Friday’s Best NBA Player Props: Betting Kyrie Irving Points, More

Friday’s best NBA player props focus on three of the slate’s 10 games:

• Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Memphis Grizzlies at Sacramento Kings: 10 p.m. ET

As a reminder, you can dig deeper on these and many other prop bets by using our FantasyLabs NBA Player Props Tool. It leverages our projections against five of the most popular online sportsbooks and grades each prop on a scale of one to 10.

Knicks F Kevin Knox

The Pick: Over 17 points (+120 at BetOnline)

The Knicks have officially unleashed Knox over their past six games and the results have been impressive. He’s averaged 37.4 minutes per game over that time frame, leading to an average of 19.7 points per game.

He’s in one of the best spots of the day vs. the Hawks, who have played at the fastest pace in the league by a significant margin this season. The Knicks are currently implied for a slate-high 118.0 points, which represents an increase of almost 10 points when compared to their season average (108.6).

Knox is a big part of the Knicks’ future, so he should continue to be a focal point for the rest of the season. I love getting the over at better than even money but would play it up to -150.

Celtics PG Kyrie Irving

The Pick: Over 23.5 points (-114 at BetOnline)

The Celtics are in an interesting spot today against the Bucks. On one hand, the Bucks have been one of the best teams in the league in terms of defensive efficiency, allowing the fourth-fewest points per 100 possessions.

On the other hand, they are among the fastest in the league this season in terms of pace. Those two factors seem to cancel each other out: The Celtics current implied team total of 111.25 is basically in line with their regular season average (111.2).

The main reason for optimism with Irving is the Celtics’ current injury situation. They’ll be without Al Horford and Marcus Morris on today’s slate, and Irving led the team with a usage rate of 31.6% with both players out of the lineup in their last game. Ultimately, he has scored at least 24 points in each of his past four games.

Irving is one of the best scorers in the league, and an up-tempo game vs. the Bucks seems to fit his style of play perfectly. He dropped 28 on the Bucks in their first matchup this season, so I like the over up to -140 on today’s slate.

Kings F Nemanja Bjelica

The Pick: Under 12 points (-114 at BetOnline)

The Kings were really shorthanded in their last game — Iman Shumpert, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Marvin Bagley were all inactive — but Bjelica still tallied just 22.7 minutes of playing time.

Shumpert and Bogdanovic are both expected to return to the lineup tonight, so it’s possible that Bjelica’s could see a further reduction in playing time today. Either way, the Kings are in a brutal spot vs. the Memphis Grizzlies, who currently rank dead last in pace and tied for fifth in defensive efficiency.

This seems like a good time to sell high on Bjelica, and I’d play the under up to -140.