As we’re coming off an amazing sports weekend of playoff football, conference college basketball and of course, some great games from the association, we are starting off the week with some NBA picks for Monday night’s slate. I’m going to go through my favorite picks for the spread, the over/under, a player prop and three-team parlay. There’s some money to be won on the hardcourt tonight, so let’s go get it!

Spread Pick

With the first pick of the night, we will be looking at the game taking place in the Capitol. The second best team out of the west, The Phoenix Suns, take on the very disappointing Washington Wizards. The Wizards come into this game tied for the league’s worst record at 2-8. The only positive for the Wizards so far is that Bradley Beal is on an absolute tear. Other than that, they have been abysmal. They’re the worst defensive team in basketball at the moment and they’re not going to get better. Center Thomas Bryant suffered a torn ACL and is out for the year as well as Russell Westbrook missing a second consecutive game. With all of this being said, I love the Suns in this spot. Not only do the Suns have a 7-3 record, but they are also 7-3 against the spread, which is second best across the league. I see the Suns having a field day in Washington, take the Suns.

The Pick: Suns -6.5 (-110)

Over/Under

Which may be my favorite pick of the night, the most surprising team so far in this young season, the New York Knicks, take on the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte. Both teams come into this game at a record of 5-5, but that isn’t the only thing that they have in common. They’re also the two best teams in the league on the under. The Knicks are 8-2 on the under and the Hornets are 7-3. In their last three games, both teams rank in the bottom five of total possessions per game. They also rank first and third in points given up in their last three. With these stats this game will be a slow paced, defensive battle. Take the under in this matchup.

The Pick: Knicks/Hornets Under 212 (-110)

Player Prop

In this pick, we are going to Portland to find a player prop that I believe to be very surprising. We look at the Trailblazers’ shooting guard, CJ McCollum. Coming into this game, CJ is averaging 27.9 points per game, which would be his highest point per game total in his career by over five points. I know it’s very early but McCollum is hot and I’m going with the hot hand. It also helps that the Raptors are giving up the sixth most points per game in their last three. The prop is set at 24.5 tonight, and if his prop was set at this number the entire season, he would be 6-3. Take the over on CJ’s points prop.

The Pick: CJ McCollum Over 24.5 Points (-107)

Moneyline Parlay

In my moneyline parlay, we have three teams I just don’t see losing tonight. The first team is the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks travel to Orlando to take on the Magic who have had some injury issues the past week. Markelle Fultz suffered a torn ACL to end his season and Evan Fournier is out tonight with back spasms. I love the Bucks ML against the crippled Magic.

The second game of the parlay is the Atlanta Hawks over the Philadelphia 76ers. I like this young Hawks team in general but Philly has been stricken by the Covid-19 bug. The Sixers have seven players in Covid-19 protocol and I just don’t see them winning these games with the lack of depth. Ben Simmons has also been ruled out with knee swelling. Trae Young is coming off of back to back poor performances and I predict he will have a big bounce back game against the weakened Sixers.

In my last game of the money line parlay, I’m going with the Indiana Pacers over the Sacramento Kings. The Pacers continue to shock people every year with being a consistently good team without a real superstar. The duo of Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis has been lethal this season with them averaging a combined 45 points per game. I also like this game because the Kings have been atrocious their last two games. They have let up on average 134.5 points and have lost by an average of 23.5 points in their last two. Take the Pacers to stay hot and the Kings to stay cold.

Bucks, Hawks, Pacers ML +140

These odds are via Draft Kings and subject to change.

For more NBA coverage visit Belly Up Fantasy Sports.