Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks 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 Monday, May 22:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA Western Conference Finals Game 4, Nuggets at Lakers UNDER 224 points
The odds/bet: -110 ($33 to win $30)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Our take: Both the Lakers and Nuggets are capable of scoring points in bunches, but we’re expecting the defense to be a little tighter in tonight’s Game 4 in which the Lakers could potentially be eliminated.
Jamal Murray was lights out for the Nuggets in Game 3, and while he’ll be tough to defend once again, the Lakers should be able to make some adjustments and have done a respectable job at containing Nikola Jokic’s scoring with Anthony Davis down low.
The Lakers likely won’t push for an up-tempo contest as they look to prevent the Nuggets from going on huge runs, so we’ll take the under in hopes that the elimination factor will see the Lakers slow down the scoring pace.
RANGERS MONEY LINE PLAY
The play: MLB, Rangers (-135) over Pirates
The odds/bet: -135 ($13.50 to win $10)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 6:35 p.m. (MLB Extra Innings)
Our take: The Rangers have seen improvement across the board so far in 2023, especially in their starting rotation in which Dane Dunning has stepped up alongside several newcomers.
Dunning wasn’t even expected to be in the rotation this season after the Rangers spent big on pitching with Jacob deGrom leading the way, but deGrom’s latest injury has Dunning back starting and pitching better than ever coming into tonight’s matchup against a struggling Pirates team.
The Pirates will be starting inexperienced arm Luis Ortiz, so Dunning and the Rangers loaded lineup should have no problem securing the win tonight in what would be their fourth-straight victory.
HOW WE’VE FARED
Sunday’s best bets
- NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 3, Celtics -3 over Heat (LOST $33)
- English Premier League, Leeds United money line over West Ham (LOST $6.20)
- PGA Championship, Xander Schauffle to finish in the top 20 (WON $6)
Sunday’s profit/loss: -$33.20 (1-2)
Final total for the week: +$23.80 (9-5)
Total for May: +$138.90 (24-18)
Total for 2023: -$320.30 (112-123)
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).
