In Between the Lines: Chapter 2
We bid farewell to the bubble and 2020 NBA season. The Los Angeles Lakers are your 2020 NBA Finals Champions. And on the mound, the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers are competing for a spot in the World Series at the ALCS and NLCS. It’s Week 6 of the NFL season, and we can only hope that more players won’t test positive for COVID-19.
With a stacked sports schedule comes fervent sports bettors. “In Between the Lines” gives avid fans and sports bettors exactly what they want. Looking ahead to the upcoming week in sports, “In Between the Lines” offers inside analysis on line movements and key stats.
Here’s what you absolutely can’t miss this upcoming week in sports:
1. NLCS Game 5 – Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers (10/16/20 at 9:08pm)
The Atlanta Braves could make it to the World Series on Friday. They will start A.J. Minter on Friday night, who has never made an MLB start in his career.
The Braves defeated the Dodgers 10-2 on Thursday night with rookie pitcher, Bryse Wilson, on the mound. The Braves have not won the NLCS since 1999. 21 years.
The odds on the Braves to win the NLCS are around -425, which implies an 81 percent probability of winning.
The Dodgers will start Dustin May. Both May and Minter come in with low postseason ERAs over small sample sizes:
- Minter – 2.08 ERA over 4.2 innings
- May – 1.13 ERA over 8 innings
2. College Football – No. 3 Georgia vs No. 2 Alabama (10/17/20 at 8pm)
This could very well be an SEC Championship Game preview. The Bulldogs (3-0) and the Crimson Tide (3-0) will meet on Saturday night during primetime. Despite Alabama head coach Nick Saban testing positive for COVID-19, Alabama is ready for one of the most important NCAA football games of the 2020 season. However, following the news on Saban, the spread has settled at Alabama -4.5 and the over-under at 56.5. Saban is also 5-1 against Georgia since arriving at Bama.
Here are some trends for Saturday night’s big game:
- Georgia is 5-1 against the spread in their last six games as an underdog
- Alabama is 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as a home favorite
3. NFL – Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10/18/20 at 4:25pm)
Green Bay quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is off to a stellar start so far this 2020 season. Rodgers is interception-free with 13 touchdown passes. Not only are the Packers undefeated at 4-0, but they’re also 4-0 against the spread, making them the only undefeated team against the spread left this season. Green Bay also has four consecutive games scoring at least 30 points with zero turnovers. That is tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history.
Believe it or not (I did not believe it), this will only be the third time Aaron Rodgers and Tampa Bay’s quarterback, Tom Brady, play each other. Out of the two times they have met, they have each won one game. Green Bay is a 1.5-point favorite and the over-under is set at 55.
4. NFL – Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills (10/19/20 at 5pm)
Both the Chiefs and Bills are 4-1 so far this season, each coming off a loss last week against the Raiders and Titans, respectively. In recent news, former New York Jets running back, Le’Veon Bell, has been picked up by the Chiefs. However, Bell can’t play in Monday night’s game due to COVID-19 protocols. Bell must have six days of negative COVID-19 tests before he can practice.
Kansas City’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes has 235 passing yards, 20 rushing yards and multiple passing scores in four straight games. The last time a quarterback had a streak like that was Aaron Rodgers four years ago. The Chiefs are also pretty good at covering. They are 4-0-1 against the spread on Monday nights with Mahomes at quarterback. And under head coach Andy Reid, they are 7-1-1 against the spread.
But, don’t sleep on Buffalo’s quarterback Josh Allen. Allen went from one of the NFL’s inaccurate passers in his first two seasons to completing 69.3 percent of his passes in the first five games of the season. There is talk that Allen could be an MVP candidate.
The Chiefs are a 5-point favorite, and the over-under is set at 57.5.
