Ricky Dimon
Show Bio
Good morning, Pickswise Nation. NBA All-Star Weekend is upon us, beginning tonight with the Celebrity Game and Rising Stars Game. There is also hockey and college basketball action on Friday’s menu to go along with round two of the Genesis Invitational. It’s another big day in the world of sports, so let’s get right to it and make your next bet better with Wise n’ Shine!
About Last Night
Bucks blast Bulls
Pickswise’s best bet on Thursday’s NBA slate was an easy winner, as Milwaukee (-7) hammered Chicago 112-100. Meanwhile, Washington overcame Minnesota and the Clippers won at Phoenix as the league now heads into All-Star Weekend.
Hurricanes, Bruins continue to roll
The Hurricanes improved to 36-10-8 by beating the Canadiens 6-2, while the Bruins are now 41-8-5 after blanking the Predators 5-0. In Carolina’s victory, Sebastian Aho recorded 1 goal and 1 assist to cash our prop bet of over 1.5 points at +165.
Purdue goes down again
Then-#1 Purdue lost at Northwestern last weekend and now ranked #3 it fell at Maryland 68-54 on Thursday. Second-ranked Houston, which is now favored to win the National Championship, took care of business with an 80-65 rout of SMU.
DraftKings Sportsbook is currently giving new customers $150 in bonus bets if their team wins when they sign up now and bet $5. That’s all there is to it! Grab this amazing sign-up offer by clicking this link.
Today’s Slate
Kings vs Ducks on ESPN
A showdown between the Kings and Ducks is getting national television treatment on ESPN at 9:00 pm ET. The Penguins, Islanders, Stars, Rangers and Oilers are also taking to the ice. Don’t miss any of our hockey coverage with our NHL picks.
Flyers battle Ramblers on ESPN2
In the Atlantic 10, Dayton pays a visit to Loyola Chicago at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN2. The Flyers are 9-4 in the conference and 17-9 overall. You can read our college basketball predictions throughout the 2022-23 campaign.
Best Bet of the Day
NHL: New York Rangers ML over Edmonton Oilers (+105)
9:00 pm ET, ESPN+
The Rangers have been on a complete tear of late, especially since the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko. They have not lost in regulation in almost a month (7-0-1 record) and in Tarasenko’s 3 games, they are averaging 6.0 goals. Their complete dominance over recent opponents makes their underdog status very questionable — but hopefully very profitable. Meanwhile, the Oilers 1-1-2 in their last 4 with their 3 losses coming to much weaker opponents such as the Flyers, Canadiens and Red Wings. New York matches up perfectly here with a very deep lineup that can minimize the chances of Edmonton’s weapons while generating and capitalizing offense. Check out our full Rangers vs Oilers predictions.
You can bet on these odds boosts at Caesars, which has a great sign-up offer where you can get up to $1,250 back on your first bet! Click here to sign up for Caesars now.
Must-read
Although the NFL season is over, it’s never too early to start looking ahead toward the 2023 campaign. In fact, we have already done it! Here are the Super Bowl 58 odds and best bets to be made. Also, be sure to see our first 2023 NFL mock draft and this NFL free agency tracker. If you’re ready for some more football in the immediate future, our XFL coverage includes an XFL 2023 season preview, an XFL rules summary and our XFL team-by-team guide.
As for Friday’s festivities, we have a +996 NHL mega parlay.
Check out more great content as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.
Stat of the Day
The Wild have scored 2 goals or fewer in 4 of their last 5 games. That doesn’t bode well for their chances against the Stars, who rank 10th in expected goals against per 60 minutes.
Quote of the Day
“As he has shown, Joe is a very talented coach and leader. He has a unique ability to galvanize a room around a mission. We are thankful for the work he has done to help get us to this point, and excited that he has agreed to lead us into the future.“
— Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens after Joe Mazzulla had the interim tag removed and was announced as head coach on Thursday
Looking for a quick way to secure some bonus bets? Click this link to sign up for PointsBet, where you can get up to 5 x $50 bonus bets!
Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert college basketball picks, NBA Picks, Soccer Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.
