Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Monday, Oct. 31:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA, Pacers (+8.5) over Nets
The odds/bet: -110 ($33 to win $30)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Our take: The Nets are still valued as if they’re a contending team, but the bottom line is that they look just as bad or worse than last season despite having the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons back healthy.
Those three simply haven’t played well together and didn’t even want to be teammates anymore as evidenced by their actions this offseason, so the fact that the Nets are 8.5-point favorites against a young, hungry Pacers team seems like a stretch even though the contest is in Brooklyn.
The Nets are 1-3 at home so far, so it’s not like playing at home has helped them much, so we’re taking the points with the Pacers, who should be able to at least cover the spread even if the Nets turn things around and win.
TEE HIGGINS YARDAGE PROP
The play: NFL player prop, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins OVER 75.5 receiving yards
The odds/bet: -133 ($13.30 to win $10)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: Bengals at Browns 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Our take: This Bengals-Browns Monday Night Football contest appears to be a coin flip, which is why we’re staying away from the point spread and going the player prop route with Tee Higgins.
Higgins should see even more targets than usual from Joe Burrow with fellow star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase ruled out, and the Browns have been gashed against big play wide receivers and will once again be without No. 1 cornerback Denzel Ward.
This feels like a lock as long as Higgins can stay on the field for all four quarters.
NOAH SYNDERGAARD K PROP
The play: MLB player prop, Phillies starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard OVER 2.5 strikeouts
The odds/bet: +110 ($10 to win $11)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: Astros at Phillies 8 p.m. (FOX)
Our take: Picking a Game 3 winner also appears to be a coin flip considering that the World Series is headed back to Philadelphia, but there’s a player prop that we like considering the circumstances.
That would be Noah Syndergaard’s over on strikeouts, with the reason being that he’ll likely be stretched out further than he has been recently since the Phillies are facing another bullpen start tomorrow as pointed out by our own Gabe Henderson.
HOW WE’VE FARED
Sunday’s best bets
- NFL teaser: Patriots +3.5 over Jets and Titans +6 over Texans (WON $30)
- NFL player prop: Dak Prescott to throw at least one interception (WON $12.60)
Sunday’s profit/loss: +$42.60 (2-0)
Final total for the week: -$156.30 (5-9)
Total for October: +$193.90 (33-22)
Total for 2022: -$10.40 (278-305)
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, a $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
