We’re more than halfway into the 2024-25 NBA season. I’ll continue giving out NBA best bets and player props here as often as possible, and I’ll also occasionally write up features on big news that shakes up the league. So, make sure you check out my work throughout the season. With that out of the way, let’s get into some NBA best bets and NBA player props for Friday, February 28th. Also, make sure you check out the picks page (linked right below) before games tip off. I occasionally add picks throughout the day.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on February 28th
NBA Best Bets Today – February 28th
Portland Trail Blazers at Brooklyn Nets – 7:30 pm ET
Over the last 11 games, the Nets are 7-4 straight-up and have the league’s third-best defensive rating. The only thing that has really been missing for Brooklyn recently is a go-to scorer. Well, that should change tonight. Cam Thomas, who is averaging 24.7 points per game this season, has been cleared to play in tonight’s game. The 23-year-old could be on a minutes restriction, as the team might not want to risk putting too much on his plate after a hamstring injury. But Thomas should give this team a jolt. He just needs to find a way not to crater the team’s defense.
The Blazers are obviously playing quite well themselves lately, but this game is also smack in the middle of a lengthy road trip. I question whether or not we’ll see Portland get up for this one. But even if the Blazers do, it’s hard not to like this matchup for the Nets. Brooklyn is a slightly better defensive team right now, and the team should be able to utilize home-court advantage to turn in a decent enough offensive performance. The Nets might not be known for having the best atmosphere in the league, but this team is in the Play-In picture and it’s a Friday night. People will be there and there should be some excitement with Thomas returning to action.
Bet: Nets ML (+110 – 1.5 units)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics – 7:30 pm ET
Boston is coming off a day off, but the team just played a road back-to-back against Toronto and Detroit. So, this is the third game in four nights for the Celtics, who haven’t exactly been healthy lately. A bunch of guys have missed time for Boston in the last week or so, with Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown being two of them. Both players are actually listed as questionable here. However, even if the two of them do end up playing, it’s hard not to like the Cavaliers.
Boston just looked rather lousy in a loss to Detroit and the team has been vulnerable all year long. Meanwhile, Cleveland has won eight straight games and 12 of its last 13. The Cavaliers also happen to be coming off two days of rest, and they’re 6-2 both straight-up and against the spread when playing with two days of rest under Kenny Atkinson. On top of that, the Cavaliers will be looking for some revenge after having lost to the Celtics in their last meeting. And they’ll be doing so with De’Andre Hunter now a part of the team. Cleveland went out and got the big forward for matchups like these, as he’s a guy that can disrupt Brown and Jayson Tatum on the defensive end. He’s also a lethal spot-up shooter.
This is also just a game in which you’d expect the Cavaliers to be a bit hungrier. I know the Celtics are coming off a rough loss to the Pistons, but we have seen them sleep-walk through games all year long. And Cleveland is the team that needs to prove it can compete with Boston — not the other way around.
Bet: Cavaliers ML (+118)
NBA Player Props Today – February 28th
Denver Nuggets at Detroit Pistons – 7:00 pm ET
Tobias Harris has come a very long way over the course of the season. Earlier in the year, I was backing the big forward to go Over much lower numbers than tonight’s 15.5-point mark. But Harris has really gotten himself going in Detroit, and he has been scorching hot in February. Since the start of the month, Harris is averaging 17.7 points per game on 57.8% shooting from the floor. Harris has even gotten his 3-ball going, knocking down at least two 3s in four of his last six games. Well, I’m rolling with Harris to score at least 16 in tonight’s meeting with the Nuggets. This is going to be a game with a playoff-like atmosphere, so Detroit will likely look to lean a bit on a player with Harris’ experience. Harris has also scored at least 16 points in seven of his last eight games, so we’re not looking for him to do something unreasonable.
Of course, Harris had only seven points in 24 minutes in a road loss to the Nuggets earlier in the year. But that was during a brutal stretch for the 32-year-old. He’s also a much better player at home. While Harris is averaging only 12.2 points per game on 43.7% shooting on the road this year, he’s averaging 15.4 points per game on 50.5% shooting in Detroit.
Bet: Harris Over 15.5 Points (-110)
Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls – 7:30 pm ET
Since the start of February, Josh Giddey is averaging 19.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. That’s a combined average of 33.8 points, rebounds and assists per game over the last 10 contests. But Giddey has ramped things up even more over the last four games, averaging 24.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. He has just been cruising since the All-Star break, and he should continue to be leaned on with Nikola Vucevic out. Well, as long as Giddey has a massive on-ball role, he should continue to fill up the stat sheet — even in a meeting with a Raptors team that has been decent defensively over the last couple of months. So, I’m not overthinking any of this. I’m taking Giddey to go Over his combined points, rebounds and assists total.
Bet: Giddey Over 32.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-122)
New Orleans Pelicans at Phoenix Suns – 9:00 pm ET
I was ready to play Bradley Beal to go Over 18.5 in last night’s game, but he ended up being held out with calf soreness. There’s a shot this play ends up being voided again, as he’s once again listed as questionable. But Beal has scored at least 19 points in six straight games and I see no reason not to at least put this in tonight. Honestly, not only has Beal gone Over tonight’s total in six straight games, but he has been flying Over the number. The 31-year-old has scored at least 24 points in five of the six games, and he even had 30 against the Raptors two games ago. Beal is just in a nice zone for Phoenix right now, and he’s clearly feeling confident now that he’s back in the starting lineup. He also gets a great matchup tonight. These teams just combined to score 240 points last night. This should be another up-and-down affair.
Bet: Beal Over 18.5 Points (-105)
Additional Plays
This is where I’ll include any late added plays, teasers/parlays or in-season futures. Come back before tip if you don’t want to miss anything. It’s always possible I’ll add something to my card.
PARLAY: Jazz Alt +10.5 vs. Timberwolves & Clippers ML vs. Lakers (+102 – 1.5 units)
________________________________________________
2024-25 NBA Record: 268-270-2 (-0.23 units)
