🏀 NBA Play-In: That’s more like it
After a season of tanking, the postseason delivered on opening night — two intense cliffhangers.

We mentioned two betting angles from Steve Makinen in yesterday’s newsletter: Fade home teams and No. 9 seeds ATS.

Tuesday recap:
• No. 9 Charlotte beat No. 10 Miami 127-126 (OT) — but didn’t cover -5.5
• No. 8 Portland (+3.5) upset No. 7 Phoenix 114-110

Updated trends:
Home teams: 13-7 SU, but 8-12 ATS
No. 9 seeds: 3-6 SU, 2-7 ATS (worst of any seed)

👉 Steve Makinen’s full Play-In trends →

Keep those in mind . . .
Tonight’s games:

No. 8 Magic (+1.5) at No. 7 Sixers (7:30 ET, Prime)
“It’s just very hard not to trust the more talented team . . . that’s Orlando if Embiid is out.”

👉 Zach Cohen’s full preview →

No. 10 Warriors (+5.5) at No. 9 Clippers (10 ET, Prime)
“Whenever Curry is on the other side, it’s hard to lay a chunk of points.”

👉 Zach’s full preview →

What’s next:
Blazers (+1000) vs. San Antonio (-2000) set for Round 1.
Hornets await Sixers-Magic loser on Friday.

👉 Series previews + Makinen’s Analytics Report →

👉 Hardwood Handicappers podcast (mid-day) →
🎯 Player Props Edge
No more tanking. Full minutes. Real rotations.

That makes the Play-In one of the best environments of the year for player props — and where projections matter most.


Sponsored

⚾ MLB: Ohtani headliner tonight
Greg Peterson is targeting eight games — including Shohei Ohtani vs. the Mets in LA.

👉 Full card →

• For more Best Bets later today . . .
👉 MLB hub →
🤖 Free trial: MLB player props

⛳ Golf: Masters hangover → RBC Heritage reset
From Augusta power to Harbour Town precision — completely different handicap.

New episode of Long Shots:

🎧 Listen →
📺 Watch →

Key shift:
• Accuracy over power off the tee
• Small greens → approach + scrambling
• No-cut, elevated event

👉 Wes Reynolds’ picks and preview →

⚡ Quick Hits
🏒 NHL (season ends Thursday)
👉 Jonathan Davis’ Best Bets →

🏇 Horse Racing (Keeneland)
👉 Today’s picks →

🥊 UFC (Winnipeg)
👉 Lou Finocchiaro’s breakdown →

🏁 NASCAR (Kansas)
👉 Early picks from Makinen →