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Morning Coffee: Caitlin Clark hype hits fever pitch at FanDuel
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The Caitlin Clark hype has hit a fever pitch at FanDuel.
On Monday night, the Indiana Fever selected Caitlin Clark with the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
It was such an obvious bet that FanDuel didn’t offer it.
They did offer Canadian Aaliyah Edwards at -115 to be the sixth overall pick in the WNBA Draft.
So, thank you FanDuel for that – I’ll take the W.
While they didn’t have a market for Clark to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, FanDuel does have a long list of specials on-site right now that feature the No. 1 pick.
For example, Clark to lead the Fever in scoring is -280.
Clark to average 22+ points per game is -135.
Will the No. 1 overall pick score 50 or more points in any game as a rookie?
You can find that prop at 26-to-1 odds at FanDuel.
Clark to break the WNBA single-game scoring record with 54 or more points in any game during her rookie season is 31-to-1 at FanDuel.
In addition to the special markets, only three players have shorter odds to win WNBA regular season MVP than Clark at 12-to-1 odds.
In fact, FanDuel has already taken upwards of 10 times more bets on Clark to win WNBA MVP than any other player.
Meanwhile, Indiana is the most bet team to win the WNBA Championship at 20-to-1 odds.
The Clark hype train has already reached a fever pitch.
Personally, I can’t wait to see her in action for Indiana.
Until then, we have a lot to get to this morning, including an epic NHL Eastern Conference playoff race that is down to the wire and a FanDuel Best Bet for the NBA Play-In tournament.
This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday, April 16th, 2024.
Red Wings Keep Their Season Alive With Epic Comeback Win Over Habs
For a moment, it looked like the Detroit Red Wings season would come to an unceremonious end in front of their fans in their home finale at Little Caesars Arena.
Apparently, Lucas Raymond had something else in mind.
Trailing 4-1 late in the second period, J.T. Compher and Alex DeBrincat helped the Red Wings claw their way back into the game with goals to cut the deficit to one.
With just over a minute to go and the net empty, Raymond buried his 30th goal of the season to tie the game at 4-4.
Then in the final minute of overtime, Raymond sealed the comeback win with his 31st of the season.
The Red Wings could be found as high as +1060 to beat the Habs down 4-1 last night.
While Raymond was the obvious hero, I was happy to see that Shayne Gostisbehere got the credit he deserved after a monster effort with assists on each of Detroit’s final three goals.
Only Raymond, DeBrincat and captain Dylan Larkin have registered more points for the Red Wings this season.
Last night, we saw one again just how important Gostisbehere has been for Detroit.
We also wouldn’t have cashed our FanDuel Best Bet without him, as the New York Rangers also beat up on the Ottawa Senators as the second leg of our two-team, moneyline parlay at +115 odds.
Believe it or not, the Red Wings’ odds to make the playoffs lengthened despite their remarkable comeback victory.
That’s because the Washington Capitals upset the Boston Bruins 2-0 as a +125 moneyline underdog at FanDuel.
With the victory, Washington’s odds to make the playoffs were cut from +210 to +120 at FanDuel.
Detroit’s odds to make it jumped from +110 to +160.
Tonight, we’ll find out which team will clinch the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot.
The Capitals can clinch the eighth seed with a win on the road as a +122 moneyline underdog against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight.
The Red Wings need a win in Montreal, and Washington to lose in any fashion to leapfrog the Capitals for that final playoff spot.
The New York Islanders clinched the third seed in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils last night.
The Islanders will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Washington’s upset win over Boston has left the door open for the Florida Panthers to catch the Bruins at the top of the Atlantic Division.
Florida is one point back of Boston with both teams in action tonight.
The Bruins can lock up the division title against the Ottawa Senators.
The Panthers need a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs and some help from the Senators to win the division.
Did I mention that Auston Matthews needs one goal to become the first player in more than three decades to score 70?
Or that if the playoffs started this morning, Florida and Toronto would meet in the first round.
There are plenty of intriguing storylines in the NHL tonight.
Once again, I’m going with a traditional two-team moneyline parlay for my FanDuel Best Bet.
NBA Play-in Tournament Begins on TSN
In addition to a buys NHL slate, the NBA postseason technically gets underway tonight with a double-header on TSN.
First up, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will clash with the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
After that, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors will get the Sacramento Kings in the late game.
In terms of a FanDuel Best Bet, I’m going chalk with a bet on the Lakers to win outright.
The Lakers won three of four against the Pelicans during the regular season, including the previous two meetings by an average of 16.5 points per game.
While they are in the Play-In Tournament for a reason, I’m not betting against LeBron in a winner-take-all contest against an opponent they have easily handled this season.
Obviously, I like LA a lot more if Anthony Davis plays.
While he’s officially listed as questionable, it sounds like he should be good to play tonight.
I’ll take the Lakers on the moneyline at +102 as my FanDuel Best Bet for tonight’s NBA Play-In games.