The Golden State Warriors (19-17) and Phoenix Suns (23-11) wrap up their first-half schedule before the All-Star Break Thursday night. The two face off at Phoenix Suns Arena at 10:05 p.m. Below, we analyze the Warriors-Suns odds and lines, with NBA picks and predictions. College Basketball Pick & Roll: Calabrese & McGrath’s 6 Best Saturday Bets & Player Props, Including Oregon vs. Cal, Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, More (Feb.

NBA’s Friday night card features a glimpse into the future when Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks host Zion Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans. The slate also features a meeting between two of the best in the Association with the Milwaukee Bucks playing the Utah Jazz. Here are a few NBA player prop predictions to consider Friday.

Friday’s NBA player prop bet predictions

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Washington Wizards PG Russell Westbrook UNDER 24.5 points (-115)

The New York Knicks head to the nation’s capital to take on the Bradley Beal-less Wizards, which allows New York’s fifth-rated defense to focus its energy on bottling up Westbrook.

The price for Westbrook’s points prop is out of whack because it figures Washington’s offense will run through the former scoring champion.

However, Westbrook has gone Over 23.5 points in only three of his 15 games played this season and New York does a good job defending point guards.

The Knicks allow the 10th-fewest points per game to point guards and the second-fewest 3-pointers and if Westbrook settles for threes that’ll be in New York’s best interest.

Westbrook is having his worst shooting year since his rookie season and is averaging fewer than 20 points per game for the first time since his second season.

Special NBA Betting Promotion!

Place a $1 bet on either team’s money line, WIN an additional $100 (in free bets) if either team hits a 3-pointer during the game today. Promotion available in CO, IN, MI, NJ, TN, VA and WV. IA and PA residents, don’t miss BetMGM‘s risk-free, first-bet offer!

Basketball Prospects 2021

Place your legal, online sports bets at BetMGM! Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!

Los Angeles Lakers SF LeBron James OVER 3.5 turnovers (-140)

The Memphis Grizzlies stop by Staples Center Friday for their final regular-season meeting with the Lakers and James faces a feisty Grizzlies defense.

You know the saying, “to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs”? Well, that’s the explanation behind LeBron being sixth in the league in turnovers per game (3.7), since he’s always running the Lakeshow (seventh in usage rate (31.4)).

Creating havoc defensively is where Memphis specializes. The Grizzlies defense has the second-highest turnover percentage and forces the most turnovers per game vs. opposing small forwards.

Also, LeBron is averaging 4.3 turnovers per game and has gone over 3.5 turnovers in seven of his eight games against Memphis since joining the Lakers.

Also see: Grizzlies at Lakers odds, picks and prediction

Play our new free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

Portland Trail Blazers PF Carmelo Anthony OVER 14.5 points (-115)

The Trail Blazers play the second of a back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers and this is a good spot for Anthony to get buckets. ‘Melo is averaging 18.4 points per game on .478/.542/.867 shooting over his last five games.

Cleveland’s bigs are elite but the Cavs struggle against stretch fours, which is essentially how Anthony is being used. The Cavs give up the most points per game to power forwards and allow the highest field-goal and 3-point percentages.

Plus, Trail Blazers PG Damian Lillard is playing at an MVP-caliber so his gravitational pull on defenses inherently creates open looks for his teammates. ‘Melo will be one of the benefactors of said gravitational pull as his usage has been pretty steady in recent games.

Also see: Cavaliers at Trail Blazers odds, picks and prediction

Want some action on this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.

Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Also see:

LeBron James takes overall All-Star vote lead in latest returns (LeBron Wire)

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

PA sports betting figures continued to climb to record heights in January.

A record $615.3 million was wagered last month, according to the Pennsylvania sports betting state report released Wednesday. That tops the previous record of $548.6million in December.

Basketball Player Props

The wagers generated $33.9 million in gross revenues, a dip from the $34.1 million in December.

PA sports betting regulators collected $11.5 million in taxes.

Pennsylvania sports betting stays online

More than 94% of Pennsylvania wagers were made online in January. That figure is a slight decrease from December’s 97.6% online share.

The online handle reached nearly $580 million.

Operators issued $15 million worth of promotional credit, dragging gross revenue to $29.9 million, resulting in approximately $10 million in state taxes. Pennsylvania sports betting revenue is taxed at the highest rate in the nation at 36%.

Online promo credits galore

In the lead up to Super Bowl LV, operators shelled out approximately $4 million more promo credits than December.

FanDuel’s $6.3 million made up a significant chunk of the month’s $15 million in promo credits. DraftKings doled out $2.8 million, while BetMGM increased its promos to $2.4 million, up from $719,366 in its first month.

Barstool increased its promotional credits to $1.4 million, up from approximately $800,000 in December.

BetMGM grows into the market

In its second month of operating in Pennsylvania, BetMGM grew its handle to $39.3 million, or 7% of the market. That’s up from $12.1 million and 2.3% in December.

Market leader FanDuel took $220 million in bets, good for 38% of the online market share, a dip from December’s 38.8%. Second-place DraftKings stayed relatively steady at 24.7% with $143.5 million in wagers.

Barstool’s handle dropped to $65 million — 11% online share — from $71.8 million.

BetRivers maintained its fourth-place online share at 8%. Its share has fallen from 10.6% in November as BetMGM comes nipping on its heels.

Pennsylvania sports betting keeps pace

Following a handle dip in November, the Keystone State is back with two-straight months of growth.

Pennsylvania finished 2020 with the third-highest handle, behind New Jersey and Nevada:

• New Jersey — $6 billion
• Nevada — $4.2 billion
• Pennsylvania — $3.6 billion

Now, it’s the third state to cross into the $600 million monthly handle club.

Pennsylvania will work to keep its third-place status as states like Colorado, Illinois and Michigan mature, and more populous states consider legalizing sports betting.

The state’s massive tax rate will likely keep the state near the top of tax revenue, however.