made three starts against Edmonton this year, and each game came in under seven goals (W: 4-0, L: 4-2, L: 1-0). The three games averaged just 3.7 combined goals per contest.

This isn’t a groundbreaking theory, but it’s worth stating that Los Angeles needs to stay out of the penalty box. Their PK is just 7/15 (46.67%) this postseason. That’s why they’re down 3-1, and more importantly for us, why the early games have snuck over the totals. Los Angeles took just one minor penalty in Game 4. While Edmonton used the man-advantage opportunity to score the game-winning goal, it still helped the Kings stay within reach (and the game finish under the total). Look for Los Angeles to emphasize avoiding penalties, which, combined with the goaltending change, should keep us under this inflated total. 

Bet: Under 6.5 (-125)

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