NBA Eastern Finals: Boston's Tatum due to break out

It sure feels good to cash us a winner to start our week, shoutout Elias Pettersson for a couple of late shots to help us win on our parlay with the under. Tonight's playoff action heads to the hardwood as Celtics-Pacers take center stage to begin the Eastern Conference Finals.

Time for Tatum to take charge

We started to see a bit more of the offensive side from Jayson Tatum last round, as he tallied a pair of 33-point outings in Cleveland sandwiched between two 25-point games. In a postseason with so many star performances, we're still left waiting for that big Tatum game.

Tonight could be just the ticket. Tatum has enjoyed plenty of scoring success against the Pacers of late, going over this point prop in seven straight meetings, averaging 33.7 points per game. He was incredibly efficient in those games, averaging 53.7% from the field, including shooting 60%+ in three of the four meetings he had with Indiana this season.

Tatum has typically found his scoring touch in Game 1 of the Conference Finals, going over this line in three straight opening games of the East's final round.

Add it all up, and we're on the Tatum train tonight.

Betting: Jayson Tatum over 28.5 points (-130 ESPN)

In the news ...

Oilers advance to Western Conference Finals — The Edmonton Oilers finally were able to win two games in a row this series, taking Game 7 in Vancouver 3-2 thanks to an early 3-0 lead. The Canucks made it a game late, but it was for naught. Edmonton will now move on to face Dallas in the Western Conference Final, the second appearance for both teams over the last three years. This should be a fun one, and we do lean the Stars way to advance, which is currently -125.

NBA All-Rookie team announced — The NBA on Monday announced their All-Rookie First Team, a good reminder that top players can be found throughout the first round. The First Team was Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandon Podziemski. Holmgren, Wembanyama and Miller were all top picks, but Jaquez and Podziemski were selected at No. 18 and No. 19, respectively. The odds for this year's top overall pick are currently Alexandre Sarr as the heavy favorite at -260, followed by Zaccharie Risacher at +240 and Donovan Clingan at +1200.

Get out ahead on Charles Schwab Championship bets — It's not too early to start prepping for the next weekend in golf, and we have you well prepared on that front. YB's Jack Dougherty already broke down three of his favorite outright bets, including Brian Harman at 45-1, while Action Network has set the scene for this week's latest PGA Tour event with the betting odds and past winners at the Charles Schwab. Scottie Scheffler is the favorite at +280, followed by Collin Morikawa (15-1) and Jordan Spieth (19-1).

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