Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 5/17/2016

by Doc's Sports - 5/17/2016

The second leg of the Triple Crown horse racing season takes place this Saturday at Pimlico Race Track with the running of the 2016 Preakness Stakes. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza, we will get his thoughts on how to bet this race.

Known as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry, Raphael once held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. Nowadays he is running a very successful and diverse sports investment service from his home bases in Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: Before the start of the NBA Playoffs you were high on San Antonio's chances to dethrone Golden State as the reining NBA Champs. Now that Oklahoma City has pulled off a stunner on the road in Game 1 of the NBA Conference Finals against the Warriors, are you going with the Thunder to win the West?

RE: There has to be some level of concern in Golden State, especially if Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson continue to struggle hitting threes in Game 2. The Thunder may have come across a way to minimize the Warriors' top strengths which at the very least turns this series into a seven-game affair.

Doc's Sports: I do not think that anyone is giving Toronto a puncher's chance against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. Would you risk the high moneyline odds on the Cavaliers to cash a ticket on a return trip to the NBA Finals?

RE: I definitely would not bet against Cleveland winning this series, but I do not think it will be as one-sided as everyone thinks. We could easily see a slow start by LeBron and Co. on Tuesday's night after such a long layoff, and Toronto has a good chance to win one or two games at home.

Doc's Sports : Speaking of punchers, heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has been making some noise with his undefeated 36-0 record. Now that his fight with Alexander Povetkin has been called off due a failed drug test by the Russian, does this open the door for a possible bout against the other heavyweight champ Tyson Fury somewhere down the road?

RE: The stage could be set for this matchup assuming that Fury wins his bout against Wladimir Klitschko in early July. With Povetkin on the shelf due to a pending suspension, I would look for Wilder to face someone like Luis Ortiz this fall. If everything goes according to schedule we could then see a Wilder vs. Fury showdown early next year.

Doc's Sports : The NHL: Eastern Conference Finals matchup between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh in knotted at a game apiece. The Penguins are still favored to win this series despite the split on their home ice. How do you see things playing out in the rest of this best-of-seven clash?

RE: Tampa Bay could have easily won Game 2 after erasing an early two-goal deficit, and I like the Lightning in Game 3 as slight home underdogs. Pittsburgh is still a very good team, but it had to exhaust quite a bit of energy to get past Washington in the previous round. This is shaping up to be another series that seems destined to go the distance.

Doc's Sports: Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is expected to open as the clear favorite to win this Saturday's Preakness when the official morning line odds are released later this week. Are you going chalk in this race, or is there another three year old in the field poised to pull off the upset?

RE : Nyquist should be able to win this race with a weaker-than-expected field taking shape, but he will still have to hold off Exaggerator and Triple Crown racing newcomer Stradivari this Saturday to set up a possible Triple Crown run in the Belmont. One horse that I like at longer odds for Saturday's Preakness is Uncle Lino. I may not bet him to win, but he could easily figure in the top three mix.

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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