Thursday is one of the lighter nights on the NBA schedule this week, with only five games on-tap throughout the league.
Of the 10 active teams, the Atlanta Hawks are the lone team on the second night of a back to back, taking on the Detroit Pistons at home on Wednesday and now traveling to Dallas to face the surging Mavericks.
On the other hand, the Mavericks, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Knicks and Kings are all starting back to back sets and will play both Thursday and Friday.
Understanding these schedule spots and subsequent seeding positions leading to varying levels of urgency as we wrap up the regular season is important to capping props and projecting rotations.
Let's dive into my top three NBA player props for Thursday, April 4.
NBA Player Props for Thursday, April 4
Back to the well! If I am writing the props piece, I am hoping Atlanta is playing.
Bogdanovic is getting so much usage for this Hawks team without Trae Young. He is a perfect fit next to Murray, he can shoot off ball as well as create his own action in isolation.
This is a great matchup spot for Bogdan because the Mavericks defend the rim so well, and he is their go-to sharp shooter and can pull up from the mid-range.
The Mavericks also struggle to defend the perimeter, I expect Bogdanovic to beat the first line of attack and quickly pull the trigger on his shot.
I expect Luka Doncic to spend some time as the primary defender, and considering his previous 70+ points against the Hawks in their last meeting, making Luka work on defense is a way to slow his offense.
Pick: Bogdan Bogdanovic Over 17.5 Points (-108)
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The Rockets and Warriors face off in what could be a deciding game for the 10th seed and final play in spot in the Western Conference. I expect a gritty and physical matchup between the young and hungry Rockets and the veteran laden Warriors.
We have seen the Warriors get into these tussles in previous seasons whether it was with last years Sacramento Kings or previously the Memphis Grizzlies. Now Dillon Brooks can get his Rockets teammates hyped to grind against the Warriors, but the trick here is the way the Warriors will attack on offense.
Not only do I expect extra minutes for the Warriors core and stars, I expect them to generate looks via back cuts against a young and aggressive team. Playing too close to the Warriors shooters will lead to backdoor screens and flares from Steph and Klay, and Draymond is always there to feed the look.
This is priced at -156 at FanDuel, and is worth a scoop at -140 on DraftKings.
Pick: Draymond Green Over 5.5 Assists (-140)
This is not going to be fun to watch at all, as Jokic will likely still get a few looks up from deep and it will be hold your breath and hope the big man doesn't bang one in. But there are two factors I think this could be a game the Joker does not spend much time behind the arc.
For one, the Clippers love to go small, the Ty Lue special.
They will try and throw Denver off with speed and spacing, but on the other end of the court the Joker will dominate the paint and may have tired legs for shooting.
The Nuggets may also be without Jamal Murray, which means less two-man game where Jokic screens and pops and gets that top of the key three.
There have been plenty of games Jokic doesn't hit a long ball. Let's hope this matchup leads to another one at nice plus-odds.
Pick: Nikola Jokic Under 0.5 Made Three Pointers (+186)
