The public was on the Celtics, at least according to the Circa and DraftKings betting splits. Contestants in the VSiN KillerSports NBA Playoff Challenge unanimously picked the Celtics.
And those Boston backers were probably feeling pretty good up 20 on the Knicks with 2:15 left in the third quarter.
Actually, given the number of blown 20-point leads in the playoffs so far, maybe that’s when the sweat should have started.
The Knicks (+10.5) rallied from 20 down for the second game in a row, winning 91-90 and taking a 2-0 series lead back to New York. Fun fact: Teams with 20+ leads in the NBA playoffs are 20-5 (80%) so far. In the regular season, teams were 564-29 (95%) when leading +20.
After posting a 6-0 record in the second round, road underdogs finally took an L later Wednesday when the Thunder (-10) blew out the Nuggets 149-106. (I did watch more of it than I should have just to make sure there was no dramatic comeback.)
There is only one game tonight:
Game 2: Warriors (+10.5 at Circa) vs. T-Wolves, 8:30 ET, TNT.
Steph Curry, who suffered a strained hamstring in Game 1, likely will miss at least a week, which means three games.
VSiN.com senior editor Zach Cohen offered his thoughts on the Warriors’ situation.
For as good as the Warriors looked in Game 1, winning without Curry is going to be the ultimate challenge. The 37-year-old is averaging 22.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game in the postseason, and he’s really the only consistent source of firepower that this Golden State team has. The Warriors have undoubtedly built an elite defense since acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat, but that will mean very little without Curry.
The betting market has weighed in, too. The T-Wolves were +110 series underdogs after the opener, but as the Curry news trickled out that number moved to -190 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Later this morning: Zach will post his daily Best Bets and Steve Makinen will file his Analytics Report. Dan Karpuc went 3-1 on his NBA player props and will have more today.
>Today’s selections from the KillerSports NBA Playoff Challenge will be available shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET.
>Estimated scores from Makinen.
A Golden Night?
We have two games in the NHL tonight, including one here in Las Vegas:
Game 2: Hurricanes (-133 at Circa) at Capitals (+119), 7 ET, ESPN. Carolina leads 1-0.
Game 2: Oilers (+117) at Golden Knights (-130), 9:30 ET, ESPN. Edmonton leads 1-0.
Jonathan Davis will post his official Best Bets later today.
>Estimated scores from Makinen.
Wednesday recap: The Leafs (+135), without injured goalie Anthony Stolarz, beat the Panthers 4-3 to go up 2-0; the Stars (+100) defeated the Jets 3-2 in the series opener.
Today in MLB
Greg Peterson already has filed his top plays for today.
Steve Makinen, Adam Burke and Josh Appelbaum will post their contributions later this morning.
Steve updates his bullpen betting systems.
>Our daily matchup page with more detail by clicking on “Matchup Analysis.”
>Makinen’s daily power ratings
>DraftKings/Circa Betting Splits
Quick Hits
Horse Racing: 1/ST BET handicapper Jeremy Plonk has picks for today’s Churchill Downs card.
This is The VSiN Daily newsletter for Thursday, May 8. Sign up for this free email and get picks and insights delivered to your in-box every morning.
