Happy Friday to all of you sports fans out there! The NBA playoffs start tomorrow, and the NBA has blessed us with a four-game Saturday slate that’s sure to provide some fireworks and excitement.
Four teams are hoping to punch their ticket tonight, as the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks are vying for the last spot in the Eastern Conference, and the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies for the final spot in the West.
So much is on the line for both games, but we’re going to focus our attention on the battle between the Mavericks and the Grizzlies, at least from a player prop perspective. With that in mind, let’s dive into our favorite picks from this one!
We’re expecting this game to be a bloodbath, a back-and-forth affair, and if that happens, Anthony Davis will need to put up a lot of points. Nobody expected the Mavericks to be in this position a few days ago, but after blowing out the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, they are hungry and ready to take down the next opponent in their path.
Now that Davis is healthy, he’s roaring and ready to go, wanting to help the Mavericks in whatever way he can. We anticipate that he’ll be highly motivated and Dallas’ top scorer as a result, which is why we’re taking the over on his points line here.
While we are hoping for a Herculean effort from Davis tonight, we would be remiss if we didn’t also mention Klay Thompson. After weeks of struggles and not looking like his head was always in the game, Thompson exploded for 23 points against the Kings, most of them coming from beyond the three-point arc.
The Mavericks need him to big some big threes down the stretch if they want to stay in this one, and we are under the impression that Thompson will deliver in clutch time as he did on so many occasions with the Golden State Warriors.
Tonight just feels like a Ja Morant night. He’s had a lot of off-court issues that have brought up a lot of questions about Morant’s character and whether or not he should be allowed to play, but when he’s on the court, he can be one of the best players in the league. He’s been up and down all year, but in a game that means so much to him and the rest of his teammates, look for Morant to deliver a massive performance, going over his PRA line with ease.
Good luck with all of your play-in action, we'll be back with some best bets for every NBA Playoff game!