Less than 10 games remain in the regular season for each respective NBA team, with plenty still on the line to close the season. Tonight’s slate features eight games of action to help decide the final standings, with a couple of key matchups.
Four games will be tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET to get the night rolling. The Miami Heat will play the Washington Wizards, the Utah Jazz will face the Charlotte Hornets, the Sacramento Kings will play the Indiana Pacers, and the Orlando Magic will host the Los Angeles Clippers. A half-hour later, the Boston Celtics will take on the Memphis Grizzlies.
Shifting into the later slate, the Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Chicago Bulls at 8:00 p.m. ET. A half-hour later, the Brooklyn Nets will play the Dallas Mavericks before the final matchup at 10:00 p.m. ET, taking place between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.
Keep a close eye on the injury reports as the grind of the season has taken a toll around the league. With plenty of NBA action ahead, here are my favorite prop bets for Monday’s slate.
Alex Sarr Over 1.5 Blocks (+135)
There were some growing pains in the early parts of the year but Alex Sarr has settled in for a really solid rookie season. The second-overall pick has started 59 games for the Wizards this year and is averaging 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks in his 27.0 minutes per game. He has gained confidence as a perimeter shooter and is a force on the defensive end.
Sarr has tallied multiple blocks in 29 games this season including four of the past five games. He is averaging 1.6 blocks per game overall. Washington will face off with the Miami Heat tonight for the third time this season. Sarr tallied four blocks in one of the previous matchups with the Heat with Miami allowing 4.7 shots of theirs to be blocked per game. His offensive ability will decide his ceiling as a player, but Sarr has shown flashes of being a true came-changing defensive talent with his rim protection headlining his impact.
Despite holding the second-worst record in the league, the Wizards have continued to compete at a fairly high level and shown some exciting signs for the future. Alex Sarr is a key part of their long-term goals and has been especially impressive down the stretch of the season. He has averaged 1.8 blocks over his past 12 games, recording over 1.5 blocks in seven of these matchups. Look for Sarr to assert himself in the same way he did in one of the previous matchups against the Heat and capitalize on the +135 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Franz Wagner Under 23.5 Points (-120)
It has been a pretty disastrous second half of the season for the Orlando Magic. After their youthful core got off to a strong start and looked to be taking the next step, they are 19-30 over their past 49 games and look set to earn their path to the playoffs through the play-in tournament. Franz Wagner’s level of play has mirrored the up-and-down outlook of the team. While statistically he is having the best season of his career, the questions surrounding Wagner’s fit with Paolo Banchero are more legitimate than ever and the eye test has not quite matched the stats.
Wagner is averaging 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game this season. He is shooting a career-worst 46.2% from the field and below 30% from beyond the three-point arc for the second straight season. Even with his success, Wagner has been held to under 23.5 points in 27 of the 55 games he has played. This includes nine of his past 12 games.
Heading into tonight’s game, the Magic will take on the Los Angeles Clippers who have shown some flashes of peaking at the right time. Kawhi Leonard is rounding into form and the team has relied on their defensive identity all year. The Clippers rank fourth in opponents’ points per game, seventh in opponents’ field goal percentage, and fifth in opponents’ three-point percentage. Wagner was limited to 14 points in the first matchup with the Clippers with this being while Leonard was still sidelined. Expect the defense to bother him tonight and for him to have some serious struggles penetrating this stingy perimeter defense. Count on him being held below 23.5 points for the 10th time in the past 13 games and the second time against the Clippers this year.
Zach Edey Over 7.5 Rebounds (-120)
It has been a turbulent stretch for the Memphis Grizzlies with the firing of Taylor Jenkins being the most notable storyline of late. They do not have much time to get back on track with the playoffs right around the corner and will play the Boston Celtics tonight. This will be an interesting clash of styles as Boston continues to attempt three-pointers at an all-time rate while it will be interesting to see if the Grizzlies’ style alters at all following the coaching change. One theory of the friction between Jenkins and the franchise has been the lack of minutes for Zach Edey. The rookie big man clocked 26:30 of game time in the first game following the firing, his ninth-most minutes in a game all season.
Overall, Edey has averaged 20.7 minutes per game and is producing 9.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. While Boston’s desire to spread the floor on offense will be problematic for Edey at times, he also should absolutely clean up rebounds in whatever minutes he receives. To be fair to the 7-foot-5 rookie, he has held his own with the floor spaced better than many expected and has not prevented the Grizzlies from leading the league in pace.
Edey has hauled in eight or more rebounds in 31 of the 59 games he has played this season. This will be his first matchup against the defending champions but Boston ranks 11th in total rebounding and 13th in opponents rebounds allowed. Edey had 11 rebounds in the previous game and will have a significant rebounding advantage over Al Horford and Luke Kornet. Look for him to play with toughness and asset himself by pulling in at least eight rebounds again tonight.
Austin Reaves Over 2.5 Made Three-Pointers (-120)
In the final matchup of the night’s slate, the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Houston Rockets. These teams sit in second and fourth place in the Western Conference with very different makeups for each of their respective teams. The defensive flaws of the Lakers have been clear in recent games but Austin Reaves’ importance has also been evident.
Reaves is averaging 20.1 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game on the season. He is shooting 36.3% from beyond the three-point arc while launching 7.2 perimeter attempts per game. In the 20 games since Luka Doncic stepped on the floor, Reaves has averaged 22.1 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds with his three-point volume growing to 7.7 perimeter shots per game.
Reaves went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc in the previous game and has recorded over 2.5 made three-pointers in seven of his past 10 games. The 26-year-old averaged 2.9 made three-pointers per game in March and will continue to be leaned on heavily. With so much attention being paid to Doncic and LeBron James, look for Reaves to continue to capitalize on his chances. You can only take away so many things from an opposing team’s offenses and Reaves benefits greatly from his spot in the pecking order. Look for him to be active from beyond the arc again tonight and capitalize on the lack of defensive attention by connecting on over 2.5 made three-pointers for the 35th time this season.
