This is a 10* on the UNDER

There’s really nothing to play for here unless you consider Oklahoma City’s official seeding for the playoffs. That really doesn’t matter though as they’re going to play Houston in the 1st round and with home court advantage not a factor, being the 4 or 5 seed is of no real importance. The Clippers are the 2-seed in the West and locked into a first round matchup with the Mavericks. They are 4-3 in the bubble after a 124-111 win over Denver Wednesday night secured them the 2-seed. The Thunder are also 4-3 and off a win as their reserves rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat Miami two days ago. All stars are going to sit this finale out. Interesting that the Clippers past five games have all gone Over, averaging 238.4 points/game. This is a much different kind of game though with nothing on the line and starters not playing. The Clippers have also faced some of the worst defensive teams here in the bubble. Oklahoma City is generally pretty good defensively. At the same time, it has shot just 42.1% the L5 games. Under is 44-19-1 the L64 games the Thunder have been underdogs. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 7* on CINCINNATI

Going by units lost, the Reds (-7.1) have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball so far. With playoff expansion (8 teams per league) this season, many thought this would be Cincinnati’s year to return to the postseason. Right now they’re just 8-11 and just took an embarrassing 9-6 loss to Pittsburgh at home yesterday. They did try and make a game of it late, scoring runs in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings, but falling into an early 9-0 hole was simply too much to overcome. Fortunately for the cause, Pittsburgh is not a team you’d expect to win two in a row. In fact, that hasn’t happened yet as the Pirates record is a league-worst 4-13. Sonny Gray has three of the Reds eight wins this year and he’ll be on the mound Friday, looking to improve his already stellar numbers (2.25 ERA, 0.92 WHIP). Over his first three starts, Gray allowed just 2 runs in 28 innings. Chad Kuhl will start for the Pirates. He’s worked as a reliever as well. He was okay in the first start, giving up just one run. But he made it through only 4 innings and the Pirates lost that game 17-13. That was also the last time the Bucs were off a win. Play on CINCINNATI

AAA

This is an 8* on MINNESOTA

Minnesota got swept by Kansas City last weekend and that’s why we’re playing them here. Otherwise, the Twins have had a great start to 2020 as their record in all other games is 12-4. The Royals are just 5-11 when factoring that one series out. The Twins bounced back from the sweep by taking two of three from Milwaukee to start the week and the offense “woke up” in Wednesday’s 12-2 win. The Royals split two games with Cincinnati and though they’re 5-1 L6 games, they were 3-10 beforehand. Homefield advantage in 2020 doesn’t mean what it used to, but the Twins are 7-1 at Target Field thus far. Jake Odorizzi, coming off an All-Star campaign last year, had an okay first start. It was against these Royals and he lasted just three innings before giving up two runs. Royals starter Junis has made two starts and has yet to go a full five innings. If this comes down to the bullpens, the Twins are in good shape and should get their revenge. Play on MINNESOTA

AAA

This is an 8* on the OVER

Washington can’t like the way this series started. A 4-2 loss to the Islanders in Game 1 saw them give up all four goals in the span of 13 minutes as their own early 2-0 lead quickly went away. The loss was also the third in four games for the Capitals since the restart. Their only win was the final round robin game (vs. Boston) which kept them out of the 4-seed. New York is 4-1 and getting some surprising scoring punch with four or more goals scored in three of the past four games. The Isles didn’t have much trouble with the overmatched Panthers in the qualification round. Here, as falling into the early two-goal deficit should tell you, they will face more firepower. Washington’s offense has really yet to get going here in Toronto, but we feel it's only a matter of time. They average 3.4 goals per game for the year. The Over is 5-2 the last seven times these division foes have met. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on ST. LOUIS

St. Louis, who won the Stanley Cup last June and had the most points in the Western Conference at the time of the stoppage, has not won a game since March. They are 0-3-1 since the restart and this series with Vancouver got off to an auspicious start Wednesday. They were beaten 5-2. It was the Canucks 4th straight win and they’ve scored 17 goals. Certainly, it feels as if the Canucks have the momentum right now. But it would obviously be foolish to write off the Blues. The third period has been the problem thus far. The Cup Champs have been outscored 9-0 in the final 20 minutes of the previous four games. They have a +2 goal differential in the first two periods. In the round robin, they lost in the final second of regulation and another game in a shootout. The other saw them jump out to an early 2-0. In Game 1 vs. Vancouver, they had a 31-22 edge in shots on goal. Look for the Blues to reverse their late game woes in Game 2 and tie this series up. Play on ST LOUIS

AAA

This is an 8* on the OVER

Game 1 went to overtime. While Philadelphia won 2-1, it was also a win for us as we had Montreal +1.5. The win not only put the Flyers up in this series but also kept them perfect since the restart. They’re 4-0 and have allowed one goal in every game. Montreal, a 12-seed that should feel fortunate to even be here, did eliminate a talented Pittsburgh team (that was at full strength) in just four games in the qualification round. Philly has been the hottest team in the league since January 8th and has won 13 of its last 14 games. We are looking for Game 2 to go Over the total. The teams came into this series having gone a combined 0 for 23 on the power play, since the restart. Both scored a goal with the man advantage in Game 1, a good sign. Yes, the Canadiens have Carey Price. But is his .945 save percentage in the bubble sustainable? Probably not! Flyers goalie Carter Hart has a .966 save percentage here in Toronto. That’s definitely not sustainable! The Over is 4-1 for Philly following the last five times they were held to two goals or less. Play on OVER

AAA