Doc’s Sports

The Thunder are playing as bad as any team in the NBA right now. This team stunk before, but injuries have gutted an already weak roster. And this team is just not putting forth an NBA-level squad now. They have covered in only one of their last 10 games. And they rallied to get that cover against a Utah team that was running on fumes on a B2B. This team is getting blown out every night, and we don’t see why this game would be any different. Washington has won six of seven and covered in six of eight. This team is playing its best basketball of the season. They won’t overlook this game since they had a slow start to the season and every win matters here. This team can score a lot, and we don’t see any way the Thunder can keep up.

Boston has some players questionable for Monday and this line could move if some of those players were given the green light. We won’t be scared off by the line movement in that event. We think Boston has a great chance to win this one by double digits. This team has never been about individual players. They play great team basketball, and when they are playing well the system works even with some parts missing. The Bulls will be without LaVine again, and that hurts as he is one of their best players and this team isn’t deep. They snapped a five-game losing streak last time out with a win over Cleveland, but that’s nothing to write home about. That was their only cover in the last six games. Boston is playing their best basketball of the season and they have done it against a really difficult schedule. We don’t think they will overlook this opponent since every win matters after their slow start. When this team is playing well they have been one of the best ATS teams the past several years. This boils down to great coaching. Boston is 12-2 ATS in the last 14 meetings and we expect them to get a very easy win tonight. And don’t forget, even though the Bulls were off last night, this is their third game in four nights as they had a B2B in that Cleveland game.

4-Unit Play: Take 951 STL CARDINALS -1.5, RL Over NATIONALS (7:05pm E, Monday, April 19th) The Cardinals are starting to find their way, as both the offense and solid defense seems to be back. When both of them are back, they're one of the hardest teams to beat in MLB. Add consistent Jack Flaherty to that equation and it makes for a tough night's work. Cards should handle this on, easily.

5-Unit Play: Take 960 KANSAS CITY ROYALS -1.5, RL Over TB RAYS (8:10pm E, Monday, April 19th) The Royals won a low scoring game, yesterday, but left 8 runners on, in the first 3-innings. That is, many times, a killer and one that ends up costing a team the game, but they hung in there for a hard-fought 2-0 win. Now, in to town, comes Tampa Bay, a team that everyone wants to beat, this year. The Royals proved yesterday that they have the guts and patience to beat anyone and will start Danny Duffy with a .75 ERA. If there are runs scored tonight, it'll be by KC, as that's about the best defense, all the way around, that a major league team can put on a field. This game should be a little easier than yesterday's.

4-Unit Play: Take 956 SAN DIEGO PADRES -1.5, RL Over BREWERS (10:10pm E, Monday, April 19th) The Padres are playing excellent ball, right now - they are, simply, one of the toughest MLB teams to beat and especially at home. If there's any scoring done tonight, it'll be by the Padres, as Joe Musgrove (starting pitcher for the Pads) steps on the mound with a .47 ERA (yep, you read it right) AND a no-hitter already under his belt, this year. If you like scoring, there probably won't be a lot of it, but if you like the Padres, tonight, open some wine - it should be a very nice evening.

6-Unit Play. No. 44. Take Arizona over Minnesota (Monday at 9 pm) As per your selection on Arizona, we believe this is a great spot for them to make it two wins in a row and finally snap their losing streak against the WIld. The Coyotes have lost the last four games vs Minnesota and are just 1-5 vs the Wild this season. That trend stops tonight as the Yotes are coming in off a good win against St. Louis where they played well and the confidence level should be high. Arizona is a better team on home ice than on the road (where the last four losses took place), so we expect them to come out hungry and pissed-off and wanting revenge on this team. As for Minnesota, they are a different beast on home ice compared to the road. They. should not be laying -145 in this spot, but we'll gladly take the nice price on Arizona as a home dog to come through for us tonight.

3-Unit Play. No. 35/36. Take Under 5.5 in Tampa Bay/Carolina (Monday at 7 pm) As per your selection on the Under, these two teams tend to play each other tightly. In six games already this season the Under 5.5 has hit in four of those games and we see another tight and low scoring affair. Carolina has played to the under in six of their last eight games while Tampa has hit the under in two of their last four. Vasilevskiy let in four goals to the Hurricanes in the last game, so we see him stepping up his game in goal and shutting the door. Great spot to take the under here as a contrarian play.

3-Unit Play. No.48. Take Edmonton over Montreal (Monday at 9 pm) As per your selection on Edmonton, anytime we can fade Montreal, we do it. Montreal is not a very good team. Yes, they are above .500 but they are about as inconsistent as any team in the league. They are coming off a 4-0 shutout loss against the terrible Sens and now have to fly across the country with very little rest to play their third game in four nights against an Edmonton team that's off an impressive win and that's won two of their last three games. Edmonton has the best players in their lineup and we'll take them to get another win on home ice.

The Clippers are getting healthy and should have their best two players back for this matchup, LA is one of the best ATS teams in the league. They win and cover games like this. Portland is once again banged up, and we think they could face a buzzsaw tonight. LA is 4-0-1 ATS in their last five road games and they have been getting the job done away from home. LA has covered in all of the last five meetings.

The Kings have not been good lately, but they are still better than the Wolves. They are coming off a big win at Dallas, and this is a chance to start a rare winning streak. We think they will be up to the task. The Kings have been a disappointment, but they have had a much better season than Minnesota. The Wolves don’t play well on the road against bad teams as they are 0-4 ATS in their last four in this situation. This is also a revenge game as the Kings lost in Minnesota earlier this month.

Have to go with the hot Knicks here. New York has won six straight and they have covered in nine straight games. The number here has not been adjusted enough, in our opinion, as this team is seemingly flying under the radar right now. Charlotte is coming off a big win against Portland, but this team has been inconsistent and has lost four of five overall. We will go with the momentum here against what we feel is a short line.

The Magic are trending to the over, and that’s the way we will go with them again. They have faced low totals a lot recently since this team has a history of lousy offense and decent defense. This team has been dealing with a lot of injuries that have disrupted the defense, and at this point in the season they are going nowhere so hard to commit the energy to D on a nightly basis. Their offense has been decent lately, and we think they can score enough against Atlanta to get this one over the posted number.

4u: Take 922 SEATTLE MARINERS/LA DODGERS "OVER"  (4:10pm E, Tuesday, April 20th)

Seattle is now seeing the ball well and they don't have to score too many runs to help the Dodgers send this on Over 8 Runs. The Dodgers are used to having to play in the Marine Layer, where the ball doesn't travel well. Not the case in Seattle, especially at 4:10 in the afternoon. We expect this one to go over, easily.

Best of luck!

4u: Take 904 WASHINGTON NATIONALS -1.5, RL, Over STL CARDINALS (7:05pm E, Tuesday, April 20th)

The Nats were embarrased on their home turf, yesterday. Today, they have Corbin going against Wainwright, a pitcher they have seen a ton of times. If Wainwright is on, he's tough to beat, but lately he hasn't shown the consistency of his youth. Look for Washington to jump on him early and often and have their own night to gloat.

4u: Take 924 NY YANKEES -1.5, RL, Over Braves (6:35pm E, Tuesday, April 20th)

The Yankees havea had a hard time hitting, this year, but we expect them to break out against Charlie Morton. Yanks have a great scouting crew and Morton's been around a long time, with the same stuff. Look for him to have a hard time getting through 5 innings, if he can. We like the Yanks big, here.

4-Unit Play. NO.59. Take New York Rangers over New York Islanders (Tuesday at 7pm) As per your selection on the Rangers, they are playing some great hockey right now and are just four points out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the East division. This game should mean more to them than the Islanders and they enter this game on a four-game winning streak in which they scored 3,4,6 and 5 goals while posting two shutouts. The Rangers are getting depth scoring up and down the lineup and they rank 4th overall in goals per game which is better than the Isles down in 19th. The Islanders are off a 1-0 win vs Philly, but had lost three of four previous to that. They are ripe for the picking here as they are playing their third road game in four nights.