On this week’s episode of Hot Takedown, we evaluate the NBA and NHL conference finals. Despite the celebration of Kawhi Leonard’s historic buzzer-beater to put the Raptors into the Eastern Conference finals, Toronto head coach Nick Nurse thinks the Raptors need to get better before facing the Milwaukee Bucks. We look at how our projections compare with the Vegas betting markets in anticipation of this matchup and the Golden State-Portland series.
In the NHL, the Stanley Cup playoffs have been full of upsets, with all four No. 1 seeds knocked out in the first round. In the West, San Jose and St. Louis are tied at 1-1, but in the East, the Carolina Hurricanes find themselves down 0-2 to the high-flying Boston Bruins. In a season full of surprises, can we really count Carolina out? Rob Reese of the NHL Fantasy on Ice podcast seems to think so.
Finally, our Rabbit Hole of the Week is inspired by baseball’s Edwin Jackson, who is expected to suit up Wednesday for his MLB-record 14th team. We dig in to which other players, regardless of sport, have made the most rosters over their careers.
What we’re looking at this week:
- Our NBA prediction model might surprise some Milwaukee fans.
- Will this be the year the St. Louis Blues stop disappointing their fans?
- Edwin Jackson sets a record.