There are only four days remaining in the NBA regular season. Enjoy them.
Sure, we wine and moan about the half-assed efforts, mixed motivations, and full-on tanking during the home stretch, but with that chaos comes edges.
Soon enough, we’ll only have a handful of postseason games to pick from each day, and those odds will be far less forgiving than these final days of the schedule.
I make the most of this scattered late-season slate with my best NBA player props and NBA picks below.
Best NBA player props today
| Player | Pick |  |
|---|---|---|
 R.J. Barrett |
Over 3.5 assists | +120 |
 Joel Embiid |
Under 28.5 points | -115 |
 Mikal Bridges |
Over 12.5 points | +100 |
Prop #1: R.J. Barrett Over 3.5 assists
The Toronto Raptors host the Miami Heat for the second time in three days tonight. Toronto is clinging to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and needs another impressive win, following Tuesday’s 121-95 squash.
R.J. Barrett was one of five Raptors to score in double figures, but Thursday’s prop pick singles out his playmaking.
The small forward finished with only two assists in that last meeting, marking just the third time in the past nine games Barrett hasn’t dished out four or more assists.
He and others had to pick up the ball-handling slack left by Immanuel Quickley’s recent injury. Quickley returned Tuesday but logged limited minutes, so Toronto still needs more playmaking from the likes of Barrett.
He registered seven potential assists against Miami last time out and averaged 6.6 potential dimes over the previous nine outings. The Heat have nosedived down the defensive rankings in recent months and have allowed 28.6 assists per game since the All-Star break (22nd).
Assist projections for Barrett all sit north of the 3.5 O/U, with the majority of models at four dimes with a ceiling flirting with five.
- Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Where to watch: FDSN-Sun, SportsNet
Prop #2: Joel Embiid Under 28.5 points
There’s nothing like fading a star player in a must-win game to get the blood pumping.
The Philadelphia 76ers need a monster effort from their stars if they want to stop sliding back in the Eastern Conference standings. The Sixers have dropped two straight despite Joel Embiid’s 34 points versus San Antonio on Monday.
He’s been impressive since returning to action at the end of March, averaging almost 29 points in his last five showings. That’s puffed up his points totals from as short as 23.5 O/U to this current stand of 28.5 O/U.
That scoring output was helped by facing some of the league's quicker-tempo teams, with Miami, Chicago, Minnesota, and San Antonio all sitting in the Top 12 in pace rating. Embiid has also had to take control of the offense with 76ers standouts Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Quentin Grimes struggling down the stretch.
The Houston Rockets run the second slowest pace and sit seventh in advanced defensive rating. They’re also playing for postseason positioning tonight and have won seven in a row, with this run rooted in defense. Opponents are squeezing just 106.4 points out of the Rockets during this streak.
Embiid’s player projections don’t call for a bad night from Philly’s big man just not 29 points. All models sit below 27 points with a low of 23.4. My number comes out just shy of 25 points.
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Where to watch: SCHN, NBCS-Philadelphia
Prop #3: Mikel Bridges Over 12.5 points
The New York Knicks are guarding the No. 3 seed in the East in these final games of the season. The Knicks stay in MSG for all three closing contests and may get a gift from the Boston Celtics, who could rest a slew of starters tonight due to a back-to-back squeeze.
Mikal Bridges has been excellent against the rival Celtics this season, putting up efforts of 12, 14, and 35 points in three meetings. He’s an erratic scorer who runs hot and cold but appears be getting warm at the right time.
Bridges is averaging more than 14 points per game over his last eight outings while shooting 50% from the field in that span.
The Celtics could be without as many as four starters and opt to limit Jayson Tatum in the first of back-to-back games. Boston has climbed from a +3.5 underdog to +4.5, with that market move hinting the C’s plans for tonight.
Bridges projections all sit north of 13 points with a ceiling of 14.5. That could be even bigger if Boston rolls out a makeshift lineup and lies down for the Knicks.
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Where to watch: Prime Video, MSG
These props are available now at bet365, one of our best betting sites.
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Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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