Filip Tomic
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After a thrilling end to the third week of the season, the NBA season rolls on with 4 more games this Monday. We have 3 matchups on the East coast and an interesting clash out West to close things out. NBA TV will have a double-header starting at 7:30 pm ET between the Knicks and Boston, followed by the Cavs and Kings at 10:00 pm ET.
I have prepared another tasty Mega Parlay for Monday’s slate, but feel free to also head over to our NBA predictions page for picks on the spread and total for Monday’s action.
Let’s jump into it right now!
New York Knicks +9 (-110)
Chicago Bulls ML (+275)
Cleveland Cavaliers -3 (-110)
Parlay odds: +1266
New York Knicks +9 over Boston Celtics (-110)
To start off the parlay I have the Knicks covering as 9-point ‘dogs on the road at TD Garden. As soon as I saw this line it seemed a bit too big for my taste, after all the Knicks have won 6 of the last 10 meetings head-to-head, so I wouldn’t discount them so easily here. They’ve also managed to cover the spread in 5 of their last 7 on the road in Boston, plus in 4 road games so far this season they are 3-1 ATS.
The Knicks did play yesterday, but it was an early tipoff against one of the weaker teams in the league, so I don’t think that will have too much of a negative effect. The good thing about the Knicks is you can always count on their defense. They own the second-best defensive rating in the league and have been one of the more consistent teams on that end ever since hiring Tom Thibodeau. The 2 teams played each other in their 1st game of the season at MSG, with the Celtics edging out the Knicks by 4 points. Boston still might win, but I am expecting another close finish — which is why I like New York to cover.
Chicago Bulls ML over Milwaukee Bucks (+275)
Two teams still trying to figure things out will meet in Milwaukee as the Bulls visit the Bucks. Chicago is coming off an 11-point home win over Detroit, which should ease the pressure a bit here as they look for their second win on the road this season. Why do I like them to upset the Bucks? Well, they did win 2 of the 4 meetings last season, including one game at Fiserv Forum, so it’s not like they are without a chance on Mondaye
Milwaukee has started off the season covering the spread only once in 9 games so far, showing vulnerability in the last 2 games losing to the likes of Indiana and Orlando. This team just hasn’t clicked the right way defensively ever since it moved Jrue Holiday. After 9 games the Bucks are only 25th in defensive rating. For comparison they ended last season in 4th place, so I just cannot trust them until they figure things out on that end. Injuries could also play a part in this one. Jae Crowder is already out with a groin injury, while it’s still unclear if Damian Lillard will play as he recovers from a calf problem. Let’s go with the Bulls to pull off the upset.
Cleveland Cavaliers -3 over Sacramento Kings (-110)
Finally, we have the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road in Sacramento to take on the Kings — who are still without their best player De’Aaron Fox. The Cavs actually opened as 1-point underdogs, but since then that line has moved the other way and now they’re 3-point favorites, indicating that there has been a lot of action on them. That should come as no surprise, as they are the healthier team here and are coming off a huge win over the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
Without Fox, the Kings have now dropped to 2-3 SU on the season. I just can’t see how they’ll be able to slow down both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Cleveland ranks sixth in fast-break points, and not having Fox will result in a much slower pace by Sacramento — which is problematic. Following this game, the Cavs will head to Portland to face a much weaker team in the Blazers, so we can count on them giving their maximum effort against the shorthanded Kings. I like the Cavs’ chances in this one.
