NBA Best Bets & Expert Picks Today (Friday, March 15)

The NBA regular season continues with a six-game slate on Friday, and the Action Network NBA staff has four best bets ready for tonight's docket.

Our experts are targeting two player props and two bets against the spread — and two of our experts happen to be on opposite sides of Suns vs Hornets, which tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

Let's dive into our NBA best bets & expert picks today (Friday, March 15).

NBA Best Bets | Expert Picks for Friday, March 15

By Andrew O'Connor-Watts

The Suns are coming off a big game against the Celtics who handed Phoenix a wire-to-wire loss, 127-112.

We could see a diminished effort from an older Phoenix squad playing with a rest disadvantage on the road tonight.

Since the deadline, the Hornets have been playing better with an improved defense. The Suns, meanwhile, are just 1-7 in their last eight games.

Based on the recent play for both teams, I like the Hornets to keep this within single digits at home, where they’re 4-2 straight up and ATS since acquiring Grant Williams, Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micic.

I'd bet this to +8 for one unit assuming there aren't any last minute injury changes.

Pick: Hornets +9.5 (-105)

By Chris Baker

No players listed on the injury report for Phoenix makes this an excellent get-right spot for the Suns after a bad blowout loss to the Celtics.

The Suns do not have the luxury of load managing guys heading into the playoffs as they are just half-a-game back of the eight-seed and could easily wind-up in the Play-In Tournament given the current standings.

The Suns own a +1.9 in adjusted net-rating, while the Hornets rank dead-last with an adjusted net-rating of -10.1.

I’m not willing to give the Hornets two full points for a non-existent homecourt advantage as Charlotte's arena is not a very loud arena to say the least.

I expect the Suns to take care of business and play with urgency coming off of a loss as they continue their effort to avoid the play-in.

Pick: Suns -9.5 (-115)

By Joe Dellera

The Magic head to Toronto to take on a Raptors squad who is severely undermanned.

The Magic should have no difficulty dispatching of the Raptors tonight and one player I’m targeting is Paolo Banchero.

Paolo has an elite matchup on the interior against the Raptors who will be without all of their primary big men besides Kelly Olynyk.

Since the All-Star Break, the Raptors have the seventh-worst defensive rating, yet they are playing at the second-fastest pace. They are getting blitzed and this is a recipe for points.

Paolo’s points line is set at 22.5, a number he has exceeded in 59% of the team’s wins this season, while averaging 22.8 points per game.

I expect Paolo to have a big game tonight and I’m not concerned about a blowout because his hit rate actually increases as the wining margin gets bigger with him exceeding this line in 67% of games they win by 15 or more.

I like Paolo to exceed 22.5 points tonight.

Pick: Paolo Banchero Over 22.5 Points (-111)

By Joe Dellera

The Pelicans take on the Clippers tonight in a game that could be a preview of a first round matchup in the Western Conference.

One player I’m targeting is CJ McCollum. CJ has changed his shot profile to better fit the Pelicans system to optimize Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram and it has paid dividends for the team.

McCollum is taking over 50% of his shots from 3-point range, which is the highest mark in his career and a 12% uptick from last season. The 3-ball is a shot the Clippers allow at a league average rate so this sets up well for CJ.

McCollum has also scored well against LAC over the last two seasons while averaging 19.8 across five contests. The one time he scored just 12, he was 4-for-13 from the field but the volume was there.

In the most recent meeting, he dropped 25 points on February 7 and was 5-of-11 from 3-point range.

As for the rebounds, CJ has rebounded well in this matchup as well. He has averaged 5.4 per game in this matchup with totals of six and seven this season.

Tonight, the rebounds could have even more upside if the Clippers elect to run a smaller lineup in an attempt to tax Zion, especially if the Pelicans play more Larry Nance minutes.

It would not surprise me to see Ty Lue experiment with a few extra things during this game given the likely playoff matchup.

Overall, his points + rebounds line is set at 19.5, a number he has exceeded in 59% of games while averaging 22.6 per game. 20.5 is fine as well.

McCollum is capable of clearing this number with points, alone.

Pick: CJ McCollum Over 20.5 PTS + REB (-105)

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