May 21 Tuesday Best Sports Betting Picks & Predictions For NBA Playoffs & MLB

The NBA will see a new champion in 2024, and oddsmakers are leaning toward the Boston Celtics to be that new champion.

The Celtics and Indiana Pacers begin their Eastern Conference finals series Tuesday night in Boston, and we have some thoughts.

We'll also offer up some value on a right-hander with Cy Young-caliber stuff who takes the mound against an overmatched division rival, and a couple of NHL bets for the New York Rangers-Florida Panthers showdown.

Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics

Have the Celtics learned from the two playoff games they've lost in 2024? Only a resounding Game 1 performance would answer that question in the affirmative, and, until then, it's a bit of guesswork.

We'll guess.

The prediction is that Boston will feel the added urgency from its fans and come out firing. The Pacers, understandably, could be dragging a little after the gutsy close-out win Sunday over the depleted New York Knicks.

Jayson Tatum needs to be sure the ball moves from side to side and doesn't stall in his hands. The team has talent everywhere you look and it's just better when Tatum triggers the offense early.

It's hard to see a world in which Tatum doesn't score 20 points in Game 1. Couple that with Jaylen Brown's penchant for Game 1 efficiency (18-30 from the field in those games, including 8-12 from 3-point range and a 24.5 points per game) and we have a bet.

Game 1 three-leg parlay -125 (DraftKings): Tatum to score 20, Brown to score 20 and the Celtics -5.5.

Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros

Astros scheduled starter Cristian Javier has always had an elite repertoire, especially in his home ballpark.

A couple of friendly trends collide Tuesday night in Houston, when Javier faces the Los Angeles Angels.

First, Javier has been far better at home over his five-year big-league career, pitching to a 2.67 ERA vs. a 4.48 mark on the road.

Next, the Astros are beginning to show signs of life after an awful start to this season, going 7-3 over their past 10 games.

Javier has pitched in 11 games against the Angels in his career, striking out 75 and walking only 12 while going 5-1 with a 2.79 ERA. The eight current Angels hitters to have faced Javier have a combined .212 batting average.

Finally, if you remove his strange outlier May 11 in Detroit (seven runs in 1 1/3 innings), Javier has allowed only four earned runs over 29 1/3 innings pitched this season.

That shaky start in Detroit could cause some worry, but also makes this game more bettable.

Astros -1.5 at -104

Florida Panthers at New York Rangers

The Madison Square Garden karma has to be on the Rangers' side after it spent so much time recently damning the NBA's Knicks' postseason chances via calamitous injury troubles.

New York holds the home-ice edge against Florida, yet begins as a +130 (DraftKings) series underdog.

The Panthers are on a roll, but they're also annoying – Matthew Tkachuk actually decided to pummel Boston Bruins non-fighter David  Pastrnak during Florida's series win. Karma due?

The Rangers have key offensive forces playing at a high level, with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad carrying the play and Chris Kreider and Vincent Trochek providing added grit.

New York fans deserve better this spring in the Garden.

Rangers series bet +1.5 games at -150 (DraftKings)
Artemi Panarin to score 3+ goals in the series at +115 (FanDuel)