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Best bets to consider for Monday's NBA playoff slate

Melissa Majchrzak / National Basketball Association / Getty

With a pair of games on tap for Monday's NBA playoff slate, we dive into both matchups to deliver the ins and outs from a betting perspective.

Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons

Line: Bucks -12.5
Total: 217.5

Apparently, the Pistons need more than the return of Blake Griffin to compete in their first-round series against the Bucks. The forward made his first appearance of the postseason in Game 3 on Saturday and Detroit still lost by 16. This one is over.

But that's why we have point spreads!

The betting lines just keep climbing for the Bucks, who have won by an average of 24 points per game this series, a steep improvement from their 14.7 average margin of victory against the Pistons during the regular season. Detroit has at least tried to adjust, whether it's playing more zone defense or inserting Luke Kennard into the starting rotation.

However, the Pistons don't have any answers against Milwaukee. The Bucks are on a business trip, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them post 120-plus points in another blowout win to complete the sweep.

Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz

Line: Rockets -3
Total: 214.5

This series has a Boston Celtics-Indiana Pacers feel to it. Just like in that Eastern Conference matchup, the home team in Game 3 - down 2-0 - was a short favorite, lost outright, and is now an underdog in a potential close-out Game 4. Oftentimes it feels like an overcorrection to see a five- or six-point shift from one game to the next, but we saw Boston win - and cover - to sweep Indiana in a similar scenario Sunday. Does the same thing happen Monday night between the Rockets and Jazz?

Utah's offense has been a no-show the entire series, shooting below 42 percent from the floor in each of its three losses. The Jazz are going to desperately want Game 3 back, in particular, as they lost by three despite going 12-for-41 from beyond the arc, 4-for-18 from the corners, and 25-for-38 from the free-throw line.

What makes that contest even more deflating for the Jazz was their inability to beat the Rockets despite limiting James Harden to 3-for-20 from the floor two days after he recorded a triple-double. While that bodes poorly for Utah, the fact that Game 3 fell just shy of the over despite poor shooting nights from both teams could make for a good over bet Monday.

Regarding the point spread, it's tough to hop off the Houston bandwagon right now. The Rockets are on a 12-3-1 run against the number their previous 16 games and could very well serve up the kill shot Monday if they can get even the slightest bounce back from Harden.

Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.

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