The schedule the NBA uses for the NBA Finals stinks. It was nice to be reminded of this on Thursday night while watching Game 1. The NBA had already taken four days off between Toronto's Game 7 win over Milwaukee and last night's game, meaning the Warriors came into the game with nearly 10 days off. Then, after they finally played on Thursday, they take another two days off before Game 2 on Sunday.

If the series gets to seven games -- which suddenly seems a lot more likely -- the final game won't be played until Sunday, June 16. That's over two weeks from when you're reading this.

In other words, if the Finals reach seven games, there will have been 22 days between the end of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. That's seven games in 22 days, or one game every 3.1 days.

In the heart of the playoffs.

Maybe I'm just spoiled because I love having multiple games to watch (and bet) for the first couple of rounds, so reaching this portion of the schedule just seems torturous, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. This is the most important series of the season, and from the time it begins until the time it ends, it'll feature more days off (11) than games played.

Thankfully we have baseball to help us pass the time. All odds via Westgate.

1. Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays: Rays -130

The Minnesota Twins have the best record in baseball, but while I believe they're for real, I don't think they're as good as they've played so far. A correction is coming. Not the kind of correction that will see them lose their firm hold of the AL Central, but the type of correction that comes when they get outside the AL Central. The Twins are 37-18 overall, and that includes a record of 11-3 against division opponents. Against everyone else, they're 26-15, which is still very good. The Rays are one of those teams that I think can give them problems, and while Jose Berrios is Minnesota's ace and he's pitching tonight, he's not getting the same kind of strikeouts he has in the past, and his peripherals suggest he's been more average than outstanding. It's a bullpen game for the Rays, which makes them even more attractive to me at this price. They're favored here for a reason. Trust it.

Adam Thompson hit on 61 percent of his money line picks in 2018 for a massive profit of $4,062 to $100 players, and the SportsLine analyst has locked in three best bets for Friday's action. Check out his picks over at SportsLine.

2. Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers: Under 10.5

There's a good chance you haven't heard of Texas starter Ariel Jurado, but in only 10 2/3 innings this season, he's shown promise. It's not a large enough sample size on which to make conclusions, but it's a continuation of what he's done at the minor-league level. Then there's Royals starter Danny Duffy, and like Jurado, he's done a good job of limiting hard contact as well as fly balls. All of which makes me think a total of 10.5 is a bit ridiculous for this matchup, and I want to take advantage of it. The fact that current forecasts call for wind blowing in directly from center doesn't hurt either, as Globe Life Park is impacted by wind more than a lot of other parks.

DFS millionaire Mike McClure is setting his lineups for Friday's MLB tournament action, and you'll want to see what he has to say before locking in your picks. Check out his FanDuel and DraftKings lineups over at SportsLine.

3. Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox: White Sox +158

When Trevor Bauer is on, he's nearly untouchable. When he's not on, you can get to him. He walks too many hitters, and he gives up a lot of fly balls and hard contact. In his last five starts, Bauer has lasted only 29 innings and has allowed six home runs with an ERA of 6.52. That includes a start against the White Sox in which he allowed eight runs in five innings. I don't know if we can count on a repeat performance tonight, but the White Sox offense has heated up as of late, so at +158, I like the value on them here. Essentially we need to think the White Sox are capable of winning this game 39 percent of the time to make this worth a play. They are. These aren't last year's Indians; these are the Indians that are currently only a game ahead of the White Sox in the standings.

The SportsLine Projection Model has simulated Game 2 of the NBA Finals 10,000 times, and the picks are in. The strongest play comes on the total, but you can get all the computer's picks over at SportsLine.