NBA-NHL title futures have Boston flavor

We're always excited to see new states open up legalized sports betting, and today is all about Massachusetts. Cheers to Mass residents who can now join the rest of us with their own bets and props and parlays!

To celebrate, we figured now is as good of a time as any to load up a pair of futures in the NBA and NHL, and what do you know, the two well-deserved favorites both reside in Boston. 

One of the Bruins or Celtics feels likely to bring home a title this June

We're approaching the home stretch in the NBA and NHL seasons, and the two Boston franchises seem well-positioned for postseason runs.

The Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference and have the entire core of a team that made the NBA Finals last season. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown form one of the best scoring duos in the league, and the supporting cast around them has shown to be strong on both ends of the floor. The Celtics are just behind the Bucks, but they took down Milwaukee last postseason and are the current betting favorites to win it all.

The champ this season on the hardwood seems likely to come out of the East. The quality of teams just feels superior, and while health is always a major factor, that advantage most definitely favors the Eastern Conference at this time. The C's bring elite balance to the court, ranking fourth in both offensive and defensive efficiency. No other team is inside the top five for both metrics, so it's for good reason that the Celtics find themselves the favorites.

As for the Bruins, they are far and away the best team in the NHL this season. Their 103 points are nine more than the next closest team in Carolina, and they have both elite goaltending and an explosive offense. The Bruins tend to dictate the pace and slow down the opponent, led by David Pastrnak's sensational season. The Bruins also made a handful of trades last week, which shows us they're going all-in on a Stanley Cup run.

Both teams are worth future bets at this juncture, and there's a few ways you can do that.

For Massachusetts residents, FanDuel is offering a promotional bet that one of the Bruins or Celtics wins it all at +250. That's a nice way to spread the net. DraftKings is offering a "Double Duck Boat" special that combines the two winning their respective titles at +1900.

Alternatively, just bet each as a standalone. The Celtics are +300 to win it all, and the Bruins sit at +400.

For our readers who live in Massachusetts, be sure to explore the many promo codes and sign-up bonuses available to you for each sportsbook in your state — there's free money for you on the table!

In the news ...

Conference tournaments continue — All you have to do is have your TV on today, tomorrow or Sunday, and college basketball is likely to greet you. The ACC semis are set for today with Miami vs. Duke and Virginia vs. Clemson. The Big 12 semis are also tonight between Kansas-Iowa State and Texas-TCU. The Big East and Pac-12 are the other two major conferences at the semifinal stage. The winners of UCLA-Oregon and Arizona-Arizona State will meet in the Pac-12 Championship, and the winners of Marquette-UConn and Xavier-Creighton will do the same in the Big East Championship tomorrow.

Ramey, Morikawa end Day 1 at the top of The Players Championship — Thursday at TPC Sawgrass is in the books, and Americans Chad Ramey and Collin Morikawa top the leaderboard. Morikawa is currently the favorite at +330 to win, and Ramey is +3000. Both tee off around 1 p.m. ET, and the leaderboard is sure to shake up throughout the day. Our guy Jason Day had a solid Thursday and started Friday strong, so fingers crossed he delivers on our bet from yesterday.

You can bet on the Oscars this weekend — We're as surprised as you, but if you wanted to place some wagers on the Oscar winners, that is something you can most definitely do. The 2023 Oscars are this Sunday, and there's a variety of betting markets open to the public. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is the heavy favorite to win Best Picture, coming in at -700. No one is going to place a bet at that price, or at least we don't recommend you do so, so the Best Actor category seems to be one offering some value. We like the price on Austin Butler at +125, who portrayed Elvis Presley in the aptly-named "Elvis." Butler has already taken home the Golden Globe for Best Actor and won Best Actor at the British Academy Film Awards. As the second-favorite behind Brendan Fraser, this seems like a bet worth considering.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll