Week 3 NFL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets | NFL Picks Against the Spread | NFL Props | Survivor
Chris Meaney
This is a great time to be a sports bettor. As sports betting becomes legal in more and more locations, the various sportsbooks are all vying for your business.
Targeting daily odds boosts bets can be one of the best ways to take advantage.
Several times a week, I’ll be highlighting some of the best odds boosts and where you can find them.
Sunday’s odds boost piece will touch on a variety of sports. We’ll take a look at an odds boost for the Europa League and NHL, and we’ll also look ahead to the start of the NBA playoffs. The first round kicks off Monday, with the Denver Nuggets vs. the Utah Jazz at 1:30 p.m. ET.
If you’re looking for more value, make sure to subscribe for our platinum Fade the Noise Bets packages for the NFL, NBA, MLB and whatever other sports you’re interested in betting on.
Let’s dive in.
Europa League Odds Boost
Sevilla vs. Manchester United (3 p.m. ET)
Inter Milan vs. Shakhtar Donetsk (3 p.m. ET Monday)
Boosted bet: Manchester United and Inter to advance — +160 on DraftKings (was +140)
The Europa League semifinals will take place Sunday and Monday, with the winners advancing to the Finals next Friday.
It starts with what should be a tight matchup between Sevilla and Manchester United. Man U are slight -134 favorites to advance, but Sevilla has historically had lots of success in the Europa League. They’ve won it a record five times, including three times in a row between 2014 and 2016.
Monday’s match is not expected to be as competitive. Inter is listed as -286 to advance compared to just +220 from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Parlaying Manchester United and Inter together definitely makes sense from an odds perspective. The “true odds” on a parlay with a -134 favorite and a -286 favorite should be around +135, so getting it at +160 is a good bit of value.
NHL Odds Boost
Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers (8 p.m. ET)
Boosted bet: Flyers to win — +200 on FoxBet (was -143)
Anything can happen in the NHL playoffs — that’s part of what makes it so exciting — but it’s hard to pass up on the Flyers at +200.
They are listed at approximately -140 around the industry, so getting them at +200 is a pretty drastic increase. -140 odds translate to an implied probability of 58.3%, while +200 translates to just 33.3%. That’s a huge boost in value.
NBA Odds Boost
Boosted bet: Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors to sweep their first-round series — +340 on BetMGM
The Bucks and the Raptors enter the postseason as two of the favorites to win the NBA title. The Bucks are currently the odds-on favorites at most sportsbooks at around +250, while the Raptors have the fourth-shortest odds at around +1000.
Additionally, they have two of the easiest matchups in the first round of the playoffs.
The Bucks will take on the Magic, who rank just 19th in the league in terms of Net Rating. That’s the worst mark among all 16 playoff teams. They’re also dealing with some injuries at the moment, so they aren’t even going to be at full strength. Overall, the Bucks are listed at around -135 to win the series 4-0.
The Raptors will take on the Nets, who were somewhat frisky in the bubble. That said, they still rank just 15th in Net Rating this season. The Raptors are also favored to complete the sweep, with their odds listed at around -150 to win the series 4-0.
Ultimately, +340 is pretty darn good odds considering the individual odds for both series. Parlaying a -150 favorite and a -135 favorite has true odds of approximately +190, so getting +340 is an excellent price.
Boosted bet: Los Angeles Lakers or Los Angeles Clippers to sweep their first-round series — +170 on BetMGM
The Lakers and Clippers have significantly tougher first-round matchups, but at least you only need one of them to sweep in order to win this bet.
The Lakers are taking on the Blazers, who went on a nice run to qualify for the postseason. That said, they have been an absolute disaster defensively. They rank just 27th in terms of defensive efficiency this season, which is easily the worst mark among the 16 playoff teams.
The Clippers are taking on the Mavericks in what should be a fun series. Dallas ranked first in the league in offensive efficiency this season, and they actually put together one of the top marks in the history of the league. The Clippers finished just behind them, ranking second in that category.
That said, both teams are clear favorites to advance, with each owning -500 odds. It’s very possible that one of them could pull off a first-round sweep.
