The buzz around the Circa sportsbook on Friday: Will the Knicks recover from their Game 1 collapse to the Pacers?
The answer Friday night: Ah, no.
New York had a chance to tie the score with eight seconds left, but the underdog Pacers (+6) emerged a 114-109 winner to take a 2-0 series lead on the road. The Pacers are favored by 2 for Sunday’s Game 3 in Indianapolis.
Tonight, the Thunder, favored by 2.5 on the road, will try to go up 3-0 on the Timberwolves (8:30 ET, ESPN).
VSiN.com senior editor Zach Cohen has been a big Timberwolves supporter in the playoffs thus far, but . . .
I’m not feeling great about my Wolves postseason futures. I gave out Minnesota to win the Western Conference at 14-1 and 20-1, and the team is as good as done with a loss in one of the next two games. I also backed the Timberwolves to cover in Games 1 and 2, so I have been getting hammered backing this Minnesota team. However, I am taking the Timberwolves in Game 3. The great Michael Scott taught me that you should always be ready to get hurt again.
>>Check for selections in the KillerSports NBA Playoff Challenge after 7 p.m. ET.
Panthers-Hurricanes Game 3
Jonathan Davis will post his picks later this morning for tonight’s Panthers-Hurricanes Game 3 (8 ET, ESPN). Florida, up 2-0, is a -115 favorite.
Friday recap: The Oilers tied the series at 1 with a 3-0 victory over the Stars.
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.
Hitting the road
We do a lot with NASCAR here at VSiN.
Steve Makinen will have his final simulation later today for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. And Adam Burke already has posted a race preview.
But what about the other two races traditonally run on Memorial Day weekend?
In what seems like a annual tradition, Gill Alexander schedules auto racing handicapper Phil Bobbitt on A Numbers Game right before the holiday weekend to keep us covered.
Here are Phil’s picks:
Indy 500
- Josef Newgarden To Win (+1200)
- Pato O’Ward To Win (+600)
- Josef Newgarden To Finish Top 5 (+165)
Monaco GP
- Oscar Piastri To Win (+200)
- Lando Norris over Max Verstappen (-115)
- George Russell over Lewis Hamilton (-163)
Coca-Cola 600
- Kyle Larson To Win (+600)
- Alex Bowman over Joey Logano (-110)
- Josh Berry over Chase Briscoe (-115)
- William Byron over Tyler Reddick (+100)
Word to wise: Check to see how today’s qualifying played out at Monaco before pulling the trigger. The narrow streets of Monaco make it tough to pass.
Ain’t it Grandissimo
Ian Ritchie, proprietor of FullTime Fantasy, was the first to show up with $100K at Circa on Friday morning and enter the Circa Grandissimo.
Ian’s team includes Jason Werth, the former MLBer now known for owning horses. >>Watch the interview.
ICYMI: Adam Burke has details on the Circa Million, Survivor and Grandissimo.
Want to win a free Circa contest entry? Winners Circle Proxy is giving away one Circa Survivor and one Circa Million VII entry—with proxy service included. Each winner will be paired with a VSiN host for expert strategy advice. Sign up today for your chance to win! No purchase necessary.
Quick Hits
Horse Racing: Mike Somich and Aaron Halterman look back at the controversial Preakness and look ahead to the potential Belmont field on VSiN At The Races. >>Watch the show. Or listen to the podcast.
WNBA: Tyler Shoemaker has a pick on today’s Fever-Liberty game.
Soccer: Nigel Seeley offers his Best Bets for four EPL games on Sunday.
Tennis: The French Open starts in the wee hours Sunday. Zach Cohen makes his predictions for Roland Garros. Zach also joined Drew Dinsick on Gill Alexander’s Beating The Book mega-pod. >>Listen here.
