Tag Archives: Cleveland Cavaliers

Bills Running Back LeSean McCoy Lays $200k on Warriors to Win the NBA Finals

Sports News & Picks, , ,

Buffalo Bills star running back LeSean McCoy has never been a quiet guy. He’s a vibrant and talented NFL rusher, he once held a very interesting “females only” party in Philadelphia and he apparently has no qualms about throwing down some serious coin on the NBA Finals.

That’s certainly the case this year, as the man known as “Shady” revealed recently that he could stand to win some big money thanks to a $200,000 bet in favor of the Golden State Warriors securing the NBA title this year. Already up with a commanding 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Dubs look well on their way to making an already rich McCoy, well, richer.

McCoy posted a snapchat of his ticket, which revealed a possible profit of a whopping $62,000. That’s a big chunk of cheese, but what McCoy (and anyone else who has placed big money on the Dubs) may be slightly afraid of is the fact that the Warriors held a 2-0 lead in last year’s NBA Finals, yet still found a way to lose. Golden State even increased that 2-0 lead into a 3-1 advantage that had previously never been overcome in NBA Finals history.

It’s always interesting to see professional athletes take interest in sports other than their own at a high level, but LeSean McCoy is doing that, and then some. Even more interesting, of course, may be the criticism McCoy will catch from teammates and fans alike if the Cavaliers once again storm back from a big deficit, only to defend their title this year.

That’s the other interesting angle; how much more money could McCoy be slated to win if he used the same logic that got the Cavs their first ever championship a year ago, to repeat during the 2017 NBA Finals? Quite a bit. This same bet over at Bovada right now, but in favor of Cleveland, would return double what McCoy is showing everyone – $132,000.

The risk is greater, but so is the reward.

No matter what happens, it’s interesting to see how vocal McCoy is about his bet and it makes regular sports bettors wonder just how much cash is being placed in favor of either of these teams. Is now the time to back the Cavs before a huge game three in Cleveland? Maybe, maybe not. But if the Cavs don’t mount a comeback and the Warriors win, LeSean McCoy (and possibly a lot of other people) stand to win a ton of money.

Thunder Over Warriors and Thursday’s NBA Predictions

Esports, , , ,

Last night we took an exclusive look at upset specials with our NBA picks, and if you went with our logic, you may have won big. We pointed out four underdogs that were at least with a cursory glance, and when the night was over, New Orleans beat the spread in OT, OKC upset the Clippers in L.A. and the Lakers somehow beat the Hawks in Atlanta.

The two we really went after and vouched for were the Pellies and Thunder, but either way, those three upsets were very much on the map and hopefully you were able to cash in on them.

Tonight the NBA slate quiets down a bit with just five games, so we’re back to a regular preview piece on each game. If you’re thinking of doing any pro basketball betting tonight, lean on our analysis and NBA picks for Thursday night:

Sacramento Kings (-1) @ Orlando Magic (+1)

Orlando finally gets a break tonight, as they head back home to the Amway Center after an ugly three-game road trip where they went 1-2 and got housed twice. The Magic made big moves this summer to improve their defense, yet they’ve been absolutely atrocious in that department (allowing 105 points per game) and now they welcome DeMarcus Cousins and co. into town.

The matchup does not bode well for the Magic, as Nikola Vucevic is not a good defender and very well could get in foul trouble early in this one. On the flip side, Sacrmaneto’s slower pace under new head coach David Joerger is improving their efficiency and overall defense. If they can bounce back from a tough OT loss to the Heat, they should get a nice road win here and get to 3-3.

Pick: Kings 106, Magic 104

Boston Celtics (+10.5) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (-10.5)

Boston was seen by oddsmakers as Cleveland’s main competition out of the Eastern Conference coming into the new year, so we’ll get to see right away if that’s the case. Then again, the Celtics are down both Al Horford (concussion) and Jae Crowder (ankle) and will be playing the second game of a back to back set when they enter the Quicken Loans Arena tonight.

None of that is good news for Boston, who absolutely could still fight back against this unkind spread, but probably will ultimately wilt on the road. They’re going to be very good again this year, but beating the Cavs in Cleveland at full strength would be a reach. As they stand, a win and even beating the spread feels impossible.

Pick: Cavs 108, Celtics 96

Denver Nuggets (+3.5) @ Minnesota Timberwolves (-3.5)

Denver is hurting at shooting guard right now with both Gary Harris and Will Barton out for this one, but this still figures to be a fairly even matchup in Minnesota. The Wolves are a bit banged up, as well, with veteran point guard Ricky Rubio also sidelined.

This is a battle to escape the bottom of the Northwest Division at the moment, and given Minnesota’s home edge, superior defense and equal offense, we give them the nod. That’s largely due to a likely big game out of KAT, who has endured three tough matchups to start the year and should find work to be easier down low in this one.

Pick: Timberwolves 105, Nuggets 101

Indiana Pacers (-2.5) @ Milwaukee Bucks (+2.5)

This is another game that should be fairly fast-paced and hopefully competitive. Both of these teams come in at 2-2 and have shown two things: they want to run the floor and score points, but can’t stop anyone at the other end. Milwaukee has the ever so slight edge with this game at the Bradley Center tonight, but it won’t be enough to get to 3-2.

Indiana is still trying to see what works best with their new pieces, but they have Paul George and a more stacked starting five. The talent gap is pretty wide here and Milwaukee just doesn’t have enough reliable outside shooting. This one should be fast and provide points, but the Pacers should pull away in the end.

Pick: Pacers 102, Bucks 99

Oklahoma City Thunder (+10.5) @ Golden State Warriors (-10.5)

Russell Westbrook said tonight’s showdown with ex-teammate Kevin Durant is just another game, but we don’t buy that for a second. These teams hate each other and there is no doubt both will be fired up for this one – specifically Russ and KD.

The Thunder come in as one of two undefeated teams in the league, and the only remaining perfect squad in the Western Conference. It’d only be fitting for the Dubs to be the ones to hand them their first loss, but an OKC win early in the year actually provides the more interesting narrative. Not only would it drop the Dubs to 0-2 at home (blasphemy!), but it’d also stir up those “the Warriors are awful” conversations.

it’s going to take time for KD and everyone to click and figure it out, while the Thunder have better chemistry right now and Russ is just flat out possessed. Obviously Golden State is a big favorite here, but we expect this game to be competitive with a ton of chatter. OKC to beat the spread makes a ton of sense here and we’ll even go as far as to say they’ll get the win behind a huge effort from Westbrook.

Pick: Thunder 108, Warriors 106