Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 6/2/2015

by Doc's Sports - 6/2/2015

We are down to the championship series both in the NBA and NHL playoffs, so bettors will have one final opportunity to cash in on Doc's Sports' Advisory Board selection packages for each of these best-of-seven showdowns. For the past 44 years we have prided ourselves as a leader in the sports selection industry behind a team of expert handicappers that include some of the best of the best in their field.

For the past eight years, Raphael Esparza has been one of the shining stars on that team as an expert handicapper for Doc's. Originally known as the Vegas Sports Informer, he honed his craft in this business during a long and successful career working for some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas. He rose all the way to the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until he decided to retire from the sports betting industry in 2013.

Since then Raphael continues to work on building an already-vast network of Las Vegas "insiders" that include some of the town's biggest and most influential personalities in the sports betting game. These professionals know this industry inside and out, and he has done an excellent job of incorporating this "insider's edge" into his sports investment business.

Savvy bettors who have been fortunate to follow Raphael over the years have been able to make a small fortune behind his winning record for a number of major sports as well as his picks for other betting avenues such as the WNBA, horse racing, boxing, professional tennis and soccer leagues all around the globe. One week it might be pro wrestling and the next it could be prop bet picks in the world of entertainment. If a sportsbook somewhere around the globe posts odds for an event, there is a good chance that he will be predicting the outcome.

Doc's Sports and Raphael continue their ongoing weekly Q&A to try and give readers a deeper look into the Las Vegas betting scene as well as cover some of the hottest trending sports betting topics of the day. When looking for the ultimate sports betting source, we have found that there is no one better than a true "insider" in the undisputed sports gambling capital of the world. The following is this week's conversation.

Doc's Sports: Golden State is a heavy series favorite to win this year's NBA title, and it comes into Thursday's Game 1 against Cleveland as a six-point home favorite with many of the books in Las Vegas. Where has the early money for both the series bet and the series opener gone in town leading up Thursday night's opener?

RE: My sources in town have the early money on the series price going heavy towards Cleveland, given just how much of an underdog it currently is. This makes all the sense in the world to me with LeBron James being the x-factor in this series. The money on Game 1 itself has been slow, but that should begin to pick up in another day or so.

Doc's Sports: It's no big surprise that the Warriors' Stephen Curry and the Cavaliers' LeBron James are the top two names on most futures' list for series MVP, but in your opinion which one of these NBA superstars ends up having the better series win or lose?

RE: I would have to go with Curry in this matchup. He should be able to pretty much play his game against whomever Cleveland puts up against him, especially if Kyrie Irving remains less than 100 percent. Golden State, on the other hand, has a number of options it can turn to against James. Both players are still going to get their fair share of points, but I think Curry ends up grabbing more headlines.

Doc's Sports : Both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning are coming off huge Game 7 victories to advance to this season's NHL's Stanley Cup Finals. Looking ahead to Wednesday's Game 1 in Tampa Bay, which team do you have holding onto this momentum with a win in this best-of-seven series opener?

RE: The thing that I like best about the Blackhawks in this is run has been their ability to consistently bounce back from bad losses with solid wins. They do not seem concerned with where the games are played, which should drastically reduce any perceived home-ice edge that Tampa Bay may have thought they had for Game 1.

Doc's Sports: This year's French Open in professional tennis has pretty much gone according to schedule for men's favorite Rafael Nadal and women's favorite Serena Williams. Is there anyone left in the field that has a chance to derail either of these player's run to another Grand Slam title?

RE: Nadal has been in great form through the early rounds, but he faces a major test in his next match as an underdog against Novak Djokovic. Williams has not played her best, especially in her opening set, but her path to the French Open title is not nearly as hard, so I would have to go with her as the better play of the two.

Doc's Sports : We have been talking about American Pharoah as a Triple Crown contender since early in the Kentucky Derby prep race schedule, but now that the moment of truth is upon us with the running of this Saturday's Belmont Stakes, do you think that we will finally see the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 after so many other horses have failed to seal the deal in this race since then?

RE: With the field down to eight horses on two late scratches, it certainly appears that this is American Pharoah's race to lose. Frosted and Materiality may be able to put up a fight as second- and third-favorites, but I am not sure that either will be up to the challenge. While I am still working on my actual selections for the race, my heart will be pulling for American Pharoah come Saturday just to see history made.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

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