MetroBet takes a look at a pair of NBA games on the docket for Monday night.
Philadelphia 76ers (-7) at Dallas Mavericks
Moneyline: Sixers -275, Mavericks +230
Betting Total: 220.5 points
Time (Eastern): 8:30 p.m.
Both the Philadelphia 76ers (49-27) and the Dallas Mavericks (29-46) are expected to be shorthanded when they face off at the American Airlines Center on Monday night. Sixers center Joel Embiid is being held out for “load management” purposes as the playoffs approach, while the Mavericks’ phenom point guard Luca Doncic is nursing a thigh injury. Philadelphia is the much deeper team though, and they’re also in a favorable situation, so they should still prevail here.
The Sixers will play on one day of rest against a Dallas squad that just faced the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Philly is 31-12 straight-up and 23-20 against the spread in games played on one day of rest this season, outscoring the opposition by an average of 6.2 points per game. By contrast, the Mavs are 1-11 straight-up and 5-7 against the spread on the tail-end of consecutive games this year. Their opponents have outscored them by over 10 points per tilt under that circumstance.
Point guard Ben Simmons was one assist shy of a triple-double against the Timberwolves on Saturday; look for him to have another fine outing against a porous Dallas defense that’s allowed at least 116 points in four of their last six contests.
The play: Sixers spread
Portland Trail Blazers (-3.5) at Minnesota Timberwolves
Moneyline: Trail Blazers -165, Timberwolves +145
Betting Total: 224.5 points
Time (Eastern): 8 p.m.
The Portland Trail Blazers (48-28) had a six-game win streak snapped with a perplexing loss to the Pistons on Saturday night. Bettors should treat the performance as a fluke as Damian Lillard and company head to the Target Center to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (34-42) on Monday night.
The Trail Blazers, still involved in a dogfight with the Rockets for third place in the West, were held to 37.3 percent shooting against Detroit last time out, easily their worst night from the floor in their last 10 contests. The casual bettor might chalk it up as another typically poor performance by Portland on the road, but the Blazers have been bucking that historical trend of late, covering in 10 of their last 13 away games. Portland is also 19-7 against the spread in their last 26 games playing on exactly one day of rest, and face a much more lenient Minnesota defense in this one.
The Blazers have held the opposition to fewer than 100 points in three straight contests, so expect them to contain Andrew Wiggins and company and grab another road cover here.
The play: Trail Blazers spread
