Larry's Picks (2 Live)
Jalen Brunson has scored 30-plus points in four straight games, including a 40-point outburst in the NBA Cup semifinals. He has played 39 minutes in each of the last two rounds, and that should be his floor Tuesday in the final. Miles McBride and Landry Shamet remain sidelined; I don't expect Mike Brown to trust Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek with big minutes. Look for Brunson, shooting 50.4 percent over his last 12 games, to put up at least 30 in this spotlight game.
The Steelers have allowed the fifth-most yards to slot receivers, putting Malik Washington in a nice spot Monday night. He has multiple catches in all but one game and is the only Miami wideout besides Jaylen Waddle receiving significant targets. Look for Washington to clear this relatively low number for the sixth time in the past eight games.
Kenneth Gainwell has 25-plus receiving yards in four straight games. With Miami’s tough run defense, look for Aaron Rodgers to keep using his running backs in the passing game. I would play this up to 25.5.
The Dolphins have found a successful formula, using all three of their talented running backs. Tua Tagovailoa has attempted 23 or fewer passes in four straight games, and he has stayed Under this prop total in six of his last seven. Miami plays at the third-slowest pace, while the Steelers play at the 10th-slowest. It will be bitter cold, though not extremely windy. I like Miami to be very competitive and don't believe Tagovailoa will be forced into a pass-heavy script.
The Heat play at the NBA's fastest pace and at home, they are surrendering a whopping 59.2 rebounds per game. I like the Raptors, who are six-point dogs, to be competitive in this matchup. When Toronto plays a close game, Barnes often skies over this rebound total. Barnes has grabbed double-digit rebounds in five of his past nine games.
The Cowboys generate the eighth-most tackles for opposing linebackers, which puts Minnesota's Eric Wilson in a good spot. He's cleared this prop total in 10 of his past 11 games. And with Javonte Williams projected for around 17 carries, I bet Wilson to get to six combined stops.
Opponents have been running the ball way more than expected against Minnesota, which sets up well for Javonte Williams. He had extra rest and just racked up 67 rushing yards against a tougher run defense in Detroit. Even in Minnesota's blanking of Washington last week, Chris Rodriguez averaged 5.2 yards per carry. Look for a big workload to help Javonte Williams hit 70-plus rushing yards.
The 49ers need Christian McCaffrey to be healthy for the playoffs. They've given Brian Robinson Jr. seven or more carries in four straight games. In his last five games, Robinson has rushed for 24-plus yards each time, three times getting 40-plus. San Fran is a 12.5-point home favorite, so I like Robinson's chances of another substantial workload.
Tet McMillan has caught just three passes over the last two games. But when he faced the Saints in Carolina in Week 10, McMillan caught five of eight targets. That was a game in which Bryce Young threw just 25 times and Carolina ran a paltry 50 plays. New Orleans plays single-high safety at the fourth-highest rate; against that coverage, McMillan owns a 29.5 percent target share since Week 8, per Fantasy Points Data.
Bryce Young has thrown 30-plus passes just once in the past seven games, as the Panthers seek balance while giving Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard plenty of carries. Carolina plays at the fifth-slowest pace in neutral-game situations. New Orleans plays at the ninth-slowest pace in neutral-game situations, and opponents are averaging just 25.3 pass attempts over the Saints' past three games. While I bet Tet McMillan to catch five-plus passes, I don't expect this to be a huge volume game for Young.
The Lions gave up 417 yards of offense to a Cowboys team that didn't have CeeDee Lamb for much of the game or an engaged George Pickens. Detroit's secondary likely will be missing Kerby Joseph as well as Brian Branch and Terrion Arnold. That doesn't bode well against the league's highest-rated passer, former Lion Matthew Stafford. Even with Davante Adams' status in question, I like the Rams to win a high-scoring game by at least a touchdown.
The Chargers somehow beat the Eagles despite giving up a 68.3 percent pressure rate. (Not a misprint). Right tackle Trey Pipkins also left with an ankle injury, replaced by Bobby Hart. Traveling on a short week to play in 17-degree weather doesn't seem like a good spot for Justin Herbert and the warm-weather Chargers. Chiefs right guard Trey Smith is practicing fully and is on track to return, and All-Pro corner Trent McDuffie also has a good chance to play despite hyperextending his knee. If the Chiefs can cut down on the dropped passes -- they had six! in losing to Houston -- they should save their season and cover.
I'm expecting the Jaguars to control time of possession, putting Jets strong safety Malachi Moore in position to make lots of tackles. He's recorded seven and 10 stops the past two weeks. Jacksonville's offense generates the fourth-most tackles for opposing safeties (14.9 per game).