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


by Doc's Sports - 4/17/2018

Cam Fowler Anaheim Ducks

This season's NBA and NHL playoffs are underway with first round action starting up last week, and the new MLB regular season enters its third week of play. Boxing is always high on the list for Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza , and the futures odds for next month's Kentucky Derby are now in play. It's a full week of sports betting at Doc's, and we will be covering all these topics in this week's discussion.

The former Vegas Sports Informer honed his craft as one of the best sports handicappers in the nation during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. At the peak of that career, he held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria. While Raphael retired from the sportsbook industry in 2013, he continues to stay busy 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: Game 1 of the opening-round, best-of-seven series in the NBA Playoffs is in the books with the favorite going 6-2 straight up and 5-3 against the spread. From a betting standpoint, is there anything that stood out in your mind from these early results?

RE: The public went heavy on the "over" in Game 1 between San Antonio and Golden State as well as in the series opener between New Orleans and Portland, and they both stayed way "under" the closing line. My general take on this first round of games is that we could see longer series throughout the playoffs. The wide gaps that existed between the elite NBA teams and the rest of the playoff field have been pared down quite a bit.

Doc's Sports: We have been closely following the NHL's Pacific Division all season long in light of the Vegas Golden Knights' success as an expansion team. Both Vegas (against Los Angeles) and San Jose (against Anaheim) have opened a commanding 3-0 series lead in their best-of-seven opening-round matchup in the playoffs. Which team has the best chance to pull off the four-game sweep?

RE: All three of the Golden Knights' victories have been by one goal, so it would not surprise me to see the Kings win at home in Game 4. San Jose should sweep its series after completely demoralizing Anaheim in Monday's Game 3 with an 8-1 victory.

Doc's Sports: There have been some surprising starts through the first few weeks of the new MLB regular season, both good and bad. When it comes to wagering on the games, are there any takeaways from these early results that could give bettors an inside edge?

RE: The main thing that comes to mind is just how disruptive the weather has been across the country in the first few weeks of the new season. Games are getting postponed due to major snowstorms, and on this past Sunday alone a total of six games were never played due to adverse weather conditions. This can be very frustrating for a bettor given the effect it has on team's starting rotations. You might want to wait until May to start betting the games on a regular basis.

Doc's Sports: ESPN and Showtime boxing are each offering an attractive fight card for this Saturday night. Which bouts have piqued your interest from a betting standpoint?

RE : If you are a MMA fight fan, you could add Saturday's UFC Fight Night in Atlantic City to the list. Out of all the fights on Saturday's schedule, the one at the top of mine would be the welterweight boxing match on Showtime between Jessie Vargas and Adrien Broner. Vargas is listed as a slight -125 favorite, which normally signals a close, hard-fought bout that may not be decided until the later rounds.

Doc's Sports : The final round of Kentucky Derby prep races took place this past Saturday. Now that we know which three-year-olds are expected to compete in this year's 'Run for the Roses' at Churchill Downs on Saturday. May 5, can you give us a few contenders that have moved to the top of your early betting board to win?

RE: The field for this year's Kentucky Derby could be the deepest in talent in recent memory with at least five or maybe even six contenders having a legitimate shot to win. If I had to come up with a Top 3 list right now, it would probably be Justify and Audible in the first two spots followed by Magnum Moon after last Saturday's upset victory in the Arkansas Derby.

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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