Mike's Picks (2 Live)
Dillon Brooks has scored at least 22 points in seven of his last eight games. All seven of those games were played at home, where he averages 25.1 points per game for the season. He will be at home again Tuesday for a Suns team that will be without Grayson Allen (knee). Jalen Green also remains on a minutes restriction. I have been playing the over on Brooks’ points prop at home a lot and I continue to like it for this matchup.
Amen Thompson averages 7.6 rebounds per game for the season. Over his last 13 games, he finished with at least seven rebounds 10 times. When the Clippers traded away Ivica Zubac, they lost their best rebounder. Filling in for him is Brook Lopez, who has totaled 13 rebounds over the last three games. The first two times that Thompson faced the Clippers this season, he recorded nine rebounds each. I like him to get at least seven boards during their third meeting.
The Kings have ruled out Zach LaVine (finger), De’Andre Hunter (eye) and Malik Monk (illness) for Monday. Domantas Sabonis (back) is also listed as questionable. With the team battling injuries, Nique Clifford scored at least 14 points in four of their last five games. In his last game, he scored 30 points over 40 minutes versus the Cavaliers. He should play around 30 minutes versus a Pelicans team that has the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league. That puts him in a favorable spot to hit this over.
After not playing much for the Knicks, Guerschon Yabusele has logged at least 26 minutes in both games since being traded to the Bulls. He scored 15 points over 33 minutes against the Raptors, then posted 12 points across 26 minutes versus the Nuggets on Saturday. Jalen Smith (calf) is questionable for Monday, and even if he plays, he should be on a minutes restriction again. Yabusele could approach 30 minutes against a Nets team that has the fifth-worst defensive rating in the league, so I like this over.
Scottie Barnes has averaged 19.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists over his last 14 games. This is a great matchup for him to remain productive with the Pacers ranking ninth in pace of play and 20th in defensive rating. In three previous meetings with them this season, Barnes averaged 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists. Immanuel Quickley (ankle) is questionable, so if he sits, Barnes could really go off. Even if Quickley plays, I like this over.
Devin Booker (ankle) and Jalen Green (hamstring) are listed as questionable for this game. Even if they do come back, we know that Grayson Allen (knee) won’t play. Dillon Brooks has scored at least 22 points in six of his last seven games and averages 25.0 points per game at home for the season. I like playing Brooks to go over his points prop at home and this line has been set low enough to make me like it again.
Desmond Bane has scored at least 20 points in six of his last eight games. This is a great matchup against the Jazz, who have the worst defensive rating in the league. Bane is an excellent three-point shooter and the Jazz allow the second-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. It also helps Bane that this game will be played in Orlando, where he averages 21.2 points. On the road, he averages 17.3 points. Over is the way to go here.
The Clippers shook up their roster Thursday by trading Ivica Zubac to the Pacers. They received another center in Isaiah Jackson in the trade, but he won’t play Friday. Brook Lopez is a shell of his former self and likely can’t log heavy minutes anymore. Yanic Konan Niederhauser logged 25 minutes with Zubac out Wednesday against the Cavaliers and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. He has played at least 20 minutes in four games this season and he finished with at least 16 combined points and rebounds in each of them. There is the potential for him to play at least 20 minutes Friday, making this over appealing.
After missing six games with an oblique injury, Kevin Porter Jr. played 29 minutes off the bench against the Pelicans on Wednesday. He didn’t skip a beat, finishing with 33 combined points, rebounds and assists. The Bucks decided not to sell at the trade deadline, and they still have a shot at the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference, so don’t expect them to tank. The Pacers have played at the ninth-fastest pace in the league and Porter combined for 35 points, rebounds and assists against them earlier in the season. I expect him to be busy in this rematch.
Cade Cunningham has had a lot of success against the Knicks. When he faced them earlier this season, he had 45 combined points, rebounds and assists despite playing just 29 minutes in a blowout win. In the playoffs last season, he averaged 25.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists against them. That was after averaging 30.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists across four regular season meetings. In this battle between two of the top teams in the East, I like Cunningham to hit this over.
Sandro Mamukelashvili has scored at least 13 points in seven of his last 10 games. RJ Barrett (knee) won’t play Thursday, which could open up added minutes and shot attempts for Mamukelashvili. The Bulls have the sixth-worst defensive rating in the league and blew up their roster at the trade deadline, so the Raptors could easily turn this one into a laugher. Mamukelashvili could approach 30 minutes off the bench, which would put him in a great spot to hit this over.
The Bulls traded Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter as they look to rebuild their roster. Josh Giddey (hamstring) and Tre Jones (hamstring) won’t play against the Raptors, and most of the new players that the Bulls acquired won’t be ready to play yet. After losing each of their last two games by at least 16 points, I think the shorthanded Bulls get blown out again.
The Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz on Tuesday. The main haul in the trade was draft picks, so they are going to have a void in the scoring department moving forward. The players they did acquire might not be available yet, which would leave the Grizzlies even more shorthanded. Although Ty Jerome has played limited minutes since returning from injury, he combined for at least 26 points and assists in both games. He could get a few extra minutes against a Kings team that has the third-worst defensive rating in the league, so this over is appealing.