This Weekend in Sports, June 2-4: NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, FA Cup and More
This Weekend in Sports previews the biggest games and events for the coming weekend.
It’s a weekend of title series in the NBA and NHL, some interesting MLB matchups, and the FA Cup Final from England.
NBA FINALS
Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets -- Game 2 (8 p.m. ET Sunday; Nuggets lead series 1-0)
Tipico Odds:
Nuggets –8.5; O/U 214.5; Moneyline — Nuggets -380, Heat +310
If the Heat don’t do something to slow down Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray this series might not go more than five games. In the Nuggets Game 1 win, two-time NBA MVP Jokic had another triple double – his ninth of the playoffs – and Murray was 11 of 22 from the field for 26 points. Combined, they are averaging nearly 58 points per game during the playoffs and haven’t had a truly bad game yet.
But the Heat were only a few days removed from a grueling seven-game war against the Celtics, and you figure Jimmy Butler will score more than the 13 he did in Game 1, a big drop from the 28.5 ppg he’s averaging this postseason. If Bam Adebayo (26 points, 13 rebounds) has another strong game and Miami’s three-point shooters can rediscover the accuracy they had against the Celtics, perhaps they could steal Game 2 in Denver.
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Florida Panthers at Las Vegas Golden Knights – Game 1 (8 p.m. ET Saturday)
Tipico Odds:
Puck Line — Golden Knights -1.5, +180, Panthers +1.5, -250; O/U 5.5; Moneyline — Golden Knights -130, Panthers +110
For a team that qualified for the playoffs by one slim point, the Panthers have been dominant after outlasting the Bruins in seven games. They dominated the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes, surrendering only one game through the last two rounds. They’ve also won eight straight games on road ice. Matthew Tkachuk has been heroic late in games, and Sergei Bobrovsky has been the best netminder in the playoffs.
Jack Eichel is leading Vegas in scoring with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) and Nicolas Roy has one goal and seven assists over the last 10 games. Despite the difference in seeding (Vegas first, Florida eighth), it should be a close series.
MLB
Cleveland Guardians (25-31) at Minnesota Twins (30-27); 8:10 p.m. ET Friday, 7:15 p.m. ET Saturday, 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday
Tipico Odds (Friday):
Run Line – Twins -1.5 +150, Guardians +1.5 -175; O/U 8.5; Moneyline – Twins -135, Guardians +118
The Guardians are trying to make up some ground on the Central Division leaders and are eight games back heading into Friday’s game. Cleveland has beaten Minnesota eight of the past 11 games between them. The Twins’ Joe Ryan will try for his eighth victory Sunday against a struggling Cal Quantrill (2-4, 5.61 ERA).
Atlanta Braves (33-23) at Arizona Diamondbacks (34-23); 9:40 p.m. ET Friday, 10:10 p.m. ET Saturday, 4:10 p.m. ET Sunday
Tipico Odds (Friday):
Run Line – Braves -1.5 +130, Diamondbacks +1.5 -150; O/U 9; Moneyline – Braves -125, Diamondbacks +105)
Atlanta leads the NL East, and Arizona leads the NL West. The D-backs have won five straight games at home, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is 13-for-41 with two home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games. Atlanta’s Sean Murphy is 13-for-38 with two home runs over the past 10 games.
New York Yankees (34-24) at Los Angeles Dodgers (34-23); 10:10 p.m. ET Friday, 7:15 p.m. ET Saturday, 7:10 p.m. ET Sunday
Tipico Odds (Friday):
Run Line – Dodgers -1.5 +145, Yankees +1.5 -170; O/U 8; Moneyline – Dodgers -140, Yankees +120)
It’s been four years since these historic franchises met in interleague play, and once again there’s talk about this being a possible World Series preview. The Bronx Bombers are 19-9 since starting the season 15-15, and LA is 21-10 since starting 13-13.
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw (6-4, 3.32 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) takes the mound for the Dodgers on Friday, and Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (6-0, 2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) goes on Sunday.
Aaron Judge is having another great year for the Yankees, with 18 home runs, 39 RBI and an MLB-leading OPS of 1.088. For the Dodgers, Freddie Freeman is second in OPS at 1.008 and has 10 home runs and 35 RBI.
MLS
Portland Timbers (4-4-7) at Seattle Sounders (8-2-6), 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Seattle -155, Draw +320, Portland +420
Seattle started the season 5-1-1 but are 3-1-5 since, starting with a 4-1 beatdown by Portland on April 15. But the Sounders are still clinging to first place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of St. Louis FC and Los Angeles FC, both of whom are tied with 25 points. The Timbers have won the past four meetings between the Pacific Northwest rivials by an aggregate score of 11-2, so Seattle is looking to turn things around here in more ways than one.
Charlotte FC (6-3-7) at Columbus Crew (6-3-6), 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Columbus -160, Draw +330, Charlotte 420
The Crew, which snapped a two-game losing streak with a victory Wednesday, will be looking to avenge a 1-0 loss to Charlotte earlier this season. The teams have 21 points each, with Columbus holding the tiebreaker because of better goal differential.
Chicago Fire (3-8-4) at FC Cincinnati (11-3-1), 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
FC Cincinnati -150, Draw +320, Chicago +330
Only two years ago, Cincy was by far the worst team in the league at 4-8-22 with a minus-37 goal differential. Now, they have the best record in the MLS at 11-3-1. They’ve won five matches in a row and haven’t lost since April 15. Cincy and Chicago deadlocked 3-3 in their earlier meeting in March.
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City vs. Manchester United, at Wembley Stadium; 10 a.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Man City -210, Draw +370, United +450
City is trying to match what United did in 1999 and win three major trophies in one season – the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League. City has already wrapped up the Premiership and can complete the treble by beating their rival Man U on Saturday and then Inter Milan in the Champions League Final on June 10.
Some key stats to ponder:
United has beaten City in five of their past six FA Cup meetings, but it’s been over 11 years since their last meeting in the competition.
City still has not given up a goal in this season’s FA Cup, outscoring their past five opponents 17-0 collectively.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Pressinphoto
Alex Valdes is Web Content Manager at Tipico North America. He has written, edited and performed user and site analysis at MoneyTalksNews, NBC Sports, MSN, Bing, MSNBC, as well as newspapers and magazines.
