It's on to the next round, and interesting futures angles

We are on to the next round in both the NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs following a weekend full of Game 7 action.

With a break in the postseason slate and only MLB on the schedule, we turn our attention to the next rounds and the futures bets worth making on these upcoming series.

Betting on the exact NBA Finals matchup

Celtics take on the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals - It will be a quick turnaround for Boston after taking down Milwaukee in Game 7 on Sunday afternoon. The Celtics are headed down to Miami today to begin their series with the top-seeded Heat on Tuesday night. Miami took care of Philadelphia in six games and has been quietly one of the best teams all season long. Something about this Celtics team resonates with us, from how deep the rotation is to the stars at the front. We'll opt to back Boston to advance to the Finals. The best odds are a bit juiced at -175, so let's hold on this for just a moment.

Fresh off an upset win, Luka and the Mavs meet Steph and the Warriors - Luka Doncic matched the Suns' first-half total on his own en route to a blowout Game 7 victory over Phoenix. Dallas will head to Golden State to begin the Western Conference Finals with Steph Curry and Co. back in control of the West. While we do believe the Warriors are the better team here, there's no value in betting them to advance with their odds at -225 to win the series, so let's revisit our earlier point about the Celtics.

Betting approach for these two series - Instead of backing the favorites to win their respective series, we're seeing value in the Finals matchup market, available on FanDuel. We've loaded up a future on Boston meeting Golden State, with odds set at +290.

Looking to the next round in the NHL

We have our matchups set for Round 2 in the NHL, and if the first round was any indication, we're in for a treat moving forward.

There's some potential underdog value for two of these series, and that's where our attention turns.

Battle of Alberta - Hockey fans are looking forward to this one, as one of the most heated rivalries in sports meets with Calgary vs. Edmonton. Not only does the rivalry add intrigue, but the hopes of Canada rely on one of these teams reaching the Stanley Cup and winning to break the now 28-year drought. The Flames just escaped Dallas, failing to get the puck in the net on a consistent basis. We'll opt for the best player on the ice in Connor McDavid and the Oilers to play spoiler and advance at +160.
 
Beasts of the East meet - From our point of view, the winner of Florida vs Tampa seems likely to reach the Stanley Cup out of the Eastern Conference. It's hard to ignore the postseason run that the Lightning have been on, and until they show they can't handle the pressure, they have to be backed. We're taking Tampa to win this series at +130; it's value we can't ignore.

In other news...

Novak Djokovic wins first tournament of his season, French Open next - Djokovic, the top-ranked men's singles player in the world, brought home his first tournament win of the year with a straight sets win at the Italian Open. The French Open awaits, and we like looking for Djokovic to carry this momentum over: his odds to win are currently +175.

K.H. Lee wins the Byron Nelson Classic as the PGA Championship takes center stage - Lee has gone back-to-back at the Byron Nelson Classic, taking home the win over the weekend. If you like Lee to bring his impressive low-scoring forward, you can bet him to finish in the Top 10 at the PGA Championship this weekend at +1400 on DraftKings. The current betting favorite is Jon Rahm at +1100, who did not compete at the Byron Nelson.

Son of Evander Holyfield loses as a -10000 favorite - Heading into Saturday's TrillerVerz 5 event, Evan Holyfield had never lost a boxing contest. In a truly shocking upset, the -10000 favorite fell to Jurmain McDonald via knockout punch. Hopefully you didn't include these odds in any of your wagers over the weekend.