Best bets today: Get picks for Avalanche-Stars, plus more plays for NBA and MLB for April 28

The 2025 NBA and NHL Playoffs continue Monday, April 28 with two games on the hardwood and two on the ice, headlined by the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars meeting in Game 5 with the series tied 2-2. The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lighting face off in Game 4, with the defending champions attempting to take a 3-1 lead. In the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going for a sweep of the Miami Heat while the Golden State Warriors try to go up 3-1 on the Houston Rockets. The MLB season is also rolling along with with eight games on the diamond.

Here, we'll look at the top betting opportunities for each league with links to full game analysis and picks throughout the article while providing betting tips for today's matchups. 

There is also a link to the best sportsbook promotion today from Fanatics. Fanatics is running a bet insurance promotion where new users can get $1,000 in No Sweat Bets across their first 10 days with the sportsbook. See more about the promotion below. 

Best NBA bets today

Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors (-175, O/U 203): 10 p.m. ET)

Golden State managed to win Game 3 without Jimmy Butler to take a 2-1 series lead, with Stephen Curry scoring 36 points in the 104-93 win. None of the Rockets scored more than 17 points. Houston will be eager to bounce back and stabilize the series before Games 5 and 6 back in Texas. 

Bruce Marshall, who is 111-76-1 (+2750) in his last 188 NBA picks, is one of four SportsLine experts with picks for this game. Get full analysis and expert picks for Rockets-Warriors Game 4 at SportsLine!

Best NHL bets today

Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars (+118, O/U 6): 9:30 p.m. ET 

The teams have alternated wins across the first four games, and Colorado is hoping to break the pattern when it visits Dallas tonight. The Avs won Game 1 in Dallas, and a second road win would put Colorado in position to potentially sew up the series at home on Sunday. Nathan McKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Logan O'Conner and Samuel Girard had the goals in Game 3's shutout win. 

Get analysis and expert picks, including from Matt Severance, who's 130-65-7 (+3055.5) in his last 202 NHL side picks, for Avs-Stars Game 5 at SportsLine!

Best MLB bets today

New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles (+110, O/U 9): 6:45 p.m. ET

The Orioles' master plan of replacing Corbin Burnes with a hodgepodge of spare parts hasn't gone well, to say the least. To be fair to Tomoyuki Sugano, a longtime ace in Japan, he has a 3.54 ERA through his first five starts. He's also struck out just nine batters in 28 innings. He'll now have to contend with the Bronx Bombers, and hope that the Orioles' sleepy offense can give him some help. Yankees starter Will Warren hasn't looked sharp, so the Baltimore bats should have plenty of chances.

Matt Severance and Jason La Canfora have picks for Yankees-O's at SportsLine!

Today's featured sportsbook promo

New users at Fanatics Sportsbook can earn up to $1,000 in No Sweat Bets with this promotion. Fanatics offers bet insurance for each of new users' first bets for their first 10 days with the sportsbook. If any of those bets lose, you earn your stake back up to $100 each in bonus bets for a maximum total of $1,000. When using bonus bet funds to make wagers, if you win a bet, you only receive the winnings and not the stake back.

Terms and conditions for the Fanatics welcome bonus:

• This offer is available only to new Fanatics Sportsbook users who are 21 or older in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming and Washington D.C..
• The minimum deposit is $5.
• New users have apply this promo to their bet slip each day after opting in under "Promos" in order to have their bets insured. 
• The minimum odds of for No Sweat Bets are -200 or longer.
• Only one wager per day applies to the sign-up promotion. 
• The 10 days begin the day you register your account, and bonus bets expire seven after seven days.
• Wagers must settle as a loss to qualify for bonus bets. Winning bets are paid out in cash.
• Bonus bets amounts are non-withdrawable and have a 1x playthrough requirement.

Other games to bet on for Monday, April 28

NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat (7:30 p.m. ET)
NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET)
MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds (6:40 p.m. ET)
MLB: Detroit Tigers at Houston Astros (8:10 p.m. ET)
MLB: Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Dodgers (10:10 p.m. ET)

With so many games on the schedule for Monday, April 28, SportsLine has you covered with expert predictions and suggested bets from our projection model. You can also join the SportsLine Discord channel for even more betting tips from our experts and other bettors in the SportsLine community.

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