Handicapping the NBA: Monday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Monday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Alex Barutha

Tyrese Maxey over 21.5 points (-102) at Heat -- FanDuel, 3:33 PM CT

The 76ers' offense is going to look a lot different without Joel Embiid. Maxey seems to be one of the primary beneficiaries when Embiid is off the court, averaging 28.8 points on 20.9 shots per 36 in the playoffs with the center on the bench.

Nick Whalen

Miami Heat -7.5 vs. Philadelphia 76ers – DraftKings Sportsbook, 12:45 PM CT

I know the Heat will be without Kyle Lowry, and six other players are on the injury report, but I expect most – if not all – of those players to be active for Game 1. Assuming that's the case, Miami should be in a great position to roll in Game 1 against a Sixers team that's without its best offensive and defensive player. Talent-wise, Philly still has the pieces to hang with Miami, but until James Harden and Tobias Harris prove they can actually step up, I'm rolling with Miami. I also like the UNDER 208.5 points. Without Embiid, it could be a clunky night for the Sixers' offense.

Ken "K-Train" Crites

I'm taking the OVER on Bam Adebayo scoring 18.5 (FanDuel -114 as of 2:10pm ET)

Maybe I'm oversimplifying Joel Embiid's absence, but with Jimmy Butler (knee), Max Strus (hamstring) and PJ Tucker (calf) all GTD's, it sure seems like Bam will need to play major minutes.  He averaged 18.8 points over his last 32 games, which includes the Atlanta series.  He had some stinkers versus the Hawks, but remember he was fighting a quad injury.  The days off before Round 2 should have Adebayo back in peak form. Are Paul Reed and DeAndre Jordan really going to slow Bam down?

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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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