Thursday night features a modest five-game slate, from which we’re selecting a trio of NBA player prop picks. The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder take the floor in must-win spots. The former can be seen on TNT against the Philadelphia 76ers.
[cta id=4013 type=cta]
NBA Player Prop Picks | Thursday, April 6
Jimmy Butler Over 29.5 Points + Assists
The Heat have incentive to get a win tonight. They’re in the play-in seeds with a shot at overtaking the Nets for the No. 6 spot. It’s fair to expect Miami to come ready to battle behind Butler, who leads the team in usage rate.
Betting on Butler to hit the Over is as much about the type of player and competitor he is as it is about his statistical output. That said, the latter has been damn good as well – Butler is averaging 26.2 points and 6.3 assists over his last 10. If Heat big man Bam Adebayo (quad) is slowed at all, Butler’s plate will have a little more heaped upon it.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 32.5 Points
This is a must-win spot for the Thunder, who lead the Dallas Mavericks in the standings on the strength of a tie-breaker. It’s the type of spot in which a player of SGA’s caliber is tasked with elevating his level of play and willing his team to victory.
The Jazz are a friendly opponent on paper. They’re getting 6.5 points at home, feature a poor defensive rating, and are without their best defender based on rating (Walker Kessler). Kessler’s absence looms even larger here as Gilgeous-Alexander does the vast majority of his damage from two-point land.
Josh Giddey Over 6.5 Assists
The same favorable factors that apply to SGA also apply to Giddey in this spot. He’s averaging 6.2 assists over his last 10 and reached Over in four. Those trends do not support our position, but we’re bullish nonetheless.
Oklahoma City attempts the most shots in the league, and will share the floor with a pliable — and undermanned — defense. If Gilgeous-Alexander is in for a big scoring night, he’ll do so with help from Giddey’s vision and deft distribution.
Keep in mind that odds and lines for our Friday NBA prop picks are subject to change prior to tip-off. Check the best NBA betting sites for the most updated numbers.
