With the highs and lows of All-Star Weekend in the rearview mirror, the NBA welcomes the weekend with a solid 10-game slate on Friday night. We have some marquee games to look forward to at every timeframe this evening, and we've also identified some solid betting opportunities on the player prop market.
Getting us started in the East, the Raptors and Hawks face off in Atlanta (7:30 p.m. ET) just weeks after the ATL squeaked by Toronto 126-125 in their last meeting. At the same time, the red-hot Cavaliers visit the stumbling 76ers in Philly for the nationally televised ESPN game.
At 8:00, the Heat visits the scrappy Pelicans, while MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Thunder against the Wizards. Also at 8:00, Kawhi Leonard's Clippers visit the Grizzlies and Kevin Durant's Suns face the Rockets in Houston.
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That leaves us with four nightcaps. At 10:00, MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic leads the Nuggets into Portland to face the Blazers, Steph Curry and the Warriors host the Hornets, and Giannis Antetokounmpo's Bucks visit the West-leading Wolves in Minnesota (ESPN). Then, at 10:30, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs take on Anthony Davis and the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Got all that!? Good! Now let's move on to the top player props of the night from BetMGM, and boost our bankroll heading into the weekend.
Best NBA Player Prop Bets Today (2/23)
Tyrese Maxey points (76ers vs. Cavaliers) — OVER 25.5 (-120)
Maxey, the odds-on favorite to win Most Improved Player this season, has shown us throughout his fantastic campaign that he can be more than just an All-Star — he can be an All-NBA talent. With reigning MVP Joel Embiid abruptly hitting the shelf late in January and Maxey exploding to a usage rate of over 30 percent, the fourth-year guard has averaged 26 points per game while maintaining shooting splits of 45.6/41.7/78.1 in the month.
MORE: Former Sixer Ben Simmons praises Maxey after his All-Star announcement
And when Maxey gets hot, he gets red-hot. He dropped 30 on the Heat the last time we saw him. He put 51 on the Jazz the first game after Philly announced Embiid's injury, his second 50-piece of the season. He has scored 27-plus in 21 of his 49 games, one of which was a 30-point effort against these same Cavs in November.
Nick Nurse will need Maxey to put on the afterburners again against the blistering Cavaliers, who have won nine of their past 10 games and 18 of their past 20. Donovan Mitchell, a dark-horse MVP candidate, has been on a scoring barrage of his own over the past three months. The Sixers don't stand a chance if Maxey can't operate at max speed (sorry, had to), so look for him to go HAM tonight.
MORE: 76ers-Cavaliers full betting preview | Embiid injury timetable
Zion Williamson points + rebounds + assists (Pelicans vs. Heat) — OVER 36.5 (-140)
It's been over three years since the Heat last played against Zion Williamson back on Christmas Day 2020. The former No. 1 pick put some coal in Miami's stockings that day, posting a 32-point, 14-rebound gem that might be one of his five best all-around games as a pro.
We're starting to see really good stuff from Zion this season, too, and the Pels have quietly won seven of their past 10 games. Just before the All-Star break, the burly power forward had a 36-point performance against the Wizards, his third 30-point effort of February. Perhaps even more impressive: he had eight assists and six rebounds to go with those 36 points.
In fact, over his past four games Zion has averaged 25.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, a hair under 38 points + rebounds + assists per game! Against a Miami team that doesn't really have a physical answer for New Orleans' one-two punch of Zion and Jonas Valunciunas down low, we like the good times to keep rolling for Williamson.
MORE: Expert predictions for final stretch of NBA season
Karl-Anthony Towns three-pointers (Wolves vs. Bucks) — OVER 2.5 (+125)
Gotta love KAT, man. Who else goes for a 50-piece in a losing effort at the NBA All-Star Game? The man is hysterically tone-deaf, but he's also historically reliable from distance. He's shooting a smoldering 43.7 percent from three-point land, easily his career-best, and he has knocked down four-plus treys in 11 different games this season.
Considering the Bucks have big guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis to bang opposing bigs down low, expect KAT to let Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Rudy Gobert and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Naz Reid deal with most of the down-low duties. Towns will be shooting early and often if we had to guess, especially considering Milwaukee has surrendered 14.3 triples per game over its past three contests. Fire him up!
READ MORE: Full Wolves-Bucks betting preview
