This Weekend in Sports, May 26-28: Miami and Vegas Look to Clinch, Indy 500 Odds
This Weekend in Sports previews the biggest games and events for the coming weekend.
This weekend could see championship battles set for both the NBA and NHL, a new champion in Germany’s Bundesliga, the Indianapolis 500 and more.
NBA PLAYOFFS
Boston Celtics at Miami Heat — Game 6 (8:30 p.m. ET Saturday; Heat lead series 3-2)
Tipico Odds:
Celtics –2.5; O/U 210.5; Moneyline — Celtics -145, Heat +125
Can Boston do what no other NBA team has ever done in 150 tries — rally from 0-3 in a playoff series and win it? If the Celtics continue playing like they did in games four and five, it definitely seems possible.
Jayson Tatum seems to find his groove in elimination games – over the past two years his teams are 4-0 on the road in such games, and in 15 do-or-die games in his career, the Celtics are 10-5, with Tatum averaging 27.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists in those games.
Bet on the NBA: In Colorado | Iowa | NJ | Ohio
On the other side, Jimmy Butler has hit a speed bump after an amazing run through the postseason – Butler only scored 14 points in Game 5 and shot 9/21 from the field in Game 4. Derrick White was the antidote to ‘Buckets’ in Game 5, but that’s not likely to last.
Butler will leave it all on the court in Game 6, but will Tatum? The Celtics’ star needs to prove he’s got the drive of a champion.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Dallas Stars at Las Vegas Golden Knights — Game 5 (8 p.m. ET Saturday; Golden Knights lead series 3-1)
Tipico Odds:
Puck Line — Stars +1.5 -240, Golden Knights -1.5 +175; O/U 5.5; Moneyline — Stars +120, Golden Knights -140
Joe Pavelski finally got Dallas in the win column with an OT goal in Game 4, but Las Vegas has two more games on home ice, and only four teams in NHL history have rallied from an 0-3 deficit.
Bet on the NHL: In Colorado | Iowa | NJ | Ohio
MLB
Dodgers (31-20) at Rays (37-15), 6:40 p.m ET Friday, 4:10 p.m. ET Saturday, 11:35 a.m. ET Sunday
Tipico Odds (Friday):
Run Line — Rays -1.5 +165, Dodgers +1.5 -200; O/U 9; Moneyline — Rays -116, Dodgers +100
An interleague battle between division leaders, Saturday’s matchup in the series may be the most interesting: LA’s Clayton Kershaw (6-4, 2.98 ERA, 69 strikeouts) will duel Tyler Glasnow, who will be starting his first game since having Tommy John surgery. He had 123 strikeouts in 88 innings in 2021.
BUNDESLIGA
Bayern Munich (20-8-5) at FC Cologne (10-12-11), 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
FC Cologne +670, Draw +550, Bayern Munich -320
Bayern has won 10 straight league titles, but they’ll need help on the final weekend of the season. They must beat Cologne and hope that Borussia Dortmund either ties or loses to FSV Mainz. Bayern trails Dortmund by two points but has a much better goal differential, so they will win the tiebreaker if both teams end up with 71 points.
FSV Mainz (12-9-12) at Borussia Dortmund (22-4-7), 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Borussia Dortmund -600, Draw +800, FSV Mainz +1300
Dortmund will clinch its first league title since 2012 with a victory, but Jude Bellingham is nursing a knee injury and is doubtful to play. Oddly, no Dortmund player has scored 10 goals this season. Dortmund won the first match between the two teams 2-1 and should be considered the heavy favorites to become champions.
The relegation battles in European soccer can be even more interesting than the title races — check out our article here on what’s happening in the Premier League, La Liga, and more here.
Bet on European Soccer: In Colorado | Iowa | NJ | Ohio
SERIE A
Atalanta (18-7-11) at Inter Milan (21-3-12), 2:45 p.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Inter Milan -116, Draw +285, Atalanta +310
Inter is trying to hang on to third place – or possibly get to second – in the race to qualify for the Champions League with two matches left in the season. Atalanta must win and get some help – they are in fifth place, three points behind Milan’s other Serie A team, AC Milan.
AC Milan (18-10-8) at Juventus (21-6-9), 2:45 p.m. ET Sunday
Tipico Odds:
Juventus +135, Draw +245, AC Milan +200
Juventus has scant hopes of reaching the top four and thus qualifying for the Champions League – after a recent 10-point deduction, the traditional Italian powers are in seventh place, and five points out of fourth place with two matches left. They’ll be hoping to qualify for the Europa League. AC Milan, on the other hand, is hoping to at least tie and remain in a Champions League spot going into the final week of the season.
AS Roma (17-9-10) at Fiorentina (13-11-12), Noon ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Fiorentina +110, Draw +250, AS Roma +260
Roma is four points out of fourth place and is hoping for a repeat of their 2-0 victory over Fiorentina earlier this season. The Giallorossi have kept themselves in the Champions League race with great defense – they are fourth in goals allowed this season. But Fiorentina is favored this weekend.
LIGUE 1
Paris Saint-Germain (27-3-6) at RC Strasbourg Alsace (9-12-15), 3 p.m. ET Saturday
Tipico Odds:
Strasbourg +390, Draw +330, PSG -150
PSG needs only a tie to clinch their ninth French league title over the past 11 years, and they’ve won six of their past seven matches after early spring stumbles.
MLS
Columbus Crew (5-3-5) at Nashville SC (7-4-3), 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday
Tipico Odds:
Nashville FC –107, Draw +270, Crew +295
The Crew have only won one match since April 8, and are coming off losses to intrastate rival FC Cincinnati in MLS and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the US Open Cup. Lucas Zelarayán leads the Crew with six goals this season.
Bet on the MLS: In Colorado | Iowa | NJ | Ohio
RACING
Indianapolis 500, 12:30 PM ET Sunday
Tipico Odds (Top 10 Favorites):
Alex Palou +570, Patricio O Ward +670, Scott Dixon +800, Takuma Sato +1000, Alexander Rossi +1200, Marcus Ericsson +1200, Felix Rosenqvist +1200, Rinus Veekay +1300, Santino Ferrucci +1400, Scott McLaughlin +1400
Ericsson is the defending champion. The favorite Palou, who will start on the pole position, is coming off a victory in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis 1 road course two weeks ago. And Ward is the current favorite to win the season title in Indycar.
Bet on the Indy 500: In Colorado | Iowa | NJ | Ohio
NASCAR Coca-Cola 600
Tipico Odds (To Finish Top 3):
Kyle Larson +127, William Byron +185, Denny Hamlin +210, Martin Truex Jr +255, Chase Elliott +265, Ross Chastain +270
Bet on NASCAR: In Colorado | Iowa | NJ | Ohio
Hamlin won this race last year, Larson the year before him. Larson has won three races since the beginning of April.
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.