Motivation will be the determining factor for this contest, and for that reason, I am going to trade away the bucket to take the Pelicans outright on the Money Line. The events of October 22nd are still fresh in the mind of the Pelicans, and this could serve as the perfect point for New Orleans to turn around a turbulent start to their 2019-2020 efforts. The Pelicans will be eager to atone for coming up short and running out of gas in Toronto, and there is no reason to suspect that they cannot do so. With a home win this season already over Western Conference powerhouse Denver, the Cans are primed to add another quality win to their home court dossier.

There is an old saying that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. However, Utah is not just a one-trick pony anymore that plays defense alone. The Jazz do have Spider Mitchell, who can put up 30 on any given note, and he is complemented by Mike "The Pitbull" Conley, who is coming into the 2019-2020 season off of a prolific scoring campaign with respect to his overall career production. This duo of guards will lead the Jazz to a win, and the best part is we only have to lay a bucket to get behind them.

Against the Celtics, New York shot just 25.7% from three-point range while Boston hit 36.6 of their attempts from beyond the arc. This was instrumental in the Knicks’ defeat. New York also committed 24 turnovers to Boston’s 13. I expect the Knicks to clean things up with ball handling and shoot better from the perimeter in their follow-up. The resultant will put New York in position to cover and perhaps even scare their old rivals, the Celtics.

I’ll pass on the points and play the Celtics outright. If Boston's performance against Toronto on Friday should offer any insight into what this Celtics team is capable of on its own court, I have to like their prospects of taking down another Eastern Conference giant, especially given the incentive. Lest we forget, it was Boston who was the pre-season favorite to win the East in 2018. The C's can enter their name into the discussion of front-runners in 2019 with a win here against the Bucks. I trust Boston will get the job done.

We are going to go for the gusto here and trade away the three-pointer to take the Kings outright on the Money Line. Against the Suns, the Kings committed 27 turnovers and were outshot 50% to 39.1% from the field. The turnover situation is ironic considering the Kings were 7th in the NBA in turnovers per game in the 2018-19 season, committing 13.4 turnovers per game. However, the Kings had the worst showing of any team on opening night in this department. In a nutshell, everything went wrong for the Kings, and I would expect them to return to form here with some home cooking behind them. The Kings shot 46.4% from the field on average in the 2018-19 season, and should they get their stroke back along with cleaning things up in their possessions, Sacramento will offer up a completely different challenge to the unsuspecting Blazers that view this as a bounce-back game.

You can stick a fork in this series because it is done. Golden State appears tired, confused, and beleaguered. On the contrary, We The North is hungry, motivated, and stalking its prey ready to finish the job. This game will mark the end of the Golden State dynasty and usher in a historic moment for anyone that supports the Dino's. This game will undoubtedly be a hard-fought one, but Toronto will pull away in the fourth quarter and capture glory.

Toronto took advantage of a depleted Golden State squad in game three, but that won't be the case in this one. Even if Durant is unable to return to the lineup, just having Klay Thompson out, there should be the difference. Golden State has had their backs against the wall before, and they always find a way to deliver.

Toronto missed their chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead in this series, and it is going to come back to bite them. The Warriors are always extremely tough to beat at home, and they still have enough talent despite their injuries. Golden State just doesn’t lose very often, and it’s not happening in game three.

The Warriors will offer up a much better performance in Game Two as I would characterize their last take as nothing more than an “off night”. This team is one that responds to adversity. After all, they were down by at least 17 points in a hostile environment in both Game Three and Game Four in Portland and still managed to win and sweep the series. Golden State will silence Drake and the rest of the Great White North in Game Two. I’ll take the W’s outright on the Money Line.

There have been some analysts that predicted that the Warriors could easily sweep the Raptors. Moreover, a lot of the public has expressed a similar sentiment. However, Toronto will look to make a statement here in Game One that they are here to play for the chip. I expect the Raptors to come swinging and take the first game of this series. This game will likely not be settled on the last possession but should it be that way, we green up should Toronto be on the winning end of that scenario. However, I have Toronto winning this game by four to five points minimum.

Quite frankly, I am surprised that the Raptors are not favored by more, but fortunately, all we have to do is lay a bucket to green up here. I trust that We The North will do just that as it is difficult to imagine Toronto losing this game given all the home cooking it has behind them and the mojo that the Raptors have working. The Raptors will place the ball in the hand of their playmaker Kawhi Leonard and let him do the rest. Toronto punches their ticket to the big dance.

There is no better way for the Bucks to bounce back from their small skid by re-establishing themselves on their own hardwood. Make no mistake about it, there is a significant trough between Milwaukee and Toronto in terms of quality. The Deer will use Game Five as a stage to remind all takers why they were the top seed in the East.

The Warriors are gearing up to finish off the Blazers tonight in a series that was pretty much over before it started. The Warriors are the best team in the NBA and the only team that was going to give them trouble was the Rockets whom they already took down. This might not be a blowout, but I fully expect that the Warriors will win this one with ease, they haven't given us a reason to think otherwise. Take the Warriors tonight and lay the points.

Milwaukee won twice in the Scotiabank Arena in the regular season, and for me, there is no reason why they cannot do it here yet again after how they have played in the first two games of this series. I am riding the team with the hot hand. The price dictates the play here, Milwaukee will get the job done and go up 3-0 in the series.

We're not ruling out that Portland can't take a game or two in this series, but this series is all but done, and NBA fans can expect to see the Warriors back in the finals once again. Bet the Warriors to win and cover this game.

The Bucks seem like they are on a mission to destroy everything in their path that stands in the way of getting to the NBA Finals. This team has gone 9-1 SU in the post-season so far this season, and they have won eight of these nine victories by double-digits. I don’t expect anything to be different here as Milwaukee will pour it on from the opening tip to win and cover with ease.

The bad news for the Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, is that Durant is arguably the best scorer of the basketball in the game and he'll be making his return from a strained calf shortly. The most recent news about Durant (via: Rotoworld) is that the All-Star forward hasn't even stepped foot on the court since injuring his calf during the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Durant most likely won't dress for Game 2, but as long as the Warriors keep winning coach, Steve Kerr could decide to hold Durant out until the Finals. Despite that - the Warriors win and win big again.

There will undoubtedly be some people that scrutinize Toronto and may even call them lucky to be in the Eastern Conference Finals while the Bucks, on the other hand, looked unstoppable once they got going against Boston. Be that as it may, this series has all the makings to go the distance, and I like Toronto making this known to Milwaukee in Game One whether it be by staging an upset or playing a hard fought game against the NBA’s top seed. Grab the points.

Atlanta owns the edge in the pitching match-up but St. Louis gets the check-marks with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. And the Cardinals are getting the underdog price. We're siding with St. Louis here for our free MLB pick.

The winner of this seven-game series with advance to the NBA Finals and take on the winner of the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors. The Warriors are favorites in this game, and despite missing Durant, they are the team to bet on.