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NBA Monday best bets: Fade Bulls after back-to-back buzzer-beaters

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After a brief break, we're back in action with our best bets ahead of Monday's busy NBA slate. Here are the plays we're targeting.

Rockets @ 76ers (-13, 221), 7 p.m. ET

Things have gone from bad to untenable for the Rockets. Saturday's 13-point defeat to the Nuggets was the seventh straight game Houston dropped against the spread. The Rockets have been outscored by 14.7 points per game in that stretch, falling by 13 or more points in four of those contests.

Even worse is the locker room discord bubbling beneath the surface. The Rockets benched Christian Wood for violating team rules before third-year guard Kevin Porter left Saturday's game at halftime due to a heated exchange with assistant coach John Lucas, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania and Kelly Iko.

All that adds up to a concerning team environment ahead of Monday's tilt versus the 76ers. As a favorite, Philadelphia has disappointed this year but is clearly the better (and healthier) team in this one.

Pick: 76ers -13

Grizzlies @ Nets (-7, 228.5), 7:30 p.m.

Why must the market continue to underrate the Grizzlies, who continue to be one of the league's most profitable teams? Following Friday's big win over the Spurs, Memphis covered 12 of its last 18 games and owns the NBA's top net rating (plus-12.9) in that span, outscoring the Nets by 10.4 points per 100 possessions.

A COVID-19 outbreak thinned the Grizzlies' rotation but it hasn't ruled out star Ja Morant, who averaged 34.7 points on 55.7% shooting over his last three games. Red-hot shooter Desmond Bane - who scored 21.1 points per game with a 45.1% mark from deep over his last nine games - is also available.

Brooklyn is the better team when all is right, but that hasn't been the case basically all season. The Nets enter Monday coming off a pair of outright losses as favorites. Don't be surprised to see that again.

Pick: Grizzlies +7

Magic @ Bulls (-13, 222), 8 p.m.

It's been an exciting week for the Bulls after DeMar DeRozan became the first player in NBA history to hit walk-off buzzer-beaters in back-to-back games. It also sets up a brutal and predictable letdown spot for Monday.

Since 2009, teams coming off consecutive wins of two or fewer points are 21-36-1 ATS (36.8%) in their following contests, including a lousy 4-9 ATS mark over the last three seasons. Favorites in that spot are even worse, covering just 29.2% of the time, including an 0-6 ATS record since 2018.

Both teams enter this contest shorthanded. While the Magic have a thinner (and worse) rotation, Chicago has regularly played its top guys for 35-plus minutes per game as it fights through roster attrition. After two emotional wins, it's hard to see the Bulls having enough gas left in the tank to pull off a blowout here.

Pick: Magic +13

C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at cjackson.cowart@thescore.com.

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