Vaughn Dalzell breaks down his best bets for the Monday night NBA slate, including Lakers versus Suns and Jayson Tatum against the Bucks.
Lakers at Suns (-4): O/U 228.0
I backed Anthony Davis Over 24.5 Points when these teams met on Friday and Davis turned in another impressive outing of 35 points and followed that up with 31 the following night against Sacramento.
While I’m tempted to run it back on Davis, the undefeated Lakers are playing its third game in four days and first road game of the season. This looks like a great spot to back the Suns, who lost to the Lakers 123-116 on Friday.
However, the Suns played on Saturday and beat the Mavericks (114-102), while the Lakers beat the Kings (131-127). This is also the third game in four days for Phoenix after playing L.A. on Friday, so I expect tired legs and plenty of missed shots between the two teams.
The total for the previous meeting was 226.5 and flew Over with a 123-116 score. The books opened the total back up at 227.5 and 228.0. Give me the Under 228 (-110).
Pick: Under 228 (1u)
Jayson Tatum to double-double vs Bucks (+105)
Jayson Tatum has been a significant beneficiary in the rebounding department since Robert Williams was traded last season and with Kristaps Porzingis out.
Tatum had four rebounds in two of three games this season and 11 in the other contest against the Wizards. Tatum has only averaged 10.7 rebound chances per game, but he only played 29 and 30 minutes against the Knicks and Wizards.
I think Tatum plays enough and is aggressive enough to grab 10-plus boards, but just in case it’s the assist game tonight, I will ride with the double-double at +105 odds rather than the Over 9.5 rebounds at +114.
Pick: Jayson Tatum double-double (1u)
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest NBA player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Josh Giddey O/U 13.5 Points at Grizzlies
Josh Giddey cashed the Over 12.5 Points for us against the Thunder (14 points), but that was a revenge spot against his former team in Chicago.
Now, the Bulls go on the road to Memphis and face another tough defense with quick guards. Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane, and Ja Morant will be the primary focus and I don’t think Giddey will offer much when it comes to scoring.
Giddey is 3-0 to the Over 13.5 Points scoring 14, 17, and 14 points. However, his RPM has been -22, -2, and -21 this year, so his minutes might not be consistent moving forward. I played Giddey Under 13.5 Points (-115) and would go down to 12.5.
Pick: Josh Giddey Under 13.5 Points (1.5u)
Season Record: 13-7 (65%) +6.55 units
Listen to the Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long.
