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Tides’ Takes: Free Expert Betting Picks For Today (5/6/22)

Timothy Buell Fri 5/6 10:29am PT
Image Credit: Imagn

ScoresAndOdds analyst Timothy Buell gives free expert advice and betting picks for Friday’s NBA, NHL and MLB slates.

Happy Friday everyone! Welcome to this new article for ScoresAndOdds, where we will offer betting picks and advice for multiple sports that are happening on a given day.

The MLB season is here! We’ll focus on MLB odds and props, while continuing to analyze NHL odds and NBA odds and props. We will also be throwing in some traditional parlays and some same game parlays as we see fit.  

Make sure to use our tools at ScoresAndOdds to find the best lines at your favorite legal sportsbook.  

We have two NBA, four NHL and 14 MLB games to choose from this evening.  Let’s get started with the betting picks!  

Free NBA Betting Picks For Today

Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers

It seems as if Joel Embiid will miss Game 3, as he tries to work his way back from his orbital fracture and mild concussion. As an NBA fan, I am disappointed to miss out on watching him play and possibly lead his team to a championship run. Despite Philly being without their best offensive player, I still like the over in this game. The Heat should continue to exploit Philly’s lack of rim protection, Bam Adebayo has had back to back games of 20 plus points in this series and has been the primary beneficiary of Embiid’s absence. Look for that to continue in this game.

On the Philly side of the court, I think they try to pick up the pace and get the Heat out of their comfort zone of slow methodical team orientated basketball. I think Tyrese Maxey continues his exceptional playoff performance and continues to put up 20+ field goal attempts. Keep in mind that Philly has scored 115.4 points per 100 possessions this postseason.  Granted it is a small sample, I don’t think this total is high enough and I am going to look to take advantage of that. 

Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks continue to do the same old thing. The Suns are attacking Luka on the defensive end and the Mavs can’t get big stops. The Suns put him in 19 ball screens and they scored 1.81 points per chance (via ESPN). The playoffs are a different animal than the regular season. If you don’t play defense, you don’t win. Luka is being forced to do everything on the offensive end and is exhausted by the end of the game. Can the home-court crowd push this team in a pivotal Game 3? Maybe, but that’s not where my money is going. The combination of Devin Booker and Chris Paul will end up being too much for the Mavericks. The Suns are so deep up-and-down their lineup and have two big men that spread the floor. The Suns also have Mikal Bridges who is one of if not the best on ball defenders in all of basketball.  I don’t see this game ending well for the Mavs tonight or in Game 4. Suns sweep the Mavs. 

Free MLB Betting Pick For Today

Milwaukee Brewers @ Atlanta Braves

You can still get this game at some of the smaller legal books at even money.  Eric Lauer is going up against what is essentially a bullpen game for the Braves. Lauer has been exceptional this season (yes, it’s only been four starts), but I always want the better pitcher in any matchup when I am making a baseball moneyline wager. Lauer has 1.93 ERA and under a 1.00 WHIP. His expected ERA is 2.84, which is still outstanding. 

Of course, the strikeouts will come down, but this is still a spot to get exceptional value on a betting line. The Braves are not the same team without Freddie Freeman (no offense to Matt Olson). The Brewers’ offense is very much the same caliber as the Braves, so I don’t see an advantage either way when it comes to the bats. This is just a long way of saying that I think the Brewers should be outright favorites in this game and should be closer -130-140, not even money to -110.  

MLB Player Prop –– Trevor Story

It’s no secret that Trevor Story has really struggled since signing his massive off season deal with the Red Sox. If you want to fade me on this one, then by all means, it’s your money.  I think that Boston should really be able to hit Vince Valasquez hard and often. He has a 6.23 expected ERA and 47% hard hits and 15% barrel rate so far this season. Everything tells me that this isn’t going to be a good start for him and with Story projected to lead off I like the value on this line. He should get at least two AB’s against Valasquez and then have two, maybe three at bats against the bullpen.    

Free NHL Betting Picks For Today

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Tampa Bay Lightning

If you’ve been following any of my Premium Picks on ScoresAndOdds, then you know that I bet the Lightning to win the series at even money. Things are looking OK for that wager, since they split the first two games in Toronto. I think that they carry over momentum from Game 2 and really start to dominate this series. 

The Lightning should really be able to at least contain Matthews from an offensive perspective, while the Leafs just haven’t shown me anything from their depth. Playoff hockey is all about depth and goaltending. The Lightning have massive advantages from both of those angles. My money will continue to ride or die with the Lightning both in this game and the series overall.