After a quiet night around the Association on Thursday, 26 of 30 teams will take the floor Friday night to close out the last full month of the regular season. The play-in games will be held from April 11-14, with the first-round matchups tipping off on April 15. There is much to be decided between now and then, especially in the Western Conference.
As we covered last week, the disparity between a team hosting a playoff series, the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns, and the team currently in the final play-in spot, the OKC Thunder, is 3.5 games. Six of those seven teams are playing tonight, including a pivotal matchup between the Lakers and Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
We have a four-pack of player prop best bets to go along with an exciting start to the weekend in the NBA. Let's get to it!
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James Harden OVER 10.5 Assists
According to a recent ESPN piece by Tim Bontemps, Harden’s floor time has been limited recently due to an Achilles’ injury that’s plagued him for months. While that issue has undoubtedly impacted his scoring rate (10.3 ppg in his last three games), it hasn’t hampered Harden’s passing numbers when he’s been able to suit up.
The 10-time All-Star has been absent for six of Philadelphia’s last 15 games but has managed double-digit assists in eight of the nine games he’s played.
He’s gotten only ten assists twice among those eight high-performing passing results, and we project him to surpass the 11-dime mark again Friday night.
Mikal Bridges OVER 27.5 Points
Bridges has played the best basketball of his career since the trade from Phoenix to Brooklyn. Over their last 15 games played, Bridges has outscored Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Kevin Durant, Jaylen Brown, and Kawhi Leonard.
He’s elevated his scoring to a level that wasn’t possible in the Suns’ offense, and we’re eager to take advantage of that.
Bridges and the Nets face the Hawks on Friday night, a team that’s allowed 120 points per game over their last five and ranks 25th in the NBA in opponent scoring average this season. Play the young forward to score 28 points or more at home.
Evan Mobley UNDER 26.5 Pts+Rebs
March has been an excellent month for Mobley and the Cavs. The power forward from USC has averaged 18.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for a Cleveland team that clinched their first playoff berth without LeBron James since 1998.
In three matchups with the Knicks this season, Mobley has averaged 13 points and eight rebounds per game without eclipsing this combined total once.
We don’t expect that to change in tonight’s home game against New York, which will likely be replayed during a first-round playoff series in a couple of weeks.
Anthony Edwards OVER 24.5 Points
Edwards is listed as probable for tonight’s big matchup with the Lakers due to an illness, and we want to be on board if he does suit up. Minnesota is fighting for its second-straight playoff berth, which the franchise hasn’t accomplished since eight consecutive trips from 1996 to 2004.
Edwards has emerged as the team’s leading scorer and carried the group through a season where Karl-Anthony Towns has played just 24 games. Over the last five games he’s played LeBron James head-to-head, Edwards has scored 27+ points four times.
We like him to lead the Timberwolves’ charge again and end up with close to 30 points tonight. Take the Over with confidence!
