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NBA Monday betting preview: Wizards to continue streak vs. Pacers

Melissa Majchrzak / National Basketball Association / Getty

We went 2-0 against the spread on our NBA picks Friday but followed with an 0-2 record on our two weekend plays. Let's get back on the right track with a full slate of Monday games.

Pacers @ Wizards (-4, 246)

How much longer must the Wizards keep rolling before oddsmakers take notice? Washington is riding a 10-0-2 ATS streak dating back to April 12 with the NBA's second-best net rating (+9.1) over that span, and it's outscored teams by 17.2 points per game in six tries as a favorite.

Only three of those 12 games were against teams currently with a winning record, though it should be more of the same against the Pacers (30-33), who were blown out by the Trail Blazers and Nets before Saturday's obliteration of the Thunder.

The Wizards are much better than Oklahoma City. They should prove superior to a shorthanded Indiana squad, too.

Pick: Wizards -4

76ers (-6, 211.5) @ Bulls

The 76ers are finally healthy, and the results are showing. They've covered three of their last four games and are 23-4 straight up with their full starting lineup active, outscoring teams by 10.1 points per game in those 27 contests.

Meanwhile, the Bulls are not. Star guard Zach LaVine is expected to miss Monday's game due to the league's health and safety protocols, while Nikola Vucevic is also questionable with a hip injury. Chicago has dropped three straight by at least 10 points without LaVine; if Vucevic misses this one, too, it shouldn't be close.

Pick: 76ers -6

Nuggets (-4, 214.5) @ Lakers

Just when things looked like they might be turning around for the Lakers, the injury bug struck again. First, LeBron James left Sunday's loss to the Raptors - the team's sixth ATS loss in seven games - with another ankle injury, and it's hard to imagine him being at full strength even if he does play Monday.

Dennis Schroder is also expected to miss up to two weeks in the league's health and safety protocols, leaving an already thin roster without its top two playmakers ahead of Monday's clash with the Nuggets. Denver doesn't have a clean bill of health, either, but this is too much of a mismatch on paper to ignore.

Pick: Nuggets -4

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.

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