The folks at Turner Sports know what they are doing, not only because they have Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal on the air, but also because they know how to pick which games they will show.

Tonight, they have a doubleheader of the Boston Celtics bringing an 11-game winning streak into Cleveland to face the Cavs, followed by the Phoenix Suns visiting the Denver Nuggets, who are one of three NBA teams to have gone unbeaten since the All-Star break (the third is the Milwaukee Bucks, who are off tonight).

The Cavs have slipped to third in the East but are tied in the loss column with Milwaukee, which has picked up its defensive intensity in going 6-0 out of the break under coach Doc Rivers.

But Cleveland is a very good team, and that Boston winning streak is in jeopardy in theory because the Cavs will be playing at home in front of a raucous crowd. They will be without Donovan Mitchell, though, who is sidelined with a bone bruise in his knee. As a result, the Celtics are favored by 8.5 points. Who will the Cavs try to ride? Who will Boston try to rely upon? Let’s have at it on this particular Tuesday, because everyone knows that money is made on Tuesdays (a.k.a. “get things done day”).

NBA Player Props Today for Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Jayson Tatum/Darius Garland 30+ points 

The Celtics are coming off a 52-point beatdown of the Golden State Warriors over the weekend, while the Cavs are trying to recover from a loss to the injury-riddled New York Knicks. Because of all the injuries, we do not want to go anywhere near Porzingis and Brown, who have some tantalizing lines that will be rendered null and void if those players are sidelined. So, we go with the two best players that we know are healthy. The operative thought being that Garland, who scored 29 two games ago but just 19 against the Knicks, will be pumped for the national broadcast and will put up a point total in the 30s. Tatum reaches the 30s regularly.

The Pick: Jayson Tatum and Darius Garland to both score at least 30 points (+1000)

Tobias Harris/Buddy Hield 20+ points

We are not touching anyone on the Nets because they are a broken team with an interim coach that could not take care of business against one of the West’s bottom-feeders. So, with the Sixers, it is a matter of picking who will have the hot hand. One selection is easy because Tobias Harris is from New York and will have family at the game and always plays well in Gotham. The second player is a guessing game as the Sixers fire away from 3-point range with their non-Embiid team. The guy who has made at least two 3-point shots in all 10 of his games since Philly acquired him at the trade deadline is Buddy Hield, who scored at least 20 in his first four games with the Sixers and is due for another 20-spot.

The Pick: Tobias Harris and Buddy Hield to each score at least 20 points (+1000)

R.J. Barrett/Brandon Ingram 30+ points

The players who have been scoring consistently for the Raptors are the two ex-Knicks, Immanuel Quickley and R.J. Barrett, while the Pels have five players who could go for 20 on any given night. The trick here is going for the guy who is putting up a 30-something spot, and Ingram is coming off outputs of 30 and 34 for New Orleans in the last two games, both of which were against the Indiana Pacers.

The Pick: R.J. Barrett and Brandon Ingram to each score at least 30 points (+1800).

Michael Porter Jr. 30+ points

You never quite know who aside from Jokic is going to put up big numbers for the Nuggets, and the Suns are pretty much a mystery every time they take the court because they never have their Big Three together. Going through the player props, the one that stood out as the best value is Porter going for 30 or more, which he has done twice in the past six games. He has a history of peaking when the calendar turns to March and April.

The Pick: Michael Porter Jr. to score at least 30 points (+1200)

Odds are subject to change*

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