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


by Doc's Sports - 5/8/2018

Justify in the Kentucky Derby

Whether you are looking for an inside edge on which side to bet on in key matchup in the NBA or NHL playoffs or looking ahead to the Preakness Stakes after Justify's thrilling victory in last Saturday's Kentucky Derby, Doc's has you covered in this week's discussion with expert handicapper Raphael Esparza , who keeps his finger on the pulse of everything going on in the sports betting world.

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 until his retirement in 2013. These days, Raphael continues to work out of his home base in Las Vegas as well as 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 Philadelphia 76ers were set as series favorites heading into their conference semifinals matchup against Boston. They have closed as favorites in each of the first four games in this best-of-seven clash. Despite being down three games to one playing on the road against the Celtics in Wednesday's Game 5, the Sixers remain slight favorites at most of the sportsbooks in town. Is this a golden opportunity to go big on Boston given its 6-0 record both straight up and against the spread in this season's playoffs?

RE: From an oddsmaker's standpoint, Philadelphia is still the better team in this Game 5 matchup regardless of how this series has played out so far. From a handicapper's standpoint, the value is with Boston playing at home with the dominant series lead. If you are going to bet the Celtics in this game, wait until you get closer to tip off since I think you are going to see some late money come in on Philly

Doc's Sports: You recently posted a betting piece on Doc's Sports concerning Becky Hammon's odds to become the first female head coach in the NBA as the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. The odds were in her favor at -145 to get the Milwaukee job, but you still felt the Bucks would go in a different direction. What would be her odds in general to become a head coach in the NBA with any team if you were setting the numbers?

RE: If I had to set the odds that she gets a head coaching job in the NBA at some point in time, they would be -500 in her favor. She has not only proven herself to be a worthy candidate, she is learning her craft under one of the best coaching minds in the game in Gregg Popovich, and that makes all the difference in this situation.

Doc's Sports: Everyone knows that you are a big fan of the WNBA. With the start of a new season right around the corner, can the Minnesota Lynx break their pattern of winning the league title every other season since 2011 with a second-straight championship run in 2018 after winning it all last year?

RE: Teams such as Washington in the East and Phoenix in the West should be better this year, but the title still comes down to a head-to-head matchup between Minnesota as the defending champs and Los Angeles as the next best WNBA team by a wide margin. The Lynx can win again, but my early bet is on the Sparks given the better value in their futures odds.

Doc's Sports : Going against the Washington Capitals in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs has been a winning proposition in recent years. Now that they have finally advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals against Tampa Bay, is it time to go with Washington in this matchup?

RE: Getting that monkey off their back could change everything for the Capitals moving forward. You have to be impressed with the two road wins against Pittsburgh to win that series 4-2. You also have to be impressed with the play of Braden Holtby in goal. That position was always one of Washington's weak links in its past postseason failures.

Doc's Sports: Justify looked pretty dominant in last Saturday's Kentucky Derby win. There is no doubt that he will be favored to win the Preakness Stakes on May 19, but would we be getting ahead of ourselves to call him a legitimate Triple Crown threat?

RE : He should come into the Preakness as a prohibitive favorite, but we would be getting way ahead of ourselves to start talking about a Triple Crown title. The Belmont Stakes is a beast of a race, and it has been the downfall a more than one really good three-year-old. It also does not help that some of the top contenders will skip the next race to start preparing for the added distance of the Belmont Stakes as the final Triple Crown event.

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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