The Arizona Diamondbacks entered this series on Tuesday night coming off three straight wins to start the season, while the Padres did just the exact opposite, dropping three of four to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Angels are looking to build on their series opening win against Minnesota.
The Phillies have all sorts of injury problems, and they have started out the season by winning just one of their first four games.
The 2012 MLB regular season enters its second week and while there is a very long way to go in a 162-game season, it has already had its fair share of surprises with a couple of favorites struggling out of the gate.
The Boston Celtics are looking to finish strong. They have won their last two games by 14 and 24 points and 7 of their last 9.
For the second time in three days the New York Knicks will attempt to hand the Chicago Bulls another loss after Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks to an impressive 100-99 overtime victory over the Bulls on Sunday.
Virtually nothing was expected out of the New York Mets this year, but they started the season off with a sweep of the Atlanta Braves.
Boston got their first win of the season last night with a win over the Blue Jays and tonight they send Daniel Bard to the mound making his first career start.
The much-anticipated regular season debut of Japanese pitching ace Yu Darvish will take place on Monday night at Arlington Ballpark when the Texas Rangers host the Seattle Mariners in game one of a four-game series.
As this is being written the Milwaukee Brewers are losing the rubber match in their three game series against St. Louis, not exactly the start they had in mind with Ryan Braun popping off about how this team is better without Prince Fielder.
With their solid play as of late the Suns are now only 1 game behind the Nuggets for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and they have a good chance to gain more ground facing a Timberwolves’ team that has lost 5 straight.
NBA Basketball Matchup: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Milwaukee Bucks
8:00 PM EST
NBA Gambling Odds from Bovada
NBA Betting Favorite: Oklahoma City -3
Over/Under: 210
Oklahoma City has owned the top spot in the Western Conference by themselves almost all year, but the Spurs 11-game win streak has helped them tie the Thunder at the top spot. Milwaukee is battling hard with New York and Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have plenty to play for in this one.
The Thunder took care of an undermanned Toronto team on Sunday, but the task will be more difficult Monday night in Milwaukee.
Oklahoma City is so tough to stop because they have three guys who can take over a game at any point. Kevin Durant is the team’s leading scorer at 28.7 points per game. He shoots 50.5% from the floor. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Russell Westbrook is averaging 24.2 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game. James Harden has taken his game to another level this year, and I expect him to be named the Sixth Man of the Year. Oklahoma City has improved this year largely due to their defense. The Thunder are allowing opponents to shoot just 42.5% from the floor.
Before the season, Scott Skiles decided it would be beneficial for his Milwaukee team to push the tempo and score in transition. When the team picked up Monta Ellis at the trade deadline it helped them find a whole new gear on offense.
With Brandon Jennings and Ellis in the backcourt, the Bucks have two guards who can fill it up consistently. Ersan Ilyasova is having a breakout season for the team. Ilyasova averages 12.9 points and 8.9 boards per game. Drew Gooden does a lot of the dirty work in the paint as well.
Gooden averages 13.9 points per game, and he is a solid post defender. The Bucks have scored 100 points or more in seven of their last ten games.
Oklahoma City has the better defense, and I think they’ll come up with a big stop or two at the end to pull out a close win.
Prediction: Oklahoma City 109 Milwaukee 106
The Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Lakers will look to get back on track without the help of Kobe Bryant who is suffering from inflammation in his left leg when they take on bottom division dwellers New Orleans in the Big Easy on Monday night.
The Celtics snapped the Pacers 4-game winning streak in their last game, but they still trail Indianapolis by 2.5 games for the 4th playoff seed in the East.
The Houston Rockets are coming off a huge win at Staples Center in Los Angeles against the Lakers Friday night.
We are still several months away from the start of the 2012 college football schedule, but here at Caperspicks.com, we never stop looking at some of the best NCAA football odds on the internet.
