NBA Monday betting preview: Fade lousy offenses as Cavs visit Rockets
We split our weekend NBA picks against the spread, and we love the value in Monday's seven-game menu. Here are a few of our favorite plays.
Jazz (-7, 236) @ Pelicans
The Jazz's recent success against the spread has drawn plenty of attention, but don't sleep on the Pelicans' over run, which stands at 19-1-2 in New Orleans' last 22 games.
The Pelicans rank second in offensive rating over that span - the Jazz are first - but their defense sits dead last, allowing 119.7 points per 100 possessions and 119.8 points per game. New Orleans has been especially poor in perimeter defense, allowing 40.1 3-point attempts and 21.4 wide-open 3-point attempts per contest.
Utah leads the league with 42.8 3-point attempts per game and is shooting 42.7% on wide-open threes - the second-best mark in the NBA. That mismatch alone should mean plenty of points for the Jazz.
Pick: Jazz over 121.5 points
Nets (-5, 235) @ Spurs
The Nets' eight-game ATS win streak came to an end in Sunday's loss to the Mavericks, who were favored by some books against a Kyrie Irving-less roster. Still, Brooklyn has covered seven straight with Irving and James Harden active, including five straight as a favorite.
The Spurs are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games, though only two of those came against a team that currently owns a winning record (Warriors). San Antonio's offense is among the worst in the NBA and will struggle to keep pace with a mostly healthy Nets squad.
Pick: Nets -5
Cavaliers @ Rockets (-1.5, 216.5)
As currently constructed, both of these rosters are terrible. The Rockets have lost 11 straight (1-10 ATS) without star center Christian Wood and ranked No. 29 in net rating in February; the Cavaliers ranked 30th and have lost 12 of their last 16 games ATS.
The issues are largely on offense. Houston has averaged a paltry 101.5 points in those 11 games without Wood, the team's leading scorer and only player with a PER over 17. Cleveland's offense has been the worst in the league all season and has scored 103 points or fewer in 18 of its 34 games.
Don't let a low total scare you away from playing the under on two terrible offenses. Games with totals below 220 have gone 93-48-6 (66%) this season, while those with totals below 217 are 50-21-2 (70.4%).
Pick: Under 216.5
(Odds source: theScore Bet)
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.