Handicapping the NBA: Monday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Monday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Alex Barutha: Enes Kanter over 26.5 P+R (-111) -- FanDuel, 1:18 PM CT

Kanter is obviously seeing more minutes and usage with Jusuf Nurkic out, but CJ McCollum's absence could funnel more shots to Kanter as well. Importantly, the Spurs allow both the most rebounds (50.5) and most shots at the rim (34.4%) in the NBA -- where Kanter thrives. During his first start of the season two days ago, he posted 12 points and 15 rebounds against the Hawks.

Nick Whalen: Warriors-Lakers UNDER 226.5 points (DraftKings Sportsbook, 1:15 PM CT)

I'm also inclined to take the Lakers with the points (-8.5) tonight, as I love their chances of slowing down the Warriors' one-man attack. Stephen Curry bounced back with 35 points against Denver in the Warriors' last game, but the Nuggets are one of the league's worst defenses, and Golden State only put up 104 points as a team. Over their last five games, the Warriors have topped 106 points only once (115 against the Clippers), while falling short of the century mark against Indiana (95 points) last Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Lakers' defense is rounding into form, holding opponents to 95, 99, 100 and 102 points, respectively, over the last four games. With several options to throw at Curry, I like LA's chances to hold Golden State under 100 points. If that happens, I don't see the game being enough of a blowout that the Lakers single-handedly pull the total over 226.5.

Ken Crites: I'll Take the OVER on MAV @ TOR on DraftKings at 219.0

Of course, saying "@ TOR" feels weird, since they are playing in Florida. The mark of 219.0 is 1.2 points below the scoring average for TOR (111.5) and DAL (108.7).  Dallas now has Kristaps Porzingis back (17.0 ppg in just 3 games) and Tim Hardaway is GTD. Hardaway playing will help the scoring on both sides. DAL is also playing in the second half of a back-to-back, so I expect their defensive effort to be a bit weak. Alex Len is OUT for Toronto, so that frees up 11 minutes of frustrating lane clogging for the Raptors. I also like Lowry scoring more than 17.5 points on FanDuel. Again, Dallas should be tired. CHOO CHOO!

Jeff Edgerton: Stephen Curry OVER 5.5 Assists (DK Sportsbook, 1:37 p.m. ET)

Curry has only collected seven assists over the past two games, but I still think this number is too low for him. The Lakers may limit his ability to deliver the ball to playmakers, but he's dropped six or more dimes in seven of 22 games this season. At a better than 50 percent clip in covering his bet, it seems like a no-brainer prop for the slate.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Ken
An early RotoWire contributor from the 90's, K-Train returns with the grace of Gheorghe Muresan and the wisdom of Joe Gibbs. Ken is a two-time FSWA award winner and a co-host on the RW NBA Podcast. Championships incude: 2016 RW Staff NBA Keeper, 2019 RW Staff NFL Ottoneu Keeper, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Experts, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Kamla Keeper and 2023-24 FSGA NBA Expert Champions. Ken still owns a RotoNews shirt.
Jeff Edgerton
Jeff has provided sports content for numerous sports outlets and has played fantasy sports since scores had to be tabulated via newspaper. He started working with RotoWire in 2017. Originally from South Carolina, he's a lifelong Clemson fan now enjoying the sun in Los Angeles.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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