NHL and NBA playoffs: A pair of Game 2 plays 

Welcome to a fresh week here at Bark Bets, and we're into our first full week of postseason action for both the NBA and NHL. The next few weeks are going to be a lot of fun, and there's no shortage of betting spots to consider. We'll touch both major sports to get our week started.

Two plays for two Game 2s tonight

Paolo Banchero over 21.5 points (-130 ESPN BET)

When we look at tonight's NBA slate, we're drawn to finding a team's most important player in a series where they've dropped the opening game, and one such player who checks that box is Orlando's Paolo Banchero.

The Magic dropped Game 1 in Cleveland, 97-83, and need to find a more spirited effort tonight before heading down to Orlando for Game 3.

Despite the low-scoring output of their day, Banchero still finished with 24 points on 9-17 shooting from the field. Banchero has been the focal point of this Magic offense all season and is now over this line in six of his past eight games. We're backing him to keep up his offensive production.

Andrei Svechnikov 4+ shots (+188 FanDuel)

The thing about playoff hockey is you find some bets you like, and if they come through to start the series, you really have no choice but to let them ride.

One such player on our radar was Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov, and he casually ripped six shots on goal on 13 attempts in Game 1. That's simply beautiful volume, and Svechnikov now has 5+ shots in four of his last five at home and 4+ shots in seven of his last 11 in Carolina. He's logged four or more SOG in three of his past four with the Islanders, so we're just going to go right back to the guy at a terrific price tonight.

Consider also sprinkling on his 5+ shots prop at +405, if you're into that sort of thing.

In the news ...

NBA Sunday highlights include Bucks routing Pacers without Giannis, Thunder holding on for win — The Milwaukee Bucks were a popular fade target in this first-round matchup with Indiana, as they would be without Giannis Antetokounmpo for an undisclosed amount of time. His absence didn't seem to matter on Sunday, with the Bucks winning by 15. Elsewhere, the West's top-seeded Thunder held on for a 94-92 win over New Orleans thanks to a 15-point, 11-rebound, 5-block game from Chet Holmgren, the second rookie in NBA history to record a double-double with at least five blocks in his playoff debut. If you're looking to back a team to come back from down 1-0, consider a bet on the Dallas Mavericks at +125, who we still like over the Clippers despite a tough Sunday showing.

Home teams rule Game 1s on the ice, perfect 6-0 through the weekend — The story of the weekend in the NHL was the home teams nabbing the opening frame, as all six host teams won. The highlight of yesterday had to be a wild 7-6 Winnipeg win over Colorado, and we saw Florida pick up a big 3-2 win over Tampa Bay earlier in the day. As it stands, Colorado (+135) has the shortest odds to come back and win the series among the six road teams that fell in Game 1. If you're thinking you'd like to ride this "home teams in Game 1 winning" trend, consider parlaying Dallas and Edmonton's moneylines, which comes in at +176 on DraftKings. 

Scottie Scheffler wins RBC Heritage — Oh, Scottie Scheffler won another golf tournament, what else is new? Scheffler took home the RBC Heritage win this morning after a weather delay, the fourth event he's won in his past five starts, with the lone "non-win" being a second-place finish. Scheffler is quite simply on another plane right now and we are witnesses to pure dominance the likes of which we have not seen in some time. The next major is just a few weeks away, that being the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville. Scheffler is +350 to win. We might as well bet him, right?

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.