Wise n' Shine: What you need to know to bet better on Sunday, April 17

Andrew Ortenberg

Show Bio

I'm an NFL handicapper here at Pickswise who was raised in a household full of sports fanatics. Since I unfortunately never had LeBron James' jumping ability I wasn't able to make it to the NBA, and chose writing about sports as the next best thing. An avid sports bettor myself, I'm excited to get to write about the industry as it gets set to take off across the country. Buckle up. For Andrew Ortenberg media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.

About Last Night

Edwards, T-Wolves make statement
If the Timberwolves didn’t get your attention with their play-in win over the Clippers, they certainly got it on Saturday. Minnesota pulled off a big upset of the Grizzlies, and Anthony Edwards poured in 36 points. It was a coming out party for the emerging star, who is somehow only 20. In addition to the Timberwolves, the Jazz, 76ers and Warriors all also went up 1-0 in their respective first-round matchups.

Ohtani heating up?
There was another full MLB slate on Saturday, and Shohei Ohtani put on a show. The reigning MVP got off to a slow start this season, but he’s started to erupt in this series against the Rangers. He hit 2 home runs on Friday, and then went 2-for-5 with another homer on Saturday. He’s officially starting to heat up, which is music to the ears of Angels (and baseball) fans.

Huge NHL night for Pickswise
The Pickswise NHL cappers had a super Saturday, going 11-3 on sides and 12-2 on totals! The Bruins became the latest NHL team to clinch a playoff berth with their 2-1 win over the Penguins. But they aren’t planning on stopping there. “We have a standard here, right? So we’re not going to go out and celebrate that we made the playoffs,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy.

Today’s Slate

Four more NBA playoff games
After a thrilling first slate of playoff games we’ve got 4 more great matchups to look forward to. The Hawks and Heat will get things started at 1:00pm ET on TNT, with Pelicans/Suns serving as the nightcap at 9:00pm ET. Head over to our NBA picks page to see all of our previews and predictions.

Blues vs Predators on NHL Network
We’ve got a 6-game NHL slate on Sunday, and the highlight is this fun Central Division clash between the Blues and Predators. It’ll be televised by NHL Network at 6:00pm ET. You can find all of our hockey coverage over at our NHL page.

Padres/Braves for Sunday Night Baseball
All 30 MLB teams will be in action on Sunday, with most games coming during the afternoon. But we’ve got a great standalone game to end the day as the San Diego Padres host the Atlanta Braves for Sunday Night Baseball in a battle between NL contenders. Check out all of our MLB previews for the full 15-game slate.

Best Bet of the Day

Miami Heat -6.5 over Atlanta Hawks
1:00 pm ET, TNT

The Atlanta Hawks won two play-in games to get here, but the Heat are a big step up from the Hornets and Cavaliers. Both Charlotte and Cleveland were young teams that had very little big-game experience, and Miami is the opposite. They’re loaded with veterans who have been there and done that. The Hornets and Cavs have both struggled on defense recently, while the Heat are elite on that side of the ball. If anyone can come up with a plan to slow down Trae Young, it’s Erik Spoelstra. And the Hawks are going to be without starting center Clint Capela here after he suffered a knee injury during the win over Cleveland. That’s a big loss, and it’s going to make life a lot easier for Bam Adebayo inside.

Check out our Hawks vs Heat preview

Must-watch

Make sure you catch today’s edition of our daily sports betting show, Let’s Bet It!, at 10:00 am ET on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/c/Pickswise. Alex Glaze and Mark Zinno will be hosting on Sunday to talk NBA, MLB and NHL as well as give out their Plays of the Day.

Must-read

It’s another big NBA day. Don’t miss our mega parlay for Sunday’s games that has odds of +1309. We’ve also got an article on the best first basket scorer prop bets to make.

Before Nets/Celtics gets started, check out our series preview for the East’s most highly anticipated matchup. Don’t forget that the NFL Draft is also right around the corner, and I recently broke down my favorite draft prop bets.

Check out more great content as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

The Bulls lost their last 2 games against the Bucks by margins of 21 and 28 points.

Boost of the Day

Chelsea to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0
Boosted from +185 to +250 with FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook is celebrating a busy day of soccer with this FA Cup semifinal odds boost. You can now get Chelsea to beat Crystal Palace either 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 (regulation only) at +250 instead of +185. Make sure to check out our soccer picks for all the day’s action.

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