The Dallas Mavericks cannot afford a loss at home to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
The Mavericks are 9.5-point favorites against the Bulls (8:30 p.m. ET) as Dallas attempts to keep its play-in hopes alive. Thanks to the Thunder’s win against the Jazz on Thursday night, Dallas needs to beat both the Bulls and the Spurs over the final two games of the season to get past the Thunder.
Oklahoma City is now 39-42 on the season while Dallas is 38-42. OKC won two of the three games between the teams this season and has the head-to-head tiebreaker; Dallas needs to have a better record than Oklahoma City. And the only way it can do that is if it beats both the Bulls and Spurs.
Thankfully for Dallas, the Bulls and Spurs don’t have much to play for. The Spurs are simply trying to have the best chance to get the No. 1 pick and Chicago is locked into the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are two games behind the Toronto Raptors but the Raptors have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Dallas’ game against Chicago isn’t the only game with big playoff implications either. The Golden State Warriors are 8.5-point favorites against the Sacramento Kings. On the road too. That’s because Sacramento is locked into the No. 3 seed in the West. The Kings could rest players like Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox since the game doesn’t matter.
The game could also be a playoff preview. The Warriors currently have the No. 6 spot and are tied with the Clippers who are in the No. 5 seed at the moment. The battle between the Warriors and Clippers over the final two games of the season is likely to see who will be No. 6. With the Phoenix Suns at No. 4, the No. 5 seed isn’t very enticing.
The Suns are at the Lakers on Friday night as Los Angeles is an 8.5-point favorite. Like the Kings, the Suns’ playoff position is assured. The Lakers are a game back of both the Clippers and Warriors in the seventh spot in the conference and at least one of those three teams will be a part of the play-in tournament.
The Lakers are tied with the New Orleans Pelicans at 41-39 with two games to go. The Pelicans need an upset Friday night too. New Orleans is a 7.5-point underdog at the New York Knicks.
Got all that? If not, no worries. You can click here for our daily look at the playoff scenarios. The Western Conference is an absolute cluster right now and Sunday’s final day of the season is going to be intense.
Jon Rahm is the favorite after Round 1 at the Masters
Jon Rahm moved from third favorite to No. 1 favorite after he ended the first round of the Masters tied for the lead. Rahm had a double bogey on the first hole and then went 9-under on his remaining holes to shoot a 65 and tie with Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka for the lead.
Rahm is +350 to win the Masters ahead of Day 2.
Every MLB team in action
There are 15 games to bet on Friday night in Major League Baseball and there are some enticing matchups. The San Diego Padres are at the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals are at the Milwaukee Brewers. The Dodgers and Rays are the two biggest favorites of the day. The Dodgers are -225 on the road at the Diamondbacks and the Rays are -225 at home against the A’s.
Who cashed tickets Thursday?
The Thunder continued to be the best NBA team against the spread in their 114-98 win over the Jazz on the road. The Nuggets covered as big road underdogs at the Suns as Phoenix won 119-115. That game wasn’t as much of a playoff preview as you may think. Denver played that game without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
