The Warriors and Magic advanced to the big-boy NBA playoffs as the Play-In Tournament tipped off Tuesday night.
The Warriors (-6.5) defeated the Grizzlies 121-116 (but didn’t cover) and opened as -200 series favorites vs. the No. 2 seeded Rockets (+165). The Magic (-6) routed the Hawks 120-95 and are big underdogs (+1600) vs. the Celtics (-6000).
Zach Cohen previews tonight’s win-or-go-home Play-In games:
No. 10 Heat (+1) at No. 9 Bulls, 7:30 pm ET. >Preview.
It’s never fun going against an Erik Spoelstra-coached team in a postseason game . . . and the Heat have more experience than this young Bulls team. All of that counts for something. But the Heat are also just 12-16 straight-up in games with lines of +3 to -3 this season, and they’re also 6-14 SU as road underdogs.
No. 10 Mavericks (+4.5) at No. 9 Kings, 10 pm ET. >Preview.
While I do think the Kings will get the job done at home, it’s hard to ignore the Mavericks’ 6-3 record with Anthony Davis in the lineup. This team isn’t quite as bad as people think.
>VSiN’s NBA Playoff Hub page with Zach’s previews for the series that are set for this weekend.
Masters class
Wes Reynolds has his Best Bets for this week’s PGA signature event on Hilton Head Island.
But I wanted to dwell a bit longer on the Masters, so I asked Wes what he learned from this year’s tournament that he will apply to handicapping next year’s Masters:
At Augusta National, course form matters more than anywhere else. There were several players way out of form that fared well at The Masters. For example, Zach Johnson finished T-8, Bubba Watson, who has two Top 10s in three seasons of LIV Golf, finished T-14.
Course form can be a great tool for placement market (Top 10, Top 20, Top 30) wagers.
However, recent form, especially the four months going into the event, is likely going to lead you to the winner. It certainly has for the last four years:
2022: Scheffler – 3 victories leading into the Masters
2023: Rahm – 3 victories and a 3rd leading into the Masters
2024: Scheffler – 2 victories, a 2nd, and a 3rd leading into the Masters
2025: McIlroy – 2 victories and a 4th leading into The Masters
Wes exchanges picks with Matt Brown and Kelley Bydlon on the latest episode of the Long Shots podcast.
Today in MLB
Greg Peterson has filed his top plays for today.
Steve Makinen, Josh Appelbaum and Adam Burke will file their contributions by mid-morning and you can find them on the MLB page.
>Our daily matchup page with more detail by clicking on “Matchup Analysis.”
>Makinen’s daily power ratings
>DraftKings/Circa Betting Splits
Quick Hits
NHL: Jonathan Davis will post his top picks later this morning.
Horse Racing: Keeneland picks from Ed Sehon and Jeremy Plonk.
This is The VSiN Daily newsletter for Wednesday, April 16. Sign up for this free email and get picks and insights delivered to your in-box every morning.
