NBA Best Bets for First Round Playoff Games on Monday, April 28

The first round of the NBA Playoffs resumes with a relatively quiet slate on Monday night, with only 2 matchups on the docket scheduled for today, as the Cavaliers will try to complete of sweep of the Heat in the early window, and then we’ll wrap up the evening with a pivotal fourth matchup between the Rockets and Warriors.

Our staff of basketball betting experts dug into the latest odds and identified NBA picks for both of tonight’s contests. Continue below for our NBA best bets and predictions for Monday, April 28.

NBA Best Bets for First Round Playoff Games: Monday, April 28

[quickslipbasic bookname=”DraftKings” booklogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/128508_Primary1.png” image=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2025/04/IMG_5290.jpg” buttontext=”Add Our NBA Best Bets to Your Bet Slip Instantly!” buttonlink=”https://switchboard.actionnetwork.com/v2/deeplink?deeplinkId[0]=ML1514332545&deeplinkId[1]=ML1514331332&deeplinkId[2]=ML1518627703&context=qs-articles”][/quickslipbasic]

[anchor name=”2″][/anchor]

[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”Rockets vs. Warriors”][/subheader]

[gameheader haspick=”true” picktext=”Jabari Smith Over 14.5 Points + Rebounds (-115)” league=”nba” awaylogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/nba/100/hou.png” awayname=”Houston Rockets” awayslug=”houston-rockets” homelogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/759063_Warriors.png” homename=”Golden State Warriors” homeslug=”golden-state-warriors” date=”Monday, April 28″ time=”10 p.m. ET” network=”TNT” bookname=”DraftKings ” bookprimarylogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/477013_DraftKings@1x.png” bookreviewslug=”draftkings”][/gameheader]

By Joe Dellera

The Rockets are down 2-1 and look to even the series up Monday night before heading back to Houston.

One player who has played consistent minutes is Jabari Smith. He has played 25, 23, and 25 minutes so far and he’s recorded 17, 10, and 17 PR. I fully expect him to at least see this same floor, but with the team down 1-2, it’s possible Udoka swings the rotation a bit and more minutes open up.

Jabari is not great at creating his own shot, but he can certainly score when he’s in a mismatch. Given the Warriors general lack of size, this is something he gets the opportunity to do. This is a button Houston can press today.

The floor for Jabari is relatively high, but I think there is additional upside given the series score. When he’s played between 20-30 minutes, he’s hit this in 13 of his last 14 games. I’ll back Jabari on Monday night.

Pick: Jabari Smith Over 14.5 Points + Rebounds (-115)

[relatedarticle articleimageurl=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2025/04/Alperen-Sengun-and-Stephen-Curry.jpg” linktext=”Rockets vs. Warriors Prediction, Odds, Pick for NBA Playoffs Game 4 on Monday, April 28″ link=”https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/rockets-vs-warriors-prediction-odds-pick-for-nba-playoffs-game-4-on-monday-april-28-qs”][/relatedarticle]

[anchor name=”3″][/anchor]

[subheader sizedown=”false” text=”Cavaliers vs. Heat”][/subheader]

[gameheader haspick=”true” picktext=”Davion Mitchell Over 18.5 Points + Assists (+100)” league=”nba” awaylogo=”https://images.actionnetwork.com/blog/2023/08/nba-updated-logo-cleveland-cavaliers.png” awayname=”Cleveland Cavaliers” awayslug=”cleveland-cavaliers” homelogo=”https://static.sprtactn.co/teamlogos/nba/100/mia.png” homename=”Miami Heat” homeslug=”miami-heat” date=”Monday, April 28″ time=”7:30 p.m. ET” network=”TNT” bookname=”FanDuel” bookprimarylogo=”https://assets.actionnetwork.com/122955_FanDuelSportsBook@1x.jpg” bookreviewslug=”fanduel”][/gameheader]

By Bryan Fonseca

Davion Mitchell has gone over this line in all three games this series.

In Game 1, he had 18 points and nine assists. In Game 2, he had 18 points and six assists. And in Game 3, he had 16 points and five assists.

He’s had 21+ in each game, and he hasn’t played fewer than 34 minutes. In fact, I’d argue that it’s likely he plays 40 or more if this game is close — he had 37 in a Game 3 blowout.

He’s their most important two-way perimeter player, and he’s also playing for a contract extension, which he should honestly receive as soon as this run is over, even if it can’t be made official this soon.

Pick: Davion Mitchell Over 18.5 Points + Assists (+100)

_InlineAdBlock