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 29:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA, Celtics (-7.5) over Heat
The odds/bet: -105 ($31.50 to win $30)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 8:30 p.m. (TNT)
Our take: The Boston Celtics could make history tonight by becoming the first team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being down 3-0, and they appear to have what it takes to do so despite the Miami Heat nearly taking Game 6.
The bottom line is that the Celtics are the much better team when they’re at their best, and while they haven’t always been at that level as evidenced by their slow start in the series, they’ve got momentum on their side after a thrilling Game 6 win and will have their home crowd behind them in Game 7.
Effort is never an issue from the Heat, but we feel like even their best won’t be able to match the ascending Celtics, who prevailed by double figures in Games 4 and 5 and should be able to do the same tonight to where we feel comfortable laying the points.
MLB RUN TOTAL PARLAY
The play: Angels at White Sox UNDER 9 runs, Yankees at Mariners OVER 7.5 runs
The odds/bet: +250 ($10 to win $25)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: Angels at White Sox 8:10 p.m. (FS1), Yankees at Mariners 9:40 p.m. (MLB Extra Innings)
Our take: We decided to spice things up with an MLB parlay on Memorial Day featuring a pair of matchups that appear to offer value on their respective run totals.
The Chicago White Sox have seen Michael Kopech step up recently on the mound, and he’ll be starting tonight against the Los Angeles Angels and Griffin Canning, who’s also been trending up to where we’ll take the under even with both teams’ bullpens not being the most reliable.
The New York Yankees haven’t been scoring runs at their usual elite clip, but they should be able to do enough to help push this total over despite a tough matchup against young Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller, and the Mariners bats have been strong as of late.
HOW WE’VE FARED
Sunday’s best bets
- MLB, Milwaukee Brewers (money line) over San Francisco Giants (WON $30)
- English Premier League, Manchester United and Liverpool to win (LOST $9)
- PGA Charles Schwab Challenge, Justin Rose to finish in the top 20 (WON $12.50)
Sunday’s profit/loss: +$23.50 (2-1)
Final total for the week: +$53.80 (7-6)
Total for May: +$192.70 (31-24)
Total for 2023: -$266.50 (119-129)
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).