NBA Picks for Monday, January 5: Best Bets for NBA Tonight

A late-night Pacific Division showdown in Los Angeles anchors the Monday NBA card.

The Warriors seek their seventh win in the last nine games, making the trip south to face the Clippers, who are 6-1 in the past seven contests.

We’ll break down three plays for the Monday action. Remember to monitor the odds throughout the day, as the sides and totals market is constantly changing.

Here are our NBA picks for Monday, January 5.

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Odds Courtesy of DraftKings

• Knicks (-3.5) at Pistons
• Hawks (+3.5) at Raptors
• Bulls (+11.5) at Celtics

Knicks (-3.5) at Pistons

These two squads are meeting for the first time since New York knocked Detroit out of the playoffs last May. The Pistons are back home following a 114-110 victory at Cleveland on Sunday, picking up their second cover in the last six games.

The Knicks look to end a three-game slide, which includes a pair of double-digit home losses to the Hawks and 76ers. New York has slipped to 2-8 against the spread in the last 10 games, but has won seven of their past eight times in the role of a road favorite.

In four opportunities against teams with no rest, the Knicks are 4-0, with three of those victories by at least 10 points. Let’s back New York to break its losing streak in the Motor City.

Hawks (+3.5) at Raptors

Toronto has captured each of the first three matchups with Atlanta this season, capped off by a 134-117 home victory on Saturday. The Raptors look to finish off a five-game homestand at 4-1 with another meeting against the Hawks.

Atlanta had covered four consecutive games before Saturday’s setback at Toronto, while owning an 8-3 ATS mark in the past 11 opportunities as an underdog. On Saturday, the Hawks trailed the Raptors by one point heading into the fourth quarter, but Toronto outscored Atlanta, 27-11 to pull away.

The Raptors have won and covered in consecutive games as a favorite only once this season. Atlanta should be motivated here to avoid its fourth loss to Toronto, as the Hawks are worth a solid look as an underdog.

Bulls (+11.5) at Celtics

The Celtics return home following a successful 4-1 road swing, capped off by a 146-115 rout of the Clippers on Saturday. Boston welcomes in Chicago, who slipped to 17-18 with a 13-point home defeat to Charlotte two nights ago.

This has normally been a good situation to fade the double-digit favorite returning home from a long road trip. The Celtics have covered once in four tries when laying at least 10 points at TD Garden, including losing outright to the Jazz and Nets.

This is the first matchup between the Bulls and Celtics this season, as Chicago covered twice in four meetings last season. Chicago owns a terrific 10-2 ATS mark in the last 12 chances as an underdog, including an outright victory at Denver as 12.5-point dogs in November, their biggest dog spot of the season.