Andrew Ortenberg
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It’s that special time of year when most of the major sports are in action. It’s a lot, and we’re grateful for it. There are plenty of crucial contests coming up, which always attract some big public sides. Let’s take a look at where the public money is going as bettors once again try to beat the ‘books, with the Bulls leading the way on Monday.
NBA: Bulls -2 @ Thunder
The Bulls have lost five of their last six games and are pretty shorthanded right now. They’re without key guys like Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, and Alex Caruso. Despite all that, Chicago is still the clear top public side for the NBA slate on Monday. A total of 83 percent of the bets and 88 percent of the public money are on the Bulls as a slight road favorite, per DraftKings’ internal numbers shared with us.
Apparently momentum doesn’t matter when you’re playing the Thunder. Oklahoma City is still very much in the early stages of a rebuild and they’re just 1-10 in their last 11, so this one isn’t too difficult to understand. But the Thunder are actually 14-7-1 ATS at home this year, so they’ve clearly been underestimated. Our expert is fading the public and backing OKC here.
NBA: Knicks @ Cavaliers over 203.5
Nothing the public loves more than a good over. Elsewhere on the NBA docket, bettors are swarming toward the over for this Eastern Conference matchup. 86 percent of bettors and 83 percent of the public money will be rooting for points in this showdown between the Knicks and Cavaliers.
This one is interesting, because both of these teams are defense-oriented. The Cavs are giving up the second-fewest points per game in the league, while the Knicks have been held below 100 plenty of times recently. That being said, bettors saw a modern NBA game with a total of only 203 and didn’t need to see much else. Check out our full game preview for Knicks vs Cavaliers to see which side we’re on.
NHL: Rangers -160 vs Kings
Turning our attention to some hockey now. We’ve got a solid NHL slate on Monday with seven games, and there are a couple of big public sides. One of them is brewing here in New York as the Rangers host the Kings. Eighty-five percent of the bets and 86 percent of the public money are fading the Kings on the money line.
The Rangers have won four of five and are coming off a game where they scored seven goals, and the public always likes to chase momentum. Our NHL experts are hot right now, so you’ll want to read our free picks on the side and total for all seven games today.
NFL: Bengals @ Chiefs over 53.5
See what I mean about the public and their overs? The dust had barely settled on the divisional round and bettors were already flocking to bet the over for the AFC Championship Game. DraftKings is giving us an early peek at the splits for Championship Weekend, and it looks like the public is expecting another shootout between Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes.
The last thing everyone saw was Mahomes and Josh Allen trading touchdowns left and right, so it’s understandable that they’d expect offense to reign supreme here. These teams just played a few weeks ago, and the game ended 34-31. Jared Smith is out with his analysis of the opening lines for the championship games, and there’s a play he likes for Bengals/Chiefs.
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