The 2025-26 National Basketball Association (NBA) kicks off a new week on Monday with eight games, including the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:00 p.m. ET on Peacock. It should be an action-packed early window with five games at 7:30 p.m. or earlier. We analyze Monday’s contests for the best bets. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA picks & predictions for Monday, November 17th.
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Monday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Milwaukee Bucks (+210) at Cleveland Cavaliers (-255) | O/U 236.5 (-112/-108)
The Bucks (8-6) and Cavaliers (9-5) meet at Rocket Arena in Cleveland at 7:00 p.m. ET on Peacock. This is the second meeting of the season, as the Cavaliers won the first meeting 118-113 in Cleveland on October 26th. The Bucks covered as 6.5-point underdogs and the under (234) cashed.
Cleveland has actually won six in a row in this series, while going 4-2 against the spread (ATS) in that span, so the Milwaukee cover was a bit of a rarity. The under is 4-2 in the past six in the series, while the total has gone low at a 7-3 clip in the past 10 meetings, too.
Milwaukee was humbled 119-95 by the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, failing to cover as 2-point favorites as the under (229.5) cashed. Milwaukee has alternated straight up (SU) losses and wins in each of the past 10 games, last winning consecutive games on October 28-30. The good news is that Milwaukee hasn’t lost consecutive games all season, either.
The Bucks are just 1-4 ATS in the past five games, and 2-7 ATS in the past nine outings after a 5-0 ATS start to the season. The under is 2-1 in the past three games, but the over has a 3-2 edge in the past five outings.
Cleveland picked up a 108-100 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, but it missed covering as 10.5-point favorites as the under (241.5) connected. That under snapped a 6-0 run to the over. Like Milwaukee, Cleveland has had difficulty picking up covers, going 1-4 ATS in the past five outings, while going just 4-10 ATS on the season.
Darius Garland (toe) missed his third straight game on Saturday, so it might be up to Lonzo Ball, Sam Merrill and Craig Porter to help pick up the slack if Garland is sidelined again.
For Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) was able to shake off his nagging knee injury to throw up 32 points on 9-of-15 shooting in Saturday’s game against the Lakers, but it obviously wasn’t close to enough. Still, it’s a good sign that he could play without any ill effects of the ailment. In November, he is putting up 30.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.
We’ll look for a similar situation to the first meeting. We’ll look for Cleveland to win, but Milwaukee to grab the cover, while going over on the total.
Picks: Bucks +6.5 (-112) & Over 236.5 Points (-112)
Charlotte Hornets (+265) at Toronto Raptors (-330) | O/U 238.5 (-110/-110)
The Hornets (4-9) and the Raptors (8-5) square off at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Monday night. Toronto won two of the three meetings last season, while going a perfect 3-0 ATS with two over results.
Charlotte picked up a solid 111-100 win on Wednesday against the Bucks in the front end of a home-and-home series, cashing as a 2.5-point underdog. It was rolled over by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, 109-96. However, the Hornets were able to hang on for the cover as 17-point underdogs despite playing in overtime in Milwaukee on Friday, before returning home to Charlotte around 2:30 a.m. ET on its charter flight, making for a tough turnaround.
Charlotte has covered in two of the past three games after a 1-6 ATS stretch. The under is 2-1 in the past three games and 7-2 across the previous nine contests. However, Charlotte has failed to cover in the past four games on the road, while the over is 4-2 in six road contests this season.
Toronto has been playing great basketball lately, ticking off three straight wins, all on the road, against Brooklyn, Cleveland and Indiana, while covering each of those games. The Raptors are 7-1 SU/ATS across the past eight games. The over is 3-1 in the past four games.
We’ll back the Raptors to get the cover on Monday night, and pair that with the over, as the Raptors have scored 119+ points in four in a row, while allowing at least 109 in each game during the span.
Picks: Raptors -8 (-114) & Over 238.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe