The NBA postseason has been terrific, and fans are in for a treat Sunday night in Dallas.
As the basketball season nears its last stop, Major League Baseball is beginning to show us the real contenders and rear-enders.
And, tennis anyone? We have a French Open first-round bridge-jumper special at Roland Garros.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
Touching on baseball again, this has been a series based on who has the better closer. The two best in this series are Dallas dynamos Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Holding a 2-0 series lead heading home for two, the Mavericks could very well finish a shocking sweep. But, since the Game 3 winner is tough to predict (that’s why it’s called “gambling”), we won’t try.
Instead, we have a bet on the grit and determination of three players.
It starts with the Wolves’ Naz Reid and his playoff intensity. Does anyone expect him to shrink from the spotlight Sunday night?
Doncic, meanwhile, is being defended by Jaden McDaniels, among the top defenders in the entire league.
Hasn’t really mattered.
Luka figured out McDaniels’ tendencies and can score or pass depending on the situation.
We will opt for a four-leg parlay featuring Rudy Gobert, Luka and Naz as Dallas tries to take a virtually unbeatable 3-0 lead.
And if it’s going to be over, now is the last time to find value on a Mavs Finals MVP bet.
If you like Dallas to beat Boston (+240), you know who the MVP will be, so grab the better number (Luka +300) now.
Four leg same-game parlay at +100 (FanDuel): Naz Reid OVER 12.5 points+rebounds, Rudy Gobert OVER 16.5 points+rebounds, Doncic OVER 22.5 points, Doncic OVER 6.5 rebounds.
Doncic to win Finals MVP at +300 (FanDuel)
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
We have to ask the question: Why is Javier Assad not receiving more respect in the baseball community and in the eyes of bookmakers?
The Cubs Sunday starter faces the more-acclaimed Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray, who has an ERA of 2.87 and is the de facto ace of the St. Louis staff.
The past four games, Assad has strikeout totals of four, four, seven and four.
Assad is 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched). He’s thrown 53 innings, Gray has thrown 47 innings and these guys are virtual mirror images.
And yet, the Cardinals are a strong -142 favorite (DraftKings).
Let’s go Cubs and grab a little insurance, too.
Cubs +1.5 with Assad 3+ strikeouts at -115 (DraftKings).
French Open: first round
We like two guys whose names end in EV: For our purposes, EV stands for easy victory. It’s No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev and No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev along with two other short-priced options.
Medvedev, at -430 (FanDuel), should move on easily against Dominik Koepfer.
Zverev takes on the legendary Rafael Nadal and is only -345 (FanDuel) against the aging former champion.
That number should be closer to -500 because the bookmakers know there is a sentimental value attached to Nadal.
Tack on American Tommy Paul to cash in against Cachin (Pedro) and Tallon Griekspoor to make short work of McKenzie McDonald. All of these duels are set for overnight Sunday into Monday morning.
Four-leg parlay: Medvedev, Zverev, Griekspoor and Paul all to win their first round matches at +105 (FanDuel).