NBA Props for Friday, Feb. 23: Kuminga worth a shot
Well, that happened! It was not a good start to the second half of the NBA season, as there were no winners last night. I do have some legitimate complaints though as Isaiah Hartenstein did not even attempt a shot in limited minutes last night. Clearly, he was not right and the Knicks did not need him in the blowout win, but no shots at all. How does that happen? Also, Walker Kessler and Jusuf Nurkic were well below projected minutes totals too, so I guess it was a bad night for NBA centers, unless you are you know who (Nikola Jokic).
Jaden Ivey ... You are on my list. Just saying.
Tonight we have 10 games on the NBA schedule to choose from. That is more than I thought we would after last night's very full schedule.
NBA Props for Friday, Feb. 23
Standard Stuff (+100 to +130)
Gary Trent Jr. Over 13.5 Points (+120) Alt Line
The Raptors played last night and he was great, with 25 points (and I almost backed him too). Nevertheless, we are not paying too much of a premium for him this evening and against Atlanta, he is not going to have a ton of resistance. He scored 16 points at Atlanta the last time they played.
Chet Holmgren Over 16.5 Points (+120) Alt Line
The Thunder played last night too, but the game against the Clippers was not actually that taxing. Holmgren was very good, posting a 17/10 stat line in 32 minutes. This number is pretty much at seasonal averages and if you look at his splits you see he does not lose efficiency with no rest, just a couple of minutes.
Take a Chance (+130 to +150)
Kevin Durant More than 2.5 Three-pointers (+140)
A sign of a great player is playing well when others don't. When KD is playing with no rest his scoring actually goes up this season and and I like him to hit enough shots to make the books pay. His attempts from deep go up a bit when playing with no rest too, with almost no loss in efficiency. The Suns need him tonight at Houston. The Rockets play well at home.
Big Payoff (+150 and better)
Jonathan Kuminga More Rebounds that Miles Bridges (+170)
Both teams played last night. Bridges was used for 40 minutes at Utah while Kuminga had a much more leisurely evening in a win against the Lakers. Bridges deserves to be favored given he has posted better rebounding numbers for the season, but with no rest this season his numbers take a dip. The same goes for playing on the road so it is worth a shot.
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