Matt Fargo

This is a play on the LOS ANGELES LAKERS for our NBA Monday Enforcer. The Lakers have lost three straight games including an ugly 37-point loss at Denver on Saturday and now they are back home where they are 14-11. Los Angeles has fallen into a tie with Minnesota for the No.7/No. 8 spot in the Western Conference which is ahead of the Clippers by just a half-game that are sitting outside heading into Monday. The Lakers had won four straight home games before facing Memphis which was on an 11-gme winning streak at the time and are in a good spot here to break their losing skid. The Lakers are 5-2 ATS this season as an underdog of 4.5 points or more. Utah is coming off a 23-point win at Denver on Sunday. The Nuggets had a depleted roster to the Jazz caught a break in that aspect as they won the fourth quarter 34-14 to open up a game that was a toss up through the first the first 36 minutes. Utah had dropped four straight games prior to Sunday and that included three bad losses on the road at Toronto, Indiana and Detroit. They are still a very solid 15-6 away from home and that is a big reason for this price and are catching the Lakers at a bad time. The Jazz are 3-10-1 ATS in their last 14 games as a favorite. Here, we play on home underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points in a game involving two teams allowing between 43.5 and 45.5 percent shooting, after three straight games allowing a shooting percentage of 47 percent or higher. This situation is 27-7 ATS (79.4 percent) since 1996. 10* (568) Los Angeles Lakers

This is a play on ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI for our CBB Monday Afternoon Dominator. Illinois is rolling along with six straight wins and after a meaningless win over St. Francis, it has won five straight games against major conference teams all by double-digits. The Illini are 6-0 in the Big Ten and while this is their biggest challenge, this is the smallest line they have seen this season as a favorite with the last one being a four-point chalk against Notre Dame in a 10-point win. They are 8-1 at home with the only loss coming against Arizona by four points. Illinois is 19-8 ATS in its last 27 games against teams outscoring their opponents by four or more ppg. Purdue has won two straight games as well as six of their last seven which includes a 27-point win over Nebraska in their last game on Saturday. The Boilermakers have not been covering the games they should be as they are 2-7 against the number over their last nine games with the two wins coming against Butler and Nebraska which are two teams ranked in the bottom of their respective conferences. They are just 1-1 on the road with that win coming against NC State that took overtime to get it done. The Boilermakers are 1-5 ATS in their last six games against teams with a winning straight up record. Here, we play on home teams as a favorite or pickem in a game involving teams outscoring opponents by eight or more ppg, after three straight wins by 10 points or more. This situation is 110-66 ATS (62.5 percent) over the last five seasons.10* (848) Illinois Fighting Illini

This is a play on the ARIZONA CARDINALS for our NFL Monday Primetime Punisher. Arizona came up small last week as it had a chance to win the division but lost to Seattle and missed out on the opportunity to host a Wild Card playoff game. that is no issue with this team however as the Cardinals went 8-1 on the road with the lone loss coming at Detroit of all teams. After opening the season 7-0, they faltered down the stretch, losing four of their last five games but they did win the yardage battle in all four of those losses but penalties were a big issue in those games as they averaged 7.8 penalties in those defeats. One of those wins came here by 17 points as Arizona gashed the Rams defense for 216 yards rushing and the offense was one of the best as the Cardinals ranked No. 11 or higher in all four key offensive categories. The Cardinals are 5-0 ATS in their last five games after allowing more than 150 yards rushing in their previous game. The Rams are coming in off a bit of a downer as they blew a 17-0 lead against the 49ers and lost in overtime but they can thank the Seahawks for giving them the NFC West Division title. That snapped a five-game winning streak which quelled some of the momentum Los Angeles had but four of those wins were against non-playoff teams and while the one win at Arizona, the Rams were outgained by 91 yards but benefited from two Kyler Murray interceptions. The Rams were also a better team on the road as they went 7-2 while going 5-3 at home that included a 1-3 record against playoff teams. The Rams are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game. Arizona is 6-0 ATS as an underdog this season while the Rams are 0-7 ATS after having won four or five out of their last six games this season. 10* (151) Arizona Cardinals