Tiny Nick's Gambling Picks 04/15

Locks

NBA (1 Unit) Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers -2 (-110; Odds via Caesars): 6:30 PM CT on Prime Video

I’ve been waiting a long time to fade the Magic in the postseason, and the only negative I can think of is that they might not make it to the actual playoffs where I can fade them in a 4-game series. I can think of plenty of negatives about this Orlando team though, first and foremost being that it really doesn’t seem like they want to be here. I think this team has quit on the season and has no interest in keeping it going.

Just look at their final game against the Boston backups, where they had a chance to get their Play-In games at home, but fell on their faces in an obvious lack of effort. This team doesn’t like their coach, is not nearly as good defensively as their reputation suggests, and should be ripe for a team like Philly to dominate. Throw out the regular season series and the matchups, this is all about the Magic looking forward to their reservations in Cancun.

MLB (0.75 Unit) LA Angels/NY Yankees Over 10 (-110; Odds via Caesars): 6:05 PM CT on YES

The Angels are swinging really hot bats right now, and this should be an opportunity for that to continue. This is also a good bounce back spot for the Yankee lineup after they only managed 1 total run yesterday. The main factor telling me that runs are coming for both teams is the excellent hitting conditions at Yankee Stadium, with temperatures in the 80’s at first pitch with a big wind blowing out.

Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz will try to keep getting ground balls to neutralize that wind, but he still has one of the worst defenses behind him, and a bullpen that’s also one of the worst in baseball. As a righty, the Yankees should be able to hit him better and pile up runs, and they’ll need them. These hot-hitting Angels should get to Luis Gil pretty easily, who just hasn’t been the same since his elite 2024 season. And behind him is a very fatigued Yankee bullpen, so there’s a lot to like about the potential for runs here.

MLB (0.75 Unit) Texas Rangers/Athletics Over 9.5 (-115; Odds via Fanduel): 8:40 PM CT on NBCS-CA

Last night was the first time this season an Athletics home game stayed below 9 runs, as two excellent starting pitchers squared off. That will not be the case tonight, and I think this Triple-A stadium in Sacramento gets back to its usual ways of creating plenty of scoring. With Kumar Rocker going again for Texas, the potential exists for the A’s to have a big night at the plate as Rocker was just plain bad last year and hasn’t improved much.

The A’s can hit, don’t let the past two games fool you, and I think they jump on Rocker early to break out of this mini slump. And the Rangers have a good opportunity here as well to continue breaking through with their stacked lineup, as the A’s appear to be throwing a bullpen game. The Athletics have improved the pen somewhat but it’s still average at best, and in this stadium, when there’s average or worse pitching, runs are coming.

Degenerates

No degenerates today.

Past 7 days Tiny Tracker: 14-15 (+0.85 Units) – Recommend: Tail With Caution

Tiny Nick has been writing betting picks for Zone Coverage since 2020. Every day he will offer his Locks and Degenerate picks. Locks are what he’s most confident in, while Degenerates are entertaining but riskier picks.