Top Picks: Why the Reds' bee delay could have been worse, a pair of NBA playoff bets to check out

Monday afternoon's game between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants was delayed for roughly 25 minutes before getting underway. Baseball games being delayed is nothing new, but this time it wasn't rain or any weather that caused them to wait.

It was a different aspect of Mother Nature. It was bees.

Now, bees can be scary, and although honeybees are mostly harmless, considering the way they were swarming at the park, people could have been stung, and a lot of people are allergic to bee stings, so it could've been dangerous. Still, there are insects that I think would be worse that could show up at the park, so I'm going to rank them quickly.

5. Kissing bugs: They look mostly harmless, but they're kind of like ticks in that they're parasites and they "kiss" you by biting you and latching on. They also transmit disease and kill like 12,000 people a year, so no thanks.

4. Mosquitoes: OK, so they aren't as scary as they are annoying, but they are so damn irritating. Also, have you ever seen the mosquitos in Minnesota? They're the size of Fiats. If those things showed up in a swarm at Target Field, I'd assume the world was ending.

3. Killer bees: They don't call em Nurturing Bees for a reason. You tick off a killer bee -- and they're typically mad as it is, so it doesn't take much -- and the next thing you know you've got a swarm of thousands chasing you for a mile. And even if you get away, once they're angry, they stay angry, so anybody else that comes around gets it next. It's pretty clear killer bees weren't told by their parents that they were loved enough.

2. Bot flies: They look cute. In fact, they kind of look like honeybees, but instead of collecting pollen, they like to lay their eggs beneath the skin of mammals. Mammals like humans. Then the larvae are hatched beneath your skin, and you can see them beneath your skin. Doesn't that sound fun?

1. Giant Japanese hornets: Like killer bees, the name says most everything you need to know. They're giant hornets that grow up to two inches in length. Also like killer bees, they're aggressive and don't care about anything. They kill up to 40 people per year. If you see one of these at a baseball stadium. The reason there are so many giant monsters like Godzilla in Japanese pop culture is probably because they needed to come up with something that might be brave enough to kill all the Giant Japanese Hornets.

So, yeah, onto Monday's picks. All odds via Westgate.

1. Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics: Bucks +1.5

NBA playoffs Round 2, Game 4: 7 p.m. ET, TNT (watch online with fuboTV -- try for free here)

I think Milwaukee is better than Boston. I know you're probably looking for more in-depth analysis than that, but essentially that's what it all comes back to for me. The Celtics won the first game of this series, but haven't had an answer defensively for the Bucks since then. Maybe they've figured it out since Game 3, but I like the Bucks to cover at the very least, if not return to Milwaukee up 3-1 in the series.

2. Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets: Rockets -1.5

NBA playoffs Round 2, Game 4: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT (watch online with fuboTV -- try for free here)

I want to thank Steph Curry for blowing a wide-open layup and a wide-open dunk late in Game 3. It felt like such a victory for the common man. Who amongst us hasn't tried to dunk only to get blocked by the rim? I know I have.

Anyway, as for this game, I like the Rockets because Curry's finger is clearly affecting his play, and the Rockets are too good at what they do not to take advantage. Plus, this feels like a series that is going seven games, and that won't happen if the Rockets don't win Monday.

3. Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles: Orioles +149

MLB regular season: 7:05 p.m. ET (watch online with fuboTV -- try for free here)

The Orioles stink, but I don't care, I'm taking them anyway. This price is just too juicy. The Red Sox are sending Josh Smith to the mound, and he's a 31-year old who has spent most of his career in the minors. He has started 151 games in the minors, and this will be his 10th start in the majors, and first start with the Red Sox. In his previous nine starts, he has 6.10 ERA in 38 1/3 innings and has struck out 31 hitters with 24 walks. I don't know how long Alex Cora plans to leave him out there, but I wouldn't anticipate more than four to five innings at most.  While the Orioles may not be a good team, their offense is adequate, and this could easily turn into a 7-6 type of game. So at +149, I'm not passing up the value.