This Weekend in Sports, May 19-21: NBA/NHL Playoffs, New PGA Champion to be Crowned
This Weekend in Sports previews the biggest games and events for the coming weekend.
The NBA and NHL playoffs continue their conference finals to see who will play for the championship in both sports, the PGA Championship concludes, there are several key soccer matchups both at home and abroad this week, and we’re also looking forward to a matchup between MLB division leaders this weekend.
NBA PLAYOFFS
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics — Game 2 (8:30 p.m. ET Friday; Heat leads series 1-0)
Tipico Odds:
Celtics –8.5; O/U 215.5; Moneyline — Heat +350, Celtics -425
When is someone going to slow down Jimmy Butler? After dropping 35 points in Game 1, the Heat star is averaging 31.5 ppg in this postseason, the highest among players still remaining in the tournament. Celtics star Jayson Tatum had 30 but he’s going to have to show that he wants it more than Butler. Rookie Boston coach Joe Mazzulla needs to keep his cool and not throw clipboards around.
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers – Game 3 (8:30 PM ET Saturday; Nuggets lead series 2-0)
Tipico Odds:
Lakers -5.5; O/U 223.5; Moneyline — Nuggets +190, Lakers -220
The Lakers blew Game 2, the Nuggets escaped, and now LA has to win four of five to move to the NBA finals. LA had Denver on the ropes in Game 1 after rallying, and led for much of Game 2 before melting down. Anthony Davis stunk in Game 2 with 4-of-15 shooting, and he and LeBron James combined for 40 points — that’s not going to be enough in this series. Nikola Jokic keeps showing he might be the real MVP of the NBA, and Jamal Murray (37 points) and his comeback might be the most too-little-talked-about story of the season.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Dallas Stars at Las Vegas Golden Knights — Game 1 (8:30 PM Friday)
Tipico Odds:
Puck Line — Stars +1.5 -260, Golden Knights -1.5+210; O/U 5.5; Moneyline — Stars +105, Golden Knights -125
The Stars won the regular-season series 3-0, but Vegas has been lighting the lamp at a furious pace, scoring 20 goals in its four victories over Edmonton in the second round. Netminders Adin Hill of Vegas and Jake Oettinger of Dallas were stingy in their teams’ second-round series wins.
Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes (8 PM ET Saturday; Panthers lead series 1-0)
Tipico Odds:
Puck Line — Panthers +1.5 -210, Hurricanes -1.5 +155; O/U 5.5; Moneyline — Panthers +130, Hurricanes -150
Matthew Tkachuk ended an epic 4-OT Game 1 for Florida, which delivered Carolina’s first home ice loss of the playoffs. The ‘Canes need to tie it up before heading down to Florida.
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Tipico Odds:
Scottie Scheffler -133, Viktor Hovland +950, Bryson DeChambeau +1075
Scottie Scheffler won the Players Championship two months ago and entered this major leading the tour in strokes gained tee-to-green in 2023. Jon Rahm won The Masters five weeks ago and has three additional victories in 2023 but struggled to a 5-over on Thursday.
Corey Conners, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland have done well so far at Oak Hill Country Club.
PREMIER LEAGUE
Aston Villa (17-6-13) at Liverpool (19-8-9), 10 a.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Liverpool -205, Draw +290, Aston Villa +500
Liverpool is currently in fifth place in the Premier League, one point behind Manchester United in the race to finish among the top four and qualify for the Champions League. Aston Villa, tied for seventh place, has faint hopes with 57 points. Liverpool has won seven straight matches.
Chelsea (11-10-14) at Manchester City (27-4-4), 11 a.m. ET Sunday
Tipico Odds:
Manchester City -400, Draw +550, Chelsea +1000
Man City can clinch their fifth EPL title of the past six years and have beaten Chelsea 1-0 in each of their past three meetings. Chelsea seems to shrink as an underdog – they haven’t won a single match against a club that was ahead of them in the standings dating to the start of the 2022 season.
BUNDESLIGA
Leipzig (18-6-8) at Bayern Munich (20-80-4), 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Bayern Munich -200, Draw +410, Leipzig +470
Bayern is in a dogfight – one point ahead of second-place Dortmund — as they try to win their 11th straight league title with two games left to go on the schedule. But Leipzig is hot — they’ve won seven of their past eight matches. This one could end up deciding the title.
MLS
Columbus Crew (5-3-4) at FC Cincinnati (8-3-1), 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
FC Cincinnati -115, Draw +290, Columbus +300
Part 1 of the “Hell Is Real Derby” between these Ohio franchises should be epic. The worst team in the MLS only a couple of years ago, FC Cincy has the best record in the league but hasn’t beaten their cross-state rivals since 2020. For more on this intense rivalry, read our feature story.
The Crew’s Lucas Zelarayán has five goals and three assists. FCC’s Luciano Acosta has goals in back-to-back MLS matches.
MLB
Milwaukee Brewers (24-19) at Tampa Bay Rays (32-13), Friday-Sunday
Tipico Odds (6:40 p.m. ET Friday):
Run Line — Rays -1.5 -120, Brewers +1.5 +100; O/U 8; Moneyline — Brewers +220, Rays -260
A weekend battle between division leaders. Tampa is 29-10 this season in games they were favored in, and they’re also 27-18 against the spread.
Los Angeles Dodgers (28-17) at St. Louis Cardinals (19-26)
Tipico Odds (8:15 p.m. ET Friday):
Run Line — Dodgers -1.5 +130, Cardinals +1.5 -150; O/U 9; Moneyline — -118 Dodgers, Cardinals +102
LA is now 3-1 in the season series against St. Louis. Max Muncy has 15 home runs and a slugging percentage of .570 for LA, and Freddie Freeman is 15-for-40 with three home runs and 13 RBI over the past 10 games.
Photo Credit: IMAGO / ZUMA wire
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.
