NBA Best Bets For Monday, March 31: Back Kristaps Porzingis’ Scoring
The NBA play-in tournament is only 15 days away, so the dog days of March basketball are finally about to wear off. The Western Conference is extremely unclear in terms of seeding. Teams will fight tooth and nail down the stretch to avoid the play-in and secure home-court advantage for as long as possible. For example, tonight’s matchup between the Rockets and Lakers has major ramifications for playoff seeding and subsequently owns a clean injury report.
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NBA Best Bets For Monday, March 31
Check out three bets below for Monday’s NBA games.
Kristaps Porzingis 20+ Points (-128 FanDuel) & 3+ Made Threes (+158 FanDuel)
Boston has lost only one game this entire month, and I expect them to keep the momentum going tonight behind a Kristaps Porzingis perimeter explosion.
Grizzlies backup center Brandon Clarke recently suffered a season-ending injury, which is a significant blow because he’s their most mobile and switchable center. Memphis has handed more responsibility to Santi Aldama, but he’s really a stretch-four who struggles against legitimate scorers like Porzingis.
And if the Grizzlies take the path of 30 minutes for Zach Edey, then Porzingis faces a drop-coverage big who lacks the mobility to routinely step out and contest pick-and-pops. Overall, it’s a great spot to back Porzingis’ scoring. He is also shooting a career-high 40% from deep this season on nearly six attempts per game.
It’s worth noting that in their previous matchup this season, Porzingis produced 19 points despite a horrific shooting night. He went 6-for-17 from the field and 3-for-10 from deep. That amount of volume is highly encouraging, especially since all five starters were healthy – which may not be the case tonight because Jaylen Brown is questionable with a knee injury. His absence would open up more opportunities for Porzingis.
I recommend playing his points line at one unit and his threes line at three quarters of a unit.
Pascal Siakam 2+ Made Threes (+128 FanDuel)
Sacramento’s rim protection hardly inspires fear in opponents, so they often sell out and force opponents into spot-up looks. As a result, the Kings’ defense allows the seventh-most catch-and-shoot attempts per game and fifth-most corner attempts per game across the NBA.
Pascal Siakam has struggled from beyond the arc throughout his career, but the former champion is knocking them down at a 38.8% clip on just over four attempts per game this season. He ranks second on the Pacers in catch-and-shoot attempts and fourth in corner attempts.
Look for Siakam to take what’s given to him and have a strong 3-point night. Like Porzingis, he also thrived in the previous matchup, as Siakam went 2-for-5 on triples in their game versus Sacramento on Dec. 22.
I suggest playing this line at one unit.
