Now that we're in the thick of the NBA playoffs, the basketball betting market is hotter than ever. CBS Sports will be providing daily picks for the duration of the postseason. Sam Quinn will make at least one pick for every game between now and the NBA Finals. All lines courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors
Malik Monk has outplayed Kevin Huerter in every conceivable way in this series. Monk is scoring twice as many points (18.2 to 9). The Kings have won Monk's minutes by 20 points and Huerter's by just two. Most importantly, Huerter has been below 20 minutes in the past two games. Mike Brown has thus far resisted putting Monk in the starting lineup. He likely won't in Game 6, but with his season on the line, there's just no more reason to limit Monk's minutes. I'd expect him to push 35 minutes in Game 6, and considering De'Aaron Fox's limitations given his finger injury, his scoring volume should be high. The Pick: Monk Over 16.5 Points
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers
The entire series between the Lakers and Grizzlies has hinged on the minutes Anthony Davis has sat. The Lakers have won his minutes on the floor by 38 points and lost his minutes on the bench by 33. Game 5 swung when Darvin Ham removed him trailing 75-74. Seven minutes later, the Lakers were down 25. Davis is determined not to let that happen again.
"I'll play 48," Davis said after Game 5. "This is what you prepare the entire season for. Starting off low minutes and kind of working your way up through the course of the season to be able to play extended minutes in the playoffs to get victories. So if coach needs me to play 42, 45, 48 minutes or whatever to get the job done, I'll be ready to do so."
The Lakers obviously won't play Davis for 48 minutes, but expect him to at least match his series high of 42 and likely go beyond that. As such, we're grabbing all of the Davis volume bets we can find. My favorite is his combined points and rebounds total, but there's no wrong answer here given the severity of this game. The Pick: Davis Over 37.5 Points and Rebounds
