Celtics can punch ticket to NBA Finals

We've said goodbye to two playoff series after last night with the Warriors covering and advancing to the Finals while goals continued in the Battle of Alberta and Edmonton winning in overtime to clinch the series.

Tonight's postseason action has just two games, with the series on the line in each. Let's dig into the betting angles worth knowing on this Friday before Memorial Day Weekend.

Boston can close out the series tonight at home - Winners of two straight games, the Boston Celtics are now just one win from the NBA Finals, and they get a chance to get there on their home court. The Celtics beat the Heat by 20 in Game 4 and 13 in Game 5. Tonight's spread is set at -8.5, and we like Boston to take care of business. No disrespect to the Heat, who have had a great season, but it's clear that when Boston is on, they are a better team in this matchup. Robert Williams and Marcus Smart are questionable again, but the expectation here is that they will be playing. Back the Celtics tonight.

Colorado brings its road dominance to St. Louis tonight for Game 6 - A hat tip to St. Louis for climbing out of a 3-0 deficit in Game 5 to force overtime and win, but we still think this series belongs to Colorado. The Avalanche have done far more scoring on the road this postseason and currently hold a 4-0 record on away ice. We like Cale Makar to have a big game to lift the Avalanche into a Western Conference Finals matchup against Edmonton. Bet on Colorado winning in regulation at -115.

In other news...

Connor McDavid lifts Oilers to Western Conference Finals - The Battle of Alberta concluded with an electrifying game on Thursday night that saw Connor McDavid net the overtime winner in a 5-4 slugfest. In the span of one minute and 11 seconds, a remarkable four goals were scored in last night's second period, putting a bow on what has been a great series. McDavid and the Oilers are rolling right now on offense, and the Edmonton captain is currently +500 to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for the top player on the Stanley Cup-winning team. That's a future worth making.
 
Warriors punch their ticket to NBA Finals - Golden State is back in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years, a truly remarkable run for this Warriors core. After a few years of injuries for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, this team has shown their dynasty run is not yet over. Thompson had the big Game 5, finishing with 32 points, and if you like following his story for a potential darkhorse Finals MVP award, you can bet him to win the honor at +1700.
 
Big racing weekend awaits - We have a big racing weekend on our hands with the Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 and F1's Monaco, all of which offer betting value. Kyle Larson is the favorite in the Coca-Cola 600, considering he dominated on this track last year. We'll bank on a repeat performance from Larson at +550. Monaco is headlined by Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. Leclerc had himself a good week of preparation, but we like the +145 value on Verstappen a bit more.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll