It is a busy Sunday of basketball across both the NCAA Tournament and in the NBA. Buckle up for a nonstop day of hoops, with the action beginning in the afternoon and continuing throughout the night.
At 3:00 p.m. ET, the New Orleans Pelicans will face the Detroit Pistons to begin the night, with Zion Williamson ruled out for the matchup. A half-hour later, the Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Utah Jazz with Lauri Markkanen ruled out and John Collins continuing to miss time.
Four games will be tipping off at 6:00 p..m. ET. The Portland Trail Blazers will face the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks will host the Philadelphia 76ers, the Charlotte Hornets will take on the Miami Heat, and the Toronto Raptors will play the San Antonio Spurs. Then at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Denver Nuggets will face the Houston Rockets before another intriguing Western Conference matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, which will take place at 9:00 p.m. ET to close out the night.
Keep a close eye on the injury reports as the grind of the season has taken a toll around the league. With plenty of NBA action ahead, here are my favorite prop bets for Sunday’s slate.
Quentin Grimes Over 26.5 Points (-120)
The Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Atlanta Hawks with the roster looking quite different from how it started the season. Injuries have taken a toll on the season, with the organization having rolled out 46 different starting lineups and 21 different players having logged starts on the season. Quentin Grimes has been one of the beneficiaries of this after arriving at the trade deadline in a deal centered around Caleb Martin.
With Grimes set to be a free agent this summer and already on his fourth NBA team in his young career, this is an important stretch for the Houston product. He has made the most of his opportunity so far, stepping up as the only legitimate NBA-level offensive creator the Sixers have on some nights. Across his first 19 games with the Sixers, Grimes is averaging 21.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He has taken his offensive game to new heights as of late, averaging 28.2 points across his past 11 games and recording over 26.5 points in seven of those 11 games.
The Sixers will face the Atlanta Hawks tonight who rank 27th in opponent points per game and 28th in opponent field-goal percentage allowed. This will be the second matchup between these two teams since Grimes joined the Sixers, with the 24-year-old finishing with 35 points in the first matchup. Grimes has the complete green light to seek out as much offense as he desires and has made the most of these chances in Philadelphia. As he looks to cement his future NBA outlook and maximize his upcoming contract value, expect this effort to continue. Grimes has recorded over 26.5 points in five of his last six games and expect him to continue this against a struggling defensive opponent tonight.
Trae Young Over 36.5 Points & Assists (-120)
On the other side of this matchup, look for Trae Young to have some great success against this Sixers team. While injuries have been the reason for the team’s issues, a great deal of the problems have shown up on the defensive end this season. The Sixers have lost 18 of their last 21 games and given up 121.7 points per game across this stretch, which ranks 28th in the league. They are also allowing 132.5 points per game across their past four matchups.
Trae Young is at the epicenter of the Hawks’ attack and is in the midst of an impressive season. He is averaging 24.1 points and an NBA-leading 11.4 assists per game on the season. There have been some encouraging stretches from Atlanta’s supporting cast with six of Young’s teammates averaging double figures in March. The Sixers are set to be without Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, Lonnie Walker, Adem Bona, Kelly Oubre Jr., Jared McCain and Eric Gordon tonight.
Expect Young to lead the offensive charge for the Hawks and have success as both a scorer and playmaker. Philadelphia’s struggles to protect the rim are especially noteworthy with the Hawks’ point guard being so effective at throwing lobs. Expect this to come into play often in this game. Young has recorded over 36.5 combined points and assists in 30 of the 65 games this season. With the Sixers’ defensive weaknesses in mind, count on Young to be in attack mode and have no trouble eclipsing this number.
Russell Westbrook Over 28.5 Points, Rebounds & Assists (-110)
It has been a tough past few seasons for Russell Westbrook as he attempted to reinvent himself as more of a low-usage role player. The former MVP continued to bring the highest work rate of any player on the floor in each uniform that he wore, but he looks to have finally settled in with the Denver Nuggets. Westbrook has been in and out of the starting lineup and is averaging 13.2 points, 6.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game on the season. He has recorded over 28.5 combined points, rebounds and assists in 19 games.
The outlook for the Nuggets as a team shifts greatly in this game as Nikola Jokic is set to miss the fourth straight game with an ankle injury. The three-time MVP is at the heart of everything Denver does offensively and the roles of each player on the roster will shift. This will be a welcomed challenge for Westbrook, whose tendency to do too much can be a weakness at times but will be welcomed without Jokic.
Expect Westbrook to play in attack mode and make the most of his chances in this game. During the past three games that Jokic has missed, Westbrook is averaging 14.0 points, 9.7 assists and 6.7 rebounds and he tallied as many as 40 combined points, rebounds and assists. In the nine games without Jokic this season, he is averaging 14.8 points, 7.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds. As the Nuggets face the red-hot Houston Rockets tonight, count on Westbrook to make the most of his increased role and stuff the stat sheet with over 28.5 combined points, rebounds and assists.
Kawhi Leonard Over 19.5 Points (-125)
Don’t look now but Kawhi Leonard is starting to look like Kawhi Leonard again. The six-time All-NBA forward has suited up for just 27 games this season and gradually kicked off the rust brought on by his injury-led absence. On the season overall, he is averaging 19.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists across his 30.3 minutes per game. Across his past 13 games, Leonard is averaging 24.0 points per game and has seen his minutes increase to 35.5 per game.
The Clippers continue to be right in the playoff mix and currently sit in seventh place in the Western Conference. As it looks to scrap out of the Play-In Tournament and claim a top-six seed, Los Angeles will take on the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. While the Thunder are a difficult challenge to compete against under any circumstance, they will continue to be without Jalen Williams tonight. Williams likely would have been the primary matchup for Leonard and it is also worth noting Lu Dort is also listed as questionable.
When Leonard is at his best, the list of players capable of slowing him down or stopping him is extremely narrow. He is not quite back to that peak yet, but his movement on the court and level of play have been extremely encouraging in recent games. Leonard has recorded over 19.5 points in nine of his last 10 games. The Thunder have a strong defense that will compete, but 19.5 is too low of a bar for Leonard based on his caliber of talent now that the restrictions have been removed. These are the types of games the organization preserved Leonard for so look for him to continue his recent streak of production by finishing with 20+ points tonight.
