Month: March 2025

The Monday NBA schedule features a dozen games, with five 7:30 p.m. ET tips getting the slate underway. NBA bettors have a couple larger spreads on the slate to consider as the Celtics are 17.5-point favorites against the Jazz, while the Warriors are laying 12 points against the Warriors. The NBA injury report will play a big factor in NBA picks as well with LeBron James (groin) ruled out against Brooklyn and Luka Doncic (back) listed as questionable.

The latest NBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook list Los Angeles a 6.5-point favorite in that one with the over/under at 215.5. SportsLine’s proven model has simulated every Monday NBA game 10,000 times and revealed an exact score prediction for each matchup.

SportsLine’s model has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons and it is 19-10 (65%) on top-rated NBA spread picks this season.

Nets (+6.5) to cover vs. Lakers (-105 at BetMGM)
Score prediction: Lakers 108, Nets 107

The Lakers are 12-3 since the Luka Doncic trade and have moved all the way up to second in the Western Conference standings. However, this is their last game before a stretch where they have three back-to-backs separated by only one off-day and LeBron James has been ruled out groin injury. The model values James as worth approximately four points. Meanwhile, the Nets have lost seven in a row but have covered the spread in six of 10 against the Lakers. Doncic is questionable (back). BetMGM Sportsbook has the best price on this spread at -105:

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Rockets (-4.5) to cover vs. Magic (-110 at Bet365)
Score prediction: Rockets 110, Magic 98

The Rockets have gradually improved in every season since they started their rebuild in 2020-21 and now they’re sitting fifth in the West with a 39-25 record. The Magic haven’t followed quite the same trajectory, winning 47 games last season but getting off to a 30-35 start in 2024-25. Amen Thompson (ankle) is out for the Rockets, but the model isn’t downgrading Houston much for that considering Thompson is only hitting 25.6% from 3-point range and Fred VanVleet is expected to return. While most books have the Rockets at -5, Bet365 Sportsbook has it at -4.5 and priced at -110.

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Grizzlies (-4.5) to cover vs. Suns (-105 at BetMGM)
Score prediction: Grizzlies 122, Suns 116

The Suns were a big surprise for standing pat at the NBA trade deadline and now they’re stuck chasing an NBA play-in tournament spot at 30-34 and 1.5 games out of the Mavericks in 10th place. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have rebounded from a 27-win season to get off to a 40-24 start and sit fourth in the West. Memphis will desperately want to hold on to home-court advantage in the first round while Phoenix is running out of time to make its move.

Thunder (-9) to cover vs. Nuggets (-8.5) (-115 at BetMGM)
Score prediction: Thunder 122, Nuggets 105

Easily the top matchup of the night on the NBA schedule, the Thunder are only a game behind the Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA and the Nuggets are another clear contender in the West. Oklahoma City scored a decisive 127-103 victory on Sunday night and now the two franchises will run it back on Monday in Oklahoma once again.

Kings (+2.5) to cover vs. Knicks (-108 at DraftKings)
Score prediction: Kings 113, Knicks 112

Sacramento looked like it might be a franchise in transition when it dealt De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs at the NBA trade deadline, but the Kings have won five of seven and are pretty comfortably in the NBA play-in tournament picture. Meanwhile, the Knicks are still third in the East but need to regain momentum after losing three in a row. The model put a lot of weight on the Knicks scoring just 95 points against the Clippers without Jalen Brunson, who remains out for this one. DraftKings Sportsbook has a slightly lower juice (-108) on this line, compared to -110 at other books.

Monday’s NBA schedule features 12 games, beginning with a rematch of Sunday’s game between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder, led by MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defeated Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets 127-103. Today’s game is scheduled to tipoff at 8 p.m. ET. The Thunder are 9.5-point favorites in the Monday NBA betting odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 238 and Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to score first at +490. Another matchup between potential playoff teams unfolds when the New York Knicks take on the Sacramento Kings at 10:30 p.m. ET. According to the latest NBA odds, the Knicks are 2.5-point road favorites. Karl-Anthony Towns is the favorite to score the first bucket at +210.

SportsLine expert handicapper Jimmie Kaylor has broken down the NBA odds for every game on Monday and locked in three first basket scorer prop bets. Kaylor is a handicapper and DFS pro for SportsLine who won a DraftKings Millionaire contest in 2022 and also has multiple five-figure tournament wins on his DFS resume. Now, here are Kaylor’s top three first basket scorer bets for Monday.

Alperen Sengun (+500 at FanDuel) in Houston Rockets vs. Orlando Magic

Sengun (19.3 points per game) has scored the first basket in 16 games already this season, and the Rockets as a team have scored first in 36 of their 64 games this season. Sengun’s rare blend of size, physicality, and athleticism present a significant mismatch for the Magic in the frontcourt. The 22-year-old is a rising star in the NBA, and is one of the top options in Houston’s explosive offensive attack. FanDuel Sportsbook has the best odds for Sengun as first scorer at +500.

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Jamal Murray (+650 at FanDuel) in Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Murray is coming off a lackluster performance against the Thunder on Sunday, but the former Kentucky standout remains one of the most explosive scorers in the NBA when he is dialed in. Murray has taken the first shot for Denver in 19.3% of the team’s games, an has scored the first basket in nine games. The 28-year-old guard is in prime position for a bounce back game on Monday night, and Kaylor expects him to look to score early.

Austin Reeves (+700 at FanDuel) in Los Angeles Lakers vs. Brooklyn Nets
The Lakers have won the opening tip in 61.3% of their games this season, and without LeBron James on the floor, Reeves should see an uptick in shot attempts on Monday night. The 26-year-old guard is averaging 18.8 points per game, and has scored the first basket in nine games this season. Point guard Luka Doncic is also questionable for Los Angeles, and if he is also unable to go, it will boost Reeves’ chances here even more. Reeves has attempted the first shot in 18.5% of the Lakers’ games this season.

Want more NBA picks for Monday?
SportsLine’s model is on a 147-107 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season. Visit SportsLine to get all of its NBA picks for Monday right here.

The Mavericks’ trade deadline pact that shipped out Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis is the deal that keeps on giving — or perhaps taking in the eyes of one longtime Western Conference rival.

Phoenix’s star guard Devin Booker weighed in on the franchise-altering trade after the Suns’ 125-116 victory in Dallas Sunday, stating that he could sense the shift in the Mavericks’ demeanor even before the game started.

“You can feel it when we land,” Booker said. “The vibes are low right now, but hopefully they can look back and once everybody gets healthy, on top of next season, still root on their team and root on their city.”

Doncic had been a fixture with the Mavericks since the draft night trade that brought him to the team in 2018. After first-round playoff exits in 2020 and 2021, the Mavs reached the NBA Finals last June and the Western Conference finals in two of the last three seasons. In 2022, Dallas and Phoenix were locked in epic seven-game series that saw the Mavericks dispatch the Suns thanks to Doncic scoring 68 points over back-to-back elimination games.

In addition to Doncic being gone, injuries have decimated the sinking Mavs, who’ve only had Davis (adductor strain) for one game since the trade. And then last week, star point guard Kyrie Irving tore his ACL and is out for the remainder of the season.