There are eight NBA games for the Monday night slate, starting at 7 p.m. ET between Luka Doncic and the Lakers going up against the Hornets. The biggest game of the night is between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, which tips off 30 minutes later, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
For this article, will provide our three favorite NBA prop picks for Monday. There are NBA betting bonuses available on FanDuel, DraftKings and bet365 to lock in these player props.
NBA Props and Best Bets on Monday
- Devin Booker 30+ Points: +102 at FanDuel
- Anthony Black Over 11.5 Points: -102 at DraftKings
- Franz Wagner 7+ 1st Q Points: +125 at bet365
Booker Goes Off vs. Pelicans
Devin Booker had scored 30+ points in six of the first eight games of the year before missing it in back-to-back games, but those were both against a tough matchup in the Clippers. The Clippers have one of the best pick-and-roll defenses in the NBA, and three of the four games Booker has not scored 30 points was against the Clippers.
If you just take out the Clippers games, he has scored 30+ points in six of seven games, and in the one game he missed he came close with 28. His usage rate has been very high, with a 29.9% usage rate on that, and that should continue tonight against the Pelicans.
The Pelicans are among the best matchups for taking point guard point props, as they are currently allowing the most points per game to point guards in the entire NBA. This makes sense, as they have allowed the fourth-most points to the pick-and-roll ball handler, which is where Booker scores most of his points. He's getting to 30 points tonight.
Black Steps Up
The biggest thing here is that Jalen Suggs is out for this game, which leads to more minutes and usage for Anthony Black. He has played in two games this year without Suggs, and he has scored 19 and 20 points in those two games.
Both the volume and minutes are good here, playing 30 and 31 minutes in those two games. For context, he only averages 25 minutes per game in the eight games he has played with Suggs. In terms of volume, the first game he put up 9 shots and got to the line 6 times, and in the second game he put up 13 shots. That is perfect volume for someone we are asking to score 12 points.
The matchup is also good for Black. Of his top four play types, the Blazers range from the second-worst to the ninth-worst defense guarding those play types. They are good guarding the spot up, but everything else (transition, free throws, PnR ball handler) they struggle against, which is where Black scores most of his points from.
Wagner Starts Early vs. Blazers
Sticking in this Blazers vs. Magic game, let's back Franz Wagner to start fast tonight. This is a great spot to back Wagner, who went under this yesterday against the Celtics, and now has a fantastic matchup to bounce back against the Blazers tonight.
Wagner has scored 7+ points in the first quarter in seven of 10 games this year and has yet to have a stretch where he went under in back-to-back games. He did end up going under yesterday, when he only managed four points in the first quarter against the Celtics.
Now, he gets a matchup against the Blazers who are a bottom nine defense in the top three categories in which Franz scores, and in four of the top five. Like Black mentioned above, this is a very good matchup for Wagner, as he scores in a bunch of ways in which the Blazers defense is weak.