Greetings my fellow gamblers, it’s Chris Bengel with you once again on another glorious Tuesday. Has everybody recovered from the insanity of Monday Night Football?
The Tennessee Titans made a lot of bettors very unhappy with their defensive stand in the final seconds against the Buffalo Bills. Like many others, I was on the Bills side and assumed that they would be able to get into the end zone for the win after converting on 4th-and-1. Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but the Bills made the right call going for the win. When a team has a bigger, mobile quarterback like Josh Allen, getting a yard is normally going to be an easy task. However, Jeffrey Simmons simply blew the play up and you have to just tip your cap on a fine defensive play.
With the Monday meltdown behind us, Tuesday offers quite a bit of excitement from a betting standpoint. The 2021-22 NBA season gets underway and there’s two phenomenal games on the slate in Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers. For a hoophead like myself, having basketball back in our lives is truly a beautiful thing.
- 76ers kick Ben Simmons out of practice, suspend him for season opener.
- CBS Sports Midseason All-America team.
- 20 NBA storylines for 2021-22 season.
- NFL Week 7 Power Rankings.
With a terrific night of sports on tap, let’s dive into the picks.
All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook
🔥 The Hot Ticket
🏀 Nets vs. Bucks, 7:30 p.m. | TV: TNT
The Pick: Bucks -1.5 (-110): The Bucks are coming off their first NBA title since 1971 and will be receiving their championship rings prior to Tuesday’s contest. As we saw last week with the Tampa Bay Lightning, that can make some teams complacent. However, I really don’t see that happening tonight.
The Bucks didn’t tinker with their roster much after winning it all. The team did add guards Grayson Allen and George Hill, who should make their bench even stronger. On top of that, the Bucks possess arguably the best player in the world right now in Giannis Antetokounmpo. During the seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series last season, Antetokounmpo absolutely dominated the Nets and shot 57.9 percent from the field. Antetokounmpo topped the 30-point mark in all but one game in that series and the Nets simply had no answer for him. I expect that to continue to be the case here, so I’m comfortable siding with Milwaukee on a small spread.
Allan Bell is joined by Mike McClure, Zack Cimini and Larry Hartstein to dish out Tuesday’s best bets. Download and follow The Early Edge on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Key Trend: The Bucks are 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a favorite
💰The Picks
⚾ Braves at Dodgers, 5:08 p.m | TV: ESPN
The Pick: Dodgers (-177) — The juice is a little high, but it’s definitely worth it in this scenario. The Braves have taken a surprising 2-0 series lead after winning a pair of one-run games. Being in a 2-0 hole, this is a game that the Dodgers definitely need to have. Los Angeles has won two of its three home playoff games this postseason. In addition, the Dodgers went 28-9 at home during the second half of the regular season, including winning 15 consecutive games at Dodger Stadium to cap off the regular season. It’s also worth noting that the Dodgers swept the Braves at home in early September.
The Dodgers are sending starter Walker Buehler to the mound in Game 3. In three starts this postseason, Buehler has surrendered a grand total of five runs and looked very strong. The veteran right-handler has allowed just one run in two of those games. Buehler has also had success against this Braves lineup this year. In a start in late August against Atlanta, Buehler tossed seven innings and yielded just two runs on four hits while striking out five batters. In a game that the Dodgers absolutely have to have, Buehler can be counted one to produce a stellar start and the team’s offense just needs to give him some run support.
Key Trend: The Dodgers are 6-2 in their last eight playoff home games
🏀 Nets vs. Bucks, 7:30 p.m. | TV: TNT
The Pick: Kevin Durant over 30.5 points (+110) — The Nets will be without Kyrie Irving for the foreseeable future with the All-Star guard away from the team as he has chosen not to get a COVID-19 vaccination. With that in mind, Brooklyn is going to need to rely on the likes of Kevin Durant and James Harden against the Bucks. That’s why I believe that Durant should have no problem getting to 31 points in this one and you’re getting it at plus money.
Despite the Nets falling short against the Bucks in last year’s playoffs, it wasn’t any fault of Durant’s. The star forward shot 51.0 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three throughout the series. Durant topped the 32-point mark in four of the seven games throughout the Eastern Conference semifinal series. In addition, the Nets were forced to play the final three games of the series without Irving after he sprained his ankle in Game 4. When Irving was out in those final three games, Durants scored at least 32 points in all three contests, including a 48-point and 49-point performance.
Key Trend: Durant scored at least 32 points in four of the seven games against Milwaukee in last season’s playoff series
⚽ Champions League Parlay
A three-leg moneyline parlay paying +207 for Wednesday’s Champions League action.
- Manchester United (-135)
- FC Barcelona (-385)
- FC Bayern Munich (-250)
