While a majority of the sports world is busy checking their brackets and washing down their chicken wings, the NBA sneaks back into the fold with a massive 12 game Friday night slate.

The Association was smart in taking Thursday night off and just letting Detroit and Orlando duke it out as the only game while everybody was watching college hoops. That means every team in the NBA is fresh for tonight.

There's no such thing as too much hoops.

🏀Top 5 Player Props March 18th 🏀

LineStar has a new Player Prop tab that lets you search for the best individual props through apps such as DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and PointsBet. Here are some of the best bets for tonight:

🏀Deandre Ayton (Over 9.5 rebounds) -Chicago had been doing a better job of keeping opposing C's off the glass, but that went out the window on Wednesday when Rudy Gobert grabbed 20 rebounds. Ayton has double digit boards in 4 of the last 6.

🏀Nikola Jokic (Over 13.5 rebounds) - 14 seems to be the projection here, as Cleveland has allowed that in each of the last four games against opposing C's with Jarrett Allen out of the lineup. Jokic had 13 rebounds on Wednesday in just 26 minutes.

🏀Gary Trent, Jr. (Over 17.5 points) - Went for 28 against the Lakers on Monday and 42 two games before that.

🏀Marcus Smart (Over 5.5 assists) - Boston gets the 3rd best pace boost of the night against the Kings and Smart has 8+ assists in 4 of the last 6.

🏀Kevin Porter, Jr. (Over 20.5 points & assists) - Got to take the man with the ball in his hand in a game with a betting total of 243.5 against Indiana. KPJ has 17+ points alone in 4 of his last 6, 21+ points in 3 of those.

Tonight's Key NBA Matchups

Mavs @ Sixers (-3.5), O/U 217 7:00 ET

Low betting total here, but it was also 210.5 when these teams met up on February 4th and that didn't stop Luka Doncic from going for 33/13/15 en route to 79fp. Joel Embiid had 61fp in that previous meeting (27/13) and he's probable (back) for the rematch.

Grizzlies (-5.5) @ Hawks, O/U 237.5 7:30 ET

The fire cooled off a bit for Trae Young on Wednesday when he had just 9 points in a 116-106 loss to the Hornets. Young did end up with 38fp thanks to having 15 assists, but he had scored 46 and 47 real points in two games prior. Ja Morant is expected to return for Memphis but he has a 46fp ceiling in 5 career games vs. Atlanta.

Trail Blazers @Nets (-14.5), OU 227.5 7:30 ET

Portland has dropped 8 of their last 9, and some of those have been some real laughers such as by 37 to the Warriors, 32 to the Nuggets, 30 against the Suns, 43 to the T'Wolves, and 38 to the Jazz. Kevin Durant has played 40+ minutes in 6 of his last 13, but there's some real blowout potential in this game.

Nuggets (-2.5) @ Cavaliers , OU 225.5 7:30 ET

Can the Cavs keep this one close, because Nikola Jokic is coming off a 29/13/8 performance in an 18 point win at Washington on Wednesday scoring 64fp in 26 minutes (sat out the 4th quarter). Cleveland has been exposed by opposing C's lately following the Jarrett Allen injury, giving up 35/17 to Joel Embiid on Wednesday, and 25/14 to Ivica Zubac, 20/14 to Nikola Jokic, and 30/17 to Bam Adebayo in the three games before that.

Wizards @ Knicks (-6) , OU 225.5 7:30 ET

The Wizards have dropped five straight, and have allowed at least 122 points in their last four. That makes the Knicks a target here, especially coming off a 30-point win over Portland on Wednesday behind 31 real points from RJ Barrett, who has played 40+ minutes in three straight.

Lakers @ Raptors (-9) , OU 227.5 7:30 ET

The Raptors return home after rattling off five straight road wins. One of those came against the Lakers 114-103 on Monday when Gary Trent, Jr. had 28, Pascal Siakam 27/11, and Scottie Barnes 21. Lebron James had 30 real points in that matchup and had a +/- of -21.

Thunder @ Heat (-16) , OU 217.5 8:00 ET

Blowout potential for the Heat here as -16 point favorites, one of the reasons Jimmy Butler will likely sit to rest an ankle he sprained on Tuesday. The Thunder have dropped 7 in a row, allowing 122+ in 6 of those.

Pacers (-4) @ Rockets, O/U 243.5 8:00 ET

The Rockets are getting torched by opposing C's, but Indiana's top two centers Isaiah Jackson (concussion) and Goga Bitadze (foot) are both likely out. The Pacers have also allowed 127+ points in 4 of their last 5 so this game with a huge betting total is a target.

Pelicans @ Spurs (-2.5), O/U 237 8:30 ET

Solid betting total but at the same time, these are two teams showing great depth lately. In New Orleans' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday, they had 7 players score in double figures. The Spurs got 15+ from five different players in their 2-point win over OKC on Wednesday.

Clippers @ Jazz (-5.5) , OU 213.5 9:00 ET

The Jazz are favored tonight despite being without Donovan Mitchell (calf), Bojan Bogdanovic (calf) and Danuel House. That opens up a lot of usage considering Mitchell had 37 points and took 22 shots in Wednesday's win over the Bulls. The Clippers have dropped 5 of their last 7, and Ivica Zubac came back down to Earth on Wednesday with 2/7 after averaging over 20/13 his previous three games.

Bulls @ Suns (-5.5), OU 231.5 10:00 ET

While Devin Booker can go off any single night, it's probably a Deandre Ayton play here against a Chicago team getting exploited by opposing C's. Rudy Gobert was the most recent big man to harass the Bulls with 20 rebounds on Wednesday.

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You can follow me, Carl Taylor (@dailydogsports), on Twitter for more daily fantasy and sports betting talk and make sure to check out the LineStar chat.

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