The NBA All-Star break is set to take place this weekend, putting the regular flow of games on pause. As the NBA prepares to get ahead of this, buckle up for one of the busiest days of basketball of the season with all 30 teams playing tonight.
While there will still be five games taking place tomorrow before the full break kicks off, matchups will be spread out across tonight’s entire slate. Headlining the full night of games, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will travel up to Boston to face the Celtics at 7:00 p.m. ET. In addition, the Milwaukee Bucks will play the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns will face the Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers will play the Utah Jazz for the second straight game. The night’s final matchup will be between the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers tipping off at 10:30 p.m. ET.
With nonstop NBA action set to be coming our way tonight, here are my favorite prop bets across the Feb. 12 slate of games.
Goga Bitadze Over 13.5 Points & Rebounds (-125)
In one of the three games tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Orlando Magic will host the Charlotte Hornets. Orlando has been on a losing skid, dropping 13 of its last 17 games, but it has a chance to get back in the win column tonight against the Hornets.
One area where the matchup is particularly advantageous for the Magic will be on the interior. The Hornets got much weaker at the big-man spot leading up to the trade deadline, sending Nick Richards to the Phoenix Suns and attempting to trade Mark Williams to the Lakers. Williams remains sidelined as the Hornets sort through the medical concerns that prevented the trade, which paves a clear path for Goga Bitadze to make his presence felt.
On the season, Bitadze is averaging 8.8 points and 8.0 rebounds across his 23.8 minutes per game. He is connecting on 65.4% of his shots from the field, which ranks in the 97th percentile among players, and he will have a clear path on the interior without a shot-blocking presence to prevent him. Moussa Diabate is expected to be the primary matchup for Bitadze, but the 23-year-old is still fairly early in his developmental arc. Bitadze is coming off a bit of a rough stretch but has recorded over 13.5 combined points and rebounds in 26 of the 44 games he has played this season. With a favorable matchup and the Magic needing a win, expect him to put his fingerprints all over this game. Count on the Magic big man having success on the boards and generating putbacks to ultimately record over 13.5 points and rebounds again tonight.
Scottie Barnes Under 20.5 Points (-115)
The Toronto Raptors are on the second night of a back-to-back after a gritty victory over the Philadelphia 76ers last night. They will now face a more difficult matchup, taking on the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. Scottie Barnes is fresh off an impressive 33-point, 10-rebound performance against the Sixers and is averaging 20.2 points per game on the season.
However, Barnes has been held under 20.5 points in 22 of the 41 games he has played this season. This will be the fourth matchup with the Cavaliers this season with Barnes averaging 17.0 points per game in the previous three matchups, being held under 20.5 points in two of the three games.
Barnes is at his best when attacking the rim and getting out in transition. He will have a more difficult time doing so with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley patrolling the paint. Barnes has shot a combined 19-for-48 (39.6%) from the field against the Cavaliers this season. Excluding last night’s 33-point outpouring, Barnes has been held under 20.5 points in four of his last six games. Expect points to be hard to come by and for tired legs to be a factor against this tough Cleveland team. Count on him being held under 20.5 points scored for the 23rd time this season.
Tyrese Maxey Under 29.5 Points (-120)
The Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to bounce back from another concerning loss to the Toronto Raptors last night. They enter tonight’s matchup with the Brooklyn Nets having lost four consecutive games and six of their past seven. While Tyrese Maxey has largely been a bright spot this season, he is coming off what may be his worst game in the NBA last night. The Kentucky product was held to just five points last night, his fewest since April 4th, 2023, against the Boston Celtics. Maxey has only been held to five or fewer points four times across the past four seasons.
Overall, Maxey is averaging 27.6 points per game this season and has been held under 29.5 points in 26 of the 46 games he has played. While the Nets hold a record of just 19-34 on the season, they are a young, hungry team in which points will not be easy to come by. Even with its struggles in the win/loss column, Brooklyn ranks eighth in opponent points per game and allows the fourth-fewest three-point attempts to opponents.
On top of this, Nick Nurse discussed postgame how he thinks Maxey is battling through something physically. While the former All-Star guard was quick to brush away any sort of excuse for his performance, his 1-for-9 shooting performance marked the first time all season he attempted fewer than 12 shots in a game. With tired legs, a hungry opponent and Maxey dealing with some sort of physical issue, don’t expect a strong offensive performance tonight. This will also be the third matchup against the Nets this season, with Maxey being held to 18- and 26-point outputs in the previous two games. Joel Embiid has been ruled out for the second night of the back-to-back already. While this frees up more shot opportunities, it also puts Maxey at the top of the list of defensive priorities. Expect Brooklyn to be focused on slowing him down and for Maxey to ultimately be held under 29.5 points again tonight.
Isaiah Collier Over 19.5 Points & Assists (-110)
The recent breakout from rookie Isaiah Collier is a huge story for the future of the Jazz. The USC product is flashing some real abilities as a true point guard beyond what he showed in college and is proving capable of running the Utah offense. He has been injected into the Utah starting lineup and provided a nice spark, helping the offense to look like a more cohesive unit in recent weeks.
Across his 19 games as a starter, Collier is logging 31.0 minutes per game and producing 10.8 points and 8.5 assists. During the previous matchup against the Lakers, Collier finished with 13 points and 10 assists even though it was a complete blowout. Collier has recorded over 19.5 combined points and assists in four of his past five games. Luka Doncic has been downgraded to questionable for this rematch, but Collier sits in the sweet spot of having available minutes whether the game results in a blowout or not.
Look for Collier to continue proving his importance to this Jazz team in the short term and prove he is a long-term piece of this rebuild. He has shown to be a true floor general, so look for him to make an impact in both scoring and playmaking tonight. Count on him recording over 19.5 combined points and assists for the second straight game against the Lakers and the fifth time in the past six games.
