March 21 NBA Player Props – Monday Over/Unders & Picks for Jazz vs Nets, Lakers vs Cavs and More

• The competition for playoff seeding is heating up in both conferences ahead of Monday night’s games
• Miami and Philadelphia matchup, while the Utah Jazz take on Kevin Durant and the Nets
• Read below for the latest NBA player props and best bets

Monday, March 21st is a fun one across the NBA. We’ve got four 7:10pm ET tip offs, including a battle of Play-In hopefuls with the Hornets hosting the Pelicans. The Miami Heat are in the City of Brotherly Love to matchup with the 76ers, a game which the bookies cannot split the two teams. LeBron James returns to Cleveland just days after passing Karl Malone on the all-time scoring list, and the Detroit Pistons host the Portland Trail Blazers.

Brooklyn, even without Kyrie Irving, is favored by a couple of points over the Utah Jazz. The rolling Celtics are on the road against the Thunder, while the tanking Rockets welcome Kristaps Porzingis and the Washington Wizards. Coming off a Sunday win over Philadelphia, the Raptors are underdogs for their game in Chicago. The night’s action finishes off with Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves matching up with the Luka Doncic-led Mavericks in Texas.

NBA Player Props – March 21st

Odds as of Mar 21 at FanDuel Sportsbook

While neither are at the top of NBA MVP odds with just weeks to go in the regular season, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant have the highest points lines on Monday night. LeBron James follows close behind at 30.5.

KD Keeps Rolling Without Kyrie

Scoring 30 per game since the All-Star break, Kevin Durant’s points line might seem a bit high against a good Utah defense. It’s worth noting, though, that Durant averages 36.3 in his last four home games, and dropped 38 on 15 shots against Portland last time out.

Of course, the relevance of being at home is Kyrie Irving’s continued absence. Durant is forced to take on a much greater offensive load – he has a 25.7% usage on the road since his return compared with 36.4% at home. This is relatively small sample size stuff, yet it illustrates how much responsibility Durant has to carry without Irving.

Durant is a nightmare matchup for any team, but that is exaggerated against Utah. Royce O’Neale isn’t big enough to cause any meaningful issues. Rudy Gobert’s drop coverage opens up the mid-range (Utah is 27th in quantity of mid-rangers conceded and ranks 26th in opponent shooting on long twos), giving Durant the shots he knocks down at an all-time rate.

Quin Snyder might throw doubles at Durant down the stretch like others have done, but it’s never that simple when it comes to slowing down the two-time Finals MVP.

Durant has to have big games for Brooklyn to be competitive without Irving. The Nets vs Jazz odds show this should be a close game, and Durant is going to enjoy a lot of success against a favorable Jazz defense.

• Pick: Kevin Durant over 31.5 points (-110)

Lakers Can’t Stop Garland

Darius Garland’s points and assists line of 34.5 is in keeping with his recent production. He’s passed this line in six of his last 10 appearances, even though his post All-Star averages are 26.1 and 10.9. Garland is leading the league in assists over that span, and his 19.7 field goal attempts per game is more than Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Name a better duo… We'll wait.@dariusgarland22 ➡️ @evanmobley pic.twitter.com/BWQlwS195G

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 20, 2022

Garland is facing a Lakers team which has the fourth-worst defense in the league since the break. They are 27th in assists conceded per contest, and their perimeter defense has been particularly woeful. The combination of Russell Westbrook, D.J. Augustin and Malik Monk will not slow Garland down. The Lakers’ defensive effort has been atrocious in recent games, and Garland should be able to dominate.

The Lakers have conceded 114 or more in each of their last five games. Their defensive rating is the second-worst in the NBA over that period. All of Cleveland’s offense runs through Garland. Facing such a poor defense, this is another perfect night for the Most Improved Player candidate to put up big numbers.

• Pick: Darius Garland over 34.5 points and assists (-111)