Skip to content

NBA Friday player props: Tough spots for Randle, McCollum

Justin Ford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

All three player props cashed Thursday, pushing our record to 10-5 and ensuring another profitable week.

Friday's slate features a whopping 10 games. Here are some of my favorite bets on the board to get us rolling into the weekend.

Julius Randle under 5.5 assists

This is a solid fade against one of the league's premier power forwards.

Although the Suns' defense was diced up for 135 points in its most recent outing, the unit's quietly rising up the charts. Phoenix enters the weekend No. 7 in the league in scoring and No. 8 in efficiency.

The Suns have been consistent all season in limiting buckets off assists. They trail only the Jazz in assists allowed per made field goal, and nobody's been able to pile up the dimes on them: Phoenix is top four in the league in assists allowed to four separate positions on the court, including power forwards, who notch just 3.3 per contest.

That puts Randle in a tough spot Friday.

The Knicks post the second-fewest assists per game in the NBA (21.7). They outdid their average when they played the Suns two weeks ago (24), but Randle accounted for only four in the loss. Overall, he's been held under this total in four of the last seven.

Seth Curry under 2.5 made threes

The 76ers aren't going to live and die by the three. They rank No. 23 in makes per game (11.2) this season and have attempted triples at the sixth-lowest rate over the last 10 (34.4%).

Things could turn around Friday against a Pelicans defense allowing the most makes per contest (14.6). However, one player due to come down to earth sooner than later is Curry.

The veteran sharpshooter's a blistering 25-of-42 (59.5%) from beyond the arc over his last eight, but he hasn't attempted more than seven in any game during that stretch.

Although the Pels have had issues defending the perimeter, they're No. 3 in the NBA in 3-point makes per game (2.6) and overall field-goal percentage (38.7%) to shooting guards over the last 15.

CJ McCollum under 22.5 points and 2.5 made threes

Another shooting guard with a difficult matchup Friday is McCollum, who draws a reeling Lakers squad.

L.A.'s defeat by crosstown rivals the Clippers on Thursday night was the defending champs' fourth loss in five games. The Lakers won't receive much support from the betting markets without LeBron James or Anthony Davis in the fold, but I don't mind investing in the defense.

The backcourt in particular's been stellar all season. The Lakers are tops in the league in both points per game (19.5) and field-goal percentage allowed (38.7%) to shooting guards this season, and those numbers have been even better over the last seven (14.3 points per game on just 28.4% shooting).

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.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox