Look for teams down in series to up intensity, production

Whether or not the Thunder and Hurricanes can win tonight is one question. The more certain fact seems to be that we can expect some level of desperation and added intensity, which should lend itself to higher volume from these teams' most important players. As such, that's where we look on the Carolina and Oklahoma City end tonight.

Trailing teams could lead to some productive nights

Shai-Gilgeous Alexander 35+ points (+145)

SGA has yet to hit this mark this postseason, but he's been incredibly involved in the Thunder's offense the past two games (and all season). Gilgeous-Alexander has piled up 64 points in his past two games, chucking up 23 and 24 attempts.

Down 2-1 to Dallas in the series, we expect SGA to continue shooting at a blistering pace, and should he find that volume, the points tend to follow.

In 20 games this season with 23+ field goal attempts, SGA is averaging 34.5 points per game, going for 35+ in four of his last eight such games. Bring on a big game from the Thunder star as OKC looks to even up this series against Dallas.

Jake Guentzel 4+ shots on goal (+150)

We're not so sure Carolina can win this game, but we are quite certain that Jake Guentzel is coming to keep shooting the puck to keep them in it.

The Hurricanes star has 5+ shots in three of the four games this series, finishing with 9+ attempts in each of those games. He's loved facing the Rangers over the years, averaging 4.3 SOG per game over the past two years, finishing with four or more shots in seven of his last eight games at MSG. Expect another big outing from Guentzel here.

Together, these two come in at +512 on DraftKings when parlayed.

In the news ...

Atlanta Hawks win NBA lottery with just a 3 percent chance to do so — The Hawks made a major jump up the NBA Draft lottery over the weekend, moving up from their slot at 10th to end up with the top overall selection. Atlanta had just a 3 percent chance to pull off that type of jump, and now own the top pick in a draft that is widely expected to be a bit light on star power. Alexandre Sarr is the current favorite to go No. 1 at -180. Sarr is a 7-foot-1 center who played last season in the NBL. The Wizards, Rockets, Spurs and Pistons rounded out the top five of next month's draft.

NFL season opener will be Chiefs vs. Ravens — The NFL home opener has been announced, and it will be the two-time defending champs Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Kansas City, a rematch of last year's AFC Championship Game. Kansas City opened as standard three-point favorites, -155 to the moneyline. The full schedule is set to be released later this week, but expect some more prime-time games to be trickled out through reporting over the next day or two.

Panthers go up 3-1 and Canucks go up 2-1; Pacers and Nuggets even series at 2-2 — Denver has taken both games on the road over Minnesota to make this a series, and suddenly the Nuggets are back to being the betting favorites out West, -165 to win the series and +145 to make the Finals. Indiana also tied their series with the injured Knicks, and the Pacers are -120 to advance. On the ice, the Florida Panthers came back to beat the Bruins and go up 3-1, while Vancouver took Game 3 in Edmonton to go up 2-1 in that series. We still like the price on the Oilers winning the series, currently -110.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.