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  Top 10 NBA prop bets for second-half of the season26 February 2024
All odds provided by bet365 Sportsbook & Racebook 10. Warriors over 43.5 wins Despite losing last night to Denver and sitting in 10th place in the West, Golden State is a hot team right now, winning eight of their last 10 games. A 13-12 road record is not bad and the team has quite a few road games remaining. However, the Warriors have rattled off five-straight road victories, with four away games staring them in the face this week. Getting Draymond Green back from suspension was obviously a big boost to the team, but the biggest move might have been having Klay Thompson come off the bench and sliding Jonathan Kuminga into the starting five. Despite struggling from three, Kuminga still manages to average 16 points on the season and has shown his explosive capability when he went for 31 against the Sacramento Kings. As the 21-year-old continues to develop, players like Green, Thompson, and, oh yeah, the greatest shooter of all time, Steph Curry will be battling alongside him as they try to climb the standings. Bet $150 to win $100 on over 9. Lakers under 44.5 wins With a 31-28 record, Los Angeles sits a half-game ahead of Golden State in ninth place in the West. Anytime you have a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis it is difficult to count them out in any contest. Although, the team’s biggest weakness is playing away from home and unfortunately for them, half of its games must be played as the away team. With a road record of 11-19, the Lakers will hit the road for eight of the their last 11 regular season games. LeBron and company have dropped their last two road games, and if that issue isn’t resolved sooner than later, it will be difficult for them to pick up 14 more wins with 23 games left on their season. Bet $140 to win $100 on under 8. Central Division winner The Cleveland Cavaliers are sitting on a one-game advantage over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Central Division. It is no question that the Bucks had a wild season up to this point. Acquiring Damian Lillard in the offseason put the Bucks in the conversation as one of the top contenders coming out of the East. In January, the Bucks were in second place, but shocked the league and its fans when head coach Adrian Griffin was fired and Doc Rivers was hired days later. In his first 12 games, Doc and the Bucks have struggled, managing just a 5-7 record. That being said, their roster is filled with experience and star players like Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo who are capable of going to different levels as the games get more important. The Cavs and Bucks split the season series 2-2 and will not face each other again in the regular season. But with who the Bucks have, and the value bet365 is giving Milwaukee who trail by just one game, it is tough not to go with them to win the Central Division. Bet $100 to win $120 on the Bucks 7. Southwest Division winner Similar to the Central situation, the Southwest is also going to be a battle. The New Orleans Pelicans sit atop the division by half a game over Dallas. The teams have split the first four meetings between them this year and will not see each other again until playoff time, if it comes to that. Dallas has an easier schedule down the stretch and with a backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, the guard play is always going to be top notch from the Mavs. At the deadline, Dallas added some much-needed frontcourt depth in Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington. Just like Lillard and Giannis, Luka and Kyrie can really get on hot streaks in the blink of an eye to help boost their team’s standing and push by the Pelicans for first in the Southwest. Bet $100 to win $100 on Dallas
6. Western Conference top seed We have talked about all of the teams currently in a play-in position in the Western Conference. Now, let’s turn our attention to the heavy hitters at the top. Since James Harden joined the Clippers, Los Angeles has thrown its hat at least in the ring for a chance at No. 1 in the West at 2.5 games back. The defending champion Nuggets, who bring back the same starting five from a year ago, are currently 1.5 games back. Then you have the two tied at the top, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The young Thunder have the second-best point differential in the NBA and play at one of the fastest rates. But here, I am looking at the Twolves. With the defensive ability of Rudy Gobert, the odds-on-favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year by a landslide at -750, and the three-level scoring of big man Karl-Anthony Towns, the Minnesota frontcourt is one of the best in all of basketball. But let’s not overlook their guard play. Anthony Edwards is one of the more electric and explosive players the league has seen in a while. If you let him knocked down a few shots in a row, you are in for a long night because his catching fire isn’t like many in basketball. When he gets going, it is nearly impossible to put an end to it. He is complimented by Mike Conley who has always been a smart point guard who can facilitate, score and take care of the basketball. This roster is scary and look for them to pull away from the rest of the West slightly to capture that top seed. Bet $100 to win $220 on the T-Wolves 5. Clutch Player of the Year When many think about clutch players of the past, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant almost immediately come to mind. Well, when someone influenced the game of basketball like they have, Steph Curry also gets tossed into that category. If you are playing against the Golden State Warriors in a close game late in the fourth quarter, you know where the ball is going, the entire defense is aware and even the fans in the arena and watching at home know who is going to make something happen. You can throw two defenders at him all you want, but time and time again, we have seen Curry make incredible shots and plays to help his team get closer to that dub. His motor never stops, and when you watch him run off the ball the entire game, you see why the defense may be looking a little tired late in games, but not Steph. That is when he takes advantage of that fatigue of his opponents and makes them pay. Bet $350 to win $100 on Curry 4. Most Improved Player On 6 February, Joel Embiid had a procedure done to fix an issue involving his meniscus. It is to nobody’s surprise that the Philadelphia 76ers have struggled in his absence and with just three wins in their last 10 games, Philly is the five seed in the East and are in danger of falling even further. The only reason they aren’t completely falling off a cliff is because of Tyrese Maxey. Last year, Maxey had a case to win Most Improved Player. This season, the fourth-year player out of Kentucky is trying to leave no doubt. Maxey’s scoring has gone from 20.3 points per game a season ago, to 25.8 this year. His passing ability has grown and it really has shown, nearly doubling from 3.5 to 6.4 dimes per game. He is a better on-ball defender that he was in years’ past and now, with Embiid out, Maxey has demonstrated he is capable of being a top scoring option for a team. Bet $260 to win $100 on Maxey
3. Sixth Man of the Year Based on the odds, it really is just a three-horse race for Sixth Man of the Year between Malik Monk, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Norman Powell, but I believe it is just between Monk and Hardaway Jr. Give the edge to Monk. While Hardaway averages just under two more points per game than Monk, Monk is used as a ball-handler much more than Hardaway which is why Monk’s assists per game (5.2) is much higher than Hardaway’s (1.7). Monk, the Sacramento Kings’ guard, is shooting better from both the field and from three-point land than Hardaway is for Dallas. Bet $120 to win $100 on Monk 2. Most Valuable Player “MVP, MVP, MVP.” You hear the chants all of the time when a superstar goes to the foul line and they are having a big game, well, there can only be on true MVP per season and, to me, it should go to someone who already has two to his name. While players like Doncic, Giannis and Jayson Tatum have all put together big years, OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic are on different levels on this category at the moment. Averaging 31.2 points per game, Shai is the second-highest scorer in the NBA and is no stranger to taking over games. In his sixth year, the former Kentucky Wildcat dishes out 6.6 assists and grabs 5.5 rebounds per game as well. With those numbers, and his team tied in the top spot in the West, his name deserves to be in this conversation. One man stands in Shai’s way and that is the back-to-back MVP in 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. Jokic is flat out a stat sheet filler averaging almost a triple double. With 26 points, 12.3 boards and 9.3 assists per game, Nikola is one of the hardest players to guard because of his strength inside to get position, his soft touch around the basket, and his creativity to find open players. Bet $160 to win $100 on Jokic
1. NBA Champion We haven’t mentioned the yet, but we saved the best for last. At 45-12, the Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA by five games. The combo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is again making a case for best duo in the league, averaging 49 points combined. With Marcus Smart leaving in the offseason via trade and other names from last year’s team like Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Malcolm Brogdon also exiting, the C’s had spots to fill. As the best team currently in basketball, it seems the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are paying off. Add in Derrick White’s impressive year along with Al Horford’s veteran presence, it is going to be difficult to find a team able to beat the Celtics when healthy in a seven-game series. The team has shown great chemistry but no signs of slowing as they are currently riding an eight-game win streak. Bet $100 to win $250 on Boston
Top 10 NBA prop bets for second-half of the season
is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.
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