Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 5/23/2017

by Doc's Sports - 5/23/2017

The conference finals in both the NBA and the NHL playoffs continue to wind down in anticipation of the start of the best-of-seven championship series in both of these sports. In this week's discussion with Doc's expert handicapper Raphael Esparza , we will put the finishing touches on the two conference finals matchups still in action while also checking in on some betting action in MLB and the WNBA.

During a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry when Raphael was still known as the Vegas Sports Informer, he was able to work his way up the ranks to become the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria while becoming one of the top sport's handicappers in the nation. He decided to retire from the sportsbook industry in 2013 to spend all of his time running a successful and diverse sports investment service from his home base in Las Vegas as well as from 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: The Boston Celtics stunned sports bettors with Sunday's 111-108 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers as 16-point road underdogs after getting blown off the court in the first two games of this Eastern Conference Finals showdown at home. While it is hard to see Cleveland losing two games in a row at home as a heavy favorite, can Boston cover in Tuesday night's Game 4 as a 15-point underdogs on the road?

RE: I honestly think that LeBron James and possibly Cleveland as a whole was bored heading into Sunday's Game 3 after winning Game 2 by 44 points. The Cavaliers know they can beat Boston by a really big number if they put forth their full effort for all four quarters, and I think that will be the case in Game 4 to cover the 15 points.

Doc's Sports: The Pittsburgh Penguins stormed back from a 2-1 series deficit against the surprising Ottawa Senators in the NHL's Eastern Conference Finals with a pair of victories in their next two games by a combined score of 10-2. Game 6 is on tap for Tuesday night in Ottawa with the Penguins listed as solid favorites on the road . Is this series over or can the Senators find a way to force a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh?

RE: You would think that Pittsburgh should be able to put this series to rest in Game 6, but I am actually leaning towards Ottawa to come up with one last big effort at home to take this series the distance. The Senators are too good of team to not bounce back from a truly embarrassing performance in that 7-0 beatdown in Game 5.

Doc's Sports: Turning to the first quarter of the 2017 MLB regular season, what is more impressive in your book; Minnesota leading the AL Central at 23-18 through Monday's action or Colorado holding down first place in the NL West at 29-17 on the year?

RE: Not to take anything away from what Minnesota has been able to accomplish in the early part of the season, but I am more impressed with Colorado given how it has been able to win games with its pitching as opposed to just scoring a ton of runs. I am not sure just how long the Rockies can keep winning games at their current pace, but I would keep riding them until things start to go the other way on a consistent basis.

Doc's Sports : A new season in the WNBA got underway on May 14. Given the results of the first few rounds of games, do you have any early-season handicapping tips to help bettors cash in on a few winning tickets for this league?

RE: I have been impressed with the overall level of defensive play in the first few games for a number of teams, so I would probably lean towards "under" in light of any soft total lines that might be out there. I believe that Atlanta in the East and both Minnesota and Los Angeles in the West offer the best value as three of the best teams in league. The gap between these three and the rest of the league should continue to expand as the season wears on.

Doc's Sports: This is the time of the year when adventurous sports bettors are looking for a few different events to wager on. Is there anything on this week's betting radar that has caught your eye?

RE : At the top of the list would be this Sunday with the Indianapolis 500 during the day followed UFC Fight Night 109 on FOX this Sunday night. I am still waiting for the betting odds to be posted for Indy Racing's biggest event of the season before I release my top head-to-head picks, and there are a couple of good MMA fights on Sunday's UFC card that have piqued my interest.

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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