The Daily Sweat: Cardinals and Saints face now-or-never situation on Thursday night
The Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints have been mostly bad this season. Arizona more than New Orleans.
As we know from this NFL season, however you played last week might not have anything to do with how you play this week.
The NFL is incredibly unpredictable this season, so it's hard to depend on teams staying on a linear path to the top or bottom. But this much is true: 3-4 in the NFL is not the end of the world, but 2-5 is a really big hole to dig out of.
A pair of 2-4 teams play on Thursday night and while it's a little too early to say their seasons are on the line, it's probably not too far from the truth. The Cardinals are a 2.5-point favorite at BetMGM.
The line moved a bit toward the Cardinals on Wednesday morning when the Saints' injury report came out.
Saints coach Dennis Allen said all five of those guys will be ruled out for Thursday night’s game at Arizona: CB Marshon Lattimore, WRs Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry, G Andrus Peat, TE Adam Trautman
Allen declined to officially name a starting QB. But Andy Dalton seems likely https://t.co/r15KAR41dp— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) October 19, 2022
That's a lot to overcome, though the Saints had a similar injury report last week and led the Cincinnati Bengals until giving up a long touchdown inside the two-minute warning.
Both teams are desperate, but it seems like the Cardinals are in a more urgent spot.
Arizona is a home favorite against a beat-up opponent. The Cardinals get receiver DeAndre Hopkins back from a six-game suspension, and how many times over the past few weeks has it been said that Kyler Murray needs Hopkins back? We'll see. Regardless, Hopkins should help the offense, even if his return comes as the team loses Marquise Brown to a foot injury. Not having to face Lattimore, the Saints' Pro Bowl cornerback, is a nice bonus for Hopkins as he comes back.
One of these teams will go forward with a fifth loss and be in a lot of trouble for the rest of the season. The Saints would have some injury excuses. The Cardinals have some injuries too, but if it doesn't happen for them on Thursday night, it probably isn't happening this season at all.
Here's the first look at Thursday's sports betting slate:
Yankees vs. Astros meet for Game 2
The ALCS continues with Game 2 on Thursday night, though it will lose a lot of eyeballs to a mediocre NFL matchup. Thanks to a rainout Monday the New York Yankees didn't get the benefit of an off day after the ALDS win over the Cleveland Guardians, and they'll be on their third playoff game in three days against the Houston Astros. They faded late in a Game 1 loss. On Thursday the Astros are a -150 favorite.
NBA has just two games, but good teams
The NBA waited until Thursday to give the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers their season openers. It's not crazy to think both teams could meet in the NBA Finals.
The Bucks travel to face the Philadelphia 76ers in a battle of MVP favorites. Giannis Antetokounmpo is still the best player in the world, but he'll have to face Joel Embiid and the 76ers without running mate Khris Middleton. Middleton is out for a few weeks due to a wrist injury, and he has been a key part of what the Bucks do. Milwaukee is capable of winning games without Middleton, but his absence is a reason they're 4.5-point underdogs on Thursday. That line moved from 76ers -3.5 on Wednesday.
The second game is the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Clippers. The Clippers finally get Kawhi Leonard back after a season lost to injury. The Clippers as a team are healthy, which they couldn't say all of last season. The Lakers looked bad in Tuesday night's opener at the Golden State Warriors, which is a continuation of last season. The pieces still don't fit. The Clippers are 5.5-point favorites and that seems like the right side.
The rest of the schedule
There are a couple of college football games: Virginia at Georgia Tech (-3) and Troy at South Alabama (-3). There are also 12 NHL games, highlighted by a fun Carolina Hurricanes at Edmonton Oilers (-120) showdown. Before all of that at night, there are a couple of English Premier League soccer matches in the afternoon, and the start of the CJ Cup PGA golf tournament in South Carolina.
What's the best bet?
This time of year, with all the sports happening at once, it's hard to settle on one best bet. I'll take the Cardinals in the NFL game. I do like the Clippers because they're healthy, rested and facing the Lakers. It's another busy day for sports bettors.
