The PGA Championship continues today with the first tee time at 8:15 a.m. ET at Quail Hollow course in Charlotte. Matt Youmans, Kelley Bydlon and Matt Brown offer their plays before Round 3.
The Knicks reached the Eastern finals for the first time in 25 years, routing the defending champion Celtics 119-81 on Friday night.
New York opened as a -140 favorite against the Pacers (+120). The series will start Wednesday in New York with the Knicks favored by 3.5.
I checked in with VSiN.com senior editor Zach Cohen for his early thoughts on the Eastern finals:
On January 18, I gave out Indiana to win the East at 44-1 in my daily NBA best bets/player props column. For a very long time, I had a quiet confidence in that play, and I was ecstatic when the Pacers drew Cleveland—I always viewed Boston as the biggest threat in the conference. So, I should be sitting here feeling really good about the Pacers handling the Knicks. From December to the end of the regular season, Indiana was a borderline top-five team in the league, and New York looked like nothing but a middle-of-the-pack group. But then the Knicks-Celtics series happened.
You can say what you want about the blown Boston leads and the injury to Jayson Tatum, and I don’t blame anybody that thinks New York was very, very fortunate to win the series. But the Knicks did exactly what they needed to do in Games 4 and 6, Jalen Brunson looks like a legitimate top-five player in the league (at least) and the Knicks are finally getting the stellar two-way play out of the wing duo of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges that they expected when they inked the former to a new deal and traded a million picks for the latter.
I’m officially scared of this Knicks team, which is clicking at the right time and easily has the most talent of any team remaining in the playoffs. So I’m hedging my play on Indiana with a pretty sizable series play on New York.
Of course, not everybody cares about what I’m doing with my futures. So I’ll just mention that I’m expecting a six- or seven-game series. Indiana is a well-oiled machine on offense, and the team has been great on defense for the better part of six months. But I give the Knicks a slight edge because of the late-game shotmaking of Brunson, along with the team’s ability to throw Anunoby on Pascal Siakam and trust that Indiana’s No. 2 will be smothered.
I’ll also note that it pained me to write all of that. I grew up in New York and renounced the Knicks in 2018. I want nothing more than to see them flame out, but I think they’re heading to the finals.
That leaves Sunday’s Game 7 with the Thunder as an 8.5-point favorite vs. the Nuggets to decide the final spot in the Western finals against the Timberwolves.
Turning over a new Leaf?
The Leafs (+180) upset the Panthers 2-0 at home on Friday night to force a Game 7 on Sunday.
Tonight’s game:
- Game 6: Jets (+135 at Circa) at Stars (-150), 8 ET, ABC. Dallas leads 3-2.
Jonathan Davis will post his Best Bets later today.
Preakness picks
Rain is in the forecast for today’s Preakness card at Pimlico, though not expected to be as severe as it was Friday. The Black-Eyed Susan, won by Margie’s Intention (5-2 favorite), was delayed by more than an hour because of a thunderstorm.
Our experts have picks for your consideration on today’s second jewel in the Triple Crown (7:01 p.m. ET post time):
>Mike Somich (including his superfecta wager)
Mike and Aaron Halterman went into detail on how they intend to play the race as well as the undercard on VSiN At The Tracks. >>Watch the replay.
Tune in for a special VSiN At The Track with Mike and Aaron from 6-8 p.m. ET to get their pre-race thoughts.
>>Video highlights from experts such as 1/ST BET handicapper Jeremy Plonk and SiriusXM host Bill Finley.
>>More Preakness coverage here.
>>1/st BET’s wagering guide with picks from its handicappers.
MLB Today
Greg Peterson already has filed his top plays for today. 
Josh Appelbaum and Steve Makinen will post their Best Bet contributions later this morning.
Quick Hits
WNBA: It’s Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese as the marquee game today. Tyler Shoemaker has Best Bets for the Fever-Sky matchup and other games.
UFC: Lou Finocchiaro has filed his Best Bets for today’s card in Las Vegas. Britton Hess will weigh in with picks on every fight on the card later this morning.
Soccer: Nigel Seeley has picks for the EPL weekend menu.
