This article is part of our NBA Picks series.
Alex Barutha
Andre Drummond over 11.5 rebounds (-110) vs. Cavaliers -- FanDuel, 12:54 PM CT
Despite Cleveland's size, even without Jarrett Allen, they are a poor rebounding team. With Garland and Mobley on the court (and Allen off), the Cavs' offensive rebounding is in the 49th percentile, and their defensive rebounding is in just the 34th percentile. I expect Brooklyn to use Drummond as much as possible, and when motivated, he's one of the best rebounders in the NBA. In his past 24 starts, he's averaged 10.3 rebounds in 22.4 minutes. In seven games where he's seen minutes in the 30s, he's averaged 18.1 rebounds.
Nick Whalen
LA Clippers ML (+130) at Minnesota Timberwolves – DraftKings Sportsbook, 1pm CT
The Clippers are 3.0-point dogs on the road, so the oddsmakers likely see these teams as fairly equal on in a neutral-court matchup, with Minnesota holding the slight advantage. There's no doubt that the Wolves have more top-end talent, but I trust the Clippers' infrastructure and defensive edge with Paul George back in the lineup. They'll need George to have a big game, but I think he comes through and sends Minnesota to a do-or-die matchup for the 8-seed against either San Antonio or New Orleans on Friday.
Player prop: Darius Garland 5+ threes made (+475) or OVER 25.5 points (-110). The Cavs are going to need Garland to take a ton of shots to stay in this game. Even if he doesn't have the most efficient shooting night, he'll have a good chance to approach 25 field-goal attempts. If that's the case, I'll take my chances that he can net five threes (something he's done eight times this season) or get to 26 points (18 times).
Ken Crites
I'm taking the OVER on Andre Drummond scoring 10.5 (DraftKings, +100 as of 2:30)
Sure, some of Drummond's strong end-of-season games came when Brooklyn was resting stars. But he's averaged 11.8 points over his last 24 games. Jarrett Allen is NOT returning for Cleveland. That means a lot of Lauri Markkanen and Evan Mobley, two guys Drummond can push around. Plus, the Nets are favored by 9 points. If this turns into a blow out, Brooklyn will rest KD and Kyrie before worrying about Drummond's minutes.
