ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS @ PITTSBURGH PIRATES – TODAY at 3:40PM
The Dbacks start a new 3 game series this afternoon against the Pirates after taking the first series against them last week 2 games to 1. The Diamondbacks are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now sporting a 9-3 record since the all star break. The Dbacks hitters have been especially good, putting up 31 runs against the Nationals over their last 3 games and another 18 runs before that in the first series against the Pirates. They’ve got Brandon Pfaadt on the mound today who has been the leader of the Dbacks starting pitcher rotation this season with 21 games played and 115 strikeouts. The Dbacks have won 7 out of the last 10 games Pfaadt has started going back to June 2nd and will need to continue to win to lock down their wild card position. Look for the Dbacks to win again today against the Pirates.
The Pick: Diamondbacks Moneyline
OLYMPICS MEN’S BASKETBALL
PUERTO RICO VS. UNITED STATES – 8/3 8:15AM
Saturday will feature what should be the most lopsided game taking place at the Olympics this summer as Team USA is a 34.5 point favorite against Puerto Rico. I spoke a bit about it on the air earlier this week but I cannot stress enough how awful this Puerto Rico team is and how unworthy of a spot in the Olympics they are. They are coming off a 41 point loss against Serbia and have already been eliminated from advancing to the quarterfinals considering their point differential currently stands at -52. That being said I do not recommend betting on Team USA to cover the spread in this matchup as it appears likely that the US will leverage this game to give their older starters some rest before the quarterfinal round (Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis I’m looking at you guys). To win by 35 points or more is still a lot and the US has no motivation to win by that much, they just need to win in general to secure the number 1 overall seed going into the next round of the tournament. Look for the younger stars of team USA to get more playing time in this matchup. Anthony Edwards only got 17 minutes of playing time last game and should be in a position to carry a heavier load against Puerto Rico. His line on points is sitting at 12.5 which seems to be priced as if he is going to play his normal amount of minutes and not anything extra so there should be an opportunity here. A player performance double for Ant man to score 15 or even 20 points and USA to win is a decent bet to consider if you are looking for a larger payout. To be conservative you can just take the over on his line for points.
The Pick: Anthony Edwards OVER 12.5 points