On Monday, the NBA throws out a big post-Super Bowl slate, with the main attractions of the evening being an NBA TV doubleheader in which the Chicago Bulls host the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors take on the Los Angeles Clippers. We have an eye on one of those two games, but we're also looking at two others:
1. Sacramento Kings at Brooklyn Nets - 7:30 p.m. ET
This line on the Kings almost feels too good to be true here, but we're falling for the bait and taking Sacramento. The Kings have won two games in a row since trading for Domantas Sabonis, and the big man has looked right at home with his new team. His presence has also reenergized De'Aaron Fox, who has been engaged defensively since the move. Perhaps dealing Tyrese Haliburton away was the vote of confidence that Fox needed to realize he's one of the true franchise cornerstones in Sacramento. And while this game undoubtedly presents some logistical challenges for the Kings — it's an early start on the other side of the country — the Nets just don't have any talent available for this one. Sure, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond will be out there with young guys like Cam Thomas and Kessler Edwards, but Brooklyn won't have Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant or Ben Simmons. The Nets have also just been struggling mightily recently, making it hard to believe in them picking up a win against a better team.
THE PICK: Kings -2
2. Oklahoma City Thunder at New York Knicks - 7:30 p.m. ET
The Knicks are a better team than the Thunder, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy for New York to win this game convincingly. New York has lost 11 of its last 14 games and has failed to cover in five of its last six. Meanwhile, while the Thunder don't often win basketball games outright, the team is a ridiculous 36-19-1 against the spread this season. And even without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort, the Thunder arguably have the advantage in the backcourt in this game. Josh Giddey is a tremendous rookie that is capable of flirting with a triple-double in this one, and Tre Mann is a dynamic offensive player. The two of them will be hard for New York to cover, and Kenrich Williams' two-way presence will also be a factor in this one. Oklahoma City is also 24-11 against the spread when facing teams that allow 108.0 or fewer points per game this year, and the team is also 14-3 against the spread on the road against teams that score 108.0 or fewer points. The Knicks fall under both of those categories and they just aren't a good enough basketball team to trust to win by double digits.
THE PICK: Thunder +10
3. San Antonio Spurs at Chicago Bulls - 8:00 p.m. ET
The Spurs are just an underrated basketball team right now, and they actually cleared up a bit of a logjam at the guard position in dealing Derrick White to the Boston Celtics at the trade deadline. Devin Vassell now has more confidence in knowing that he is the go-to shooting guard on this team, and he is an outstanding two-way player for San Antonio. He's also a perfect fit next to Dejounte Murray, who is a walking triple-double. Josh Richardson is also set to make his debut for the Spurs in this one, and that's big for San Antonio. With him on the floor, the Spurs can switch off between putting Vassell and Richardson on DeMar DeRozan. That will tire out the Bulls star, who is stuck doing a bit too much for this team with Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and Zach LaVine all out. Then, Jakob Poeltl gets to match up with Nikola Vucevic on the inside, and the Spurs big man has what it takes to really slow down the Bulls center. Poeltl is one of the best defensive bigs in the league and he's just one of many players that makes San Antonio a really touch matchup for Chicago right now. The Spurs are also 39-25 against the spread on the road, so they're not going to be too thrown off playing away from home.
THE PICK: Spurs +4
