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Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL and MLB Previews and Odds - 05/09/2024

The Thursday sports card features NBA, NHL, and MLB action.The National Basketball Association continues the playoff season with two games on ESPN. The Boston Celtics host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:05 p.m. ET in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics took a 1-0 lead with a 120-95 victory at home as a 12.5-point favorite on Tuesday. Boston is a 13.5-point favorite, with the total set at 212 (all odds from DraftKings). The Oklahoma City Thunder play at home against the Dallas Mavericks at 9:35 p.m. ET in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals series. The Thunder have a 1-0 series lead after their 117-95 win at home as a 4-point favorite on Tuesday. Oklahoma City is a 5-point favorite with an over/under of 218.5.The National Hockey League playoffs continue with two games on TNT and truTV. The Carolina Hurricanes are at home against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in this series with a 4-3 victory on the road on Tuesday. The Hurricanes are a -175 money-line favorite with a total of 5.5.The Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche at 9:40 p.m. ET in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals series. The Avalanche won the opening game of this series on the road, 4-3, on Tuesday. The Stars are a -130 money-line favor with an over/under of 6.5. The Thursday card in Major League Baseball has games on its schedule. Two MLB games throw out the first pitch at 1:10 p.m. ET. The Cincinnati Reds play at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Reds send out Hunter Greene to take the ball against the Diamondbacks’ Slade Cecconi. Cincinnati is a -125 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Minnesota Twins play at home against the Seattle Mariners. Pablo Lopez takes the mound for the hill for the Twins to pitch against Logan Gilbert for the Mariners. Minnesota is a -130 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.5.The San Francisco Giants travel to Colorado to play the Rockies at 3:10 p.m. ET. The Giants tap Keaton Winn to take the hill to battle against the Rockies’ Cal Quantrill. San Francisco is a -155 money-line road favorite with a total of 9.5. The New York Yankees are at home against the Houston Astros at 5:05 p.m. ET. Marcus Stroman gets the ball for the Yankees to duel against the Astros’ Ronel Blanco. New York is a -135 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Two more MLB games start at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Cleveland Guardians play in Chicago against the White Sox. The Guardians turn to Ben Lively to pitch against the White Sox’s Erick Fedde. Cleveland is a -148 money-line road favorite with a total of 7.5. The St. Louis Cardinals are at Milwaukee to play the Brewers. Lance Lynn goes for the Cardinals against Tobias Myers for the Brewers. St. Louis is a -125 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8. The Kansas City Royals visit Los Angeles to play the Angels on FS1 at 9:38 p.m. ET. The Royals send out Michael Wacha to face the Angels’ Reid Detmers. Kansas City is a -118 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5.

NBA Playoffs System of the Week

The second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs is underway, with the Celtics, Knicks, Timberwolves and Thunder in the lead in their respective series.  Certainly, Boston rates as the favorite, given its 64-18 regular season record.  But each of Oklahoma City (5-0) and Minnesota (6-0) has yet to taste defeat in the post-season.For our NBA Playoffs System of the Week, we are going to focus on #1-seeded teams.  The Celtics and Thunder each earned #1 seeds, and are up 1-game-to-none heading into tonight's action.Boston has been installed as a 13.5-point favorite vs. Cleveland, while Oklahoma City is a 5-point favorite vs. Dallas.One of the things I like to do is fade #1 seeds that are up 1-0 in a Playoff series.  Dating back to 1991, our top seeds have underperformed in Game 2 off a win in Game 1, going 62-82-7 ATS.And although there's nothing wrong with cashing 56.9%, we can improve our win percentage to 69.3% (34-15-1 ATS) by solely focusing on #1 seeds that are favored by double-digits.  Tonight, only one team fits this 69.3% tightener:  the Boston Celtics.Consider backing the Cavaliers on Thursday night.Good luck, as always,Al McMordie

Betting the WNBA: Rule Differences

After a brief hiatus in 2023, I'll be back covering the WNBA extensively this season. The regular season tips off on May 14th with Caitlin Clark making her much-awaited debut with the Indiana Fever. It promises to be one of the most intriguing WNBA campaigns to date, noting that the teams will take a break for the Olympics from July 18th to August 14th. Here's a look at a number of rule differences between the WNBA and NBA, for those not familiar with the women's game. Game Duration: WNBA games consist of four quarters, each lasting 10 minutes, while NBA games have four quarters of 12 minutes each.Ball Size: The WNBA uses a slightly smaller basketball compared to the NBA. The circumference of the WNBA ball is 28.5 inches, while the NBA ball has a circumference of 29.5 inches.Three-Point Line Distance: The distance of the three-point line in the WNBA is shorter than in the NBA. In the WNBA, the three-point line is approximately 22 feet 1.75 inches (6.75 meters) at the top of the key and 21 feet 8.25 inches (6.6 meters) in the corners, while in the NBA, it's 23 feet 9 inches (7.24 meters) at the top of the key and 22 feet (6.7 meters) in the corners. Shot Clock: The WNBA uses a 24-second shot clock, the same as the NBA, but in the WNBA, the shot clock resets to 14 seconds after an offensive rebound, while in the NBA, it resets to 14 seconds only if the offensive team gains possession of the ball after a missed shot. Foul Limit: Players in the WNBA are allowed six personal fouls before fouling out of the game, while in the NBA, players are allowed only six personal fouls. Restricted Area: The restricted area, also known as the "charge circle," is slightly smaller in the WNBA compared to the NBA. In the WNBA, it has a 4-foot radius from the center of the basket, while in the NBA, it has a 4-foot radius from the center of the basket. Technical Fouls: Technical fouls in the WNBA result in one free throw for the opposing team, while in the NBA, they result in one free throw and possession of the ball. Timeouts: WNBA teams have four timeouts per game (three 30-second timeouts and one 60-second timeout), while NBA teams have six timeouts per game (four 75-second and two 20-second timeouts).

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