The NBA Playoffs continue on Friday night as 3 more series shift locations. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks find themselves in desperate positions. Both lost their opening 2 games and know that a home loss here would all but knock them out. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. The New York Knicks on the other hand will be hoping to hold onto the homecourt advantage they managed to gain with a road win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Take a look at our predictions for all NBA Playoff games. But for now check out my favourite player props below.
Marcus Smart has done a terrific job for the Boston Celtics in locking down Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. He has done this by being a pest on the defensive end, showing just why he was last years defensive player of the year. Smart has recorded 3 steals in each of the 2 games so far, making this line look like a terrific value selection. He has recorded multiple steals in 9 of his last 12 appearances. The Hawks should be a great opponent for him too. They finished the season 18th in opponent steals per game. If the Celtics can keep applying pressure on the Hawks guards, they should be able to force errors. Smart is more than capable to pick these off tonight.
New York Knicks backup center Isaiah Hartenstein should play an important part in tonight's encounter. He has been seemingly splitting minutes with starter Mitchell Robinson, seeing the lion share of playing time in Game 2. The same could be the case tonight. With the Cavaliers having no traditional back up center seeing major minutes, Hartenstein should enjoy a size advantage down low. He is averaging 6 points a game in the postseason and managed 7.8 per night against the Cavaliers in 4 regular season games. With Robinson also someone who is a keen shot blocker that can find himself in foul trouble, it would not be surprising to see Hartenstein play a larger role tonight. This line feels set a couple of points too low. Back the over.