Guaranteed Cappers

The Phillies are 31-13, the best record in baseball. They are going for a four-game sweep of the Mets at home. Make room because I want to ride with them.

Philadelphia is 16-3 in its last 19 games, while the Mets are 1-8 in their last nine games if you discount two victories against the 18-25 Cardinals.

The pitching matchup also favors the Phillies with Taijuan Walker going against washed-up Jose Quintana, who has a 5.44 ERA and just gave up three homers to the Braves in five innings during his last start this past Friday.

I have no doubt that Caitlin Clark will be a star in the WNBA. But the league schedule makers didn't do Clark, nor the Fever, any breaks. Indiana opened with a 21-point road loss to Connecticut and now has to play the Liberty, who eliminated the Sun in the playoffs last season.

New York is the second-best team in the WNBA with designs of being the best. The Liberty will have five of the top seven players on the court in today's game. Breanna Stewart is one of the two best players in the league and Sabrina Ionescu ranks in the top 10 with Jonquel Jones not far behind.

The Liberty weren't sharp in their season-opener either, failing to cover an 11 1/2-point spread in an 85-80 win against Washington. I expect the prideful Liberty to play better here and they won't lack motivation going against Clark and all of the hype surrounding her.

New York went 4-0 against Indiana last season with an average winning margin of 13.2 points. Yes, the Fever will be much better than last season. But they aren't close to jelling yet as the team transitions into the Clark era.

Clark committed 10 turnovers against the Sun. She had 11 in two preseason games. There is going to be an adjustment period between Clark and her new teammates. They need more time. Drawing the powerful Liberty in just their second game of the season is a bad break.

Help. The Timberwolves have fallen down and I don't see them picking themselves up. The Timberwolves' lack of big-game playoff experience is showing in lost composure and immaturity.

After falling behind 0-2 in this series, the Nuggets have won the last three games by an average of 16.7 points. Denver is 2-0 in Minnesota winning those games by eight and 27 points, respectively.

The momentum is clearly with Denver. The Timberwolves hadn't lost three straight games all season. Now Minnesota faces adversity they never had to deal with all season.

I don't see the Timberwolves having enough poise to force a seventh game by winning this matchup. Nikola Jokic has gotten off to average 33 points during the last three games. I trust him more than any of the Timberwolves' stars.

Mike Conley missing Tuesday's Game 5 with a sore right Achilles really hurt the Timberwolves not just with his heady point guard play, but also his veteran leadership on the court. Conley is the one player who can keep the Timberwolves' emotional temperature at an even keel. He's questionable for Thursday's game.