NBA Game of the Night - Blazers at Hawks and a +417 Parlay

The Blazers visit the Hawks in one of Friday’s games of the night and this will be  Atlanta coach Quin Snyder’s first real chance to coach the team after getting a couple practices in over the last two days. 

Anfernee Simons doesn’t sound likely to play for the Blazers due to an ankle injury and Justise Winslow, Jusuf Nurkic and Ryan Arcidiacono are all out for the Blazers tonight. 

For the Hawks, Trae Young (groin) is expected to play and it should be fun watching him and Damian Lillard try to outscore one another. 

Players we like tonight include Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle for the Blazers and Trae Young and Clint Capela for the Hawks. Here’s why. 

Jerami Grant’s over/under is set at 22.5 points and he’s coming off a 28-point game against New Orleans on Wednesday and had 24 points against the Warriors on Tuesday. Grant has scored at least 23 points in three of his last four and the Hawks are one of the worst teams in the league against opposing small forwards, giving up over 23 points to them. In fact, the Hawks are the fourth-worst team in the entire league against them. Matisse Thybulle started alongside Anfernee Simons on Wednesday and had 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal, four blocks and two 3-pointers in a loss to the Pelicans. He also had 15 points, three rebounds, a steal, two blocks and 3-pointers on Tuesday giving him two-game averages of 13.5 points, 5.5 boards, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 3.0 blocks and 3.5 3-pointers. And given Thybulle’s lack of offense this season, that’s a pretty big deal. Cam Reddish came off the bench in the last one but could start with Simons out tonight, but Thyubble is hot and the Hawks are not good at stopping opposing small forwards, as mentioned above. His over/unders are quite reasonable tonight: 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 3-pointers.

I like the Capela over of 23.5 points and rebounds tonight against the Blazers. He had 13 points and 15 boards in Tuesday's loss to the Wizards and had 10 points and 15 rebounds in a Jan. 30 meeting against these same Blazers. He's been pretty inconsistent over the last month but it's important to note that the Blazers are the worst team in the entire league defensively against opposing centers, giving up 26.23 points to them each night, and Jusuf Nurkic is out. 

Trae Young’s over/under for points and dimes is set at 37.5 and Young has to be psyched about playing for Snyder. He’s been playing well of late and has hit the over here in three straight games. Young should get into a scoring battle to match Lillard tonight and they’re going to be tired after playing in three of the last four nights. Trae is going to likely play at a high level the rest of the way as the Hawks try to make a playoff push and Snyder leading the way. 

Pick: Blazers +8

+417 Same Game Parlay

Leg 1: Blazers +8

Leg 2: Trae Young 25+ points

Leg 3: Trae Young 2+ 3-pointers

Leg 4: Jerami Grant 20+ points