NBA betting: Three picks for Monday’s slate

There’s a light slate of just four games on tap for Monday, featuring only one game between teams that would both be in the postseason if the season were to end today. The Miami Heat-Sacramento Kings contest is interesting for multiple reasons, not least of which that Jimmy Butler will be serving his one-game suspension following his part in the Heat’s team fight against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers face off again in a matchup between the sides of the big trade that sent Pascal Siakam to Indiana.

Let’s dig further into all the matchups to find some angles of interest for the night.

Immanuel Quickley over 28.5 total points, assists and rebounds (-120): Quickley’s production levels have already taken several turns this season. He was an aggressive scorer in the nine games immediately after he was traded to the Raptors, averaging 18.7 PPG, 5.4 APG and 5.0 RPG (average 29.2 PAR). But, after Siakam was traded away, Quickley leaned more into being a distributor before injuring his quad, having to miss three games and seeming to struggle physically just before the All-Star break.

In the two games since the break, Quickley has been rejuvenated with back-to-back 24-point efforts and averages of 24.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 4.0 APG (34.5 PAR). I look for him to maintain that level of aggressiveness as the Raptors’ lead guard on Monday in what projects to be a high-scoring affair. The total line is set at 244.5 points and these two teams combined for 252 points when they met earlier this month.

Jaren Jackson Jr. over 24.5 points (-110): Jackson has taken on a much heavier scoring role for the Memphis Grizzlies since the majority of their starting lineup went down with injuries. Over his last 14 games, Jackson has averaged 25.6 PPG while scoring more than 24.5 points in 10 of them. After perhaps wearing down with two of his four lower-scoring games and a DNP leading up to the All-Star break, Jackson returned refreshed with a 29-point effort against the Clippers. On Monday, he’ll be facing a Nets defense anchored by center Nic Claxton, more of a rim protector in the paint than a defender likely to follow Jackson out to his preferred office outside the 3-point line.

Kings (-6.5) over Heat: The Kings are on the second half of a back-to-back, but are coming off one of their more impressive wins of the season on Sunday against a Clippers squad that has been near the top of the Western Conference since December. The Heat, on the other hand, could be missing the majority of their lineup on Monday