Wise n' Shine: NBA picks, college football predictions, MLB and NHL best bets for Friday, October 21

Good morning, Pickswise Nation! There’s was something for everyone in the world of sports yesterday, and we’re right back into it today, with games in the MLB playoffs, NBA, NHL and college football, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better!

About Last Night

Cardinals sink Saints
In a welcome change of pace, we had a high-scoring game on Thursday Night Football as NFL Week 7 began with the Cardinals beating the Saints 42-34. Arizona had been a 2.5-point favorite and the Cardinals almost carried the over of 45 points on their own.

Astros move 2-0 ahead
The Astros beat the Yankees 3-2 on Thursday to go 2-0 up in the series. The Astros ML and under 7 were both winning plays for Pickswise, putting us on a 3-0 run for ML picks. Better still, JutPicks’ MLB prop bet won too, as did our YRFI/NRFI play! The Astros are now -125 favourites to win the World Series at FanDuel Sportsbook, with the Padres and Phillies at +370 and the Yankees out to +800.

Lakers fall to 0-2
Bucks +3.5 and Clippers -5,5 both cashed for Pickswise in the NBA on Thursday night. The Bucks upset the 76ers 90-88, while the Lakers fell to 0-2 with their 103-97 loss to the Clippers.

Cavaliers win on the road
The NFL trend for low-scoring Thursday games shifted to the college game this week as the Virginia Cavaliers beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 16-9 as 3-point underdogs, while under 45.5 cashed comfortably.

Sharks get first win
The San Jose Sharks had opened the NHL season with 5 straight losses, but got their first W on the board with a 3-2 overtime win against the Rangers. The Hurricanes and Flames both suffered their first defeats of the season, losing to the Oilers and Sabres respectively.

Today’s Slate

Padres and Phillies clash again
The Padres-Phillies NLCS series switches to Philadelphia tonight with the teams level at 1-1 heading into Game 3 at 7:30 pm ET on FS1. Read today’s MLB predictions.

11 NBA games tonight
After a quiet Thursday we have an 11-game NBA slate tonight, with ESPN showing Celtics vs Heat at 7:30 pm ET and Nuggets vs Warriors at 10:00 pm ET. Read today’s NBA picks.

Champions in action
Stanley Cup champions the Colorado Avalanche have a chance to improve their early 2-1-1 record tonight when they host the Seattle Kraken in Denver at 9:oo pm ET. That matchup closes out a small 3-game NHL slate. Read today’s NHL picks.

Friday night lights are on
Bailey Zappe has raised the profile of Western Kentucky with his impressive performances for the Patriots this season, and the Hilltoppers’ clash with UAB (CBSSN, 8:00pm) is the best game on tonight’s college football slate. Read today’s NCAAF predictions.

Best Bet of the Day

NBA: Boston Celtics -2.5 over Miami Heat
7:30 pm ET, ESPN

Boston opened their season with an impressive win over Philadelphia at home. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were in midseason form, scoring 35 points each, and they did not get overwhelmed inside against Joel Embiid without Robert Williams III in the lineup. That is a good omen for his absence, as few teams have an inside presence like that. Miami lost their opener against a Chicago team missing a couple of starters. Miami did not look like a team that is going to challenge for the top of the East as they did a year ago, so it’s no surprise that they are a home dog. Read our full Celtics vs Heat predictions.

Must-watch

Don’t forget to check out our daily show Let’s Bet It on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/c/Pickswise at 10:00 am ET.

Lauren Jbara and Jared Smith are your hosts today, and they will be reacting to last night’s NFL game and looking ahead to the weekend games, plus giving their best bets for today’s MLB, NBA and college football games before revealing their Plays of the Day.

You can also access the show at any time through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).

The Week 7 edition of Pickswise Playbook, our weekly NFL preview show, is also available, featuring former NFL star Tank Williams, so be sure to check that out too!

Must-read

Get set for today’s MLB playoff game with our Padres vs Phillies Same Game Parlay and YRFI/NRFI best bet, while our NHL coverage includes today’s NHL mega parlay and our hockey player props.

NBA fans can access our Same Game Parlays for Celtics vs Heat and Nuggets vs Warriors while for college football, you can check out our CFB Week 8 Best Bets, our Saturday NCAAF mega parlay and our college football underdog picks.

Read all of our great sports analysis as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

The Padres’ Joe Musgrove has allowed just 2 runs and 7 hits in 13 innings in this season’s playoffs.

Quote of the Day

Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, MLB Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.