Monday’s nine-game NBA slate gets another exciting week of basketball underway. Tonight’s national-TV doubleheader will be carried by ESPN, featuring the Golden State Warriors at Philadelphia 76ers & Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers.
On Friday, I went 1-2 to bring my season-long record to 95-63-2 ATS (60.1%). Here are three more free NBA picks to get things rolling in the right direction to start the week.
Table of contents
- San Antonio Spurs (-1) at Indiana Pacers – Total: 232
- Oklahoma City Thunder at Washington Wizards (-11.5) – Total: 229
- Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics (-6) – Total: 217
San Antonio Spurs (-1) at Indiana Pacers – Total: 232
SA: 3 games in 4 days, 4 in 6
IND: back-end b2b (@ATL yesterday), 3 games in 4 days, 4 in 6, 5 in 7
The Spurs are in a nice situation against a tired Pacers team. Indy is on the back-end of a B2B and a string of five games in seven days, so the advantage for San Antonio is huge for a team favored by a single point. I’m not sure why, but the Spurs have been much better on the road this season at 18-7 ATS. In addition, they have a strong 13-6 ATS record against Eastern Conference teams. The fatigue is everything here, going against the Pacers.
Betting Pick: Spurs (-1)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Washington Wizards (-11.5) – Total: 229
OKC: back-end b2b (@TOR yesterday), 3 games in 4 days, 4 in 6, 5 in 7
WSH: 3 games in 4 days, 4 in 6
When was the last time you saw the Wizards favored by double digits? It hasn’t happened yet this season, but this is their largest favored number since all the way back at the end of December. OKC is on the back-end of a B2B set and a string of five games in seven days, so this will not be an easy battle. Some may say this is an overexaggerated number, but I think it’s this big for a reason. Take the Wizards to roll easily tonight.
Betting Pick: Wizards (-11.5)
Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics (-6) – Total: 217
CHI: 3 games in 4 days, 4 in 6
BOS: normal rest
The Bulls are in a bad way, going 1-5 SU/ATS over the last six games. Meanwhile, over the same amount of games, the Celtics are 6-0 SU/5-1 ATS. The absence of Zach LaVine has been catastrophic for Chicago, which added Nikola Vucevic and Daniel Theis at the trade deadline.
Boston has been much stronger at home, going 15-12-1 ATS this season. Look for them to take advantage of a Chicago team that has been playing a ton of games in short spans lately. We can certainly attribute that to its recent downfall.
Betting Pick: Celtics (-6)
