NBA Monday Night Free Picks

Portland Trail Blazers (-3.5) at Chicago Bulls (+3.5)

Portland enters Monday night’s game in Chicago flying high after dismantling Golden State 113-100 Saturday night. Their top scorer Brandon Roy returned to the line-up from a 4-game injury lay-off and Roy did not disappoint netting 9 points in the 4th quarter and finishing with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Chicago is coming off a Saturday night home defeat to the woeful Oklahoma City Thunder 109-98. Tonight’s game will be Chicago’s 3rd game in 4 days, so they are expected to be exhausted against a younger, tougher Trail Blazer team. In the first meeting this season between the 2 teams, Portland won a laugher 116-74, their biggest blowout of the year so far. Look for Portland to prove their superiority and cover against a tired Bulls team. Portland is 17-4 as a favorite this season, consistently beating teams they should be beating, a sign of a good team.

NBA free pick: Portland -2.0

Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics

In the finale of a home-and-home in 2 days, Boston looks to build on a win on the previous day against Toronto. Boston matches up extremely well against the Raptors, having won 7 of the last 8 contests head-to-head. Ray Allen scorched the defense for 36 points while the Celtics D held Chris Bosh to only 15 points. Toronto’s high-scorer was Bargnani with 17. Kevin Garnett is just 13 points shy of 21 000 points for his career, and the “Big Ticket” will be pumped up to hit the milestone in front of the home crowd.

NBA free pick: Boston -7.0

New York Knicks (+12.5) at New Orleans Hornets (-12.5) – O/U 201

The Hornets have gone 9-1 in their last 10 home games, thanks in part mostly to stellar defensive play at New Orleans Arena. Opponents are averaging only 89 points against the Hornets at home all year, and only twice has an opposition team scored over 100 points at New Orleans. The Knicks had their worst offensive output of the season on Saturday in a 96-76 loss at Houston, their 10th loss in 12 games. To make matters worse, the Knicks are at the end of a 4 game road trip in which they have lost the first 3. The trend points to New Orleans choking out the Knicks at the end of a trip, and keep the score down in doing so. The Hornets themselves only average 96 points for, therefore the under is a good play.

NBA free pick: Under 201