8/31 Bets

NBA

Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks (-5.5) 6:40 PM

The Heat swept the Pacers, covering ATS in all 4 games by at least 4 points. The Bucks went 3-2 ATS against the Magic, while each of the last 4 games came down to the final possession. These teams faced off 3 times this season. The Bucks were favored in all three, but the Heat went 2-1 ATS and SU against them. Giannis had a career best 1.16 points per possession this season, but while being defended by Bam Adebayo, that plummeted to 0.54 points per possession, which is his career worst against any opponent. Tempting to take the Heat moneyline, but I’ll be happy to take the free points.

Final Score Prediction: Heat 121 Bucks 116
Bet: Heat +5.5 (-110)

Houston Rockets (-5) vs Oklahoma City Thunder 9:10 PM

I thought these teams were evenly matched going in, especially after the series ended up being tied up at 2 a piece. But Game 5 showed the Rockets are far and away the better team, that only lost the two games off flukiness. Now Westbrook is back, and the Rockets are gelling. The Thunder can not keep up, and will once again be blown out tonight to end their season.

Final Score Prediction: Rockets 119 Thunder 106
Bet: Rockets -5 (-110)

MLB

Baltimore Orioles @ Toronto Blue Jays (-182) 2:07 PM

The Bluejays have beaten the Orioles in 10 of their last 11 games and have scored 5 or more runs in 9 of those 11 games. The Orioles bring Keegan Akin to the mound today, probably just an opener so expect this to be a bullpen game here. The Orioles bullpen isn’t horrible, but they do have a 4.12 ERA. The Blue Jays offense comes in red hot, scoring 5 or more runs 6 in a row and 8 of their last 10. Today the go for the series sweep averaging 6.3 runs a game in the last 6 games. At “home,” they score 5.9 runs per game compared to only 4.0 on the road. Blue Jays bats stay hot this afternoon.

Final Score Prediction: Orioles 5 Blue Jays 8
Bet: Blue Jays Over 5.5 Runs (-120)

Cleveland Indians (-240) @ Kansas City Royals 8:05 PM

The Indians and Royals face off tonight with the Indians being heavy favorites. Shane Bieber has been fire this year. He’s 6-0 with a 1.35 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. Brad Keller is no slouch himself. He’s 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He hasn’t allowed a run at home all season. So there are a couple plays here. Under 2.5 first 3 innings (-152), Under 3.5 first 5 innings (+102) and possibly the under for the game at 7.5 (-112). For me, I’m going to let it ride on the first inning. I think both pitchers come out strong and set the tone early.

Final Score Prediction: Indians 3 Royals 2
Bet: Indians/Royals No Runs First Inning (-134)

NHL

Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning (-117) 7 PM

The Lightning have owned this series and have a 3-1 lead going into tonight’s game. The Bruins scored in each of the first 6 periods of this series. However, since Game 2, the Lightning have outscored the Bruins 10-2. The Lightning at almost even money when they should be closer to 170 or so is value I like here.

Final Score Prediction: Bruins 2 Lightning 4
Bet: Lightning -117

Dallas Stars vs Colorado Avalanche (-135) 9:45 PM

These teams have scored at least a combined 7 goals in each of the first 4 games of this series, averaging 8.5 goals a game. The winning team has scored 5 or more in every game of this series so far. The Avalance can’t seem to stop the Stars from scoring. They have allowed 5, 5, 4 and 5 goals to the Stars in the first 4 games. With this being an elimination game, expect goalies to be pulled sooner rather than later as well. Should be another high scoring game.

Final Score Prediction: Stars 5 Avalanche 3
Bet: Over 5.5 Goals (-137)