Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks in Louisiana are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Wednesday, May 10:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA Western Conference semifinals Game 5, Warriors money line over Lakers
The odds: -300
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 10 p.m. (TNT)
Our take: I can’t speak for all 400-something days worth of daily best bets we have posted, but I can say for certain this is the first time I have ever made something with odds this awful as our top pick. And I certainly have never bet awful odds with the public on my side.
That being said, this seems like a no-brainer. If there were ever a time to take 1-3 odds, it’s here with one of the NBA’s best home teams playing in an elimination game as the defending league champs following back-to-back losses on the road.
Besides the fact I still believe the Warriors are the better team, I would be absolutely floored if they go out of these playoffs on a whimper on their home court. Oh, and don’t think they won’t get every single close call, as the NBA would not be happy if this series doesn’t go at least six games.
As for what happens beyond here, we still think Golden State is a value at +1500 or so to defend their title, but that’s a little much for this spot. We’ll just bet a lot to win a little and move on.
(We just don’t trust it enough to bet the -7.5, although we also endorse that, as well.)
BYRON NELSON TOP 20
The play: PGA AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, Hideki Matsuyama to finish in the top 20
The odds/bet: +110
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: Thursday through Sunday on Golf Channel, ESPN+ and Peacock on Saturday and Sunday on CBS
Our take: Like last week, the weather will be almost no factor the first two days (except maybe some wind on Thursday), which means the elite players should have a wide opening to make it to the weekend.
While we normally like Thursday afternoon-Friday morning tee times, we’re going to make an exception here for Hideki, who has taken a few weeks off and is now preparing in earnest for next week’s PGA Championship.
Not only has he played well as of late with consecutive top-16 finishes, including at The Masters last month, but he finished fifth at The Players Championship in March and seems to be primed for a nice run.
This course isn’t overly tough, and with the lack of a super-tough field (other than Scottie Scheffler, Tyrell Hatton and Jason Day), this could be a spot in which Hideki is in the running for a win late on Sunday.
HOW WE’VE FARED
NBA playoffs: Nuggets -6 over Suns (WON)
MLB money line: Astros over Angels (WON)
Tuesday’s record: 2-0
Total for the week: 3-1
Total for May: 10-8
Total for 2023: 98-113
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
