There are only four games on Thursday's NBA slate, but two of them catch our eye as potential values. Here are our favorite plays against the spread:
Warriors (-6.5, 224) @ Cavaliers
What has gotten into Stephen Curry? Since returning from a tailbone injury on April 4, the Warriors star has averaged 40.5 points with seven made threes per game on 58.2% shooting - punctuated by a 42-point effort in Wednesday's 38-point win over the Thunder.
That marked Golden State's fourth ATS win in five games and the team's fifth win as a favorite in its last seven tries. The Cavaliers are riding a 4-1 ATS run but haven't exactly faced any offensive juggernauts to test their below-average defense. Expect a greater challenge Thursday.
Pick: Warriors -6.5
Celtics (-6, 214) @ Lakers
It's been a difficult path back to stardom for Jayson Tatum, who missed five games in January after testing positive for COVID-19 and whose team struggled in the aftermath. He isn't back to 100%, but his play as of late has been worth betting on for the Celtics.
Tatum is averaging 28.7 points and 8.1 rebounds on 49.2% shooting - which would all be career highs across a full season - during Boston's current 8-4 ATS run, including three straight wins by an average of 9.3 points.
Now the C's play against a shorthanded Lakers squad that has faced three teams below .500 during its recent 4-1 ATS stretch. If Tatum keeps up his recent play, this one shouldn't be close.
Pick: Celtics -6
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.
