Sports Handicapper Bryan Power's Picks & Predictions

10* Portland (9:05 ET): Needless to say, the Blazers have to have this game. They blew a "golden" (pun intended!) opportunity to steal one on the road, losing Game 2 114-111 after leading almost the whole way. It was in many ways reminiscent of what happened to Toronto in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Now we know how the follow-up for the Raptors went (they were blown out), but I think it'll be different for Portland as they are at home for Game 3 and in a virtual "must-win" situation. The Blazers are 4-1 ATS following a SU loss in the playoffs, including covering Game 2. Lay the short number here.

Portland was up 15 at halftime in Game 2 and looked well on their way to pulling the outright upset. Even w/ just over four minutes to go in the game, they were up eight and that was after the Warriors came back to tie things up after three quarters. But that's when the wheels came off as Golden State ended the game on a 14-3 run. As disappointing a loss as it was, I fully expect the Blazers to play better here at home. They didn't really shoot the ball well in either of the first two games w/ Damian Lillard being the biggest offender at just 10 of 28 overall from the field. At home, the Blazers average 118.1 PPG, which is well up from the 109.9 PPG they average on the road.

When Kevin Durant was lost to injury, I said you should expect Steph Curry to pick up the scoring load for the Warriors. That's exactly what has happened w/ the former league MVP scoring 30+ points in each of the L3 games. But now that they're playing on the road, don't be surprised to see Golden State struggle a bit more to score. By the way, Portland has not lost three straight games since early December. Since that time, they are 6-0 SU off B2B losses, covering the spread five times. Lillard is going to play better here and the Blazers will win.  10* Portland

8* Over Cubs/Nationals (7:15 ET): The Cubs came out and crushed the Nationals last night, winning by a score of 14-6. They jumped on the home team early, scoring three runs in the first two innings, then poured it on late w/ 11 runs over the final three frames to put the game away for good. In a rare ocurrence, Kris Bryant became just the 12th player in MLB history to homer in three consecutive innings. Obviously, we don't need nearly that many runs to be scored for an Over. With both teams having suspect bullpens, this total looks very low. Take the Over.

The Cubs needed a game like yday after they'd lost each of the previous two days to the (underrated) Reds. Tonight they send Jon Lester to the mound and he's admittedly been red hot of late w/ a 0.00 ERA and 1.017 WHIP his L3 starts. He's working on a 19 2/3 scoreless inning streak, but has given up 18 hits during that time. So I think some regression may be in store for Mr. Lester Saturday night. Then there is the Cubs' bullpen, which has a 5.74 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP on the road. Speaking of the road, Cubs' away games this year have been very high scoring (Over is 14-6). They are averaging 6.6 rpg (#1 in MLB) while giving up 5.2. This is a stark contrast to the games at Wrigley where they are allowing the FEWEST runs per game in all of baseball. 

Speaking of bad bullpens, it doesn't get any worse than the Nationals, whose relivers have posted a gaudy 7.48 ERA and 1.80 WHIP at home this season. Last night was a bad effort even by this pen's low standard. The Cubs homered six times yesterday off Nationals' pitching. Stephen Strasburg will be leaned on heavily here and he's just hoping his teammates can score some runs, something that hasn't happened in his last two outings (both 6-0 losses). I think Strasburg will get some run support this time around, but like Lester, look for him to also struggle more than usual here. 8* Over Cubs/Nationals

10* Over Rockies/Phillies (4:05 ET): This series opened w/ the Phillies winning 5-4 yesterday, a nice reprieve for them as they'd just dropped three in a row here at home to Milwaukee. Colorado had the benefit of an off-day going into yday, but showed little life w/ only five hits, so in some ways they were fortunate to score four runs. Last night was the first time in over two weeks that the Rockies didn't get to enjoy the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field or the use of the DH (played two games in Boston). But note their previous two road games in a NL park (Milwaukee) yielded an impressive 22 runs scored. They've scored 10 or more runs five times in the L13 games overall. 

We've got two struggling starters on the bump for Saturday. Colorado's Antonio Senzatela has posted a 7.04 ERA and 1.434 WHIP his L3 starts, upping those numbers to 5.34 and 1.395 respectively for the season. Obviously, he's got to deal w/ the Coors effect too (works both ways for the Rockies!), but lately it hasn't mattered where Senzatela has pitched, the game has ended up high scoring. The last five Senzatela starts have all gone Over w/ a average of 15 total runs scored per game. This is right line w/ recent team results as the Over is 11-1-1 the L13 times the Rockies have take the field. 

The Phillies counter w/ Aaron Nola, who is somehow unbeaten (3-0) in his nine starts (5-4 TSR) despite a 5.34 ERA and 1.395 WHIP. Like Senzatela, we've gotten mostly Overs out of Nola starts. The Over is 8-1 in his nine starts, including 3-0 the L3. Nola lasted only three innings his last time out. The Over has gone 8-2-1 the L11 times these teams have met at Citizens Bank Park (last night was the push). All signs point to this being a high-scoring game. 10* Over Rockies/Phillies

6* Megan Anderson (10:00 ET): When discussing the UFC's deepest divisions, Women's Featherweight (145 lbs) isn't likely to come up, nor should it. The division nearly became extinct when Bantamweight Champ Amanda Nunes stepped up a weight class and destroyed Cris Cyborg late last year. Nunes is a double champ now (holds title in two divisions) and w/ her next fight scheduled at 135 lbs vs. Holly Holm on July 6, featherweight almost became an afterthought. Enter Megan Anderson. 

Now it's not as if Anderson is some prized prospect nor is she immune from defeat. But w/ Cyborg out of the picture, she was the one "true" featherweight left on the roster, until some recent signings. The major weakness in her game, takedown defense, was exposed badly by Holm in a loss last summer. Then she got a little lucky to be awarded a TKO victory over Cat Zigano (eye injury) in December (same card Nunes KO's Cyborg). But by being a true featherweight, she's going to have a pretty significant edge over most opponents moving forward, including this one. 

Felicia Spencer is unbeaten at 6-0, but her getting this opportunity speaks to the dearth of talent in this division. This will be her UFC debut after, ironically enough, succeeding Anderson as Invicta's Featherweight Champ. While her last fight did show she's willing to go to the ground, I think it's going to be harder to do that here than she realizes, even w/ takedown defense admittedly being a weak spot in Anderson's game. I think there's a good chance Spencer gets caught here and this fight ends rather quickly. Anderson has three first round TKO's in her career in addition to a massive edge in height and reach. 6* Megan Anderson

8* Genoa FC (12:00 ET): With two matches left, Genoa is hoping to avoid relegation. They're one point clear currently and do not exactly have the most challenging remaining schedule. But in order to feel better about their chances of survival, they'll need to do something they have not done since March 17th and that's win. They are 0-5-3 the L8 matches, including a 2-1 loss last week to an Atalanta side that was hungry for securing a Champions League spot. I feel this play sets up very similar to our play in the Bundesliga two weeks ago (on Bayer Leverkusen) in that we will have the far more motivated side. 

Currently 12th in the table, Cagliari has essentially nothing to play for these next two weeks, which is a dangerous place to be in. Recently, they were in the news for all the wrong reasons as their fans were caught making racist chants at several Juventus players. This is not exactly a side in fine form either as they've won just twice in their last seven matches, including three consecutive losses. With no fear of relegation and no hope of Champions League qualification, I see no reason to expect much from Cagliari on Saturday. 

Adding to the motivation on the Genoa side is that they'll be taking the pitch w/ some revenge on their mind for a 1-0 defeat back on December 26th. The lone goal was scored in stoppage time, right before halftime. I mentioned earlier that Genoa has not won since March 17th. Well, the side they beat that day was Juventus, who happens to be atop the Serie A table. Since then, there's been some bad luck, such as missing a stoppage time PK two weeks ago vs. AS Roma. But the bottom line here is Genoa has a very similar goal differential to Cagliari, so don't be fooled by the respective positions in the table. 8* Genoa FC