NFL Futures 99 Days from Kickoff + Thunder (-8.5) Big Favorites to Win Game 5

In today’s newsletter…

• Leading Off: A look at NFL odds with less than 100 days until kickoff

• Top 10 Bets: Marlins’ Alcantara has gone under 17.5 outs in 9 of 10 starts

• Game of the Day: Can OKC make its first Finals in 13 years?

• Matchups: Corbin Carroll has had some success vs. Paul Skenes

• Overtime: Terry Bradshaw had some words about Aaron Rodgers possibly signing with the Steelers

We’re 100 (OK, 99) days away from the start of the 2025 NFL season, so let’s take a look at how the odds are shaping up for some of the major races:

The Bills (-230 at FanDuel) are the clearest favorite for their division title, followed by the Ravens and Eagles (-140), Chiefs (-105) and Buccaneers (+100). The tightest race so far is the NFC West, where the Rams and 49ers are tied at +170.

MVP looks like a five-way battle, with Lamar Jackson (+500) getting the edge over the trio of Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes (+600), and Jayden Daniels (+850) not far behind.

For the Super Bowl, the Eagles (+650) are slight favorites to repeat, with the Bills and Ravens (+750), Chiefs (+850) and Lions (+950) the nearest challengers.

Who are the 100 most important players for the 2025 season? CBS Sports has a full list.

—Patrick Dorsey

NBA Playoffs, MLB and Memorial Bets to Watch Today

By Jack Dougherty

Nickeil Alexander-Walker over 9.5 points (-110 at BetMGM)
Alexander-Walker has been busy in the Western Conference Finals. He’s played an average of 25.0 minutes per game against the Thunder, and that number isn’t higher only because NAW played just 18 minutes in the Game 3 blowout. Alexander-Walker is also averaging 10.75 field-goal attempts per game in this series, which is up from his regular-season average of 7.5. The volume is there for Alexander-Walker to reach double-digit points for the fourth time in the WCF. 

Cason Wallace over 0.5 threes (-195 at DraftKings)
This price is too cheap for Wallace to hit just one three in Game 5. The Thunder guard has cleared this line in four of his past five home games in the postseason, and he’s steadily playing more minutes as the playoffs drag on. After not playing more than 24 minutes in the first nine games of the playoffs, Wallace has played at least 26 minutes in five of his past six games. The increase in minutes led to Wallace attempting 25 threes in the past six games. 

MLB

Sandy Alcantara under 17.5 outs recorded (+100 at FanDuel)
It’s surprising to see Alcantara’s outs prop listed this high. The Marlins right-hander has gone under this line in nine of his 10 starts this season. That’s mostly due to his abysmal 8.04 ERA and 1.57 WHIP, but the Marlins have let him go at least 100 pitches deep in three straight starts, and he still failed to reach the sixth inning in all three. Padres hitters are batting .314 with a .490 xSLG and a .353 xwOBA in 54 plate appearances against Alcantara, so they have a good chance to knock him out of the game early.

Miles Mikolas over 3.5 strikeouts (-108 at FanDuel)
Mikolas’ strikeout prop is normally low because he struggles to generate swings and misses. He ranks in the first percentile in whiff rate (14.8%) and the sixth percentile in chase rate (22.4%) this season, but he’s still cleared this line in four of his last five starts. Mikolas is a good inning-eater, so he’ll have plenty of chances to hit this over against an Orioles lineup with the second-highest strikeout rate against righties this month (24.6%).

Diamondbacks vs. Pirates under 3.5 runs first 5 innings (+100 at FanDuel)
Paul Skenes has been unbelievable on the road this season. In six road starts, the Pirates right-hander has a 1.40 ERA, a 0.853 WHIP and 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings. Opposing hitters are batting just .169 with a .484 OPS against him in those games. On the other side, Zac Gallen is poised for a bounceback start against this putrid Pittsburgh offense, which ranks 28th in OPS (.642) and wRC+ (80) and last in ISO (0.96) against righties this month. 

Mariners vs. Nationals over 8 runs (-120 at BetMGM)
This is a good spot for an over with the wind projected to blow straight out to centerfield at T-Mobile Park. These are also two fade-worthy starting pitchers. George Kirby made his season debut last week and gave up six hits and five earned runs in 3.2 innings of work. It might take him some time to shake off the rust. As for Trevor Williams, he’s given up 21 earned runs over his last five starts. Current Mariners hitters are batting .326 with a .386 wOBA in 47 plate appearances against Williams. 

Golf

Corey Conners top-20 finish (-105 at DraftKings)
Muirfield Village is famous for its thick rough, deep greenside bunkers and lightning-fast putting surfaces. It’s crucial to hit fairways and greens and stay out of the nasty stuff to avoid big numbers. Enter Conners, who ranks 11th on the PGA Tour this season in driving accuracy, ninth in greens in regulation percentage and fifth in scrambling from the rough. The Canadian has finished inside the top 20 in seven of his past eight starts, gaining strokes from off the tee and on approach in all eight. 

Keegan Bradley top-20 finish (+150 at DraftKings)
It’s impossible to ignore how well Bradley is hitting the ball right now. Over the past two months, the American ranks second in the field in strokes gained from around the green, third in strokes gained from tee to green and 12th in strokes gained from ball striking. The problem? He ranks dead last in the field in strokes gained from putting in that same span. The good news is that Bradley has gained strokes on the green in four straight starts at Muirfield, so this could be the week his putter gets back on track. 

Mackenzie Hughes to miss the cut (+230 at FanDuel)
Muirfield is all about being precise with your driver and irons, so it’s a tough venue for a player like Hughes, who relies on his short game to make up for his ball-striking issues. Hughes has missed the cut at the Memorial three times in his past four tries. He’s also missed the cut in three of his past four starts this season while losing strokes from off the tee and on approach in that span. 

Tournament matchup: Harris English > Ben Griffin (-115 at DraftKings)
It’s never a bad idea to fade a player coming off an emotional, career-changing victory. We saw a similar setup a month ago when Griffin won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Andrew Novak. The following week, he had his worst driving week of the season and missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Classic. Griffin’s hot streak is being fueled by his red-hot putter, but he’s lost strokes on the green and missed the cut in each of his two career starts at Muirfield. 

OKC (-8.5) Can Earn Its First Finals Trip Since 2012 With Win

It’s been 13 long years since the well-run Thunder have reached the NBA Finals, but they’re on the verge of another trip. If they take care of business against the Timberwolves, who struggled in Games 1 and 2 in OKC, then they’ll be one series away from bringing the first Larry O’Brien Trophy to Oklahoma City.

No. 6 Timberwolves vs. No. 1 Thunder
8:30pm ET on ESPN
(OKC leads 3-1)

• Spread: Thunder -8.5 (-106), Timberwolves +8.5 (-114)

  • 54% of the money is with Oklahoma City, but 58% of the bets are with Minnesota

• Moneyline: Thunder -370, Timberwolves +295

• Total (220.5): Over -112, Under -108

*Stats in Playoffs

Series Rundown

• Game 1: Thunder won 114-88 in Oklahoma City

  • Leading scorers: Julius Randle (28) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31)

  • Leading rebounds: Anthony Edwards (9) | Jalen Williams (8)

  • Leading assists: Naz Reid (4) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9)

• Game 2: Thunder won 118-103 in Oklahoma City

  • Leading scorers: Anthony Edwards (32) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (38)

  • Leading rebounds: Anthony Edwards (9) | Jalen Williams (10)

  • Leading Assists: Anthony Edwards (6) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (8)

• Game 3: Timberwolves won 143-101 in Minnesota

  • Leading scorers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (14) | Anthony Edwards (30)

  • Leading rebounds: Isaiah Hartenstein (6) | Anthony Edwards (9)

  • Leading assists: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (6) | Anthony Edwards (6)

• Game 4: Thunder won 128-126 in Minnesota

  • Leading scorers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (40) | Nickeil Alexander-Walker (23)

  • Leading rebounds: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9) | Rudy Gobert (9)

  • Leading assists: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (10) | Nickeil Alexander-Walker (6)

Corbin Carroll Has Gotten the Better of Paul Skenes in Their Limited Matchups

• Julio Rodriguez (Mariners) vs. Trevor Williams (Nationals): 4-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K

• Andrew McCutchen (Pirates) vs. Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks): 3-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB

• Manny Machado (Padres) vs. Sandy Alcantara (Marlins): 6-9, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K

• Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks) vs. Paul Skenes (Pirates): 2-3, 1 3B

• Yoan Moncada (Angels) vs. Clarke Schmidt (Yankees): 3-4, 1 BB

• Kyle Farmer (Rockies) vs. Matthew Boyd (Cubs): 4-7, 2 K

• Keibert Ruiz (Nationals) vs. George Kirby (Mariners): 3-6, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K

• Adam Frazier (Pirates) vs. Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks): 3-6, 2 BB, 1 K

• Tucker Barnhart (Rangers) vs. Eric Lauer (Blue Jays): 4-8, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 K

• Yainer Diaz (Astros) vs. Luis Severino (Athletics): 3-7, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 K

• Xander Bogaerts (Padres) vs. Sandy Alcantara (Marlins): 4-9, 1 HR, 2 RBI

• DJ LeMahieu (Yankees) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (Angels): 8-25, 2 2B, 4 BB, 5 K

• Carlos Correa (Twins) vs. Drew Rasmussen (Rays): 2-5, 1 2B

• Yandy Diaz (Rays) vs. Pablo Lopez (Twins): 4-12, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 K

• Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves) vs. Zack Wheeler (Phillies): 13-51, 4 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 12 K

In the News 

• Terry Bradshaw on his Steelers pursuing Aaron Rodgers: ‘That’s a joke.’

• SEC coaches might be interested in a 5+11 model for the College Football Playoff.

• A Pacers fan was reportedly arrested and charged with stabbing a Knicks fan at a bar during Game 2.

• A 40-year-old helped power the Oilers to a 3-1 series lead in the NHL’s Western Conference finals.

What to Watch (times are ET)

• 8pm: Panthers vs. Hurricanes on TNT/Max/truTV (Game 5)

• 8pm: Columbus Crew vs. Nashville SC on FS1

• 8:30pm: Timberwolves vs. Thunder on ESPN (Game 5)

• 10pm: LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes on FS1

Photo of the Day