Look for Celts' Tatum to pour in the points tonight

Joe Pavelski delivered us a winner last night to make up for our NBA SGP, so let's call it a fine night and move on to Friday. We're rocking a trio of straight bets on some of tonight's postseason action. In case you didn't know, the Kentucky Derby is tomorrow! We'll cover that "In the news" below.

Boston scorers look best to bet

Fresh off a 121-point night, we're liking the Celtics to keep up their scoring touch against the Sixers even as they head on the road. It's been a well-balanced group up to this point, but we've got our eyes on two in particular.

A read on Jayson Tatum is not too scientific. He just has been far too quiet for our liking. Now, as we write that it may sound silly, but Tatum did drop 39 in Game 1, and we were just surprised to see him shoot just seven field goals in Game 2, finishing with only seven points. It's one of his most down games of the year, and while the Celtics won despite it, we'd expect that volume to ramp up big time this evening.

In the three road playoff games so far, Tatum has finished with 29, 31 and 30 points scored.

Betting: Jayson Tatum over 28.5 points (-115 DK)

We'll spread our net a bit and go back to an old friend: Marcus Smart. We haven't been shy to back Smart this postseason, and for good reason — the man steps up in the playoffs.

Since the beginning of last year, Smart is averaging 17.1 points per game in road playoff games, with 18+ points in 10 of 14 games. So far this series, Smart has finished with 12 and 15 points, and he has 12+ in four of his last five against Philly.

All of that, and this is the line we're getting on the Celtics guard tonight, so naturally we have to pounce.

Betting: Marcus Smart over 11.5 points (-120 DK)

Happy Cinco de Aho

We have just one hockey game on the fifth of May, and we're celebrating with a Sebastian Aho goal. Carolina took it to New Jersey with ease on Wednesday night, and still at home, it seems a similar level of pace is likely in store.

Aho didn't score in Game 1, but he got off seven shot attempts, and curiously only one hit the net. That just has us liking a regression to the mean, and with more quality shots comes a hopeful goal for Carolina's top center.

Aho has scored in three of his last four games, with four total goals this postseason. He's had goal-scoring success against New Jersey in the past, with a goal in two of four meetings on the year.

The Hurricanes netted five last night, and based on how they came out, it could have been even more. We'll opt for a new face to get involved and load up Sebastian Aho for a score this evening.

Betting: Sebastian Aho goal (+160 FD)

In the news ...

Kentucky Derby tomorrow — The first and most anticipated leg of the Triple Crown kicks off tomorrow with the Kentucky Derby! Forte is the current favorite at 3-1. After a run of favorites taking home Derby wins from 2013-2018, we've seen a bit more parity of late, headlined of course by Rich Strike's win last year at 80-1. We'd much rather look to some longer odds tomorrow, so let's stake our flag on two horses. First, we found a compelling pitch on Derma Sotogake at 10-1. The Japanese entry has typically been a closer, but its most recent win was a wire-to-wire finish, showing the get-off and consistency needed to win a race like the Derby. Count us in.  We won't judge you if you'd rather just look at the field, find a horse's name you like, and bet it to win. You can also check out analysis and picks for the Run for the Roses from Yardbarker's own John Dudley. Our favorite? Sun Thunder at 50-1.

For the more experienced Derby bettors, we have an expert breakdown of how to approach the superfecta. It admittedly went over our heads, but we aim to please all audiences, so explore the breakdown here.

Mike Budenholzer fired as Bucks coach — Just two years removed from winning a title, the Bucks have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer following their first-round exit to the Miami Heat. After having the best record in the NBA, a 4-1 series loss to begin the postseason was obviously not what Milwaukee had in mind. The organization will hope they can find the right fit and harness some similar energy to Toronto, who fired Dwane Casey the year he won Coach of the Year, hired Nick Nurse and won a title just a year later.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll