The Miami Heat will head out on the road to face off against the Milwaukee Bucks at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday at Fiserv Forum. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they’ll have plenty of motivation to get the ‘W’.
Last Saturday, things could have been worse for Miami, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 106-90 loss to Minnesota. The Heat have now taken an ‘L’ in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored the Bucks on Sunday, but the final result did not. They lost to Atlanta at home by a decisive 127-110 margin. The Bucks were down 101-80 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
The losing side was boosted by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Miami now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Milwaukee, their loss dropped their record down to 1-1.
Not only did the two teams lose their last games, but neither team managed to cover the spread. Looking ahead, the Bucks are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by six points. Miami might be worth a quick bet since they’ve covered the spread the last three times they’ve played Milwaukee.
The Heat came out on top in a nail-biter against the Bucks in their previous matchup back in April, sneaking past 128-126. Will the Heat repeat their success, or do the Bucks have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
The Utah Jazz will head out on the road to face off against the Denver Nuggets at 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday at Ball Arena. The Jazz might want some stickum for this game since the team gave up 18 turnovers on Saturday.
Last Saturday, Utah found themselves the reluctant recipients of a 126-104 punch to the gut against Phoenix. The Jazz were down 106-78 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Sunday. They put the hurt on Oklahoma City with a sharp 128-95 win. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 12 more assists than your opponent, as the Nuggets did.
Among those leading the charge was Nikola Jokic, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 14 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he’s now pulled down ten or more in the last three games he’s played.
Utah now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Denver, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
The Jazz are hoping to beat the odds on Monday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, keep Utah’s opponent in mind: they have a solid 7-3 record against the spread vs Denver over their last ten matchups.
The Jazz didn’t have too much breathing room in their contest against the Nuggets in their previous matchup back in April, but they still walked away with a 118-114 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Jazz since the squad won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Odds Denver is a big 8-point favorite against Utah, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Nuggets as a 7.5-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 227.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
The Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets get together for an Eastern Conference showdown on Monday. The Hornets are 1-1 and the Nets are 0-2 this season, with Brooklyn sweeping the four-game season series in 2022-23. Miles Bridges (suspension), Cody Martin (knee), James Bouknight (knee), and Frank Ntilikina (tibia) are out for Charlotte. Nicolas Claxton (ankle) and Cameron Johnson (calf) are out for Brooklyn.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. SportsLine consensus lists Charlotte as a 1-point favorite, while the over/under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 227.5 in the latest Nets vs. Hornets odds. Before making any Hornets vs. Nets picks, be sure to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five seasons. The model enters Week 2 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a 77-41 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $3,000. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Nets vs. Hornets and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Hornets vs. Nets:
Nets vs. Hornets spread: Nets +1 Nets vs. Hornets over/under: 227.5 points Nets vs. Hornets money line: Nets -102, Hornets -118 Brooklyn: The Nets are 24-20 against the spread in the last 44 road games Charlotte: The Hornets are 17-26 against the spread in the last 43 home games Nets vs. Hornets picks: See picks at SportsLine Why the Nets can cover Brooklyn’s offense is off to a flying start in 2023-24. The Nets are scoring more than 1.15 points per possession and shooting 42.9% from beyond the 3-point arc. Brooklyn is also shooting 49.4% from the field and 80.6% from the free throw line while generating 30.0 assists per game. The Nets are also securing 31.6% of available rebounds after missed shots, and potent guard Cameron Thomas is averaging 33.0 points per game on 62.5% shooting.
On the other side, Brooklyn is in the top 10 of the league in free throw prevention, assist prevention, and defensive rebound rate in the early going, and that comes after a very solid defensive season in 2022-23. The Nets held opponents to 46.3% shooting from the field and 51.8% from 2-point range last season, and Brooklyn also led the league with 6.2 blocked shots per game. With Charlotte shooting just 27.7% from 3-point range and committing more than 18 giveaways per game, Brooklyn’s defense should be in a favorable position. See which team to pick here.
Why the Hornets can cover Charlotte is led by a dynamic creating guard in LaMelo Ball, who averaged 23.3 points and 8.4 assists per game a season ago. He also scored 20 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed nine rebounds in Charlotte’s most recent game, and Ball keys a group that is averaging 27.0 assists per game this season. The Hornets are also in the top five of the NBA with 30.0 free throw attempts per contest, and Brooklyn’s defense is struggling in the early going.
The Nets are allowing 119.5 points per 100 possessions and 40.5% 3-point shooting to opponents while forcing fewer than ten turnovers per game. On the other end, Charlotte is stout to this point, giving up fewer than 1.05 points per possession and 25.4% 3-point shooting. The Hornets are creating 18.0 turnovers per game in 2023-24, and Charlotte was also firmly in the top 10 of the NBA in steals (7.7 per game) and blocks (5.2 per game) a season ago. See which team to pick here.
How to make Hornets vs. Nets picks SportsLine’s model is leaning Under on the point total, projecting 225 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits nearly 70% of the time. You can only see the model’s NBA picks at SportsLine.
The Carolina Hurricanes ended the New Jersey Devils’ season with a thrilling overtime win in Game 5 on Thursday night. But before moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hurricanes wanted to sprinkle a little salt in the Devils’ wound.
When Jesper Fast deflected a Jesperi Kotkaniemi shot past Devils goaltender Akira Schmid in overtime, the celebration began at PNC Arena in Raleigh. Around the same time, the trash talk began on social media.
Just minutes after the Canes ended the series, the team’s official Twitter account posted a video of notable New Jersey celebrities congratulating Carolina on its achievement. Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino from “Jersey Shore,” Teresa Giudice from “Real Housewives of New Jersey” and multiple actors from “The Sopranos” were just a few to make an appearance.
Feeling the love from Jersey 🫶#LetsGoCanes | @BookCameo pic.twitter.com/RAo7E37AeV
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 12, 2023 The messages were made via Cameo, which allows people to pay celebrities to record and send personalized messages to users. In this case, it appears that the celebrities may not have known it was the actual Carolina Hurricanes who were paying for the messages. Rather, it seems that all they knew is that they were congratulating “Carolina.”
Regardless of the method, it’s a ridiculously great troll job by the Hurricanes’ social media team.
As if that video isn’t hurtful enough for Devils fans, the Canes also tweeted out some Bon Jovi lyrics after the win. The band is famously from New Jersey.
Whoaaaaaaa, we’re half way there 🎶
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 12, 2023 The tweets just add insult to injury after a relatively uncompetitive series. Even without a pair of key forwards, the Hurricanes shredded the Devils in five games. In its four wins, Carolina outscored New Jersey by four goals.
The Hurricanes can now kick back and relax as they watch the rest of the series between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs to see who their next opponent will be. The Panthers have a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 5 on Friday night.
The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs started the weekend with a pair of entertaining Game 5s, as the Panthers completed their gentleman’s sweep of the Maple Leafs on the road, and the Golden Knights secured a 3-2 series lead against the Oilers at home.
Florida punched its ticket to the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-2 overtime win over the Maple Leafs in Game 5. Toronto came back from a two-goal deficit to force overtime, but Florida put an end to the rally with Nick Cousins scoring on a wrist shot at 15:32 of the extra period. The Panthers will play the Hurricanes next round with a Stanley Cup Final berth on the line.
The Golden Knights grabbed a 3-2 series lead over the Oilers with a 4-3 win at Las Vegas. Edmonton got off to a 2-1 lead over Vegas in the first period, but the Golden Knights exploded for three goals in the second period to gain a lead they would never relinquish. The series will shift to Edmonton for Game 6 that is slated for Sunday.
Here’s a look at all the scores for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Panthers survive Leafs’ late push to win series, advance to ECF The Panthers are headed to their first Eastern Conference Final since 1996 after eliminating the Maple Leafs in five games. Florida finished off Toronto on the road, winning Game 5 in overtime by a score of 3-2 after surviving a late push from the Leafs.
Florida raced to a two-goal lead in the first period, but was held scoreless for the rest of regulation as Toronto tied the game late in the third period. However, Nick Cousins stopped the Leafs’ rally dead in its tracks by scoring the overtime game-winner on a wrist shot with less than five minutes to go in the extra period.
Aaron Ekblad opened the game’s scoring a mere 3:31 into the first period, capitalizing on an early power play. With less than four minutes left in the opening frame, Ekblad added his second point of the contest by assisting on a Carter Verhaeghe goal that made it 2-0 Florida.
2-0 CATS! pic.twitter.com/Qf12B4fahU
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 12, 2023 Toronto cut Florida’s deficit back to one at 7:50 of the second period, when Morgan Rielly fired a wrist shot past Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The Maple Leafs then tied the game at 15:33 of the third period with William Nylander scoring his second goal in as many games, but the comeback effort ultimately proved to be futile in overtime.
The Panthers will now meet the Hurricanes, who dispatched the Devils in five games last round.
Golden Knights ride hot second period to series lead over Oilers The Golden Knights used a second-period surge to beat the Oilers 4-3 and go up 3-2 in their second-round playoff series. Down 2-1 after the first period, Vegas outscored Edmonton 3-0 in the second with Mark Stone, Reilly Smith and Nicolas Hague tallying a goal apiece. Connor McDavid brought the Oilers to within one after scoring a goal at 2:40 of the third period, but the Knights held their lead until the final buzzer.
Stoney started the comeback 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6za1WiuBAI
— z – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 13, 2023 Jack Eichel, who assisted on Stone and Hague’s goals, scored Vegas’ first goal of the game at 3:52 of the first period.
This series has shifted like a pendulum, as Vegas’ win means that neither team has collected back-to-back victories this series. However, this was the first game decided by less than two goals.
Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse and Vegas’ Alex Pietrangelo both missed Game 5 after receiving one-game suspensions for incidents that took place in Game 4. Both are expected to return for Game 6.
With Vegas leading 3-2, the series shifts to Edmonton — where the Oilers have gone 3-2 this postseason — for Game 6 on Sunday. A Golden Knights’ win would send them to their first Western Conference Final since 2021.
The Seattle Kraken forced their second Game 7 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Eeli Tolvanen built the foundation for Seattle’s victory, as the Finnish forward scored or assisted on his team’s first three goals to become the first Kraken player with three points in a playoff game.
This game quickly got out of Dallas’ grasp as the Kraken outscored them 2-1 in the first period before bolstering their lead with two additional goals over the first five minutes of the second. The Stars cut Seattle’s lead to two thanks to a Joe Pavelski goal at 5:37 of the second period, but couldn’t find the back of the net for the rest of the frame. Seattle and Dallas then traded a goal apiece over the first 10 minutes of the third period, making it a two-game goal until the final minute, when Jordan Eberle scored an empty-netter to give Seattle the 6-3 lead it would hold until the final buzzer.
While Tolvanen became the first Kraken player to hit the historic three-point playoff mark for Seattle, Eberle became the second by virtue of his empty-netter. Tolvanen scored his lone goal of the game at 1:34 of the second period, and he assisted on goals by Eberle and Yanni Gourde. In addition to his empty-netter, Eberle scored a goal at 16:46 of the first period and assisted on a third-period goal by Matty Beniers.
The series will shift to Dallas for Game 7, where the Stars have gone 2-1 this series. Seattle showed it doesn’t fear the Game 7 stage just last round, as they topped the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche at Denver.
For more on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, click here for all the scores across the NHL.
Actor Ryan Reynolds, Christopher Bratty and the Remington Group have pulled out of their bid to purchase the Ottawa Senators. According to the Ottawa Sun, Reynolds and his group wanted an exclusive negotiating window in order to purchase the NHL franchise, but the request was turned down.
Specifically, Reynolds and company wanted their own window 30-day window to negotiate with the National Capital Commission and the city of Ottawa to discuss plans for a new arena for the Senators. After being declined that exclusive window, Reynolds reportedly grew frustrated with the entire process. That’s when he, Bratty and the Remington Group elected to remove themselves from the process of potentially buying the Senators altogether.
At least six other groups are still involved in bidding for the franchise, which is why Reynolds and his group were not given exclusive negotiating rights, according to the Ottawa Sun. However, the Sun also reported that the alleged $1 billion offer Reynolds and his group were set to make for the Senators likely would’ve been more than any other bid.
The Remington Group thought that they were “negotiating against themselves,” according to the Ottawa Sun.
Reynolds, who is from Canada and spent a few years of his childhood near Ottawa, had initially expressed interest in purchasing the Senators back in November 2022 when there were rumblings that the team may be put up for sale. The actor stated that he would keep the franchise in Ottawa if he purchased the team.
Much like he did with fellow actor Rob McElhenney at soccer club Wrexham AFC, Reynolds wanted to build something special with the Senators. However, it looks like he won’t get that chance.
The Dallas Stars are returning to the Western Conference Final for the second time in four seasons. On Monday, the Stars shut down the Kraken 2-1 to win Game 7 and received a sensational performance from goaltender Jake Oettinger.
The Stars opened the scoring courtesy of Roope Hintz late in the second period. Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, who had played a strong game up to that point, couldn’t corral the puck in the neutral zone, and Hintz made the Kraken pay. Hintz went top shelf and beat Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer to give the Stars a 1-0 lead at the 15:59 mark of the second period.
🌟 IT’S ROOPE 🌟
Roope Hintz RIPS one blocker side and this #Game7 has its first goal! #StanleyCup
— NHL (@NHL) May 16, 2023 The goal was Hintz’s ninth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and his fourth of the series. Hintz also registered four goals and two assists over the series’ final four games.
This particular Game 7 proved to be a defensive battle, evident in the fact that there wasn’t a goal through more than half of the contest. However, the Stars got some much-needed insurance in the final period.
At the 12:48 mark of the second period, rookie forward Wyatt Johnston scooped up a loose puck and tucked it over the shoulder of Philipp Grubauer to give the Stars a 2-0 lead. It was the fourth goal of the postseason for the 20-year-old Johnston.
While the two goals were impressive against a confident Grubauer, Oettinger added another spectacular performance to his Game 7 lore. The Stars goaltender turned aside all 21 of the 22 shots he faced in Game 7.
This came after Oettinger stopped 64-of-67 shots against the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of their opening-round series during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That marked the second-most saves in a Game 7 in NHL history, behind only Kelly Hrudey (73).
The Kraken added a goal at the 19:42 mark of the third period, thanks to Oliver Bjorkstrand, but it was too little, too late. Despite the loss, goalie Philipp Grubauer played extremely well as he recorded 26 saves.
Now the Stars will face off against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final after the Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers.
After the Edmonton Oilers were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022 Western Conference Final, it was clear that the franchise needed more stability in between the pipes. So the team went out and signed veteran goaltender Jack Campbell to a five-year, $25 million contract last summer.
Yet one year later, the song remains the same.
The Oilers were let down by the goaltending position throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which ended with them being eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
Let’s start by briefly going back one year. During the 2022 postseason, veteran goalie Mike Smith had his fair share struggles:
He posted just an 8-6-0 record to go along with a 3.37 goals-against-average That included allowing a mind-boggling 19 goals in four games against the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final. Smith completely came unglued as the Oilers blew a 3-1 third period lead in Game 4 and lost the contest, 6-5, in overtime. As injuries were signaling the end of Smith’s career, the team chose to address the goaltending position in the form of Campbell. He signed a fairly substantial contract, but, at least in the first year, did not live up to it in the regular season.
The veteran netminder tallied a 21-9-4 record, a 3.41 goals-against-average and a .888 save percentage in 36 games.
As a result of those shortcomings, Campbell was overtaken by Stuart Skinner, 24, who didn’t have a ton of experience entering this year. Skinner had a 29-14-5 record to go along with a 2.75 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage in 50 games (48 starts).
While Skinner did produce a very strong regular season manning the Oilers crease, his performance during the Stanley Cup Playoffs was one to forget.
Skinner had a 5-6-0 record with a 3.68 GAA and a .883 save percentage in 12 games. Over the course of the Oilers’ series against the Golden Knights, Skinner produced a 3.17 goals-against-average and surrendered at least four goals in four of the six games. When Edmonton needed a stellar performance to keep their playoff hopes alive, Skinner again gave up four goals to the Golden Knights and was replaced by Campbell after two periods. Always follow the bouncing puck. 🤭 #StanleyCup
— NHL (@NHL) May 15, 2023 Campbell actually played well when he replaced Skinner in three of the games in the series. He yielded just one goal in Game 3 and didn’t give up anything else. Over the course of the postseason, Campbell went 1-0-0 with a 1.02 GAA and .961 save percentage in four games.
Considering how well Campbell played when he did see time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it may have benefitted the Oilers to go back to him as the full-time starter after Skinner surrendered 10 goals over the first three games. Yes, Skinner did give up just one goal in Game 2, but he let in four and five goals respectively in Games 1 and 3. During the postseason in his career, he owns a 2.45 career goals-against-average despite giving up 21 total goals in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ seven-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22.
Obviously, Campbell didn’t exactly perform the way the Oilers envisioned when they signed him to a five-year deal in the 2022 offseason. Skinner is signed through the 2025-26 season and is certainly too young for the Oilers to give up on despite his postseason struggles. Meanwhile, Campbell also probably isn’t going anywhere considering that he’s got four more years on his contract.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Oilers handle the goaltending position when the 2023-24 season begins. Both have had their fair share of bright spots. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them work in tandem throughout the regular season until one proves that he deserves to be the full-time starter.
They are not in an entirely different position entering this offseason as they were exactly a year ago. One thing is for sure though: this is a team that is way too talented else where — hello, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — to bow out in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the same reason year in and year out.
The Coyotes’ future in Arizona remains unclear. The team’s hopes to build a new arena in Tempe fell through on Tuesday night when the plan was rejected by voters. As a result, the franchise’s chances of staying in Arizona “will be evaluated by our owners and the National Hockey League” over the next couple of weeks.
The new arena was set to be included as part of a new $2.1 billion entertainment district in Tempe, with at least $1.9 billion of the project slated to be privately funded. But voters had to vote in favor of Propositions 301, 302 and 303 on a special election ballot that was mailed out in April and included in-person voting on Tuesday.
If passed, it would’ve meant that voters accepted that both the funds be spent and the land be used for the new entertainment district. Unofficial results from Tuesday night showed between 56% and 57% of voting “no” on the three propositions, according to CBS’ local Arizona affiliate AZFamily.com.
“We are very disappointed Tempe voters did not approve Propositions 301, 302, and 303,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “As Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said, it was the best sports deal in Arizona history. The Coyotes wish to thank everyone who supported our efforts and voted yes.”
League commissioner Gary Bettman added that he was “terribly disappointed by the results of the public referenda regarding the Coyotes’ arena project in Tempe” in a statement.
Specifically, the Coyotes wanted to build a new 16,000-seat arena and entertainment district at the west end of Tempe Town Lake. The plot of land the arena would’ve sat on is nearly 46 acres and located two miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. In November 2022, the Tempe City Council unanimously approved the plans.
The Coyotes lost their home in Glendale — at what was then called Gila River Arena but now goes by Desert Diamond Arena — at the end of the 2021-22 NHL season. They had called that arena home for 18 years. The franchise then relocated to the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University, sharing the arena with the school’s men’s hockey team.
The Coyotes are scheduled to call Mullett Arena home for the next two seasons with an option for a fourth year. The 2022-23 season marked the first for the Coyotes at Mullett Arena.
The franchise originally began playing in Phoenix after relocating from Winnipeg in 1996. With the Tempe plan rejected, the Coyotes’ days in Arizona may be numbered.
