Boosted Odds Props From BetOnline.ag for Thursday, September 17

The September sports schedule has been incredibly busy, and things will ramp up even more this weekend. In addition to the NBA, NHL, and WNBA playoffs, we also have full slates of NFL, college football, European and domestic soccer, and the US Open golf tournament getting underway. Then, next Monday, we’ll get our second Grand Slam tournament in as many weeks with the French Open getting started.

There has never been a better time to be a sports bettor. You can bet on just about any sport you want these days. BetOnline is offering daily odds boosts to try and make things a little more interesting, and Thursday’s boosts are a little bit different. We have a trio of US Open betting options, along with NFL, NBA, and the French Open.

As always, let’s try to figure out which option is most worthy of your wager.

PGA: Dustin Johnson to Finish Top-5 (+210)

Dustin Johnson is currently the top-ranked golfer in the world. While he hasn’t had the greatest 2020 season thus far, he is coming off a win in the Tour Championship. That paid out a hefty $15 million in winnings, so he’ll take it. DJ also won the BMW Championship the week before, along with a second-place finish at the PGA Championship last month.

Johnson has seven top-10 finishes in 14 tourneys so far this year, and he’s third on the 2020 money list.

He’s made the cut in 11 starts, with three total wins. Johnson is predictably the betting favorite heading into this weekend’s US Open at Winged Foot, which is notoriously one of the more difficult courses on the tour.

This is technically the beginning of a new golf season, which will feature a whopping six major tournaments. Johnson has never played Winged Foot before, which may give him a bit of a disadvantage. You can bet Johnson as a +850 favorite to win the US Open outright, but the +210 odds to just finish in the top-five are admittedly appealing, as well.

PGA: Bryson DeChambeau to Finish Top-10 (+260)

Bryson DeChambeau has been one of the PGA Tour’s breakout stars in 2020. He used his time during the hiatus earlier this year to bulk up, which has left him looking completely different from the guy we knew before. DeChambeau is one of the longest hitters off the tee in the world, but he comes into the US Open in middling form.

DeChambeau finished a disappointing 22nd at last week’s Tour Championship, which came after a 50th-place showing at the BMW Championship. DeChambeau missed the cut at the Northern Trust, though he did finish a respectable fourth at the PGA Championship in San Francisco over a month ago.

.@b_dechambeau has joined our growing roster of Tour contributors!

Starting this week, Bryson will share an exclusive look inside his game (and head). Check out his unique U.S. Open game plan: https://t.co/YD83mB1U3o pic.twitter.com/IfrAvVLXkV

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) September 16, 2020

The SMU alum has nine top-10 finishes across 17 events so far this year. DeChambeau is planning to use his newfound strength to take a bombs-away approach this weekend, which could be a questionable call. That all-or-nothing approach makes DeChambeau a volatile bet this week. It’ll either pay off handsomely, or he’ll tank his way to the bottom of the leaderboard.

DeChambeau is among the favorites to win the US Open at +2200. Considering he has finished top-10 in over half of his starts this year, the boosted odds on a top-10 finish this weekend (+260) look alluring.

PGA: Woods, Mickelson, and McIlroy ALL To Make the Cut (+275)

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy have had eventful years in 2020, but oddsmakers aren’t too keen on their chances of success this week. While Rory at +1600 to win is one of the favorites, Tiger is down at +5000, while Phil is even worse at +8000.

Woods said earlier this week that Winged Foot is one of the hardest courses in the world. Woods missed the cut the last time the US Open was held here in 2006. Mickelson nearly won it that same year, but a costly missed putt on the final hole gave the trophy to Geoff Ogilvy instead. Woods also finished 29th at Winged Foot at the 1997 PGA Championship.

Woods made the cut in all eight of his starts last season. Across 16 tournaments, Phil missed the cut seven times. McIlroy was 15-for-15 in cuts made last season. McIlroy is making the cut this weekend, but Tiger and Phil are wild cards.

Tennis: Dominic Thiem to Win French Open (+375)

Dominic Thiem won the US Open last weekend in dramatic fashion, coming back from two sets down to knock off Alexander Zverev in the men’s final. It was the 27-year-old’s first Grand Slam triumph, and he’ll be looking for his first French Open title this time around.

Thiem has come close at Roland-Garros in the past, though, with back-to-back appearances in the final. Thiem lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal two years ago, with a four-set defeat last summer.

𝗡 𝗘 𝗩 𝗘 𝗥 G I V E UP@ThiemDomi is a Grand Slam champion 🏆👏 pic.twitter.com/TZUkCHvd2u

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) September 14, 2020

Thiem may have a bit of fatigue after such a quick turnaround between events, but he’s still among the odds-on favorites. Nadal, who seemingly wins the French Open every year, is an understandable -125 favorite. Novak Djokovic is next at +250, while Thiem is close behind him at +300.

Nadal should be fresh after declining to attend the US Open, but there could also be a rust factor there. Thiem is playing as well as any man in the world heading into the French.

NBA: Lakers and Celtics BOTH To Win (+175)

The Celtics lost a heartbreaker in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday, with Bam Adebayo denying Jayson Tatum on a dunk attempt late in the game. Boston will look to even the series on Thursday night in Game 2, and the Celtics are currently listed as 2-point favorites at BetOnline.ag.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who disposed of the Rockets in the Western semis last Saturday, will face the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday night. The Nuggets stormed back from a 3-1 deficit in their series against the Clippers, and they’ll have had just two days off before taking on the other LA team. The Lakers have opened as seven-point favorites in Game 1 over Denver.

The Celtics are -135 moneyline favorites to win their game, while the Lakers are even bigger -290 favorites to go up 1-0 on Friday.

NFL: Browns To Win AND Over 43.5 Points (+300)

The Browns and Bengals will likely be bringing up the rear in the AFC North this year. Both teams suffered setbacks in Week 1. The Browns were thrashed by the Ravens, while the Bengals lost a heartbreaker to the Chargers thanks to a missed Randy Bullock chip-shot as time expired.

Baker Mayfield has more career commercials than he has career wins.

— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) September 15, 2020

The Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow may have a bright future, but a more experienced Browns side enters Thursday’s game as six-point home favorites. The Ohio rivals split their two games against one another last season, with the Bengals picking up an unexpected 33-23 win in Week 17 last December.

What’s The Best Bet?

I’ll go ahead and write off Thiem winning the French Open at +375. He’ll win this tournament someday, but until Nadal shows a tangible weakness on clay, it’s hard to bet against the Spaniard. Woods and Mickelson are both past their respective primes, so even at +275 I don’t love the value on that trio of golfers to make the cut this weekend at one of the toughest courses in the world.

I’m definitely not comfortable with picking the Browns to win a real football game, either. Cleveland has more talent than Cincinnati, but with the way Baker Mayfield turns the ball over, how can you have much faith in this team to win a game they obviously should? Thursday Night Football games also have a way of being ugly, low-scoring affairs, so betting the over on 43.5 points is another risky proposition.

If you want safety, grabbing the Celtics and Lakers to both pick up wins in their next games looks like a pretty good option. I still think Boston will win its series against Miami, and their path to doing so gets a lot more difficult if they fall into an 0-2 hole. Denver has been beating the odds for weeks now, but anything other than a Lakers win in this series would be a legitimate surprise, as well. It won’t be an easy series for LA, but they’re obviously a smart choice to win Game 1 given the rest advantage they’ll enjoy.

DeChambeau to finish top-10 (+260) looks a bit safer than Johnson to find his way into the top-five (+210) at this week’s US Open, but both are solid betting options.

For safety, bet on the NBA boost at +175. If you want a little more value, grab DeChambeau to finish top-1o at the US Open at +260.