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 Tuesday, May 23:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Celtics (money line) over Heat
The odds: +102
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 8:30 p.m. (TNT)
Our take: The Boston Celtics played poorly in Game 3, to say the least, but the bottom line is that they’re still an extremely talented team even though their effort was lacking on Sunday against the Miami Heat.
A lot of times value presents itself after a team suffers a blowout defeat, and the oddsmakers are finally giving us decent value on the Celtics as underdogs to where we feel confident taking them on the money line despite their recent struggles.
The Heat will almost certainly still win the series, but they could be in for a letdown tonight with the Celtics having their backs against the wall and being extra motivated since there will likely be major organizational changes if they get swept.
ALEX COBB OVER ON K’S
The play: MLB, Giants pitcher Alex Cobb OVER 5.5 strikeouts vs. Twins
The odds: +110
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7:40 p.m. (MLB Extra Innings)
Our take: Not many would’ve expected Alex Cobb to be the NL ERA leader at the end of May, but he’s done just that and has racked up a solid amount of strikeouts to go with it.
While Cobb isn’t an elite strikeout artist, he draws a juicy matchup tonight against the Twins as far as his potential to miss bats since they lead MLB in strikeouts as a team, and he should pitch deep enough into the game for the over to hit in what will likely be a pitchers duel against Twins ace Sonny Gray.
Cobb has seen his strikeout rate drop slightly in his last few starts, but he’s more than capable of racking up at least six K’s tonight against a vulnerable lineup.
HOW WE’VE FARED
- NBA Western Conference Finals Game 4, Nuggets at Lakers UNDER 224 points (PUSH)
- MLB, Rangers (-135) over Pirates (LOST)
Monday’s record: 0-1
Total for the week: 0-1
Total for May: 24-19
Total for 2023: 112-124
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).
