8* Golden State (10:05 ET): The Warriors’ 2020-21 season came to an end in the play-in round and the Lakers were partly responsible for that. The league’s very first play-in game saw these teams match up and it was LA winning 103-100 on a last second LeBron James’ three-pointer. Golden State would get a second chance to advance to the playoffs, but also lost that one, 117-112 to Memphis (in overtime). Still, last season was an improvement for the Dubs after plummeting to the worst record in the league two years ago. 

Meanwhile, there was only one way to go for the Lakers after winning the NBA Championship in 2020. As is obvious by the fact they were in the play-in round, LA regressed heavily last season. Only three players are back from LY’s team, two of them being LeBron James and Anthony Davis. So I would not count on a fast start from “Showtime” in 2021-22. LeBron is now 36 years old and has played the second most minutes in NBA history. For what it’s worth, with all the new faces, the Lakers were 0-6 SU in the preseason. 

Golden State was 5-0 SU in its preseason, two of those wins coming against the Lakers! It is clear that the Warriors are getting back to the mentality that brought them multiple NBA Championships and that mentality involves shooting a lot of threes. We started to see it at the end of last year’s regular season. Steph Curry scored 41 in the final preseason game and with him and Draymond Green on the court at the same time, the Dubs destroyed opponents (provided James Wiseman was also NOT on the court). The revenge angle is big here and I don’t think Russell Westbrook is ready to be a difference maker for the Lakers just yet. Take the points. 8* Golden State

8* LA Dodgers (5:08 ET): While the Dodgers are shockingly down 0-2 to the Braves in the NLCS, they have to feel like they could have won at least one, if not BOTH games in Atlanta. Games 1 and 2 were each decided by one run with the Braves winning both in walkoff fashion. The Dodgers out hit them 10-6 in Game 1 and then twice blew a 2-run lead in Game 2. This is just the second time LA has suffered B2B losses since the start of August. Over the L5 months, there have been just four occasions where they’ve lost three or more in a row. The last time they lost three straight to the same team was early July. 

So I’ve got to back the Dodgers here in Game 3 as they return home and have Walker Buehler on the hill. Buehler has had a truly dominant year, going 16-4 in the regular season with a 2.47 ERA. Overall, the team is 23-12 in his L35 starts this season. Buehler is not only 2-0 (with a 2.79 ERA) in three career regular season starts vs. the Braves, but he dominated in LY’s NLCS as well, holding them to one run in 11 IP. Do not forget that the Dodgers also faced an 0-2 series deficit in LY’s NLCS. They overcame it despite no home games. They are 60-24 this year at Chavez Ravine. 

I think most would agree that the Dodgers’ biggest issue in this series has been a lack of “clutch hitting.” They are just 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position, striking out nine times in that situation. I’m going to call for that to turn around today. This team is too good offensively to continue struggling like that. Charlie Morton starts Game 3 for the Braves and while he’s had a good year, as a member of the Rays he struggled against the Dodgers in LY’s World Series. Furthermore, let’s not forget visiting teams are hitting just .206 this year at Dodger Stadium. So the Braves are going to be the ones struggling to score runs here. Laying the hefty price is certainly justified for Game 3. 8* LA Dodgers

10* Under Nets/Bucks (7:35 ET): The two top teams in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire league, square off on Opening Night as the reigning NBA Champion Bucks host the Nets. Entering this season, Brooklyn has the best odds of winning the NBA Finals. But they are also dealing with the issue of Kyrie Irving not being available until he gets vaccinated. They still have the luxury of Kevin Durant and James Harden being on the roster though. Irving and Harden both missing three games in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals had a lot to do with Milwaukee overcoming an 0-2 hole to win that series in seven games. 

That ECF was much lower-scoring than anticipated, given these were the two highest scoring teams in the league last season. Only one of the seven games went Over the total and that was Game 7, which went to OT. In fact, the Under is 7-1-1 the L9 meetings between these teams including a perfect 5-0 when they play here in Milwaukee. 

I’m going to say that they go Under again here in the season opener. Neither team figures to be in “peak offensive form” for the first game. Somewhat incredibly, the losing team did not even score 100 points in four of the seven games in LY’s ECF. It may not be THAT low-scoring this time around, but this is a high O/U for the first game and I just can’t see this one reaching it. 10* Under Nets/Bucks

10* Real Madrid (3:00 ET): Group D has certainly been turned “upside down” in this year’s Champions League with the shocking start from upstart Sheriff Tiraspol. The first time UCL entrant from Moldova leads the group with a 2-0 record as they have defeated both Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk. Those two sides meet Tuesday in a key clash. Real Madrid, who did defeat Inter Milan 1-0 in their opening fixture here, can move level with Sheriff with a win. I look for them to get the much needed three points. 

Shakhtar Donetsk have yet to win in this year’s Champions League. In addition to their shock loss to Sheriff, they shared the points in a goalless draw with Inter. While things are going well on the domestic front for the Ukrainian side, the step up to UCL has always proven to be a bit challenging. They’ve won just four of their last 21 matches in this competition. Even here on home soil they tend to struggle, winning just five of the last 17 UCL fixtures. I think they are pretty clearly outmanned in this one. 

Real Madrid has been off for awhile as last weekend’s fixture with Athletic Club (in La Liga) had to be postponed due to the South American World Cup qualifiers. So they have not been on the pitch since taking a surprise 2-1 loss to Espanyol on Oct 3. I think Real Madrid will come out VERY motivated on Tuesday as they’ve since fallen out of first place in La Liga (despite having, by far, the best goal differential) and are actually winless in their last three across all competitions. They are far too good for such a streak to continue. Further sweetening the pot is the fact Los Blancos have double revenge from LY’s UCL Group stage. Expect a big win for the favorite today. 10* Real Madrid