Grab your popcorn, your friends, and your best bets! It's Friday, and the Association has a doubleheader of Game 6s for us to dive into.
The Cavaliers (who take a 3-2 series lead) aim to close the deal to punch their ticket to the next round, but it won't be an easy feat as tonight's game takes place on the Magic's home floor with tip-off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
To follow, the Mavericks have home-court advantage and the series leaning in their favor as they set the same mission against the Clippers at 9:30 p.m. ET. But, will chaos ensue, and one (or possibly both) of these series get pushed to a pivotal Game 7?
The NBA fan in us can only wish while we wait and see what transpires tonight. As we count down the hours, minutes, and seconds until the games get underway, we get you prepped with our NBA best bets tonight, including Game 6 expert picks, predictions and player props.
Check them out below!
NBA Best Bets Tonight
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 9:30 p.m. | |
| 9:30 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Clippers vs. Mavericks
I don't feel the need fade the team I picked to win the series while they're up 3-2 going home.
Moreover, I like Dallas in the second half especially.
The Mavs have won three of the five second halves in this series. In Game 1, they outscored the Clippers by 14 points. The Clippers won the next two second halves by one and two points, respectively, but Dallas has put the beats on them in the last 24 minutes of Games 4 and 5 by 12 and 20 points.
I think Dallas could cover the game, and generally I don't like betting second halves unless they're live, but the way Dallas has been closing, it's hard not to like them in this spot.
Pick: Mavs 2H -3.5
Mason Plumlee Over 7.5 PR
By Joe Dellera
As teams delve further and further into series, we see them make adjustments and tweaks to the rotation. That includes the Clippers increasing Mason Plumlee’s playing time.
Plumlee has seen his minutes go from 12, 10, 10, 14 and 16 in this series, and he’s a different offensive and defensive option for them than Ivica Zubac.
He’s by no means a great player on either side of the court, but he’s a bit more switchable and malleable for their offensive game plan.
When Plumlee has played between 10 and 20 minutes this season, he has averaged 5.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. His PR prop is set at 7.5, a number he’s exceeded in 71% of those games.
Considering the uptick in his minutes as the Mavericks have played a bit more Maxi Kleber, I can see the Clippers continuing to give him this run.
Zubac is not really a player who could go for a full 48 minutes anyway, so Plumlee’s floor for playing time remains high. At the same time, there’s a bit more ceiling.
I’ll grab Plumlee to exceed 7.5 PR.
Pick: Mason Plumlee Over 7.5 Points + Rebounds (-125)
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Cavaliers vs. Magic
The Cavaliers haven't been able to get anything going offensively. In their best offensive performance they put up a 106.3 Offensive Rating–nearly two points worse than the Portland Trailblazers this season. The Magic defense has been elite all season and it's even better at home. They've had the second best home defense in the league (107.7) behind the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Cavs defense has also traveled well. They boast the second best road defense in the league this season (111.2).
Last game went over thanks in part to a monster game from Paolo Banchero who netted 39 points on 24 field goal attempts–something he's done only once before. He's scored 35+ points six times, but only one time has he done it in fewer than 25 field goal attempts. In the one instance, he shot 15 of 20 on six of 10 from 3, meaning he shot nine of 10 from 2-point range–an outlier to say the least.
This total has already moved down from its open and I don't think we see it get much lower than what it is now, so you might as well wait until closer to tipoff and hope to get a better number with some late over steam.
Pick: Under 199
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