NBA Betting Playbook For Monday, January 3

Get best bets and insights for the 10-game slate

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Check out some of the day’s best storylines for Monday’s NBA action. The three matchups below are among the most intriguing on the 10-game slate. 

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Grizzlies (23-14) at Nets (23-11), 7:30pm EST

The first highlighted matchup is between two teams that are well above .500, the Grizzlies and the Nets. However, both of these teams have performed very differently against the spread. The Nets have gone 14-19 ATS overall, including just 4-13 ATS at home. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have gone 19-15 ATS, but are riding a four-game winning streak and have gone 10-6 SU and 10-5 ATS on the road. 

What makes this game extra exciting is the star power, as Ja Morant will lead the Grizzlies against Kevin Durant, James Harden and the Nets at Barclays Center. Morant has put up 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 31.8 minutes since returning from injury in December. While Morant is an elite offensive talent and arguably the most exciting player to watch with the ball in his hands, he has been a defensive liability for Memphis this year. He has the worst individual Defensive Rating among all Grizzlies starters and rotational players and opposing teams have seen their Offensive Ratings improve by a ridiculous 10.5 points with Morant on the court. As a result, the Grizz have gone 10-2 SU without Morant and 13-12 with him this season, which is too significant to ignore. 

Overall, the Grizzlies have the second-best Defensive Rating in the NBA over the last 10 games despite Morant’s presence, but they’ll have their hands full defending Harden, who has recorded three triple-doubles in his last four games. And these aren’t barely triple-doubles; he’s averaged 35.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 12.0 assists in that span. Most importantly, he’s seemingly adapted to the way referees have been instructed to blow the whistle, converting 45 of 55 free throw attempts in that span. His 13.8 attempts per game over the last four are well above his season average of 8.2. Click the button below to unlock every best bet on today’s slate now!

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Pistons (6-28) at Bucks (23-15), 8:10pm EST

Sure, this game is projected to be a blowout; in two previous matchups, the Bucks won by 28 and then 21 points. However, there are a ton of reasons to utilize BetQL before betting on this game. First, there are a lot of players that will miss this game and potentially miss this contest. Brook Lopez remains out for the Bucks while Khris Middleton and Donte DiVencenzo are both questionable. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant, Frank Jackson, Josh Jackson, Corey Joseph and Kelly Olynyk will all be out for Detroit while Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Saben Lee, Killian Hayes and Trey Lyles are all questionable for the Pistons. 

The Bucks have gone 18-20 ATS, including 7-11 ATS at home while the Pistons have gone 16-18 ATS. While it may seem difficult to trust Milwaukee, it’s also important to consider that the Bucks have the best Offensive Rating in the NBA over the last five games and have averaged 123.6 points per game in that span. Meanwhile, the Pistons own the worst Offensive Rating in the league over the last 10 games and have shot just 41.9% from the field in that span. 

Unsurprisingly, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been utterly dominant this year. The Bucks have won 15 of the last 17 games he’s started and he’s averaged 30.9 points on 56.1% shooting with 12.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists in 32.1 minutes at home this season. Look for him to put up another efficient stat line in this contest on Monday.

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Hawks (16-19) at Trail Blazers (13-22), 10:10pm EST

These might be the two most frustrating teams in the entire NBA. The Hawks have gone 2-5 SU and ATS in their last seven games and the Blazers have gone 0-4 SU and ATS in their last four contests. There are a ton of injuries and COVID-19 protocol issues on Atlanta’s side as John Collins and De’Andre Hunter will be out while Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, Cam Reddish, Kevin Huerter, Onyeka Okongwu and Gorgui Dieng are among the questionable. 

The matchup between point guards will be the one to watch, as Atlanta’s Trae Young will square off against Portland’s Damian Lillard. Young averaged 30.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 10.0 assists in 36.0 minutes over 11 December games, but the Hawks went 4-7 in those contests. Lillard averaged 29.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists over 38.0 minutes in nine December games, but the Blazers went 2-7 in those contests. Portland and Atlanta have ranked second-worst and third-worst, respectively, in Defensive Rating over their last 10 games, so consider betting over the total if you can get it at an exploitable number. 

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