Wednesday May 22 Best Sports Bets & Predictions For NHL Playoffs & NBA Western Conference Finals

The Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves provide NBA fans a refreshing matchup for the West finals in what should be some great theater.

Bigger markets, New York and Miami, are set for Game 1 of the Rangers-Panthers East final showdown and Caitlin Clark is back in action for the Indiana Fever, who face a team that Clark just might torch.

We have thoughts.

Dallas Mavericks at Minnesota Timberwolves

If you had the Mavs and Wolves in your bracket as Western Conference finalists, congratulations. (And where are your picks posted?!)

Dallas is led by the surprisingly consistent (mental and physical) Kyrie Irving and the great Luka Doncic. Their excellence has cleared a path for role players such as Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington to deliver (wide-open) 3-point daggers.

Minnesota has just been coalescing faster than most NBA observers believed, led, of course, by Anthony Edwards.

The Timberwolves are learning the playoff ropes quickly, deploying Rudy Gobert to fit myriad situations and watching Karl-Anthony Towns gladly take the “Robin” role beside Edwards’ “Batman.”

The Minnesota defense is worth watching Wednesday night.

(And, against several experts’ advice, we’re ignoring the Game 1 conference final trend of “over” that clicked again in Boston Tuesday night.)

Mavericks team total UNDER 103.5 at -150 (DraftKings).

Two-leg parlay, Timberwolves moneyline with UNDER game total 216.5 at +110 (BetMGM)

Indiana Fever at Seattle Storm

We’ll follow Caitlin Clark to Seattle for a Wednesday night roadie.

Clark turned an ankle Monday night but returned to the game and finished with 17 points in 27 minutes.

The Fever are only a 5.5-point underdog against the 1-3 Storm.

Most important for our betting angle is Clark’s confidence to keep shooting (assuming ankle health, of course). Not only has she attempted 15 or more shots in her two 20+ point games, her 3-point attempts reflect an offensive role that requires her success to become team success.

Oh, she’ll shoot the ball. She’s 12-for-35 from long range, already a tick better than 34 percent and likely heading north as the season continues.

That’s a good thing if you’re considering the over on her Wednesday night point total. And we are.

Two-leg Caitlin Clark parlay paying -120 (FanDuel): Clark to score 20+ points and Clark to hit 3+ 30-pointers

Florida Panthers at New York Rangers

The Rangers hope for a boost at Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference finals series against the Panthers. There will be top-flight energy in the building and plenty of scoring opportunities.

Although New York is the better seed, Florida is the better team (-150 at DraftKings, for example) according to the bookmakers.

Panthers scorers Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart and Alexsander Barkov will be buzzing, and Rangers standout goalie Igor Shesterkin will be peppered.

New York has seen Shesterkin make 299 saves in its 10 playoff games, a shade under 30 shots faced per game – against competition a shade under what Florida will bring.

Florida had 28 or more shots in every one of its six games in the last round against the Boston Bruins,

Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky mitigates any perceived Rangers advantage in goal. He gave up two or fewer goals in every one of the last five games of that Bruins series.

Panthers -115 (DraftKings) to win Game 1

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin to make at least 20 saves in every game of the series at -154 (FanDuel).