NBA Monday best bets: Suns to continue sizzling run vs. Jazz
We split our four NBA picks against the spread this weekend - hitting on two underdogs that won outright - and have found success with roughly 60% of our picks across the last two weeks. Here are our favorite plays for a light Monday menu.
Bulls (-1.5, 216.5) @ Thunder, 8 p.m. ET
Even with one of their stars on the verge of returning, the Bulls simply can't catch a break. Sunday's loss to the Magic marked the team's sixth defeat in its last seven games, extending its lousy ATS run to 5-8. Much of that run has been plagued by injuries to key contributors.
Zach LaVine (knee) and Javonte Green (groin) were upgraded to questionable ahead of this one, but Nikola Vucevic (knee) was added to the injury report on Monday afternoon and Alex Caruso (wrist) is out for 6-8 weeks after breaking his wrist. Those are significant blows for a team already missing Lonzo Ball (knee), Derrick Jones (knee), and Patrick Williams (wrist) from its full rotation.
The Thunder may look like a walkover foe, but they own the second-best ATS record in the NBA (29-16-1) and are riding a stellar 15-4-1 ATS run into this one. They're also 15-7 ATS at home this season and nearly beat the Nuggets (-7) and Cavaliers (-5.5) in their last two home contests. They can finish the job here.
Pick: Thunder +1.5
Jazz @ Suns (-9, 221), 9 p.m.
For a while, the Warriors looked like they were clearly the league's best team. That title now belongs to the Suns, who have ripped off an NBA-best 36-9 record with the top net rating (plus-7.9) through the first half of the season.
Phoenix has been particularly sharp since the calendar flipped, winning nine of 10 games (7-3 ATS) by an average of 12.2 points, including seven double-digit victories. It hasn't come without a cost - the Suns have six players on their injury report - but the reeling Jazz aren't much healthier with Donovan Mitchell (concussion) among four key rotation players on the mend.
Mitchell's absence has compounded a rough stretch for Utah, which is 5-15 ATS in its last 20 games with four double-digit losses in a nine-game stretch. I'd expect this deep Suns team to withstand its recent injuries and win comfortably.
Pick: Suns -9
C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at cjackson.cowart@thescore.com.