Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, March 17 at 10:30 p.m. EDT / 7:30 p.m. PDT. The Lakers are with both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic listed as questionable to play in the game. It has a point total set at . Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Chicago Bulls at 7:00 p.m. CDT / 5:00 p.m. PDT. The Timberwolves are underdogs in the game, which features a point total set at . Below, we’ll go over NBA player props for Friday night.
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Mavericks At Lakers Player Props
Anthony Davis Over 27.5 Pts
Here are Davis’ core points, rebounds and assists props for the game against the Mavericks:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: Over/Under /
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving may play Friday night against the Lakers in LA, but that won’t have any impact on Anthony Davis’s performance. If anything, the presence of either or both of the Mavericks’ superstars will equate to a higher-scoring game. That’s why I like Over on Anthony Davis’s point total above all else.
Davis dropped 30 points in Dallas on February 26, 18 of those coming from inside the painted area, including seven points off of offensive rebounds and put-backs. Expect more of the same against Dallas’s 21st-ranked interior defense. Last game Dwight Powell and Markieef Morris spend the majority of AD’s minutes trying to guard him. Morris was more successful than Powell who surrendered 13 points in less than six minutes guarding Davis, but Morris is questionable to play tonight.
The Lakers have called on Davis to carry them in over the past 9 games since LeBron injured his foot. AD has responded with 28 points a night along with 14 rebounds, both greater than his props agains the Mavericks. If you detract two underwhelming performances against the Raptors, a team that has historically shut down Davis, and the Knicks’ top-ranked defense down low, that number jumps up to 34 points per game.
Davis should come into this one with plenty of energy after sitting out the Lakers’ recent loss to the Houston Rockets. With LA and Dallas in a battle for the very-important 8-seed in the West, it makes sense that the team sat Davis to keep him fresh against the Mavericks. Expect him to respond with a big night.
Josh Lander is 6-1 and up 5+ units betting NBA player props this week. Check out the NBA Coast 2 Coast podcast each and every weekday with co-host Nate Weitzer and give him a follow on Twitter, @jlboogy
Editor’s Note
Timberwolves At Bulls
Anthony Edwards Over 27.5 Points
Here are Edwards’ core points, rebounds and assists props for the game against the Bulls:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: Over/Under /
If recent history between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls is any indication of how Friday night’s game will play out, it’s going to be a high-scoring affair. The last three matchups have averaged a game total of 259 points.
That doesn’t mean we should expect the same level of offensive fireworks tonight necessarily, but we can bank on Anthony Edwards doing the bulk of the scoring for Minnesota. That’s why I’m going with the Over on his points prop tonight.
Ant’s been on a heater over his last five games, averaging 30 points in 37 minutes on 49% shooting from the field. His usage rate has spiked to 34% from 29% on the season, as he’s taking 23 shots a night during that time, compared to his season average of 19 attempts.
Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, and Austin Rivers are all questionable to play on Friday and this depleted T’wolves squad is already struggling to find scorers to chip in alongside Edwards, meaning there will be even more shots available to Edwards if he wants them.
The Bulls will likely be without their ball-hawking Guard, Alex Caruso as well, which should open things up for Ant even more. Chicago is already allowing the eighth-most points per game to opposing Shooting Guards and even if Caruso does play, we’ve already seen Edwards drop 37 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds on his head when they faced off earlier this season.
We also saw him dominate the Bulls without Caruso when he had 31 points on 55% shooting from the field last April in a 124-120 loss.
