Cash That Ticket - Friday May 15th

Munaf Manji and Dave Essler talk sports betting for Friday.
Munaf Manji and Uncle Diamond Dave Essler are back on the Cash That Ticket podcast for a Friday, May 15, 2026 episode that covers more ground than most, starting with two NBA playoff closeout games and working all the way through the MLB Friday card, a PGA Championship round one update, and a genuine milestone moment as Munaf officially becomes a Pregame Pro on Pregame.com — selling picks for the first time after years of giving them away for free on this pod, and receiving a full public endorsement from Dave that was honest, direct, and exactly what you would expect from a man who has been in the pick-selling business long enough to know the difference between a handicapper and a salesman. On the NBA side, the guys break down Game 6 of Cavaliers versus Pistons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, where the Cavs hold a three-games-to-two lead after surviving overtime in Detroit behind 30 points from James Harden and a 31-free-throw performance that Dave argues is simply not repeatable — not the free throw volume, not the 40 percent three-point shooting, not the pace that produced 211 points in regulation plus overtime, and both hosts land on the under at 211 and a half as their conviction play, with Dave adding Detroit plus four and a half as his side bet, pointing to the Pistons' history of holding opponents under 101 points in five of their six wins this postseason and the brutal minutes load both rosters are carrying out of an overtime game where Cade Cunningham played 48 of 53 available minutes and Evan Mobley, James Harden, and Donovan Mitchell each logged 43. In the Western Conference, San Antonio leads Minnesota three to two and travels to Target Center as road favorites, and Dave likes the Timberwolves in the spot — citing the loss of emotional fuel that powered the Spurs' 29-point blowout in Game 5 after the Victor Wembanyama ejection, the correctable nature of Minnesota's poor shooting and paint numbers from that game, and his standing rule about backing home underdogs in elimination games, which Munaf reinforces with data showing the Wolves have consistently been excellent coming off losses and pointing to Anthony Edwards as a player who needs a signature moment tonight, with both hosts taking Minnesota plus five and a half and the over at 218 and a half and flagging Naz Reid three-pointers made and Jaden McDaniels points and rebounds as the ancillary prop angles on the Wolves side. On the MLB card, they fade Aaron Nola against the Pirates and Braxton Ashcraft, building the case around Nola's fly-ball evolution, his seven home runs in 42 innings, his trend of pitching worse in back-to-back matchups against the same team, and the road context at PNC Park tonight, preferring the Pittsburgh first-five-innings run line as the cleanest execution vehicle. In the Subway Series, Cam Schlittler — who is putting up historic numbers not seen since Walter Johnson in 1913 — starts for the Yankees at Citi Field against Clay Holmes and the Mets, with cold temperatures, wind blowing in, and a total of seven making the first-five-innings under the natural play for both hosts. Dave's best bet is the over in the Rockies-Diamondbacks game at Coors Field, where Merrill Kelly arrives with a 7.62 ERA and 19 hits allowed in 14 road innings, and Munaf's best bet is the under eight in Atlanta between the Braves and the Red Sox, with Spencer Strider making his third start back from an oblique strain against a Boston offense that has scored five combined runs over its last four games. Use promo code RISE10 at Pregame.com — R-I-S-E-1-0 — to get ten dollars off anything including the rest-of-May all-access package, now available at eighty-nine dollars through May 31, and head to the Buy Picks tab to find Munaf's daily package and Dave's three-star playoff game of the month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices