After a relatively slow week of NBA basketball, there is a full slate of eight games tipping off on Friday Night. The league took a bit of a pause to allow the NBA Cup to take center stage, but this will be on hold until tomorrow when the Atlanta Hawks resume action against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets will face the Oklahoma City Thunder. The winners of these two matchups will then compete to crown the ultimate winner of the NBA Cup on Tuesday.
In the meantime, the regular season will progress as usual. Tonight, the Los Angeles Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets will host the Los Angeles Clippers, and the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers will play the night’s final game to headline to eight-game slate.
You can check out each matchup and all prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook. With a full slate of games here are my favorite prop bets ahead of the Friday Night action.
Tyrese Haliburton Under 17.5 Points (-120)
The Indiana Pacers will travel to Philadelphia to face the Sixers tonight. Neither team has gotten off to the start of the season they desired, but Philadelphia has finally gotten healthy and is in the process of turning things around. Currently, the Sixers are 7-15, although they have won four of their past five games, while the Pacers are just three spots higher in the standings with a 10-15 record.
At the heart of the underperformance for the Pacers has been the inconsistent level of play by Tyrese Haliburton. The two-time All-Star has taken a statistical step back across the board this season. He is averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 assists, and 3.4 rebounds this year after producing 20.1 points, 10.9 assists, and 3.9 rebounds last season.
While Philadelphia has had plenty of issues, their defense has remained solid. They rank eighth in opponents’ points allowed and have been even more dominant in the games when Joel Embiid and Paul George have both played. Both will be suiting up tonight and Philadelphia has a variety of defensive options to throw at Haliburton. Tyrese Maxey has taken a notable leap defensively and ranks fourth in the NBA in steals with 2.0 per game. Kelly Oubre Jr has also shown a renewed commitment to the defensive end since coming to Philadelphia and makes use of his 7-foot-3 wingspan to swallow up smaller guards on the perimeter. Factoring in the unique release point of Haliburton’s jump shot, expect Oubre to cause some issues tonight.
Looking at Haliburton’s production, the Pacers star has been held to under 17.5 points in 13 of the 25 games. He is shooting just 42.0% from the field and 33.6% from beyond the three-point arc which each mark career-lows. With the struggles clear and a solid Sixers defense in front of him, look for these issues to continue. Philadelphia is playing with a hunger caused by their slow start to the season and they will enter tonight with a clear focus on keeping Haliburton in check. Count on the Pacers star to be held under 17.5 points for the 14th time already this year.
Jordan Poole Under 2.5 Made Three-Pointers (+110)
Jordan Poole is a perplexing basketball player. The former NBA Champion has produced a roller-coaster-like experience since joining the Wizards but has underwhelmed in the larger view. Poole has been better this season, averaging 20.4 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game. He is shooting a career-high 7.9 three-point attempts per game while connecting at a career-best 40.9% rate.
While he got off to a hot start to the season shooting the basketball, Poole has cooled off of late. The Michigan product has been held under 2.5 made three-pointers in four of the past six games. This includes a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the two sides are set to face off again today. The Cavaliers hold a 21-4 record and looked like a true contender across the entire start to the year. They rank eighth in the NBA in three-point attempts allowed defensively. While Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen deserve the credit for leading the defensive charge, Cleveland has shown defensive flashes from top to bottom on the roster.
The Cavaliers enter this game as the biggest favorites on today’s NBA slate and should have no problem handling the 3-19 Wizards. While his numbers have been much better this year, Poole is a volume scorer. He has taken at least seven three-point attempts every game he has recorded over 2.5 made three-pointers this season except one. This includes shooting 9-20 from beyond the three-point arc during Saturday’s victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Cavaliers have held him to four and seven three-point attempts in the two previous matchups this year. Expect this to be a clear focus and for the lack of other offensive creators to be problematic for the Wizards. Look for Clevland to impose themselves defensively by limiting Poole’s ability to get off perimeter shots in a major way and be held under 2.5 made three-pointers tonight.
Nikola Jokic Over 31.5 Points (-105)
Nikola Jokic has three MVP seasons already in the books and what he is doing on the floor this season may be more impressive than any of these. Through the opening 19 games of the season, Jokic is averaging 32.3 points, 13.6 rebounds (most in the NBA), and 10.2 assists. Each of these are career-high marks for the six-time All-Star. Looking just at his scoring, Jokic has recorded over 31.5 points in eight games this season.
Tonight will mark the third time this season that the Nuggets will face the Clippers. Jokic scored 41 points in the first matchup, but then was limited to 28 points in the December 1st matchup. In the four games since this 28-point performance, Jokic has produced scoring outputs of 38, 27, 56, and 48. He has recorded over 31.5 points in six of the past 10 games.
Los Angeles has a strong overall defense but leans on their ability on the perimeter for most of their success. Nikola Jokic possesses a unique combination of skills that will cause problems. The Nuggets’ supporting cast has let their superstar down in a major way and he has been forced to take on the bulk of the scoring responsibility. Look for this to continue and for Jokic to have fresh legs as the team has not played since Sunday. He has recorded over 31.5 points against the Clippers once this season and in back-to-back games leading up to this matchup. Look for this to continue tonight and for Ivica Zubac to have no answer for the skill of Jokic as he continues to carry this Denver team.
Chris Paul Over 9.5 Assists (-105)
The San Antonio Spurs have quietly done a nice job of adding culture-setting veterans to help accelerate the team’s growth. Chris Paul is a key pillar in this and has helped further open up Victor Wembanyama’s scoring due to his playmaking ability. So far this season Paul is averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 assists across his 28.9 minutes of play. The five-time assist champion will not be confused for the prime version of himself but is still playing at a relatively high level. He continues to demonstrate some of the highest basketball lQ of any active player.
Overall, Paul has recorded over 9.5 assists in 11 of the 24 games. The 12-time All-Star is coming off back-to-back games with double-digit assists and has reached this number and eight of the past 14 games. The Spurs will now face off with the Portland Trail Blazers who rank 22nd in opponents’ points per game and 24th in opponents’ assists per game.
This will be the second time these two teams faced off this year. The first matchup was one of Paul’s worst statistical outputs with him being limited to six points, six assists, and two rebounds. This was in early November and Paul has settled into the team more since this point. Stephon Castle and Tre Jones will be out injured for this matchup leaving the playmaking responsibilities almost entirely on the shoulders of Paul. The veteran has shined of late. Expect for him to continue building off this and eclipse 9.5 assists for the third consecutive game tonight.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is seanbarnard) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
