NBA Friday player props: Bet Dejounte Murray, Kelly Olynyk
Player props Thursday split 2-2, pushing our record this week to 11-6.
The board opens up Friday, featuring 11 games. Here are our favorite bets to get us rolling into the weekend.
Dejounte Murray over 15.5 points
The Trail Blazers are fortunate Damian Lillard can shoot from anywhere on the court because his defense has been atrocious this season.
Lillard's currently the ninth-worst defender in the league in box plus/minus (minus-1.9) while owning a career-low defensive rating. He's also a big reason Portland's struggled in the backcourt.
The Trail Blazers rank bottom five in the league in field-goal percentage (46.3%) and also sit near the bottom in both points (26.1) and 3-pointers made per game (3.2) to point guards, which turns our attention to Murray in this Western Conference clash.
The Spurs' floor general has attempted at least 13 shots in seven straight, pouring in 16 points or more in five of them. Take the over tonight at what appears to be a pretty generous number.
R.J. Barrett under 2.5 assists
The Knicks' 0.539 assists per made field goal is the second-worst mark in the NBA, behind only the Trail Blazers. New York posted only 0.432 in its most recent contest despite the offense scoring 116 points - 11 more than its season average - so bettors are probably safe to fade most assist totals Friday. Here, the best bet is Barrett.
The second-year Duke product has logged two or fewer assists in six of his last nine starts and should stay relatively quiet again Friday - the Mavericks rank No. 2 in the NBA in both assists per game to shooting guards (4.1) and assists per made field goal overall (0.558).
Russell Westbrook under 1.5 made threes
Westbrook's hit a different gear over the last month. He's the league leader in assists (12.5) and defensive rebounds (11.9) per game over his previous 15 contests, which includes a whopping 12 triple-doubles.
As effortlessly as Westbrook's filled the stat sheet, his 3-point shooting remains an issue. He's converting triples at just a 30.6% rate this season and hasn't drilled multiple shots from deep in seven of his last eight outings.
Volume's also been a concern. The Wizards as a whole have attempted the fewest threes per game over the last 10 (25.4), while their 9.1 makes across that span trail only the Magic.
Kelly Olynyk over 22.5 points + rebounds + assists
I expected Olynyk's totals to skyrocket after he shattered his combined points, rebounds, and assists for the seventh straight game Wednesday against the Pacers. Instead, we've actually seen the number drop from 23.5 to 22.5.
Olynyk's offensive rating of roughly 127 in 11 games since being dealt to the Rockets isn't sustainable, but he's making the most of his increased role. The 29-year-old's logged an early usage rate of 20.2% with Houston after posting a 17.5% mark across 43 games with the Heat.
I don't see any signs of him slowing down Friday against the Nuggets, who give up the third-most points (22.3) and close to four assists per game to power forwards. He should make it eight straight contests over the total after tonight.
Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AJKolodziej.