NBA and NHL Finals Betting
The NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup final, and golf's U.S. Open highlight the sports betting calendar this week, along with the continuation of interleague play around baseball. As well, the Sprint Cup Series will be on the track at Michigan for the Quicken Loans 400.
The Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder are your NBA Finals participants this season, with LeBron James and company punching their ticket to the championship series on Saturday with a 101-88 home win over the Boston Celtics. Miami was favored at the sportsbooks to beat the Celtics on Saturday, but they're opening as road underdogs against Kevin Durant and the Thunder for Game 1 of the Finals on Tuesday.
The Heat and Thunder have split their last 10 meetings 5-5 dating back to 2007, with the Heat covering the posted spread on the NBA lines at the sportsbooks in just four of those 10 meetings. Totals bettors have seen the OVER/UNDER go 4-1 in the past five games between Miami and Oklahoma City. This season the Heat and Thunder split their two contests 1-1 both SU and ATS, with the UNDER wager coming through twice.
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On the ice the Stanley Cup final will continue for at least one more contest on Monday, with the Devils and Kings playing Game 6 of the best-of-seven set in Los Angeles. The Kings were looking good in the series after taking a 3-0 lead in the Cup final, but the Devils have bounced back on the NHL lines with two straight wins in Games 4 and 5. Each of the last eight games between the Kings and Devils have been UNDER results.
After winning the Memorial two weeks ago Tiger Woods is the favorite at the sportsbooks to win the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco this week. Defending U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy follows Woods on that golf odds list, with Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, and Phil Mickelson the other top contenders for the week. Dustin Johnson, Jason Dufner, and Matt Kuchar all sit in the odds' second tier.
On the diamond interleague action continues this week, with notable series including Boston at Miami, Arizona at Texas, the Angels at the Dodgers, and Washington at Toronto; Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to pitch at the Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon. On the weekend the Nationals will play host to the Yankees, with the Boston at Wrigley Field to battle the Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball.
Finally, the Sprint Cup Series will be at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday for the Quicken Loans 400, with Denny Hamlin winning the event in both 2010 and 2011. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick won the late Michigan races over the past two seasons.