Today's picks: Why the Celtics will cover against the Bucks, plus MLB, NHL and soccer for Monday, May 9

Jonathan Coachman is joined by expert sports bettors Zack Cimini, Allan Bell and Larry Hartstein on The Early Edge podcast. They give you their best bets for the NBA, NHL, MLB and soccer for Monday, May 9.

Coach kicks things off with two SportsLine Plays of the Day. The first is in the NHL: Over 5.5 goals in Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series between the Flames and Stars (9:30 p.m. ET). The second play is Under 2.5 goals in the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Roma (2:45 p.m. ET).

Cimini is up next with an NBA play. He likes the Celtics (+1) to cover against the Bucks in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series (7:30 p.m. ET). "They should've won Game 3. They came back from a big deficit, they had that game. We just saw that poor sequence in the final minute," Zack says. "They're going to come out a much better team. Jayson Tatum is going to bounce back from a poor performance. This is where (the Celtics) showcase that they are the Eastern Conference's best team."

Bell follows with an NHL play. He likes the Avalanche (-1.5 goals at +105) to cover against the Predators in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series (9:30 p.m. ET). "They're just a much better team. They're faster, they're stronger," Allan says. "Nashville, they've scored six goals (in the series). Colorado, 16 goals. The Predators have played two different goalies because their starter, Juuse Saros is out. Their first goalie gave up seven goals in a game. Second goalie gave up seven goals in a game."

Coach jumps back in with a play in Major League Baseball: Over 7.5 runs in the opener of the three-game series between the Brewers and Reds (6:40 p.m. ET). "The three games that these two teams have played this year - nine runs, 22 runs and 15 runs," he says. "So I'll take the Over, and we will cash it with ease."

Hartstein wraps things up with three MLB plays of his own. First, he likes the Orioles to win the first five innings (-128) against the Royals in the finale of their three-game set (12:05 p.m. ET). "The Orioles in the first five innings are 7-3 in their last 10," he says. "They're going against Carlos Hernandez, who has more walks than strikeouts. The Orioles have started to hit righties a lot better."

Next, Larry likes the Dodgers (-1.5 runs at -143) to cover against the Pirates in their three-game series opener (6:35 p.m. ET). "In their last six games, they've outscored their opponents 38-8," he says. "Every single game they've won this season, 19 of them, have been by at least two runs. (Julio) Urias on the mound, two earned runs over his last four starts."

For his final play, Hartstein likes the Diamondbacks (+105) to beat the Marlins in the opening contest of their three-game series (9:40 p.m. ET). "They get to face Elieser Hernandez, who they knocked around last week," he says. "They just swept Miami in Miami. They've won nine of 12, the Marlins have lost seven of eight. I don't think Arizona should be a dog."

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