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Bookie Busters: NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs and soccer plays

Bookie Busters: NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs and soccer plays
Brad Stevens and the Celtics should get it done tonight. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The results

Last week: 7-5-1 overall

Soccer 7-2-1

NBA 0-3

Last 3 weeks: 24-10-3  (70.5%)

Barcelona money line (DNB) 3x PUSH

Game Total Over 3.5 WIN

Match Result and Both Teams to Score: Barca and Yes   +185 LOSS

Will a goal be scored in both halves? YES WIN

Messi scores a goal 2x  WIN 2X

Both teams to score in 2nd half   +130 WIN

Barca and 2.5   LOSS

Last week's plays of the week

Germany

RB Leipzig vs. Wolfsburg

Over 2.5   -144 WIN

Over 3 +112    WIN

Mainz 05 vs. Dortmund

Over 3   PUSH

NBA Playoffs     

Pelicans vs. Warriors

Warriors over 30 1st quarter LOSS

Warriors Team total  1st half over 60 LOSS

Over 119.5 First Half LOSS

What to play next 

NBA playoffs

Celtics vs. 76ers

Wednesday brings us a pivotal Game 5 match-up where the visitors will try to keep their season alive. Winning at the TD Garden will be a tall task as Boston is undefeated at home this postseason. The Celtics won 70 percent of their regular season home games, cementing a 33-14 home record while covering the spread 62.2 percent of the time. In Game 5, Boston is currently favored by 1 point and was 18-17-2 ATS at home during the regular season when favored.

The Pick

The Celtics have shown all series long their ability to limit what Philadelphia wants to do. Boston's Head coach Brad Stevens has thrived on dead-ball situations and his ability to out-coach Brett Brown in late game situations. If the 76ers can steal Game 5, the pressure will weigh heavily on the Celtics for the remaining two games of the series. History is on the home teams side, as teams that are down 0-3 in a series are 0-129 all-time to advance. Boston has excelled this year off one-day rest and led the league going 38-19-2 ATS (66.7 percent). Give me the home team, in what Coach Stevens will label as a must-win situation for his squad.

Celtics -1

Soccer

EPL

Chelsea vs. Huddersfield

Huddersfield is fighting off regulation and did so beautifully securing a draw vs. Manchester City over the weekend. The visitors have now picked up 4 points out of the last five matches and will look to continue their success Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. The difference  in this match will be the motivation of their opponent as Chelsea is fighting to stay in the top 4 and need to win out to better their chances at a Champions League spot.

The Pick

Huddersfield will be looking to park the bus in hopes of securing at the minimum, a draw. Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte will have his team prepared and will be looking to get on the scoresheet as quickly as possible. I don't see the visitors holding off The Blues the entire match, and once they find the back of the net, they will repeat it with ease as the match opens up.

Chelsea -1.5     -155

Leicester vs. Arsenal

Over 3

Spain

Barcelona vs. Villarreal

Over 3.5

Barcelona Team Total over 2.5

Sevilla  vs. Real Madrid

Sevilla Pk

Real Madrid fatigue factor and Ronaldo, Bale, and Carvajal out.

NHL

Predators vs Jets Game 7

Predators Moneyline

2018 World Cup Deep Dive Preview and Picks coming soon!!

Any Questions or comments reach me @JerryBoKnowz on Twitter.

 

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Houston's offense added some legit firepower. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Texans addressed their most glaring needs by selecting offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and a pair of Iowa State receivers in the NFL draft.

“The idea was to try to add good players, good people that are young, tough, hungry, that want to win, that put the team first,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “These picks exemplify that.”

The Texans got players that could help them quickly despite not picking in the first round for a second straight season. They didn’t have a first-round pick last year because of trades, including the one to move up and get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.

This season they shipped the 25th overall pick to the Giants on Thursday in exchange for several picks.

Their first selection in this draft was receiver Jayden Higgins, who was taken with the second pick of the second round. They added Ersery later in the second round with the 48th overall selection and picked up Higgins’ teammate Jaylin Noel in the third round.

Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after the offseason trade of five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Ersery started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota where he was a third-team All-American last season.

He comes to Houston to help shore up a line that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season, which was the second most in the NFL.

The Texans added veteran tackle Cam Robinson this offseason and Ersery will compete with him to protect Stroud’s blind side as the Texans attempt to reach the playoffs for a third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans.

The 6-foot-6, 331-pound Ersery, who was the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year last season, can’t wait to play with Stroud.

“C.J. Stroud is a baller,” Ersery said. “I’m so honored to be a guy to help out and come in and help protect him. I’m just super stoked and I know I’m going to a great organization.”

Cyclones teammates

Higgins and Noel join the Texans to add more depth at receiver to complement star Nico Collins with Tank Dell recovering from a serious knee injury and Stefon Diggs gone to the Patriots.

Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.

After Higgins was drafted, Noel never imagined he’d be heading to Houston, too. He shared on social media a fortune he received from a Chinese restaurant that read: “Look forward to an unplanned reunion with an out-of-touch friend.”

Noel later shared his feelings about joining Higgins on the roster.

“I was surprised,” Noel said. “But they’ve seen that 1-2 punch all year. They’re going to be very happy with those selections for sure.”

Caserio said a talk with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on Friday helped him make his final decisions on the receivers.

“He was effusive in his… belief and praise of both Higgins and Noel,” Caserio said.

The Texans now have three receivers from Iowa State on their roster after drafting Xavier Hutchinson in the sixth round in 2023.

Overcoming obstacles

Ersery and his four siblings were raised by a single mother and experienced homelessness when he was a child despite her working multiple jobs. He is thrilled to have put those struggles behind him as he embarks on his next chapter.

“I’ve got that hardworking mentality from her,” he said. “So, growing up times were tough but now I’ve got my foot in the door and I look forward to trying to change some things around.”

Caserio loves guys with work ethic like Ersery’s and said that’s one reason why they believe he’ll fit in with the Texans.

“If you come in and put your head down and work and just get better, take advantage of your opportunities, you’re going to have a shot to have success and do a lot of good things for the organization,” he said.

What’s in a name?

Along with Noel, the Texans added another Jaylin in this draft with they picked USC cornerback Jaylin Smith in the third round.

“We got Jaylins, and we got all these guys around. It’s going to be hard to keep them straight,” Caserio joked on Friday after they picked Smith.

Then on Saturday, the Texans added another player with the same name, albeit with a different spelling, when they took Penn State safety Jaylen Reed in the sixth round.

That gives them four players with the same name and three different spellings as the three rookies join starting safety Jalen Pitre on the team.

Doubling up

Along with drafting two players from Iowa State, the Texans also added a pair of players from Southern California when they picked running back Woody Marks in the fourth round after drafting Smith in the third.

Marks ran for a career-high 1,133 yards with nine touchdowns for the Trojans last season after transferring from Mississippi State.

Be sure to watch the video below as NFL.com Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein shares his thoughts on all the Texans' picks!

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