After a rough two days of picks, we at least salvaged Thursday's run with a 2-2 finish which we can hopefully build off of for Friday's loaded 10-game schedule.
Here are four more expert player prop picks to close off the week on a high note, including a scoring prop for Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (-106) against the fatigued Golden State Warriors on April 4, 2025.
Christian Braun OVER 13.5 Points vs. Warriors (-104 at Sportsbook)
Preview: Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. ET
The Warriors will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back after going the distance with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday in an all-important 123-116 victory which brought them to within one game of home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. The Nuggets, on the other hand, literally rested their entire starting unit on Wednesday in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, perhaps in an effort to be in tip-top form for this marquee matchup as they're now just 1.5 games up on Golden State.
Braun, along with several of his teammates, are listed as probable to return here, and his 13.5-point scoring prop is conservative enough to think there's a decent likelihood he'll go OVER at the Chase Center. While he's failed to do so in three meetings versus the Warriors already this season, the 23-year-old guard has scored 14 or more points in four-straight appearances and five of his last six.
He's averaged 16.2 points and shooting 58.2 percent from the field during that stretch, but keep in mind that Nikola Jokic was absent for three of those games and Jamal Murray (questionable on Friday) was out for two, as well. Even so, Braun is hot shooting the rock these days, and he could get some open looks as Golden State zeros in on the three-time Most Valuable Player.
Jalen Williams OVER 23.5 Points + Assists vs. Rockets (-128 at Sportsbook)
Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets, 8 p.m. ET
The consistency of Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams in this market for combined points and assists is a sight to behold, and even at meh value of just -128 for Friday's tilt with the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center, it's too much of a safe play to not at least sprinkle here.
Williams has exceeded 23.5 points and assists in 13 of his last 15 appearances for the Thunder, including in each of his last four games and 12 of his last 13. He's also gone OVER in his last three tries against the Rockets this season alone, averaging 20 points and 4.5 assists in four matchups.
According to our friends at Outlier, the 23-year-old forward has notched an OVER on 4.5 assists in four of his last five road games with a 7.2 assists per game average. That should help him keep this streak of his alive for bettors.
Rui Hachimura OVER 12.5 Points vs. Pelicans (-122 at Sportsbook)
Preview: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET
The aforementioned loss to the Warriors was a blow the Lakers couldn't afford to take, but getting the New Orleans Pelicans 24 hours later is a nice consolation in order to get back on the right path. New Orleans owns the second-worst defense in all of basketball (118.7 points allowed per 100 possessions), which helps Los Angeles as it exerted much on Thursday to have to come back so soon and compete.
Not knowing the roles the likes of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves will have in what could turn out to be a blowout, let's elect to go with forward Rui Hachimura as he's scored 13 or more points in three of his last four games, which would constitute an OVER at Crypto.com Arena. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting against Golden State, and has gone 11-of-21 from 3-point range over this four-game span.
Here's hoping that can carry over to Friday. Hachimura has gone OVER 12.5 points three out of five times in 2024-25 when suiting up on no rest.
Max Strus 3+ Made 3-Pointers vs. Spurs (+162 at Sportsbook)
Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs, 8 p.m. ET
The +162 value leads you to believe oddsmakers don't foresee this prop connecting, but the last time we wagered on Max Strus to knock down three triples was against these same San Antonio Spurs on March 27 and he pulled it off on 4-of-7 from the perimeter.
The Cleveland Cavaliers sniper has only connected on three or more 3-pointers seven out of a possible 16 times since March 1, but he gets another look at a Spurs team on Friday that ranks 27th in opponent's 3-pointers made (15.9), 28th in opponent's 3-pointers attempted (41.3), and 26th in opponent's 3-point efficiency (38.6 percent) over the last 15 games.
Both Ty Jerome and Dean Wade are ruled out for various ailments and injuries here, which could mean some extra run for Strus with the starters. Of his 31 shot attempts over his last five outings, 22 of them have come from beyond the arc, so if Strus is chucking it up, he's doing it so from distance anyway.
