Looking for sharp sports betting action this weekend? Your curated list of bets, analytics and humor, every Saturday at 10am Eastern.

NBA player prop - The Detroit Pistons bench had a starring role in game 6 win on the road at Cleveland. However, game 7 usually gets tight, as the markets have a total of 205.5 points compared to 217.5 for game 1.

This has implications for the points prop for 31 year old Caris LaVert. He has played 26.5 minutes the last two games, but that should go down as Duncan Robinson works his way back from injury (didn't play game 5, reduced minutes in game 6). LaVert's minutes are all over the place, as he didn't play in game 7 against Orlando.

Despite playing in every game this series, LaVert has been dealing with a right heel injury. There is value in Caris LaVert under 6.5 points, +102 available at FanDuel.

Does rest matter in the NBA playoffs? The New York Knicks swept Philadelphia in their last series. They will face either Detroit or Cleveland coming off a seven game series. Do the Knicks have an edge because of rest? Or will they struggle due to rust?

Kostya Medvedovsky is a talented quant behind the NBA player projection system DARKO. Based on data since 1997, he used his player rating to study the impact of rest in these types of series.

His study shows that rest is an advantage for a team like the Knicks. The same applies to a lesser extent to Oklahoma City, who swept the Los Angeles Lakers. They play a San Antonio team coming off a series win in 6 games.

World Soccer/Football Rankings - To shed light on the World Cup, my world rankings consider margin of victory in games and then adjusts for schedule with The Power Rank algorithm. The model considers international matches since the start of 2022, and more important matches get more weight.

Here are a few highlights from these rankings:

• Spain, 1st. Spain takes over from Argentina with the data since September, 2025. Star 18 year old Lamine Yamal hopes to return from a hamstring injury for the World Cup.
• Japan, 7th. Japan has wins over England and Brazil and somehow a loss to the United States.
• United States, 33rd. The only good news is that rival Mexico is 34th.

Check out the lastest world football/soccer rankings at The Power Rank.

The worst NFL roster - QB Malik Willis gets his opportunity to start in the NFL this season with the Miami Dolphins. However, Miami traded away star Jaylen Waddle and left him with these wide receivers (NFL average yards per route run is 1.5 for WR).

• Tutu Atwell (1.22 YPPR, 15 targets), worked through injuries with the Rams last season.
• Malik Washington (0.86 YPPR, 63 targets), 2nd year with Miami last season.
• Jalen Tolbert (0.77 YPPR, 33 targets), the WR with the fifth most targets in Dallas last season.

Willis will be handing off to RB De'Von Achane a lot. The secondary might be as bad as the receivers, as rookie first round pick Chris Johnson might be the best player. It's going to be a long season for first year coach Jeff Hafley.

NFL humor - The Tennessee Titans social media guy went around asking people if they were famous NFL people. The full two minute video is worth a watch for Aaron Rodgers alone.

Level up your WNBA betting game

It's nice to play in more beatable markets. WNBA expert Galin Dragiev notes that no sportsbooks take huge action on the WNBA. The lower liquidity means the sharp betting groups are not crowding you out.

Unabated offers not only the daily player projections but also an odds screen for spreads, totals and player props. To learn more about the betting tools Unabated, check out their Premium membership and WNBA player projections:

https://unabated.com/pricing?ref=thepowerrank