Handicapper Art Aronson of AAA Sports Plays Free Picks & Best Bets

10* UNDER Phillies/Reds.

We base our picks on many different things. We're giving this one the old "eye test" here, as we don't feel there's any need to overthink it. We're expecting a classic "duel" here between two starters that enter on top form, and because of that, we're going to recommend a play on the "under" here. The Phillies hand the ball to Spencer Turnbull (2-0, 1.23 ERA), while the home side counters with Nick Lodolo (2-0, 0.75.) Regression will happen at some point obviously, but everything points to a classic "duel" here in our opinion. Look for these two starters to "take center stage" and to be the main storylines in tomorrow's summaries; this number is high, the play is the "under!" 

AAA Sports

10* Leafs (EAST-CONF RND. 1 GOY)

As primarily situational cappers, nothing changes in our approach for the most part once the playoffs get going. We're looking for great situations and we're looking for what we feel are good or suspect lines that we can take advantage of. And that's the case here: Boston blew out Toronto 5-1 in the opening game of this series, but the Leafs battled tough and got the home ice advantage now after holding on for the 3-2 win in Game 2. The Bruins were great on the road this year finishing 23-9-7-2, but the Leafs were great at home as well with a 22-15-3-1 record North of the border. Auston Matthews is coming off a huge regular season for the Leafs and he had the go-ahead goal in the their Game 2 victory, and now back at home we think Matthews and company will carry that momentum over. We think Boston is fantastic obviously and on any given Sunday it can beat any team on any night. But getting the Leafs at home at this price in the playoffs no matter who their opponent or the situation has to be considered a legitimate investment option every time in our opinion. That victory snapped an eight game losing streak in the series between the clubs Lenny...so great to get the monkey off their backs, but now back at home I think Toronto will take advantage. Ilya Samsonov is great at home as well and has the upper-hand in net; all this considered, a really great price on the hungry Leafs in Game 3!

AAA Sports

10* OVER Pelicans/Thunder (ASSASSIN)

For the most part we're primarily a "situational" cappers and we think that handicapping style is a great one to use during the playoffs. To be successful in the playoffs, both for these teams and also for us handicappers, it's important to make adjustments from game-to-game. You can have a good idea about how a game or series is going to go, but then after the first game or the second game if they don't go as you originally thought, it's important to make adjustments on your direction and learn from those initial mistakes. Either way, this is another great "situational" play overall and it's not really about who is or who isn't on the court. We're going to steer clear of a side on this one and instead focus on the total and we just think Game 2 will be much more wide open than what we saw in Game 1. Including their two Play In games, the Pelicans have now seen the total to "under" in all three of their playoff games so far this year, but that's significant to note because New Orleans has in fact seen the totla go "over" the number in seven of its last ten after playing to three or more straight "unders" in a row. Oklahoma City earned the 94-92 win, but it was anything but impressive. The Thunder looked great in the regular season to earn the No. 1 seed but now that the Playoffs are here this high-octane offense looked pretty medicore. That said, overall we think there's been a bit of an overreaction with this Over/Under line here in Game 2. We've seen a lot of really low-scoring games in both the NBA and NHL Playoffs so far this year, but everything finally points to a shootout here in our opinion in this Game 2; the play is indeed on the "over!" 

AAA Sports

10* Manchester United -1.5 (GOW)

We're expecting the home side to lay the hammer down from start to finish, making the spread option the correct call as far as the side is concerned in our opinion. Sheffield United is at the bottom of the table and is coming off a disheartening 4-1 defeat by Burnely last weekend. Manchester United on the other hand is in seventh spot in the table and still needing victories here to close the game. If recent history is any precedence though, then Man U has to be liking its chances here, as it's won eight of the last ten in this series. We say that streak continues here with another convincing blowout victory; lay the goals for Man U to win in a blowout in regulation!

AAA Sports