Make sure you use your right to prank someone today. It’s April Fools! A couple of the games on this NBA slate are a joke, presenting some interesting cases to take an under or two. Let’s dive right into them for this Monday, April 1.
Make sure you use your right to prank someone today. It’s April Fools! A couple of the games on this NBA slate are a joke, presenting some interesting cases to take an under or two. Let’s dive right into them for this Monday, April 1.
Monday’s Best NBA PrizePicks Player Predictions
PrizePicks record: 104-70-1
Mikal Bridges Less Than 18.5 Points
It doesn’t really matter who Mikal Bridges faces as of late, he’s typically been staying under this line. Bridges has gone under this in 15 of his last 22 games, averaging 16.6 points per game over this span. One of those contests actually came against the Pacers, and that’s the team that Bridges and the rest of the Nets will take on tonight. In their last meeting, Bridges put up just seven points across 30 minutes en route to a 21-point loss to Indiana. A similar situation should be in store today.
This is the second half of a back-to-back for the Nets, who played the Lakers in Brooklyn on Sunday evening. The Pacers, on the other hand, haven’t played since Friday and have been home, so there’s a rest-advantage in favor of the home team, and they’re 12.5-point favorites. Lastly, the Pacers have permitted the fewest points to spot-up shooters. That’s Bridges’ number one form of scoring. Take the under here.
Scotty Pippen Jr. More Than 10.5 Points
The Grizzlies have a depleted depth chart in this one, what’s new? They’ll be without Desmond Bane, Vince Williams Jr., and John Konchar, and Santi Aldama is questionable to suit up as well. That should allow for plenty of playing time for Scotty Pippen Jr. When he’s played 18+ minutes, he has surpassed this line in eight of 11 games, averaging 13.3 points per game. Taking on the Pistons, who rank 29th in adjusted defensive rating and ninth in pace, also bodes well for Pippen here.
Miles Bridges Less Than 24.5 Points + Assists
From one Bridges to another! Miles and the Hornets welcome one of the best regular season teams of all time: the 58-16 Boston Celtics. They’ll be in Charlotte after playing the Clippers on Sunday. Bridges played well in that game, finishing with 33 points and three assists. Despite that performance, I’m not sure he’ll find the same success here.
Boston has allowed the fewest points per game to opposing Power Forwards and owns the third-best adjusted defensive rating this season. They also have the ninth-best defense against spot-up shooting and fifth-best transition defense. Those are two of the most common ways for Bridges to score and the C’s held Bridges to just 14 points and five assists when the teams squared off back in November. When Bridges has faced teams that are top-12 in spot-up shooting defense, he went under this in 16 of 25, averaging 22 points + assists per game. As 17-point favorites, there’s also a decent chance that the Celtics blow Charlotte out of the water and Bridges finds the bench earlier than he would like.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:
- NHL Prop Betting Cheat Sheet
- Top NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions
- 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament Player Props
- NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions
- MLB Same Game Parlay Odds, Picks & Predictions
Tyler Gentile is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tyler, follow him @808Paperboi.