The NBA week opens with an action-packed, nine-game slate rife with narratives.
LeBron James takes a trip back home when the struggling Lakers meet the Cavaliers in Cleveland during the early window.
The Heat and 76ers also take the court in the wee hours of the evening and enter Monday as the first and third seeds, respectively, in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Those two games also happen to be among the top-five most-popular bets ahead of the night.
Monday's NBA Odds & Betting Trends
*Odds and public betting trends data as of Monday afternoon
5 Most Popular NBA Bets
Hornets (-6) vs. Pelicans
7:30 p.m. ET
The public is fading the Pelicans, who are playing the on the second night of a back-to-back.
Charlotte is the only team on Monday pulling in more than 70% of tickets on the betting spread (73%).
Cavaliers (-5) vs. Lakers
7 p.m. ET
Bettors aren't playing the homecoming angle when LeBron and L.A. meet the 41-30 Cavs.
The home favorite Cavaliers are attracting 69% of the tickets, the second-most on Monday's slate.
Pistons (-9) vs. Trail Blazers
7 p.m. ET
Bet against the Blazers, wash, rinse, repeat.
Portland has been the second-worst bet against the spread this season (28-41-1, 40.6%) and isn't getting any support tonight, either. Two of every three bets are riding the Pistons minus the points.
Heat (-3.5) vs. 76ers
7:30 p.m. ET
The top-seeded Heat are collecting most of the action for the headliner against Philadelphia, as we've tracked 63% of the wagers on the Heat as short chalk.
Miami is tied for the fourth-best cover rate in basketball, entering Monday 40-30-1 (57.1%) against the spread.
Mavericks (-2.5) vs. Timberwolves
8:30 p.m. ET
Mavericks vs. Timberwolves in the late window could be sneaky good.
Dallas is the popular side early, generating 63% of the spread tickets at the time of writing.
