The NBA player props for Friday night include games with the Warriors vs. 76ers on NBA TV and Wizards vs. Spurs. Klay Thompson and Golden State play the first of four straight games at home against Philadelphia at 7 p.m. PDT / 10 p.m. EDT. The Warriors are favorites in the game with a point total set at . Earlier on the slate, Kristaps Porzingis and the Washington Wizards host the San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m. EDT / 4 p.m. PDT. The Wizards are favorites in the game, which features a point total set at . Let’s dive into why I’m targeting prop bets in these games.
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76ers At Warriors Player Props
76ers props are slow to open Friday morning, with injury report issues. They will populate in this table closer to tip-off.
Klay Thompson Over 20.5 Points
Here are Thompson’s core points, rebounds and assists props for the game against the 76ers:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: Over/Under /
The Warriors play their first game at home 11 days on Friday night after a five-game road trip. They’re currently in sixth in the Western Conference after finally winning multiple games in a row on the road in Houston and Dallas this week.
Few Warriors players will be happier to be back at the Chase Center than Klay Thompson. Much like the Warriors as a whole, Thompson has performed much better at home this season than on the road. I’m expecting more of the same from him in an important game against the 76ers and am hitting the over on his points prop.
Josh Lander is 12-5 and up 6+ units betting NBA player props since last 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
Klay Loves The Bay
It’s been an up-and-down year for Thompson and the Warriors based entirely on where they play. Thompson has been the most glaring participant in the team’s inconsistencies, averaging six more points per game when he’s at home versus away.
His usage rate is noticeably higher as well, 28% as opposed to 24% in road games. Over his last 10 road games, he’s averaging 28.7 points per game with an-even-higher 29% usage rate in nearly 35 minutes.
To be fair, Steph Curry didn’t play in a few of those home games, so let’s filter those stats to his last 10 home games with Steph on the floor. In those games he’s still putting up more than 26 points a night with a 28% usage rate. Even the great Stephen Curry can’t stop Klay Thompson from getting his.
High-Scoring Sixers
Philadelphia has put up a ton of points on the road of late, averaging 127 points per game over its last 7 games away from home. The 76ers have been a much better team on defense than they were to start the season, just not when it comes to defending shooting guards.
Philly allows the seventh-most points to shooting guards on the season thanks to its offensive-minded backcourt in James Harden and Tyrese Maxey.
Expect a lot of points in a playoff atmosphere in Golden State on Friday night.
Spurs At Wizards
Kristaps Porzingis Under 28.5 Points
Here are Porzingis’s core points, rebounds and assists props for the game against the Spurs:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: Over/Under /
There is plenty of supporting evidence to suggest that Kristaps Porzingis is going to have a good game agains the Spurs on Friday night. For starters, Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma are both out, meaning Porzingis is going to get more usage on offense.
The Spurs also present what can easily be labeled the worst defense in the league, especially in the post where they surrender the most points per game.
Still, 29 points is a crazy-high total for Kristaps, even under these circumstances. He can have a great game by his standards and still not go over that number. So, I’m hitting the under on his points prop for Friday night.
It’s Just Too High
Porzingis has only hit this prop twice in his last 10 games. You can even expand that out to his last 20 games and he’s still only scored 29 points or more six times.
The Spurs inability to defend the paint is a huge reason the team allows so many points to opposing centers. But is Kristaps even the center anymore? Daniel Gafford has started the majority of the Wizards’ games since January, occupying the post whenever he’s on the floor.
Porzingis isn’t even trying to score from the post these days. On the season, only 37% of his points are coming from the paint and 35% of his shot attempts are coming from beyond the arc.
The only area on the floor the Spurs are average in defending is the three-point line. San Antonio is ranked an encouraging 17th in the league when it comes to limiting its opponents threes.
Even the absences of Beal and Kuzma shouldn’t affect Porzingis too greatly. Kristaps averages 23.8 points a game without Beal this season and 24.6 without Kuzma. Both are solid point totals, but well below his prop for Friday night.
