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Case of the Mondays: Just Go Ahead and Start the Finals?

by - 5/22/2017

Avery Bradley Boston Celtics

The first two rounds of the NBA playoffs were expected to be snoozefests, and that is exactly what they were. Expectations were higher with Cleveland and Golden State running into Boston and San Antonio, respectively, in the conference finals. So much for that idea. With MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard having been on the sideline for two full games and part of another, the Spurs trail the Warriors 3-0. The Celtics stole Game 3 on Sunday, but they still trail the Cavaliers 2-1 and Isaiah Thomas is done for the playoffs.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook.

Kawhi Leonard . It was going so well for San Antonio, which led by as many as 25 points in Game 1 -- including by 20 at halftime. To say it's no longer going well would be a massive understatement. Leonard went down midway through the third quarter of the series opener and left with his team leading by 23 points. The rest is history. Golden State stormed back to win 113-111, dominated Game 2 by a 136-100 margin, and prevailed on the road 120-108 this past Saturday. The Spurs are +11.5 home underdogs on Monday night .

Isaiah Thomas . The Eastern Conference Finals may not turn out to be overly competitive, but they are off to a bizarre start through three chapters. With Thomas and at home, Boston lost Game 1 by 13 points and Game 2 by 44. Both could have been even more lopsided. Without Thomas and on the road, the Celtics pulled off a stunning 111-108 victory via a last-second three-pointer by Avery Bradley. Although that gives Boston some momentum, Thomas is out for the remainder of the postseason due to a right-hip injury. The Celtics are +15 road underdogs on Tuesday.

Ottawa Senators .Washington pushed Pittsburgh to a Game 7 in the previous round of the NHL playoffs. Ottawa will try to do the same -- and, unlike the Capitals, win it -- after losing Game 5 on Sunday afternoon with the series tied 2-2. The Senators fell into a 3-2 hole that did not come close to being avoided, as they were embarrassed 7-0 on the road. Four first-period goals all but ended it for the Penguins, who added one more in the second period and two in the third. In the Western Conference, Nashville is a -143 home favorite over Anaheim in Game 7 .

Freddie Freeman . Even when the Braves win, they lose. In one of its best series of an otherwise disappointing season to date, Atlanta took three of four games from Toronto last week (two for two on the road, one for two at home). But in an 8-4 victory at SunTrust Park last Wednesday, Freeman got hit by a pitch and suffered a fractured left wrist that will sideline him for at least 10 weeks. The star first baseman is batting .341 this season with a National League-leading 14 home runs in addition to 25 RBIs. Atlanta (Foltynewicz) is a +114 home underdog against Pittsburgh (Cole) on Monday.

Jason Day . Day recently failed to defend his 2016 title at The Players Championship. The Australian played better one week later, but he missed a chance to win the AT&T Byron Nelson Classic on Sunday. Day dueled Billy Horschel down the stretch and failed to convert a putt from approximately 15 feet away on the 18th hole that would have clinched victory. With Horschel in at par on the first playoff hole, Day missed a four-foot putt to extend the competition. The 29-year-old has not lifted a trophy since his triumph at The Players more than a year ago. Day is +1000 to win next month's U.S. Open; Dustin Johnson is a +650 favorite.

Arsenal . The Gunners won their English Premier League finale on Sunday, but it didn't matter. Needing a win of its own and either a loss by Manchester City or a tie or loss by Liverpool (sound like Week 17 of an NFL season, yet?) to finish in the top four on the EPL table, Arsenal took care of Everton 3-1 but did not see other results go its way. Man City disposed of Watford 5-0 and Liverpool blanked Middlesbrough 3-0, leaving the Gunners in fifth place and out of a spot in the 2017-18 Champions League. "It's very sad," manager Arsene Wenger said, "because for 20 years we were in it. It's very strange because with 75 points we are one point short, and of course you can look everywhere for where we dropped this point. Overall I believe that we played since January in a very difficult environment for different reasons. The psychological environment for that group of players was absolutely horrendous and I'm very proud of what they have done - the way they responded and finished the season." Real Madrid is a -120 favorite to beat Juventus in this year's Champions League final.

Novak Djokovic . Djokovic's 2017 campaign has been somewhere between mediocre and bad from start to finish through almost five months. There was more wild fluctuation in his game this past week in Rome, where he destroyed a red-hot Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-0 on Saturday only to lose Sunday's final in routine fashion, 6-4, 6-3 at the hands of 20-year-old German Alexander Zverev. The second-ranked Serb, who has not won a title since a season-opening event in Doha, announced that former great Andre Agassi will be his new coach -- at least part time -- starting at next week's French Open. Djokovic is a +330 second choice to triumph at Roland Garros.

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