Monday night NBA action brings some exciting matchups with prime betting opportunities. I’m targeting the Celtics’ dominant first-half record, the Nuggets in a bounce-back game, and a high-paced shootout between the Bulls and Grizzlies. Here’s my breakdown for the best bets!
Celtics -5.5 1H vs. Bucks (-115, BetMGM)
Another year, more outright dominance in the first half. Last season, Boston absolutely crushed vs. the 1H spread, going an NBA-best 66-34 for +26.05 units, a 21.97% ROI. This season, they’re also off to a perfect 3-0 ATS 1H start and will face off with a Bucks team that is 1-2 SU and 1-2 ATS 1H. Last night, Milwaukee lost to the lowly Nets on the road and trailed by three at the half. Unsurprisingly, the Celtics own the NBA’s best Offensive Rating in the first half (a ridiculous 142.6) and +26.2 Net Rating, which is essentially a short sample continuation of their season-long dominance last year in which they posted an NBA-best +15.7 Net Rating before halftime. This Boston team is cohesive and I expect Milwaukee to continue to struggle on the road against the reigning NBA champions, especially with Khris Middleton still out.
Nuggets -7.5 at Raptors (-115, BetMGM)
Off to an 0-2 start with losses to the Thunder and Clippers, the Nuggets will travel north of the border to take on the Raptors, who sit at 1-2 with losses to the Cavaliers and Timberwolves and a win over the 76ers without Joel Embiid and Paul George. Even though RJ Barrett may return from his injury in this one, Immanuel Quickley should be out for Toronto, which is a glaring issue against a team like the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is going to put his team on his back and avoid going down 0-3 and this is a perfect get-right spot for Jokic’s teammates Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray. This is also the type of game that Russell Westbrook should be able to make a difference in off the bench since Toronto has a bunch of unproven young guys on their roster as they rebuild.
Bulls at Grizzlies Over 233.5 Points (-110, FanDuel)
This is my favorite full-game bet tonight by a wide margin. These teams rank 1st and 2nd in Pace (110.33 and 105.83, respectively) and the over has gone 3-0 in Grizzlies games and 2-1 in Bulls games so far as a result. The one game it didn’t hit in came against the Thunder on Saturday and OKC is arguably the best defensive team in the league. Memphis is not, nor is Chicago. This should be a back-and-forth, high-flying affair between two teams that have made pushing the tempo a part of their early identities in the new season. Give me the over.
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