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Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza

by Doc's Sports - 5/31/2016

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Diversity in sports betting is the spice of life, and in this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza we are going to run the gambit from the NBA and NHL Finals to his early picks for the Belmont Stakes as well as his thoughts on recent betting odds for a proposed bout that would shake up the boxing world.

Raphael honed his craft as an expert handicapper during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry where he became known as the Vegas Sports Informer. After rising to the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria, he decided to retire a couple of years back to focus his full attention on running a very successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: Thursday night starts Round 2 of a best-of-seven battle between Cleveland and Golden State in this season's NBA Finals after the Warriors won the world title last year by beating the Cavaliers in six games. How do you see this year's showdown between the league's top two teams playing out this time around?

RE: This is a much different Cleveland team than the one that went down in flames in last year's NBA Finals. A healthy Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving will make all the difference in the world over the course of a seven-game battle, so I would have to go with the Cavaliers this time around.

Doc's Sports: Both San Jose and Pittsburgh lit things up on the scoreboard during their recent march to the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals. The total stayed "under 5.5" in the Penguins' 3-2 win against the Sharks on Monday night in Game 1 of this best-of-seven championship tilt, so which way would you lean on the same total line for Wednesday night's Game 2?

RE: I went with the under in Game 1 once I saw the total line set at 5.5 and I would probably go that way again for Wednesday night given that it is set at 5.5 again. My top play would be San Jose as a road underdog to even things up with a victory in this game.

Doc's Sports : Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is out of this year's Belmont Stakes on June 11, so unfortunately we will not get treated to a rematch with Preakness winner Exaggerator in the final leg of this year's Triple Crown racing season. That being said, is there another horse that is in the proposed field that can upset Exaggerator over the added distance of this 1 ½ miles race?

RE: I do not see Exaggerator as dominant enough to hold off the rest of the field with the added distance of the Belmont. I am not quite sure which horse I would bet to win, but I would definitely go against Exaggerator as the likely favorite. That could change if we end up with another sloppy track, but I am going to look for a contender that already has some racing experience at Belmont as a good upset pick.

Doc's Sports : So far, this year's French Open in tennis has pretty much gone chalk. Would you continue to bet on Novak Djokovic on the men's side and Serena Williams in the women's bracket as the top two favorites to win this Grand Slam event?

RE: With quite of bit of talent already missing from this year's French Open , there is definitely a very clear path to the title for both of these favorites. This is usually a great betting event, but I feel that much of the luster for this year's event is missing, especially with the Euro Cup in soccer getting underway next week.

Doc's Sports: Bovada recently released betting odds for a proposed boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. (-2000) and UFC star Colin McGregor (+900). As an oddmaker, what would be your betting odds that this fight ever takes place?

RE : At first I thought those were the odds for if this fight would take place, so I would probably go with the same numbers for that prop as well with a -2000 line on no. The main thing to keep in mind when betting on something like this is the fine print in the actual prop. It could contain an actual date when the fight would have to take place, or it could have a date for when a deal would be "made" with a contract in place.

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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