BetOnline’s Odds Boosts for August 26

Wednesday brings another full slate of sports action, which has to be music to the ears of bettors that have been waiting months for days like these. We have four total NBA and NHL playoff games on the docket as well as a full slate of Major League Baseball once again.

Wednesday’s Odds Boosters are out 👀

🚀 https://t.co/sZRcdqqUuS pic.twitter.com/R7r4jYVqr6

— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) August 26, 2020

As always, BetOnline is offering boosted odds on a few of the games to try and entice you to shoot for some extra upside with your wagers. These boosts tend to offer pretty good value, so let’s try to figure out which option for Wednesday, August 26, is worthy of your attention.

MLB: Mets, Dodgers, Diamondbacks ALL to Win (+290)

We nearly nailed our MLB trifecta pick for Tuesday, but the Los Angeles Dodgers just had to blow the game in extra innings. We can go right back to the well with LA here, as Clayton Kershaw will be taking the mound for the Dodgers on the road in San Francisco. Los Angeles is a sizable -235 moneyline favorite with their ace on the hill, as the Giants will counter with right-hander Kevin Gausman.

The New York Mets will continue their series against the Miami Marlins after New York lost both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader. The Mets have a stellar chance of getting into the win column tonight, however, as Jacob deGrom will toe the rubber against Miami’s Elieser Hernandez. New York us unsurprisingly a massive -255 moneyline favorite here with the two-time reigning National League Cy Young winner taking the ball.

The Diamondbacks will look to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss to the Rockies with Robbie Ray going up against Jon Gray at Chase Field. Both starting pitchers have really struggled so far this season, but Ray and the D-Backs check in as -135 home favorites. Ray is a former All-Star, but his lack of command early in the season is cause for concern.

NHL: Islanders +1.5 and Stars +1.5 BOTH to Cover (+125)

The Dallas Stars will look to send the Colorado Avalanche to the brink of elimination in Game 3 tonight. Dallas is arguably the hottest team in the league right now, having won five straight games. The Stars have scored at least five goals in four of those outings, and so far in this series, they have managed to outscore the Avs 10-5.

The New York Islanders ran their record against the Philadelphia Flyers to a perfect 5-0 on the year with an utterly dominant 4-0 triumph in Game 1 on Monday night.

Despite Colorado and Philadelphia having failed to win a single game (not including the round-robin schedule) against Dallas and New York, respectively, all year long, both teams are betting favorites on Wednesday night. The Isles and Flyers are both listed at -105 on the moneyline, but the Flyers are favored on the puck line. In the other game, the Avalanche are heavier -130 moneyline favorites over the Stars (+120).

Oddsmakers are paying more respect to the regular-season standings than they probably should. Seeding and regular-season performance are not typically harbingers of success come playoff time in this sport. There is a lot more parity in the Stanley Cup playoffs than you’ll find in baseball or basketball, for example. Colorado and Philadelphia being stronger teams during the regular season doesn’t mean they should be heavy favorites against opponents that have largely dominated them all year long.

NBA: Lakers -13.5 and Thunder +3 BOTH to Cover (+325)

For all intents and purposes, the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers is done and dusted. The Lakers dropped Game 1 in upset fashion, but they have stormed back with three straight relatively easy wins since. That includes the 135-115 demolition of the Blazers in Game 4. To make matters worse, the Blazers will be without superstar Damian Lillard in Game 5, who is dealing with a knee injury suffered in Monday’s defeat.

So, it’s not surprising to see the Lakers listed as nearly two-touchdown favorites tonight. Los Angeles could always take this game a little too lightly with Portland so short-handed, though. Terry Stotts’ team has fought hard since the restart, but all of that fighting has left the team looking pretty tired over the past couple of games.

Oklahoma City, meanwhile, has fought back from an 0-2 deficit to even their series with Houston at 2-2. The Rockets initially said All-Star guard Russell Westbrook would miss this game, but he has been upgraded to questionable this morning. Westbrook has yet to appear in the series after injuring his quad during the seeding games, but it sounds as though he might return to the lineup for Game 5.

The Rockets have had plenty of chances to put the Thunder away, but they have yet to take advantage. Houston’s shooting has been extremely inconsistent, and those lengthy droughts have allowed OKC to climb back into the series.

Which Is The Best Bet?

All three of these boosts carry appeal today. The one I’ll scratch off the list first will be our NBA option. While I do expect the Lakers to win pretty comfortably in Game 5, I can’t completely count the undermanned Blazers out of it quite yet. In the other game, I would expect the Rockets to come out with a renewed focus, especially if Westbrook is able to suit up for the first time. If Houston is at full-strength today, Oklahoma City may have a hard time keeping up.

While I have plenty of faith in Kershaw and the Dodgers closing the deal tonight, I don’t have as much hope in the Mets and Diamondbacks.

DeGrom is incredible, but this will be his third consecutive start against the Marlins. Hitters tend to gain an advantage the more they get to see a pitcher, and it’s not like the Mets have the most reliable bullpen behind him. As for Arizona, trusting Robbie Ray and his 8.33 ERA through six starts feels incredibly uncomfortable. The Rockies aren’t a particularly imposing offense away from Coors Field, but I’d like to see Ray flash some form before backing the D-Backs in one of his starts.

The two-way NHL playoff bet looks like the boost to attack here. Dallas has overwhelmed Colorado with their high-octane offense so far in this series. With the Stars firing on all cylinders right now, it feels like a steal to be able to get them as underdogs. Not only do I like Dallas to cover the 1.5-goal puck line, but I think they stand a great chance of winning the game outright.

I’m not quite as sold on the Isles’ chances of winning, but I do think New York can at least cover against Philly. Including Game 1, the Islanders have now outscored the Flyers 18-9 across four head-to-head meetings in 2019-20. Take the odds boost with the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight.