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The best way to beat the Monday blues? Indulging in the NBA's first playoff slate of the year, obviously.
With the regular season wrapped up and the postseason officially getting underway today, here's everything you need to know about all four games from a betting perspective.
Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets (-4.5, 217)
The Nuggets' defense was uncharacteristically porous during the return to play. Out of 22 teams, Denver was No. 20 in opponent effective field-goal percentage and last in defensive rating.
Head coach Mike Malone didn't mince words regarding his team's play.
"I'm embarrassed by it, I really am," he recently told Mike Singer of The Denver Post. "The fact that every night we're giving up 16, 17, 18 threes … I mean a year ago we were the No. 1 3-point defense in the NBA. And right now, it's almost comical how bad our 3-point defense is. So we'll look at ourselves a little bit, try to figure out why it's continuing to happen."
There should be infinitely more intensity on the defensive end now that the playoffs are underway. The Jazz are 6-1 to the under in their last seven first-round games, while Denver is 8-3 to that side of the total against teams with winning records.
Pick: Under 215.5
Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors (-9.5, 222.5)
The Raptors' Game 1 struggles are well-documented, but there's relatively little cause for concern here against an inferior opponent, no matter how much momentum that opponent might have.
As our own Joe Wolfond noted, the Nets' five-man lineup of Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Garrett Temple, Rodions Kurucs, and Jarrett Allen registered a plus-18.2 net rating per 100 possessions in the bubble; that rotation also connected on a blistering 54.2% of its shots from 3-point range.
That's great and dandy ... and also unsustainable.
Brooklyn turned some heads in the bubble, but it won't enjoy the same type of offensive success against the league's No. 2 defense.
Raptors, big.
Pick: Raptors -9.5
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics (-5.5, 218.5)
The Celtics have been pretty appealing for a while now, and there will be no stopping them in Round 1. They'll face a 76ers team they've beaten against the spread in 12 of the last 17 meetings.
Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid could have a huge series down low against a mediocre Boston interior, but there are too many matchup advantages in this series for a Celtics team that's quietly tied for second in the league in overall net rating.
The talent disparity should be evident early on.
Pick: Celtics -5.5
Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Clippers (-6, 230)
This first-round draw is the reason I mentioned the Mavericks as a team to sell for the title. Dallas' No. 1-rated offense had zero answers for the Clippers during the regular season, averaging just 105.7 points per contest.
It's unlikely the Mavericks can compete with Los Angeles over a seven-game series, but their offensive unit is a whole lot different than it was seven or eight months ago.
Dallas has gone over the total in five of its last six as a 'dog, while the Clippers have cashed eight of their last 10 against teams with winning records.
Pick: Over 230
(Odds source: theScore Bet).
Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AJKolodziej.
