10 games will be taking place across tonight’s loaded Friday night slate. The season is winding down, and this set will be just the second to last Friday of the regular season. Each matchup holds some additional weight with seedings still up for grabs and teams looking to solidify their postseason hopes.
Two games will be taking place at 7:00 p.m. ET as the Charlotte Hornets host the Sacramento Kings while the Utah Jazz face the Indiana Pacers. A half-hour later, the Phoenix Suns will take on the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons will play the Toronto Raptors.
Three games will then tip-off at 8:00 p.m. ET. This includes the San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trail Blazers, and Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets. Three games will then be taking place in the late window as well. At 10:00 p.m. ET, the Denver Nuggets will face the Golden State Warriors. A half-hour later, the Los Angeles Clippers will host the Dallas Mavericks while the Lakers play the Pelicans.
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 Friday’s slate.
Chris Paul Over 13.5 Points & Assists (-130)
While there has been plenty of attention paid to players like LeBron James and Steph Curry continuing to produce at a high level in the late stages of their respective careers, don’t forget about Chris Paul. The 39-year-old continues to produce for the Spurs and recently revealed he is not planning on hanging it up after this season. The 12-time All-Star is averaging 8.8 points and 7.6 assists per game across his 28.0 minutes per contest and has suited up for 76 games this year.
Injuries to Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox have knocked the Spurs out of the playoff hunt, but Paul has not slowed down in the second half of the year. He is coming off a 17-point and eight-assist performance Wednesday against the Nuggets and is averaging 8.0 points and 6.3 assists across his past 24 games. Paul has recorded over 13.5 combined points and assists in 14 of the past 24 games and 48 of the 76 games on the season.
Heading into tonight’s matchup the Spurs will take on the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. Opposing starting point guards are connecting on three-pointers at the second-best rate in the NBA when playing the Cavaliers this season (41.4%) and Cleveland also plays at the ninth-quickest pace in the league. They have taken their foot off the gas a bit down the stretch with their seeding established. Paul is shooting 53.6% from beyond the three-point arc across his past 15 home games and has arguably looked better in the late stages of the season. Look for him to continue to command the offense as both a scorer and playmaker by recording over 13.5 combined points and assists for the 49th time this year.
Deni Avdija Over 33.5 Points & Rebounds (-105)
Don’t look now but Deni Avdija has been on an absolute tear of late. On the season overall, the Trail Blazers forward is averaging 16.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Since the All-Star break, his averages have grown to 22.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. He has taken his game an additional notch in his recent stretch of play, averaging 25.9 points and 11.2 rebounds across his past 12 games.
The Trail Blazers will take on the Chicago Bulls tonight who have played some much better basketball in the late stages of the season. Even still, their biggest weaknesses are on the defensive side of the ball and Avdija has a skillset that should expose this. On the season overall, Chicago ranks 28th in opponents’ points allowed and 29th in opponents rebounds conceded. These two teams met a few months ago before Avidja’s breakout with the former ninth overall pick finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
In his first season in Portland, Avdija looks to be fully settled in and is playing the best basketball of his young career. He has made it a habit to rebound the ball on one end and lead the fastbreak himself, showcasing an impressive ability to finish around the rim in transition in recent games. He has recorded over 33.5 combined points and rebounds in three straight games entering this matchup and seven of his last 12. Chicago is vulnerable on the boards and also gives up more points in the paint than any other team in the league. Look for the Trail Blazers’ forward to continue playing in attack mode and be active on the break in this game. Count on Avdija to continue his strong stretch of play and record over 33.5 combined points and rebounds tonight.
Nikola Jokic Over 11.5 Rebounds (-105)
While it seemed like you could pencil Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s name next to the MVP award for some time now, Nikola Jokic has done everything possible to open up this debate once again. The three-time MVP is having the best season of his career averaging 29.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game this season. Jokic made headlines with his 61 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assist performance earlier this week against the Timberwolves.
Heading into tonight’s matchup, Denver will take on the Warriors. Golden State is coming off a victory over the Lakers last night and has moved to 19-4 in games with Jimmy Butler in the lineup. They have certainly changed their outlook from a playoff perspective but production on the interior remains a significant concern. The Warriors rank 17th in opponents’ rebounds per game with no individual player averaging more than 6.2 rebounds per game.
Enter Nikola Jokic who has a case for being the best rebounder on every court he walks on. He is averaging 12.8 rebounds per game on the season and has tallied over 11.5 rebounds in 41 of the 65 games he has played. This includes three straight games entering this matchup. Tired legs should be a factor with the Warriors on the second night of a back-to-back while Jokic rested during Wednesday’s game for Denver. Look for him to impose himself on the boards tonight and pull in 12+ rebounds for the 42nd time this season in a matchup where he will have a notable rebounding advantage.
Luka Doncic Over 27.5 Points (-125)
In one of the final matchups of the night’s slate the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the New Orleans Pelicans. The honeymoon period following the Luka Doncic trade has passed and the team has hit their first signs of struggle with the new superstar. This proved to be the case last night during the Lakers’ loss to the Warriors in which Doncic was held to just 19 points on 6-for-17 shooting from the field. This was the first time since joining the Lakers that Doncic was kept scoreless from beyond the three-point arc, shooting 0-for-6 on these perimeter attempts.
Doncic took responsibility for needing to be better postgame and has about as ideal of a bounceback spot as he could ask for. Los Angeles will take on the New Orleans Pelicans tonight who enter with the fourth-worst record in the NBA. Injuries have been the driving force of their underwhelming season with Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, and Dejounte Murray all already shut down for the remainder of the season. On the floor, New Orleans ranks 26th in opponents’ points per game, 28th in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 29th in opponents three-point attempts.
Doncic finished with 30 points and 15 assists in the previous matchup against the Pelicans since joining the Lakers. Expect him to be hungry to wash away last night’s performance and for there to be no defensive answer for his abilities on this Pelicans team. Doncic has recorded over 27.5 points in 12 of his past 17 games and this is the worst defense he has faced across this stretch. He is too talented of a scorer to replicate last night’s struggles and look for Doncic to record over 27.5 points against the inferior opponent tonight.
