The Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers will both be gunning for a victory on Thursday when they meet at STAPLES Center in the opening game of the NBA Finals.

Oddsmakers currently have the Lakers listed as 6-point favorites versus the Magic at Bodog Life, while the game’s total is sitting at 206 at BetUs.

Dwight Howard poured in 40 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for a double-double as the Magic dominated the Cavaliers 103-90 to win the Eastern Conference title last time out.

The Magic covered the slight 2-point spread in that contest, while the combined score pushed the posted total of 193.

Kobe Bryant poured in a game-high 35 points as the Lakers defeated the Nuggets 119-92 last Friday to win the Western Conference title.

The Lakers won that game as 5.5-point underdogs, while the combined score made it OVER the posted over/under (209.5).

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Team records:
Orlando: 59-23 SU, 49-32-1 ATS
Los Angeles: 65-17 SU, 42-39-1 ATS

Orlando most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing LA Lakers are 5-5
After playing Cleveland are 6-4
After a win are 6-4

Los Angeles most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 8-2
Before playing Orlando are 2-8
After playing Denver are 6-4
After a win are 4-6

A few trends to consider:
Orlando is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando’s last 6 games
Orlando is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games when playing LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando’s last 5 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the LA Lakers last 5 games at home
LA Lakers are 14-2 SU in their last 16 games at home
LA Lakers are 10-2 SU in their last 12 games when playing at home against Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of the LA Lakers last 10 games

Next up:
Orlando at LA Lakers, Sunday, June 7
LA Lakers home to Orlando, Sunday, June 7

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The NBA Finals start in Los Angeles, the Stanley Cup final continues in Pittsburgh, and Tiger Woods gets back in action.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The oddsmakers have Kobe Bryant and company pegged as 6-point home favorites for Thursday night’s opening contest of the NBA Finals (with the total at 206 points at BetUs Sportsbook ). The Lakers dispatched the Nuggets in six games in the Western Conference Finals, with Bryant tossing in 35 points in the series clincher last week. The Magic, meanwhile, got past the Cavaliers in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals, as Dwight Howard powered his way to 40 points in that set’s finale. Tipoff for Thursday night is 8pm ET; Game 2 is set for Sunday night in L.A.

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Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The news world is focusing on the Obama Cairo speech to the Muslim world, but MLB handicappers are dominating baseball betting.

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter will try to continue his impressive comeback on Thursday night when his team closes out their home series with the Reds. Righthander Carpenter has allowed just two earned runs over 29 innings of work so far this season, putting him at 3-0 with an 0.62 ERA. Taking to the mound for the Reds will be Aaron Harang, who is 5-5 with a 4.19 ERA on the season. Harang gave up eight runs in 4 1-3 innings in a loss to the Brewers last time out.

Also on the National League schedule for Thursday: the Mets at Pittsburgh, San Francisco at Washington, the Cubs at Atlanta, Milwaukee at Florida, Colorado at Houston, and Philadelphia at the Dodgers. Meanwhile, the American League offers up the Angels at Toronto, Boston at Detroit, Texas at the Yankees, Cleveland at Minnesota, Kansas City at Tampa Bay, and Oakland at the White Sox. ChiSox ace Mark Buehrle (6-1, 2.71 ERA) will get the ball in that matchup. See the MLB odds

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Penguins doubled up the Red Wings 4-2 on Tuesday night, and they now head into Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final at home on Thursday trailing just 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Max Talbot scored twice for the Pens in Game 3 (once into an empty net), while Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar had singles. Evgeni Malkin had three assists in the win, and Sidney Crosby picked up his first point of the series. Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen replied in the loss for the Wings, who were once again without the services of forward Pavel Datsyuk.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, Tiger Woods will be a part of the field at this week’s PGA Tour stop, The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield. Woods won this event three consecutive times from 1999 to 2001, and Vegas oddsmakers have him pegged as the 5/2 favorite to get a fourth title. Kenny Perry has also won the Memorial three times (including last year), but he’s back at 20/1 odds this time around. Paul Casey is behind Tiger at 12/1 odds, with both Padraig Harrington and Jim Furyk at 15/1 odds. Zach Johnson and Ian Poulter are then tied with Perry at 20/1 odds to win.

The Belmont Stakes odds are just days away, yes, but don’t forget about MLB odds either! There are some very exciting National League pitching matchups between contending teams on Thursday, so let’s make some winning picks.

Reds vs Cardinals odds: Aaron Harang (5-5, 4.19) vs Chris Carpenter (3-0, 0.62)
Thursday, June 4 at 8:15 p.m. ET

Eat your heat our, Zack Greinke. Chris Carpenter obviously hasn’t pitched as many innings as his cross-state counterpart Greinke has, but the results have been extremely impressive so far. With just two earned runs in 29 innings pitched, he’s been the NL’s most dominant pitcher, albeit in limited action due to injury. Do the young Reds have a chance against him on Thursday? Hardly. He’s given up 0.0 runs in two home starts this MLB betting season and most current Reds hitters (a) have never faced him or (b) have done nothing against him. Aaron Harang seemed to have turned the page on his ugly 2008 when he posted a 3.09 ERA in April, but it’s been downhill since then. He got bombed in May (5.15 ERA), he gets bombed on the road (5.87 ERA) and he gets bombed in night games (5.81). You get the picture.

Best offshore sportsbook pick: Cardinals

Phillies vs Dodgers odds: Cole Hamels (3-2, 5.21) vs Clayton Kershaw (3-3, 4.34)
Thursday, June 4 at 10:10 p.m. ET

Even with young Clayton Kershaw on the mound, the first-overall Dodgers should be slight sportsbook favorites at home to the Phillies, so now’s your chance to win some money by picking the Phillies. Cole Hamels’ season stats still look ugly, but he’s slowly rounding into his All-Star form. In his last six starts, he’s allowed three earned runs or less five times. He also was masterful against the Dodgers his last time out against them, striking out nine and allowing one run over seven innings. He’s still having trouble keeping the ball in the park, so he’s a good bet to serve one up, but he should pitch well enough to win on Thursday. Kershaw’s stuff is nasty and he’s only really getting hurt by walking guys at a ridiculously high rate, but the patient, powerful Phillies lineup did a number on him last time and could repeat its success. The Phillies’ MLB odds look good.

Best offshore sportsbook pick: Phillies

The biggest Belmont Stakes odds news of the weekend: Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra isn’t running in the race. The filly’s co-owner Jess Jackson explained that the horse “needs a vacation” after a busy season that included four graded stakes races (all of which she won). What does that mean for the rest of the field? Let’s look at a few horses to consider in Belmont Stakes betting.

MINE THAT BIRD

The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes odds favorite from the start just got a whole lot more appealing. Not only does he not have to compete against Rachel Alexandra, he gets his jockey back. Calvin Borel rode Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby, then switched to Rachel Alexandra to win the Preakness. Now, he returns to Mine That Bird in his attempt to win the jockey’s Triple Crown. Given Mine That Bird’s style—running off the pace and making a late charge—the Belmont Stakes odds are perfectly suited to him, as the track is the longest of the three Triple Crown races.

CHARITABLE MAN

Could he be the top alternative pick for anyone lacking confidence in Mine That Bird? His win at Belmont Park, which he had a 3 ¾ length score, raised some eyebrows. He may be your horse if you want to swing for the fences in Belmont Stakes betting.

MINER‘S ESCAPE

Hall-of-Fame owner? Check. Hall-of-Fame trainer? Check. Owner/trainer tandem won the Belmont Stakes odds last year with their horse Da‘ Tara? Check. Yep, Miner’s Escape is in good hands with Nick Zito and Robert V. LaPenta. He won his last race, the Frederico Tesio Stakes, so he makes for an intriguing pick if you’re betting online, as he should offer better value than some of the big faves.

Stanley Cup betting rages on and the Penguins are in trouble. After two games of bad bounces, screen shots, heckling and brawls, the Penguins left Detroit down 2-0 in the series. Wasn’t this supposed to be the epic rematch every puck betting fan wanted? Let’s break down Game 3 and see if the Pens have a chance for redemption tonight.

Penguins vs Red Wings odds: Game 3 tonight, 8:00 p.m. at Mellon Arena
NHL betting lines: Penguins -145, Red Wings +125

Looking at Games 1 and 2, the Penguins didn’t actually play horrible hockey; they outshot Detroit in both games and—excluding the last minute mini-brawl in Game 2 — the Pens took just one minor penalty in each game. The losses were thus more about what Detroit did well than what Pittsburgh did well. Can the Pens neutralize the Wings’ brilliant game plan?

After a fluky bankshot goal in game 1, the Wings seemed set to shoot from everywhere in Game 2; they terrorized Marc-Andre Fleury by (a) shooting from strange angles and (b) always having traffic in front of Fleury to set up screenshots. They even used the Penguin defensemen as screens when their own guys weren’t parked in front, as Justin Abdelkader did on his “knucklepuck” goal. While it’s hard to ask a defenseman to fully “get out of the way” and let his opponent take shots on his goalie, the Pens’ blueliners can at least help their cause tonight by clearing Wings forwards from the crease. Pittsburgh‘s D-men are pretty slow, but they’re also big, so they need to capitalize on their muscle more. The roar of a home crowd should help fire them up tonight, so the Pens should be much more physical. They’ll just have to hope that doesn’t get them in penalty trouble, as Detroit‘s mighty power play can kill many a sportsbook dream.

The Wings have also done an amazing job keeping Sidney Crosby (0 points) and Evgeni Malkin (2 points) off the scoresheet in the Stanley Cup Final odds so far. Henrik Zetterberg in particular has done a great job shadowing Sid the Kid and won’t let up. Crosby‘s only response must be to draw on his own talent and play harder. He’s too good not to show the Wings something in this series, so he should bounce back tonight. Don’t be surprised if he has a multi-point game.

So far in the series, the Red Wings are winning the goaltending battle; Conn Smythe candidate Chris Osgood has been rock-solid while Marc-Andre Fleury got spooked by fluky shots and may have let the Detroit crowd get to him. At home, he must take advantage of the supportive crowd and get his confidence back. He’s more resilient than he gets credit for and has a fantastic game for every dud he posts, so the NHL betting fans should expect him to show up much more focused. The Pens will prevail tonight.

NHL betting pick: Penguins -145

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Sportsbook online pick: Valuev -115