2024 NBA bets, lines and stats for Monday - ESPN

It is officially March Madness season and while this is a mega time for college basketball, let's not forget about the stretch run in the NBA. There are eight games in the Association on Monday night, so let's dig deeper into the matchups and find some good candidates to outperform expectations.

Minnesota Timberwolves (-6.5) vs. Utah Jazz (-105).

The Timberwolves are on the sixth game of an extended road trip and have gone 3-2 so far, splitting two against teams in postseason consideration and winning their only matchup against a lottery-bound Utah Jazz team. The Timberwolves defeated the Jazz on Saturday without Rudy Gobert (GTD, ribs) and are 3-0 against Utah with a 19.7-point average margin of victory, winning all three games by double figures.

New York Knicks (+5.5) vs. Golden State Warriors (-115).

The Knicks have been an absolute juggernaut with OG Anunoby (GTD, elbow). In his 17 games with the team, the Knicks have outscored their opponents by a whopping 24.8 points per 100 possessions (per Basketball-Reference.com). They've won the past nine straight games Anunoby has played, including all three since his return. The Warriors are playing excellent basketball themselves, but 5.5 points is too much for them to give against this Knicks team if Anunoby is on the court.

Boston Celtics (-15.5) vs. Detroit Pistons (-120).

The Celtics have the best record in the NBA and have won 16 of their past 18 games overall. Each of their past 11 wins have come by double figures, by an average of 24.4 points. The Pistons have developed into a scrappy team later in the season but have still lost 12 straight games against teams over .500 by an average of 10.8 points. The 15.5-point spread is huge, and there is some risk of a Celtics