By Ryan Bologna
We usually try to give you a preview of the biggest sporting event for the weekend every Friday, but the calendar doesn’t align with a single event this weekend. That doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to look into. The NBA Finals just started and the conference finals for the NHL are in full swing. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Golden State Warriors were both favored before each of them played game one. These are both veteran teams that have won championships before, so the common theme here is to not overreact to the first game of a series. Here is why betting on the Warriors and Lightning to win their series’ might be the best way to go.
New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning
The Rangers and Lightning will play game two of the eastern conference final tonight at 8:10 p.m. EST. The Rangers took a 1-0 series lead with a 6-2 win on Wednesday and are currently favored to win the series at -125. The Lightning are notorious for bouncing back after a loss in the playoffs and have odds set at +105 to win the series ahead of game two. The Lightning have not lost back-to-back games in the playoffs since 2019 when it was swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Stammer dropped the HAMMER. 🔨⏰ pic.twitter.com/tq6bGnQXbK
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 2, 2022
It might be a good play to bet on the Lightning to win the series right now while is the underdog, because if it wins tonight it will surely be favored again. If the Lightning lose again tonight and go down 2-0 in the series, it still could be a good bet. Vasilevskiy had a rough game one, but it’s tough to imagine that happening again as the series goes on. The Lightning is coming off a nine-day layoff after sweeping the Florida Panthers. The long layoff could have played into Vasilevskiy’s play in game one. The old saying is that a team is never in trouble in a playoff series until it loses a home game. We just saw that in the Rangers vs Hurricanes series. This series is far from over.
Boston Celtics vs Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors came out hot in game one — Steph Curry was lighting up the scoreboard early on and finished with 34 points. Golden State maintained about a 12-point lead for most of the game; they must have cruised away with the win right? Wrong. The Celtics launched a furious comeback fueled by Jaylen Brown’s 24 points and Al Horford’s six threes. While the Warriors lost game one at home, it is not time to count them out as they currently have +160 odds to win the series. Like the Lightning, the Warriors have the championship pedigree, even though this is their first time back in the finals in three years.
The WIZARDRY of Wardell Stephen Curry II 🪄 pic.twitter.com/eLbLFFW0Ex
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 3, 2022
The Celtics took seven games to get past both the Bucks and the Heat on their way to the finals. While those are elite teams, it shows that they are beatable. Jayson Tatum struggled in game one and Brown is capable of replicating his performance, but can the Celtics expect that same type of shooting from Horford again? He impacts the game in many ways other than scoring, but it’s tough to imagine that performance from behind the arc being replicated.
The Celtics likely won’t run away with this series and the Warriors have the experience and ability to bounce back. Now might be the time to get the best odds on the Warriors if you still believe in them.
Photo Credit: Jai Agnish
