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Case of the Mondays: Toronto is LeBronto, Cleveland is Believeland


by - 5/7/2018

Donovan Mitchell Utah Jazz

The season is just about over for the Toronto Raptors. Exactly the same can be said of the Utah Jazz. One day after Toronto fell into a 3-0 series deficit against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah also found itself one game from elimination following a second consecutive loss to the Houston Rockets. On the ice rink, meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks can officially begin making their tee times.

All odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook .

Toronto Raptors . The Raptors wanted to play anyone other than Cleveland. A second-round date with the Indiana Pacers would have been especially nice. But Indiana's season ended with a Game 7 loss to the Cavaliers, and the Raptors' season might as well have ended with it. After all, they had already been ousted by LeBron and company in 2016 (4-2 in the conference finals) and 2017 (4-0 in the conference semis) and-in case anyone forgot-these Cavs still have LeBron. He delivered a triple-double in a 113-112 overtime road win in Game 1, went for 43 points and 14 assists in a 128-110 Game 2 romp, and drained the buzzer-beater heard 'round the world in last weekend's 105-103 Game 3 home victory. The Raptors are +6 road underdogs in Game 4 on Monday.

Utah Jazz . Even the Jazz have to be honest about this: they were never going to win a series against Houston. But having taken one of two on the road, Utah could have at least liked its chances to do the same at home. Instead, the underdogs lost both contests in their own friendly confines; 113-92 in Game 3 and 100-87 on Sunday. Donovan Mitchell has not been as inconsistent as fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons during these conference semifinals (Philadelphia trails Boston 3-0), but Mitchell has struggled against the Rockets. He is shooting a horrendous 32.5 percent (including 24.1 percent from three-point range), scored only 10 points on a 4-for-16 effort in Game 3, and has turned the ball over at least three times in all four contests. Utah is a +12 road underdog in Game 5 on Tuesday.

San Jose Sharks . Can anyone stop the expansion Golden Knights? San Jose certainly couldn't, as it got eliminated by Vegas 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals with a 3-0 road loss on Sunday. The Sharks' top line of Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, and Joonas Donskoi combined for five points in six games. "Definitely we would have liked to have been more productive," Pavelski admitted. "We'll have to look at it and figure it out. We had some looks; we had some chances. We didn't capitalize." Added Kane: "Obviously we didn't produce the way we wanted to, especially the last couple of games. We had some chances. Unfortunately, we didn't get the bounces to go our way…. We just weren't good enough." The Winnipeg Jets are -150 home favorites to finish off their series against the Nashville Predators on Monday.

Clayton Kershaw . The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Kershaw (left biceps tendinitis) on the 10-day disabled list over the weekend. Kershaw started feeling discomfort while playing catch last Saturday and an MRI one day later confirmed the initial diagnosis of tendinitis. Manager Dave Roberts has expressed optimism about the injury, and there is a chance his ace will miss only two starts. Rich Hill will replace Kershaw on Tuesday. Los Angeles is +200 to win the American League West.

Cristiano Ronaldo . The latest installment of El Clasico had a little bit of everything on Sunday: controversy, injuries, a red card, and ultimately a draw. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona played to a 2-2 deadlock, with the former missing Ronaldo in the second half and the latter down a man throughout the second 45 minutes. Ronald's sprained ankle stole many of the headlines from the officials after he went down in the process of scoring a goal in the 14 th minute. The 33-year-old managed to finish the first half before getting subbed out. "I cannot say how long he will be out," manager Zinedine Zidane said. "Cristiano does not feel good, but he says it's only a small problem. He is a bit worried, as the ankle is a bit swollen." Real is a -140 favorite to beat Liverpool in the Champions League final.

Todd Pletcher . Pletcher went 0-for-4 at the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday, as his quartet of horses could not match pre-race betting favorite Justify. Magnum Moon, Audible, and Vino Rosso were all contenders at +1200 or better, while Noble Indy was a longer shot. Audible placed third but was never a serious threat during the two-plus minutes of action, eventually finishing 2.5 lengths behind the winner. The derby was especially disastrous for Magnum Moon, who finished second to last-49.5 lengths away from the lead. Justify, trained by five-time Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert and mastermind of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, enjoyed a clean ride the entire way and mostly coasted to the line ahead of Audible and Good Magic. Justify is a -160 favorite to win the Preakness, and he is +150 to win the Triple Crown.

Tiger Woods . It could have been worse-like missing the cut. But Tiger's comeback seems to have hit a lull, with no terrible results of late but also nothing like title contention (such as at the Valspar Championship in March). The 14-time major champion slumped through his 11th career round without a single birdie on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship, carding a 3-over 74 and finishing in a tie for 55th place. "I hit the ball halfway decent today,'' Tiger said. "Again, just not putting well and didn't make a birdie. I got shut out…. It's just one of those weeks and I'm on to the next week, which is nice. That's one of the great things about golf is that once the tournament's over, you're on to next week.'' Jason Day, who won on Sunday, is among the +1400 co-favorites to win THE PLAYERS Championship this week. Tiger is +4000.

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