The Thunder and Panthers are in. The Pacers and Oilers could join them in the finals by the end of the night.
OKC covered the closing -8.5 and then some, eliminating the Timberwolves 124-94 in the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night.
The Thunder will play the winner of the Knicks-Pacers series in the NBA Finals, starting a week from today.
Zach Cohen previews tonight’s Game 5 with the Pacers (+4) up 3-1 (8 ET, TNT):
The Pacers have an offensive rating of 121.1 in this series, and that would have been good for the best mark in basketball during the regular season. Tyrese Haliburton just played one of the greatest games in NBA postseason history, finishing with 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, four steals and zero turnovers in 38 minutes. It just feels like Indiana is capable of getting a quality look whenever Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are on the floor together, and it would take a disinterested Haliburton for that to change. He’s getting better and better at reading this defense and making the right play. And there’s no reason to believe he can’t pick the Knicks apart again.
Dan Karpuc has four player props for your consideration.
>Do your own homework with VSiN’s prop analyzer.
Steve Makinen posted his Analytics Report.
>Matchup page with Makinen’s estimated score.
>Check for selections in the KillerSports NBA Playoff Challenge after 7 p.m. ET.
Panthers in — again
The Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row, eliminating the Hurricanes 5-3.
The Oilers will have a chance to advance to the Final for the second year in a row. Edmonton is up 3-1 on the Stars and is a +115 underdog (8 ET, ESPN).
VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis will post his picks later this morning.
>Matchup page with Makinen’s estimated score.
Download your college baseball tournament guide
VSiN regular guest Matt Grissom and his crew at College Baseball Insiders has published a 24-page guide previewing the 64-team NCAA baseball tournament.
You can download the PDF here.
As I wrote earlier in the week, VSiN will be doing shows from the College World Series in Omaha.
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
Tennis: Zach Cohen posts his Best Bets daily during the French Open on our tennis page the day before. He and Gill Alexander have their plays on the tennis picks page.
Horse Racing: 1/ST BET handicapper Jeremy Plonk has picks for today’s menu at Churchill Downs.
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