Weekend Picks - April 24-26
I can’t help but feel a lot of pressure for this blog. It’s my first time ever publishing my gambling picks, and we’ve got a huge weekend of sports ahead. It seems to me that in order for this blog to be successful, I need to get off to a hot start. That being said, despite the pressure I’m putting on myself I feel extremely overconfident in my picks for this weekend. We’ll start with Friday:
Cleveland Guardians ML (-130) at Toronto Blue Jays - 1.00 Units
I’ve been putting one unit on the Guardians every game so far this season, and even though the value has started to disappear, I’m feeling very good about this series against the Blue Jays and am fully expecting the Guards to take at least 2 out of 3. Tonight’s matchup is the most intriguing out of the three games because we have Gavin Williams (currently 6th in the MLB in total strikeouts) going up against a Blue Jays lineup with the lowest average strikeouts per game. If Williams has another great performance, I think it's time to start seriously considering his name in any Cy Young conversations this year.
LeBron James to Record a Triple-Double at Houston Rockets (+710) - 0.50 Units
This one is definitely a stretch, but that's why I’m only putting half a unit on it. LeBron has been proving that he is the greatest of all time in this series, and he has been flirting with a triple-double in each of the first two games. I think he’s bound to get there before this playoff run ends. It’s pretty much the only playoff record that LeBron doesn’t have. John Stockton is still the oldest player to ever record a playoff triple double (LeBron has the next five), which he did at 39 years old back in 2001. To me it feels inevitable that LeBron breaks that record, and I’m going to profit off of it when he does.
Saturday April 25th:
Cleveland Guardians ML at Toronto Blue Jays (line unpublished) - 1.00 Units
As I said already, I’m betting Guardians ML for 162 games. There’s no line yet but I’m taking it no matter what. With Cantillo on the mound I’m expecting somewhere between -110 and -130 odds.
New York Knicks ML (-130) at Atlanta Hawks - 1.00 Units
I don’t believe in the Atlanta Hawks at all as a team, and I’m very confident that the Knicks will bounce back and tie this series. They are a far better team with far better star players than Atlanta, and I just don’t see a world where they go down 3-1 in this series. I do think that Atlanta will keep it close, so I’m hesitant to take the spread, and I’m willing to buy those couple of points at -130 moneyline odds.
Sunday April 26th:
Cleveland Guardians ML at Toronto Blue Jays (line unpublished) - 0.50 Units
Only going with a half unit on this game, as Slade Cecconi is scheduled to be on the mound for the Guards, and I have absolutely zero faith in him as a starting pitcher. Hopefully Vegas will agree with me and give me good odds on this one.
Cleveland Cavaliers -3.5 (-110) at Toronto Raptors - 1.00 Units
My mental health this weekend is extremely dependent on my faith in the city of Cleveland to dismantle the city of Toronto. They say not to put all your eggs in one basket, but those people never considered how annoying it is to carry around a bunch of different baskets. I’m more of a “live by the sword, die by the sword” kind of guy, and I’m counting on the Cavs to keep me alive on Sunday. They played one of the sloppiest games I’ve ever seen the Cavs play on Thursday night, and they were in the game right up to the last 5 minutes. There was a point in time during the third quarter where the Cavs had about 20 turnovers and were only down by one point. If they clean that up even a little bit they can win this game comfortably.
That’s all I’ve got for my first official weekend slate. Be sure to check back on Monday to see how I did or follow along on on my Twitter account @nicks_best_pick.
