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


by Doc's Sports - 5/29/2018

Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors

For the fourth-straight season, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors will face one another in the NBA Finals. Golden State has the 2-1 edge with world titles in 2015 and 2017, and it has been opened as a heavy favorite on the series price to win again this year. Over in the NHL, the Stanley Cup Finals are underway with Vegas holding the early 1-0 series lead against Washington. We will check in with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza to get his betting insight on each of these series along with a few other hot trending betting topics.

As the Vegas Sports Informer earlier in his career, Raphael honed his craft as one of the top sports handicappers in the nation during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. He once held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until retiring from the sportsbook industry in 2013. He continues to split his time between his home base in Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: The Golden State Warriors have been opened as prohibitive favorites on the NBA Finals series price odds to win their third world title in four years. Is there any value in betting on Cleveland's betting odds to pull off an improbable upset heading into Thursday's Game 1?

RE: Cleveland needed the full seven games to get past a Boston team that had its best player in street clothes. I would also question how much LeBron James has left in the tank given how many minutes he posted in that seven-game series. Maybe Cleveland can win one or two games, but Golden State is winning the series.

Doc's Sports: If Cleveland were to find a way to beat the Warriors four times over seven games, you would have to think that LeBron James wins series MVP award going away. Assuming Golden State plays true to form to win another championship, which player on this team has the best value in their MVP odds?

RE: The obvious choices would be Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, but I would look for the value in Klay Thompson or Draymond Green's odds to win MVP. One of those players could make enough of an impact in this series to garner an MVP award.

Doc's Sports: Washington and Vegas combined to score 10 goals in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday night despite some stellar play by each team's starting goalie coming into this series. With the total line set at 5.5 goals for Wednesday's Game 2 in Las Vegas, how would you lean on a total line bet for this game?

RE: I do think that the total goals scored in Game 2 will be less than in the season opener, but I would need to get some plus money on the under 5.5 to bet that way. Given how each team can put pressure on the opposing team's goalie, this lends itself to higher-scoring games than the 5.5-goal line reflects.

Doc's Sports : Last week, you posted some Johnny Manziel props on Doc's blog for his upcoming stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL. The "over/under" on his total starts at quarterback this season has been set at 7.5 games. You went with the "under" in this prop at -110 betting odds, but how many games do you think it will take until he does make his first start in the CFL?

RE: I see Manziel getting some playing time right out of the gate in Week 1, but starting a game at quarterback really hinges on Hamilton's record. Last season, the Tiger-Cats lost their first eight games before going 6-4 in their last 10 contests. A slow start this season could have Manziel in the starting lineup earlier than expected.

Doc's Sports: The start of the NBA Finals this Thursday night in Golden State may be at the top of the list for most sports bettors this week, but you recently posted some prop bet picks for the 2018 National Spelling Bee . What would be your highest-unit bet for this competition?

RE : As I mentioned in my post, since 2000 there have been 10 winners with glasses, including last year's champion speller. I would have to keep riding that trend at -130 odds as my top play for this year's National Spelling Bee.

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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