Shane McNichol makes his NBA predictions for Friday night, with four best bets.
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While college basketball steals the show, going mad for the month of March, the NBA refuses to be forgotten.
Friday night’s slate offers some titillating matchups featuring some of the biggest names in the league.
Here are my four favorite bets on the board:
Philadelphia 76ers (-8.5) vs. Portland Trailblazers {ODDS:1098864413:1.90}
The Sixers are turning on the jets at the right time, winning nine of their last 12. In that span, Philly has been 9-3 ATS as well, on the back of another MVP-level campaign from Joel Embiid.
The Sixers are always tough to beat in their building and that has been the case this season, with Philly sitting at 21-12-1 at home this year. When given the chance to play in front of a home crowd against a non-playoff team, the Sixers take advantage.
This is Portland’s fifth stop on a lengthy road trip, where the Blazers have been blown out by the two best teams they’ve faced, the Hawks and Celtics. On their last legs, facing a hot team, it’s hard to see Portland covering here.
John Collins (Atlanta Hawks) over 11.5 points vs. Washington Wizards {ODDS:1099102401:1.90}
Collins has seen his role fluctuate over the past two seasons, struggling at times to find the right hole to fill alongside Trae Young.
Over the past several months, however, he’s been more productive than this prop number would lead you to believe. Over his last 34 games, dating back to his recovery from an injury that caused some missed time in December, Collins is averaging 13.3 points per game on 10.0 field goal attempts. Over that period, Collins has topped this mark 20 of 34 games.
Against a Wizards team that ranks in the bottom ten of the league in defensive rating, there’s some real value in this prop being offered at -110.
Miami Heat (+1.5) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers {ODDS:1098896257:1.95}
The Heat have not been playing their best basketball of late. Miami is 2-8 ATS in its last 10, and just 3-7 straight up during that time.
Contrast that with the Cavs, who have won four of five, with a 4-1 ATS record in that stretch.
Why back the Heat here?
This is a perfect “get right” spot for Miami, in the sixth game of home stand that has not gone right for them. This game is a rematch of a game played just Wednesday when Cleveland stole a four-point victory.
The Cavs remained in town for Friday night’s matchup, perhaps catching a little bit of the “South Beach Flu” prior to a weekend game.
The Heat need this win, so I’m happy to scoop them with points coming their way.
Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors) over 0.5 steals vs. Los Angeles Lakers
I love a prop offered at 0.5, giving you hope of it hitting all the way until the final buzzer sounds. In this case, I don’t think it will take that long to sweat this out.
Over Siakam’s last 14 games, he’s averaging 1.4 steals per game. He’s nabbed one in nine of those 14 games, with multiple steals in six of those games, peaking with four steals at Washington last week.
Since LeBron James was injured last week, the Lakers have struggled at times to take care of the ball. Against Memphis on February 28, the Lakers had a season-high 26 turnovers, with the Grizzlies plucking 13 steals.
I love Siakam’s chances to grab just one on the road here.
