The Eastern Conference side of the Playoff picture has had many changes throughout the season. With just a few weeks left in the regular season, it is time for the real contenders to show up. For one of the preseason favorites to win the Finals, that is exactly what they have done in the last week. Here are the two teams you need to get behind because they are red hot.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics had a disappointing year a season ago, falling into the Play-In Tournament and making an early exit. The start of this season looked like it would be even worse for the Cs. Since their Jan. 21 loss at home to Portland, this team has been on a tear.

Boston is 18-4 since that game and has Jaylen Brown working his way back to near full health. Jayson Tatum is the anchor offensively while Brown finds his footing. Tatum had three-straight outrageous games against Playoff teams to start the month of March. He scored 37 at home against Memphis, 54 against the Nets and 44 against Charlotte.

Where Boston is really getting it done is on the defensive end. They are the top team in terms of opponent field goal percentage, second in blocked shots and third in opponent 3-point shooting. They are still just 33-33-3 against the spread, so look for juice on the moneyline to tail Boston for a profit.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets aren’t on as much of a heater as their division opponent, but no team is at the moment. The regular season has been largely disappointing for this team. As we all know, Brooklyn has been laying in the weeds waiting for Playoff time.

The Nets won four in a row last week, including wins over Philadelphia and a Knicks team that is starting to roll. This comes after a 3-10 run in February. More importantly though, they are getting the performances they need from their stars.

First, it was a 50-point night for Kyrie Irving at Charlotte against a team the Nets could meet in the Play-In. Then Kevin Durant put up 53 in clutch fashion to squeeze past the Knicks. Irving answered that with 60 against Orlando, including a 41-point first half.

Brooklyn has held tight to the 8th seed and is still likely Play-In bound. But nobody wants to see this team in a win or go home scenario, let alone a best of 7.

There are other factors at play for Brooklyn as well. It is becoming more likely New York will change its mandates which do not allow Irving to play home games without being vaccinated against COVID-19. Coach Steve Nash is also holding out hope we will see Ben Simmons play in the regular season in preparation of a Playoff run. The Nets were a preseason favorite to win the Finals before a season filled with off-court drama and disappointment. It will take Herculean efforts from Durant and Irving to get there but it is not off the table yet.

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Should Suns bettors holding Finals Futures be worried? Is it time to cash out? Not so fast.

Chris Paul’s Injury

Paul was injured in the Suns’ last game before the All-Star break against Houston, a 124-121 win. The surefire Hall-of-Famer left the game in the third quarter and was discovered to have a fracture in his right thumb. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. If the injury keeps him out 8 weeks, that would set him up to return right when the Playoffs begin.

What CP3 Brings to the floor

Paul leads the Suns in +/- this season, good for more than 7 points ahead when on the floor. He is averaging a league-leading 10.7 assists per game and leads the team in steals and win shares.

Undoubtedly Paul changed a lot of dynamics for Phoenix when he joined the team. The Suns proved to be a team on the rise a couple seasons ago in the Orlando bubble, but he immediately elevated them into contender status.

Phoenix was 2-0 in the regular season without Paul last year. They averaged more than 121 points per game and shot 51-percent.

Along the way, Paul has carved a path for several other players to grow. Now it is time for them to fill the void while he heals for the postseason.

Who steps up?

Devin Booker is the most obvious answer to this question. He has carried this team on his back before. In the Finals, he went off for a 40-point game against Milwaukee with Paul also on the floor.

Booker is Phoenix’s most important scorer, but Cameron Payne will take on a lot of Paul’s minutes. Payne emerged as a change-of-pace backup who keeps the pressure on defenses. He is averaging more than 10 points and 3 assists per game in limited minutes. Shooting more than 40-percent he does not hesitate to pull the trigger. He is expected to return from a wrist injury any time now. He has been out since Jan. 20.

While Payne steps into a larger role, newly-acquired guard Aaron Holiday is arriving just in time to add depth. Holiday did not get any playing time before the All-Star break. That will certainly change now that coach Monty Williams is looking at a far different roster situation.

Paul’s injury is a big one for sure. But Phoenix is 48-10 and holding a 6.5 game lead over Golden State. Its remaining strength of schedule is among the easiest in the league with 24 games left. Phoenix is still +425 to win the NBA Finals, the shortest odds in the league. Don’t count out the Suns quite yet.

The post NBA: How Chris Paul’s Injury Affects the Suns, Western Conference appeared first on YouWager Sports Betting Odds.

This part of the season is where we see some teams “turn it on” for the Playoff push. Meanwhile, there were several impactful trades before the break that could change how things look from here on out.

This is the state of the league based on win/loss records and futures from YouWager.

Conference Favorites (Based on Odds)

The Milwaukee Bucks have overtaken the Brooklyn Nets as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference at +275. The Nets are just a hair behind at +280.

The Nets tumbled after a 12-2 stretch including 11-straight losses. Getting Kyrie Irving back on the court for road games has not made any positive impact on how this team is playing. They went just 3-7 in his first 10 starts. There is still no word on when Ben Simmons will make his 2022 debut with the team, and Kevin Durant has been sidelined since Jan. 15.

The Phoenix Suns have separated themselves from the Golden State Warriors as the +180 favorites to win the Western Conference. Phoenix resumes the regular season with a 6.5-game lead over the Warriors with 24 games to play. An injury to star Chris Paul could hamper how they finish though. Paul is out 6-8 weeks with a thumb injury.

The Warriors are in a good position to finish at least second in the conference. They are +200 to win the West and are looking more complete as the games go on. Klay Thompson is still asserting himself back on the court after missing nearly two full seasons. Plus Steph Curry’s recent play says he’s poised for another strong finish to the regular season, much like the one that jumped him into the MVP conversation in 2021.

Standings

The Miami Heat hold the no. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference at 38-21, tied with the Chicago Bulls. The Heat are +475 to win the conference, which is the fourth shortest odds behind Philadelphia (+350).

The Heat are a team to watch out for. They are better than they were when they made the Finals in 2020 and are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. It is tight at the top of the Eastern Conference but their remaining schedule is much easier than Milwaukee’s or Chicago’s. Philadelphia is the real challenger record-wise. Do not expect adding James Harden to be a night and day improvement for the Sixers though. That acquisition will take time to gel.

The Suns have the best record in the NBA followed by Golden State. Even with the injury to Paul, there is plenty of breathing room to keep Phoenix in line for home-court advantage in the Playoffs.

The Grizzlies (41-19) are third in the conference and a team nobody will want to face in the postseason. They are still a relative longshot to win the conference at +900. The good news for the Grizz is Dillon Brooks should be back any day now. Brooks is the team’s best defender and can be streaky on offense. His play was invaluable during the play-in last season.

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YouWager’s Olympic markets are live with dozens of events you can wager on right now. We shift focus to the upcoming week of events, highlighting the biggest events to look out for at the Olympic Games.

Figure Skating

Mixed pair figure skating takes the ice Friday, Feb. 18 in the early morning with the Russian Olympic Committee looking to maintain its pace with Norway and Austria chasing the most medals at the games.

The ROC pair of Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov share the shortest odds to win the competition with Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China at +150. Experts are giving the ROC team an edge to win the Gold but this is expected to be an extremely competitive event.

Another Russian pair, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov have the next best odds to win at +500. Tarasova and Morozov have teamed since 2012 and finished second in the short program at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Nordic Combined

One of the original Winter Olympic events, Nordic Combined, is also one of the more unique events you will see at the games.

This event combines two other Olympic events in one with Ski Jumping and Cross Country Skiing, to create a test of endurance and explosiveness.

Austrian Johannes Lamparter enters the event, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 15, as the odds on favorite at -125. The young athlete made his professional debut at the World Cup in 2018 and recently won the World Championship in 2021 in the Large Hill 10K.

Lamparter is heavily favored to win the event with Vinzenz Geiger of Germany following with +135 odds. Geiger has already captured Gold at these Olympics, rallying to win the Individual Gunderson Normal Hill 10K. Geiger trailed the leader by more than a minute in 11th place before climbing into the lead and winning.

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Here are the teams that changed their outlook with trade deadline moves this week, including insights on whose futures will change the most on YouWager.

The Winners

The biggest trade in the league went down just a couple hours before the deadline Thursday, with the Brooklyn Nets sending James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons. The good news for both squads is this was a win-win deal.

The Sixers gave up a little more in this deal, shipping Seth Curry and Andre Drummond to Brooklyn along with two first-round picks. But they receive a shooter and elite scoring option in Harden, as well as Paul Millsap who has some versatility. The Sixers are currently +1600 to win the NBA Finals and +625 to come out of the East. Look for those odds to shorten greatly.

The Nets have been slumping hard and it was clear a change was needed with Harden voicing displeasure with the situation. Curry gives them another shooter to help fill the gap left by injured Joe Harris. More importantly, Simmons is immediately the best defender on the team with the ability to switch among all five positions. Anything he gives the team offensively is a bonus as it has plenty of weapons. The draft picks also help recoup some of the draft capital lost when they traded for Harden.

Brooklyn is +400 to win the title and +210 to come out of the Eastern Conference. It should be noted Kyrie Irving is still unavailable for home games and Simmons has not played since a poor performance against the Hawks in the playoffs last season.

The combination of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant only played 16 total games together.

Quietly Improved

The team with the best record in the league, the Phoenix Suns, made low key moves to bolster their rosters on Thursday.

The Suns gave up a talented young player in Jalen Smith to bring Torrey Craig to Phoenix from Indiana. Craig was a reserve for the playoff push last season and increases the team’s depth at the wing. Phoenix has the third best odds to win the Finals at +475 and is +210 to win the West.

The best move the Suns made was not making a blockbuster deal. This team is built to win now and maintains its draft coffers.

Another under the radar deal was Charlotte sending young big man Vernon Carey Jr. and guard Ish Smith to Washington in exchange for Montrezl Harrell. The Hornets have struggled of late and have been in dire need of an interior defender. This team should improve significantly on the defensive end of the floor and Harrell also adds to the pick and roll game on offense. The Wizards get a streaky scorer in Smith and a young player to develop in Carey.

The Losers

Two of the most high-profile teams in the NBA highlight the biggest losers of the trade deadline: the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.

The Lakers handcuffed themselves in the offseason and coach Frank Vogel did not help improve Russell Westbrook’s draft stock by sitting him late in games recently. There was reportedly a deal available which would see Westbrook flipped to Houston for John Wall, but the Lakers did not pull the trigger. L.A. is 26-30 and in ninth place in the Western Conference.

The Knicks on the other hand had plenty of options to make a deal. They were reportedly looking to move Evan Fournier, Kemba Walker, newly acquired Cam Reddish and potentially Alec Burks. Burks greatly boosted his stock this season with his play and several teams were interested, but no deals were completed.

New York is 24-31 and in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. They are +20000 to come out of the East.

The post NBA Trade Deadline Winners and Losers appeared first on YouWager Sports Betting Odds.

We looked over the player props by YouWager for the lines you need to bet on some of the biggest names in the game on Sunday.

Wide Receivers

The wide receivers in this matchup bring a lot of star power and a good chance of seeing something amazing happen.

Let’s start with the NFL’s leading receiver, Cooper Kupp. YouWager’s receiving yards props for Kupp start at 99 yards (-435), but the number to watch is 119+ (+108). That is where Kupp’s yardage gets into plus money. He is averaging more than 114 yards per game this season and more than 128 yards in the playoffs.

Ja’Marr Chase will need to have a big game to give the Bengals a chance in this game. Chase’s props on receptions start at 5 (-400). He does not start seeing favorable odds until 7 catches (+108). The record-setting rookie has 5 or more catches in each of his three postseason games, and caught at least 5 balls eight times in the regular season. He faces a tough matchup likely drawing Jalen Ramsey for most of the game. Steer clear of Chase’s reception props.

Quarterbacks

After 13 seasons Matthew Stafford is finally playing in the big game. Not only did he win his first playoff game this season, he helped the Rams return to the Super Bowl. Now he needs one more big game to change the narrative of his career.

Stafford has favorable passing yard props starting at 274 yards (-204). He averaged more than 287 yards per game this season and is up to 301 yards per game in the playoffs. Look at the 294 (-102) and 304 yards (+108) range for great value on Stafford’s play.

Joe Burrow has risen to the moment time and time again in just his second season in the league. He is expected to face a lot of pressure from a star-studded Rams defense, but he has overcome pressure before. He is going to need at least one big play to break this defense. He has completions of 44 and 57 yards in each of his last two games. During the regular season he had passes of 40 yards or more in nine games. Under ‘Specials’ for this game, take Burrow to have a completion of more than 38.5 yards (-118).

The post Super Bowl Player Props: Chase, Kupp, Stafford and Burrow appeared first on YouWager Sports Betting Odds.

YouWager’s market on all the fights for UFC 271 is live with odds on preliminaries all the way through the main event. Here are the odds on the two key fights to watch this Saturday.

Main Event

Middleweight Championship

Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Robert Whittaker

Israel Adesanya is favored to retain his Middleweight Championship at -284 on the moneyline. Whittaker, the challenger, is taking +232 odds. The Over/Under on Total Rounds is 4.5 with the Over at -125 and Under at +107.

Adesanya has a significant height advantage of 4 inches, plus a 6.5-inch reach advantage. His last two fights went the distance with him winning one decision and losing the other to Jan Blachowicz last March. He is 21-1 with 15 TKOs.

Whittaker is 24-5 coming off three-straight decision wins. If he can find a way to bring the fight to the ground he would have an experience edge, though Adesanya has not been brought down before.

Heavyweight Fight

Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa

Knockout artist Derrick Lewis takes on a confident Tai Tuivasa in a heavyweight match that will draw a lot of attention in the heavyweight scene.

Lewis is a -177 favorite and the Total Rounds Over/Under is 1.5 with the over taking +151 odds and the Under, -180. Tuivasa is +152 on the moneyline.

Last time Lewis fought in Houston, he was dominated by Cyril Gane who forced a stoppage in the third round.

He is looking to climb the ranks again after the loss, which landed on the 13th anniversary of his release from prison. Lewis has a slight size and reach advantage over Tuivasa and is more experienced as a wrestler.

Tuivasa has only gone into the second round twice in his last five fights. For Lewis, he finished his last fight against Chris Daukaus in the first round and went past the first round in the four prior fights.

The post UFC 271 Odds: Adesanya vs. Whittaker appeared first on YouWager Sports Betting Odds.

We have updated odds straight from YouWager with picks for the spread, moneyline and total points Over/Under. Act fast before the lines move again!

Against the Spread

Los Angeles is favored on the spread, giving up -4 to Cincinnati on Sunday. The line moved from -4.5 a week ago. Public action has been close to even on the spread, slightly favoring the Rams at about 58-percent of bets. The line movement indicates oddsmakers are trying to draw more action on L.A.

The Rams are an even 10-10 against the spread this season including the playoffs, covering by an average of just half a point. They have a 5.9-point margin of victory on average.

Los Angeles has been known to start fast, averaging about 13 points before halftime and up to 16 over the last three games. They also fall back to earth in the second half far too often. The Bengals have already shown a knack for the comeback, doing so twice against the Chiefs. Take Joe Burrow and the Bengals to close the gap and cover +4 late.

Total Points Over/Under

The total points line has remained steady at 48.5 points. The public is favoring the over which is taking about 62-percent of bets.

The average total points for games played at SoFi Stadium is 51 points. The Rams have hit the over 10 times this season, falling under nine times and pushing once. The Bengals have only gone over eight times.

The Rams defense gets a lot of the attention but both defenses are pretty even with a narrow edge going to L.A. Both teams allow about 21 points per game while the Rams score about 27 per game.

While the public is loving the over on this game and many are hoping for another shootout, all metrics point to the score falling under 48.5 points.

Moneyline

The moneyline odds have held firm from the opening line with the Rams -200 and Bengals +170. Public bets are leaning 73-percent toward Los Angeles.

Cincinnati has been an excellent underdog this season, going 7-4 straight up in those situations. This could be a case of a bad matchup for the Bengals though. They have struggled to protect Burrow against lesser pass rushes than what the Rams will field. Aaron Donald and the Rams defensive front should and will be in the backfield often in this game.

Conversely, the Rams have also struggled along the offensive line. To make matters worse, Andrew Whitworth is banged up and has been playing poorly, and his backup Joe Noteboom is unavailable.

Despite the heroic efforts of Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals, Matthew Stafford and the Rams will come out with the win in this game.

The post Updated Super Bowl Odds and Picks appeared first on YouWager Sports Betting Odds.

YouWager’s Super Bowl LVI prop bets are live right now with even more ways to win. The action starts even before kickoff and does not end until the trophy ceremony. Let’s take a look at some information you should know before betting some of the more exotic prop markets.

National Anthem

Prop bets will start being decided before the game clock even starts ticking.

It all begins with the National Anthem, performed by country artist Mickey Guyton. Bet Over/Under 95 seconds on the length of the National Anthem performance at -120 odds either way. Mark that National Anthem time down to predict whether any scoring drive will be shorter than that time (Yes -250; No +170). The average length of the National Anthem over the last decade is 116 seconds.

Coin Toss

Next up is the coin toss and there are three ways to play here. First is which way the coin will land: heads or tails at -110. Will the winner of the coin toss win the game (-115)? Finally, will the coin toss caller guess the toss correctly (-115)? In the last 10 Super Bowls, heads and tails have each landed five times. Before that, heads landed four times in a row. All time, tails has the edge at 53-percent. The coin toss winner has only won the game twice in the last decade.

The Gatorade Shower

Once the game is decided it is a tradition to shower the winning coach in sports drink. Believe it or not, you can bet which color of liquid will be used to christen the new Super Bowl Champion.

Orange is favored to be poured on either Sean McVay or Zac Taylor at +175, followed by None (no shower) at +350 and Blue at +375. Keep in mind the colors of the teams playing in this game. For the Rams, Yellow/Green/Lime is +575.

The Buccaneers hit coach Bruce Arians with Blue last year and Andy Reid took an Orange shower the year before. The last coach to not get the shower was Bill Belichick when the Patriots won Super Bowl LI. Belichick skipped the shower in his first two Super Bowl wins as well.

The post Making Heads or Tails of Super Bowl Props appeared first on YouWager Sports Betting Odds.

Among the many bets you can place on this year’s big game is picking who will be awarded Super Bowl MVP. Here are the odds from YouWager on who some of the favorites are to make the biggest impact on the game and take home the award.

Super Bowl MVP Favorites

Matthew Stafford +110

Joe Burrow +225

Cooper Kupp +550

Aaron Donald +1600

Ja’Marr Chase +2000

Past Winners

Like the regular season MVP, the Super Bowl MVP often favors offensive players, particularly quarterbacks. The signal caller has won the MVP of the Super Bowl 31 times, by far the most by a position.

Running backs and wide receivers share the next most MVPs by position with seven each. Linebackers lead the defensive side of the ball with just four awards. All other positions share six awards.

Quarterbacks took home the award in the last two Super Bowls with Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes both winning. Before them, it was WR Julian Edelman of the Patriots who won after the Pats dispatched the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

The last defensive player to win MVP was LB Von Miller when his Denver Broncos beat the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Miller had 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a pass defensed in the game. More notably, he was integral in derailing league MVP Cam Newton in that game. Miller is +5000 to win as a member of the Rams.

How to Choose a Winner

After perusing the odds on this year’s winner, you will notice the Rams have an edge to have a player named MVP. The Rams are also favored to win the game. In the history of the Super Bowl, only one player from the losing team has ever been named MVP. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley won the award at Super Bowl V despite the Cowboys losing to the Baltimore Colts 16-13 at the Orange Bowl. He had 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery in that game.

Suffice to say you should bet on a player from the team you are backing to win this game. Furthermore, history is on your side if you are picking the winning quarterback. With that said, DT Aaron Donald and receivers Cooper Kupp and Ja’Marr Chase should draw your attention.

The argument for Donald is simple. Look at how Cincinnati has struggled in pass protection this postseason. Joe Burrow was sacked 9 times against Tennessee, then was pressured all day by the Chiefs. Donald and the Rams are the third-best pass rush in the league this season.

The post Who will be Super Bowl MVP? appeared first on YouWager Sports Betting Odds.