Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 5/24/2016

by Doc's Sports - 5/24/2016

Doc's Sports' Raphael Esparza is considered to be an expert handicapper for a number of different sports, including soccer. In this week's discussion, we will get his take on the futures odds for two major soccer tournaments getting underway in the month of June. We will also talk about the current road to the NBA Finals.

Previously known as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry, Raphael rose through the ranks to the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. Since then, he has expanded a very successful and diverse sports investment service to the Big Easy in New Orleans while keeping close ties with all the major sportsbooks in Las Vegas. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: Golden State bounced back with an impressive victory in Game 2 of its Western Conference Finals showdown against Oklahoma City after getting stunned in Game 1 at home. Following a bad loss on the road in Game 3, do you have the Warriors following suit by tying this series at two games apiece with another rebound win on Tuesday night?

RE: Draymond Green not getting suspended for Game 4 could mean that the fix is in at TNT. Seriously, though, you would almost have to go with Golden State down two games to one, but my inside sources in Las Vegas tell me that quite a bit money is starting to come in on Oklahoma City. Either way, I see a much tighter game this time around.

Doc's Sports: The Cleveland Cavaliers appeared to be rolling towards the NBA Finals with 10 straight playoff wins, but they now find themselves in a 2-2 series tie with Toronto after losing their last two games on the road as favorites. Is this just a bump in the road, or are the Cavs in real danger of actually losing this series as heavy favorites?

RE: Game 5 actually becomes more a must-win situation for Cleveland given how poorly the Cavs have suddenly looked in those two back-to-back losses on the road. Both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving need to bring their A+ game to Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night, because if any doubt of winning this series starts to creep into the overall psyche of this team it can easily lose two of the next three games.

Doc's Sports : The St. Louis Blues have been able to climb out of a few holes in their run to the NHL's Western Conference Finals including a Game 7 win on the road against Dallas in the conference semifinals. Down 3-2 to San Jose, can the Blues force a Game 7 at home in this series with a win on Wednesday night in Game 6 as road underdogs?

RE: I am just waiting for either of these teams to start playing some defense in this series. The road team has now won six of the last eight games between the two, so this could be a really good spot to go with St. Louis as a road underdog.

Doc's Sports : Copa America 2016 will take place in the United States starting the first week of June. While Argentina and Brazil are the two favorites to win with most of the sportsbooks futures odds for this tournament, does the home-town US National team have any chance of upsetting these two South American powers as third-favorites to win?

RE: I am not really expecting all that much from the US team in this tournament, and the program as a whole could actually take a step backwards over the next few years. Argentina and Brazil are the two teams to beat, but I think there is some solid value in both Columbia at 9/1 to win and Mexico at 12/1 with many of the books in town.

Doc's Sports: The other major soccer tournament getting underway next month is the 2016 Euro Cup. The top three contenders to win this event are Germany, France and Spain when it comes to the futures odds posted. Which of these three countries has the best chance to win, or is there another team waiting in the wings to upset the favorites?

RE : Much like the two South American soccer powers, Germany and France belong at the top of the futures list in this tournament. I am not all that high on Spain as a third-favorite to win, but if you are looking for value then England at 8/1 is a solid play. This is a young team with something to prove as the fourth or fifth team on the list.

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 .

Pick:	CHICAGO BEARS +3
Start:	November 24, 2024 @ 1:00 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #256 Chicago Bears +3 over Minnesota Vikings (1p.m., Sunday, November 24 FOX) We used the Bears as a free play winner last Sunday and easily covered the spread and should have been an underdog outright winner. Now we will ride them for a second straight week against another NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are 8-2 on the season, yet are only around a field goal favorite. I still do not trust Sam Donald to win consistently over the course of a 17 game regular season. Minnesota is not as good as their 8-2 record would indicate and playing outdoors in Chicago on Sunday will cause issues for them on both sides of the ball. Chicago has been hit or miss this season, but they will be up to play another divisional rival and we expect them to take this down to the wire as well. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend Card featuring top plays in college and NFL football. Read More Read Less

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