Nets @ Cavs & Pacers @ Pelicans Picks and Props Monday

There are seven NBA games on Monday night after a wild Christmas Day in the Association. We’ll break down two of them and give you our picks and some prop bets to consider. 

The Nets visit Cleveland tonight in what should be one of the best games of the evening. There’s plenty of star power here to go around, as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland rarely disappoint. 

The Nets are 21-12 and a solid 9-7 on the road, and are finally clicking on all cylinders after winning their last eight games and are 12-1 over their last 13. They’re still trying to overcome that dreadful 1-5 start to the season but since then they are a blistering 20-7. Seth Curry will be a game-time call due to an illness and Joe Harris is out with a knee injury. If both Curry and Harris both Royce O’Neale and Ben Simmons are going to have to step up, while Cam Thomas and Edmond Sumner will also likely get dragged into the mix. While Durant and Irving get most of the hype and love in Brooklyn, Ben Simmons is averaging 8.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.7 steals on 63 percent shooting in December and he’s only played in six games this month. The bottom line is that Brooklyn becomes an elite team when Simmons is out there, healthy, and playing a role that’s suited for him (doing the dirty work for the stars). And he's slated to play tonight.

The Cavs had their five-game winning streak stopped with a loss to the Raptors on Friday but still have one more win (22) than the Nets. Dean Wade is out again with his shoulder injury but the Cavs should otherwise be near full strength. Their starting lineup of Darius Garland, Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen is a formidable challenge for any opponent and the Cavs are sitting in third-place in the East, just a 1/2 game behind the second-place Bucks and 2.0 games behind the first-place Celtics. 

Don’t forget that this one will feature Allen and LeVert going against their former team, while Irving played seven seasons in Cleveland and isn’t exactly welcomed back with open arms. There will be a bit of a revenge factor built into all of their play tonight and whether that helps them or hurts them remains to be seen. But I like going with guys playing against their former team, especially in fantasy and DFS.   

The Oddscrowd Algorithm gives a 2.1 percent Plus Expected Value edge to the Cavs -2 tonight at -110. New users can sign into Oddscrowd for free and make a ‘No Sweat Bet’ up to $1000 at Fanduel today! Both teams are hot and both are at full strength, making this one a tough call. But I think Irving will feed off the negative energy from the crowd and he’ll run the floor with Durant to get a win on the road. I also like that the Nets are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games.

Pick: Nets +2.5

Kyrie Irving has scored at least 32 points in four of his last six games, Kevin Durant has scored 24 and 23 points in his last two, meaning he’s due, and Donovan Mitchell had one of his worst games of the season on Friday (12 points, 4-of-16 shooting) and will be highly motivated tonight.

Prop 1: Kevin Durant over 27.5 points (-143)

Prop 2: Donovan Mitchell over 26.5 points (-149)

Prop 3: Kyrie Irving over 23.5 points (-165)

The Pelicans are at home and only have to give 2.5 points to the 17-16 Pacers tonight, but Zion Williamson is doubtful after being on the shelf due to a health protocols absence, Herbert Jones will be sitting this one out due to health protocols, and Brandon Ingram also remains out with his toe injury. Trey Murphy (illness) and Larry Nance (Achilles) will be game-time calls, meaning the Pelicans will be at anything but full strength tonight. A potential starting lineup of C.J. McCollum, Dyson Daniels (GTD), Murphy (GTD), Naji Marshall and Jonas Valanciunas leaves a lot to be desired. But if anything appears to be certain, it’s that McCollum should go nuts tonight. The Pelicans have won two straight but those Ws came against the tanking Spurs and Thunder, and they lost four straight before winning those two. 

The Pacers are also banged up but not nearly as badly as New Orleans, with Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith being listed as game-time decisions due to ankle injuries. They’ve won three of their last five but those three wins were all impressive, coming against the Heat, Celtics and Warriors, with the losses coming at the hands of the Knicks and Cavaliers. The Pacers will likely start Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nembhard, Buddy Hield, Nesmith (if he can go) and Myles Turner, and they’ve battled to not only hang in during tough games, but win several of them as well. The absence of Jones should mean Haliburton and Hield will be free to roam and get what they want. Both teams have won their last two against the spread and this should be a battle tonight. The Pels are 13-4 at home and the Pacers are 8-9 on the road, but the Pelicans are really banged up right now and the Pacers are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games.

Top Oddscrowd performer MarySD (62% strike rate) likes the Pelicans moneyline tonight at -250 but I’m taking the points and the Pacers in this one. 

Pick: Pacers +2.5

Prop 1: Tyrese Haliburton over 9.5 assists

Prop 2: Jonas Valanciunas over 10.5 rebounds

Prop 3: Naji Marshall over 5.5 rebounds