NBA Best Bets Today - Free Picks for Monday, December 18

NBA Best Bets Today - Free Picks for Monday, December 18

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

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Best Bets

Chet Holmgren over 2.5 blocks (-135) vs. Grizzlies

BetMGM, 4:44 PM CT

Alex Barutha: This is a pretty low bar for Holmgren to clear. He's averaging 2.7 swats on the whole season, and he's recorded multiple blocks in six straight games (4.3 BLK average). Plus, Memphis allows the third-most blocks to opposing centers. The blowout potential is the only thing I'm worried about, as OKC is favored by 10.5 points.

Domantas Sabonis over 33.5 points + rebounds (+105) vs. Wizards

BetMGM, 4:48 PM CT

Alex Barutha: The big man has double-doubled in each of the past seven games, averaging 18.0 points and 13.9 rebounds during this stretch. It's a great matchup for him to dominate on Monday. Washington is on the second night of a back-to-back, and they're allowing both the most points and rebounds to opposing centers. It's another potential blowout, though, with the Kings as 14-point favorites.

Donovan Mitchell O41.5 P+R+A vs. Rockets

FanDuel Sportsbook, 2:00pm CT

Nick Whalen: I know this is low-hanging fruit given the Cavs' injury situation, but I'll take the bait and roll with Mitchell to once again carry the Cleveland offense without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. The Cavs have the rest advantage with Houston coming in on the second night of a road/road back-to-back, and while the Rockets are one of the NBA's best defenses, they did just surrender 39 points and 11 assists to Damian Lillard on Sunday. More than anything, this is a volume play on Mitchell, who will likely see 40-plus minutes and easily eclipse 20 FGA as long as the game is reasonably close.

Julius Randle over 32.5 points + rebounds (-105) at Lakers

DraftKings, 5:30pm EST

Ken Crites: Anthony Davis seems like a legit "questionable" for the Lakers tonight.  That would certainly help Randle operate in the post. But with or without Davis available, the Knicks will lean more on Randle due to Mitchell Robinson's (ankle) continued absence.  Over Randle's last nine games, he's averaging 27.3 points and 9.2 boards (36.5 total).  The K-Train is a pedestrian 12-9, so feel free to fade.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Ken
An early RotoWire contributor from the 90's, K-Train returns with the grace of Gheorghe Muresan and the wisdom of Joe Gibbs. Ken is a two-time FSWA award winner and a co-host on the RW NBA Podcast. Championships incude: 2016 RW Staff NBA Keeper, 2019 RW Staff NFL Ottoneu Keeper, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Experts, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Kamla Keeper and 2023-24 FSGA NBA Expert Champions. Ken still owns a RotoNews shirt.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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