Andrew Ortenberg
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The NBA is approaching the home stretch, and we have another full slate on Monday. We have a big card with 8 games on the docket, including an intriguing matchup between Golden State and Denver on NBATV. What better way to celebrate the start of the new week than with some first basket bets? Let’s dive into them, using odds from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Lakers vs Spurs: Russell Westbrook +950
Call me crazy, but I’m going with Russell Westbrook at nearly 10/1. Westbrook’s struggles have been well documented, which has caused this price to become inflated. For better or worse, he’s still taking a lot of shots. Russ is coming off a pretty solid game against the Warriors in which he scored 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, and the Lakers desperately need him to keep that momentum going. As such, they should seek to get him some early looks here to get him rolling.
Since the Spurs don’t have a dominant big man I’d expect the Lakers to roll with their small-ball lineup, which would mean LeBron James going for the opening tip at center. LeBron has won 13 of his 17 jump balls this season — a rate of 76.5 percent. Westbrook has taken at least 15 field-goal attempts in 6 straight games, and he should keep chucking in this one.
Knicks vs Kings: Julius Randle +470
I went with a bit of a longshot first, and now I’m going with a chalkier play for our next first-basket selection. For starters, I think the Knicks are very likely going to have the first possession here. Kings big man Damontas Sabonis is winning only 22.6 percent of his jump balls this season, which is one of the worst marks in the league. Like Westbrook, Randle is also having a bit of a down season and he also isn’t afraid to keep forking up shots. Last night against the Clippers he took 3 of New York’s first 4 attempts.
In their game before that against the Suns, Randle made the night’s first basket — and he took the Knicks’ first 2 shots. New York’s previous 2 games were both against the 76ers, and Randle took the team’s second shot in both of those (he made each of them). The Kings’ defense is vulnerable, and Randle has attempted at least 20 shots from the floor in eight of his past 12 games.
If you want to go really big, a Westbrook-Randle parlay pays out at +5885!
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