Tonight's two-game NBA Thursday slate is an evening of entertainment that goes back decades.
Sadly, this one will not feature TNT's iconic four-man group that is the Inside the NBA pregame and postgame show since we are still in the midst of March Madness.
Chuck and Kenny are focusing on teams where the stars we will watch on Thursday began — like Duke studs Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson, both of whom will be active in the association tonight.
Between the four teams playing, three are headed to the postseason and will be important to watch down the stretch. The lone team that will likely not make the eight-team playoffs is the Atlanta Hawks, who also have a bevy of injured players.
But that may open up some prop betting value! Let's find it with my top three NBA player props for Thursday, March 28.
NBA Player Props for Thursday, March 28
Bogdan Bogdanovic is very underrated, both as a movement shooter and isolation scorer.
I really like backing his over against a team like the Celtics that is so adept at defending the point of attack.
The Hawks will be forced to play with pace and movement, which should lead to their shooters making quick decisions. That will fit BogBog well, and he should be integral to their gameplan.
He also has a nice size advantage at the guard spot. While Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are such strong defenders, Bogdanovic would have a few inches in height on both to use to his advantage.
Pick: Bogdan Bogdanovic Over 17.5 Points (-110)
Jayson Tatum is going to get his looks in this one, and there is a sneaky angle to understand the Celtics geometry and play style with the likely return of Jrue Holiday.
When Holiday is in the lineup, the Celtics rely more on small-ball lineups with Tatum as a floor spacer at the four and Porzingis at the five — and then Holiday has the ability to post up smaller guards on offense, and play a size up on defense.
Without Holiday, you see more Al Horford and Sam Hauser.
While both of them are respected shooters, the ball movement slows and the closeouts on Tatum are tighter. Here the floor should be wide open, the pace should be up, and the opportunities will be immense.
With decent efficiency, Tatum should hit three shots from long range, and I would recommend climbing the ladder up to five at a juicier number.
Pick: Jayson Tatum Over 2.5 3 pointers (-145)
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The Milwaukee Bucks are the early sharp side as road favorites in a closely priced clash with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Bucks are sitting at -2, and I am expecting this to be a physical and close game throughout. Giannis should have an opportunity to dominate the rebounds in this contest as the Pelicans often make the first adjustment to go small and pull Jonas Valanciunas.
If the Pels pull Valanciunas, and Nance remains the main center, then it will be hard for the Bucks to play Lopez. Giannis and Portis will be the full time bigs.
Giannis will have an immense number of rebound opportunities and may be lined up with Zion who struggles to position for box outs.
If Giannis ends with 15+ rebounds in this one, I won't be shocked.
Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo Over 12.5 Rebounds (+102)
