April 8th NBA Player Props – Friday Picks and Over/Unders Including Nets vs Cavaliers

• The 2021-22 NBA regular season is nearing its conclusion
• Teams will be jostling for playoff position on Friday night
• Read below for the latest NBA player props and best bets

Friday night has nine NBA games on the schedule, starting off with the Bucks in Detroit and Knicks in Washington at 7:10pm ET. The Rockets are 14.5-point underdogs for their game against the Raptors, which tips off half an hour later, and the Nets are favored by 7.5 against the depleted Cavaliers.

The Eastern Conference Play-In picture will be heavily impacted by the Hawks facing Miami and the Bulls hosting the Hornets. Atlanta and Charlotte are both two-point dogs.

It’s calmer out west, though the Mavericks facing Portland and Utah taking on Phoenix could prove important to playoff seeding. The night wraps up with the Thunder in Los Angeles to face the Lakers, who are without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.

NBA Player Props – April 8th

Odds as of Apr 8th at FanDuel Sportsbook

With so few props available, the current #8 seed in the NBA Playoff Bracket Brooklyn Nets will take focus of our first prop selection.

Kyrie Keeps Taking Threes

Kyrie Irving’s overall offensive production has been inconsistent since becoming a full-time player. His three-point shot has been relatively reliable, however, with Irving draining four or more threes in four of his last five games. With Patty Mills ice-cold, Goran Dragic in Covid protocols and Seth Curry listed as questionable, Irving’s shooting is particularly valuable.

Brooklyn faces a Cleveland team which just let the Magic hit over 45% from downtown, and gave up a combined nine threes to Kevin Huerter and Trae Young a couple of games before. The Cavs defense has dropped off in a big way of late, ranking 24th since All-Star and they remain without Collin Sexton, Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

The former Celtic is getting up 10.5 threes per game over his last eight. That ranks fourth in the league, and it’s at 12.8 across the previous four, a mark which is only bettered by Fred VanVleet. Irving has shot 40.5% from downtown since he’s been able to play in home games.

Given the high volume of outside shots Irving is taking, making four or more against this Cavs defense seems like a pretty safe bet. It’s too good to turn down at +114.

• Pick: Kyrie Irving over 3.5 threes (+114)

Capela Struggles Against Miami

Having scored just six points when he last faced the Heat, Clint Capela’s points line of 10.5 seems rather high. The former Hawk has gone under this number in three of his last five, and faces a Heat defense which ranks eighth in rate of opponent shots at the rim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_lQExvBTZM

Of course, Capela is a play-finishing specialist, taking 83% of his shots from within four feet. Miami has sometimes given up easier opportunities at the basket by switching Bam Adebayo onto the perimeter, but Erik Spoelstra has experimented with keeping Adebayo closer to the basket when defending pick-and-rolls of late.

Miami’s defense is ideal to disrupt Capela’s impact as a lob finisher for Trae Young. His role in the offense tends to fluctuate from night to night, and he’s reached double figures in field goal attempts just three times in the last eight games.

After their slump, Miami is back to being an elite defensive team. They might have already clinched the top seed, but they will be keen to keep up their standards high on Friday night. Atlanta should be competitive in this one, yet Capela’s inconsistent production makes the under look a decent bet.

• Pick: Clint Capela under 10.5 points (-104)