PICKS & PARLAYS

The Friday NBA action features the Celtics hosting the Mavs and the Heat visiting the Hornets, with some strong value plays in each. McBets is going after Payton Pritchard and others in those games for his Friday best NBA parlay for March 6th.

A fascinating LaLiga encounter awaits as Celta Vigo, currently sitting comfortably in 6th place, prepare to host title contenders Real Madrid, who are second in the league standings. The clash is set to kick off on March 6, 2026, at 8:00 PM UTC.

The Indiana Pacers (15-47), riding a seven-game losing streak and chasing lottery odds more than wins, travel to Crypto.com Arena to face a Los Angeles Lakers (37-25) squad on the back end of a back-to-back after dropping a 120-113 road decision in Denver, with LeBron James (left elbow contusion, left foot arthritis), Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness), and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) all officially ruled out for Friday's 10:30 PM ET tip, leaving Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to carry the entire offensive identity against a Pacers team that got Pascal Siakam back Wednesday for 29 points and five boards in 30 minutes, with Siakam listed as probable tonight and the total sitting at 234.5 in a game where a single injury report knocked out two starters and the Lakers' most reliable interior presence all at once.

The New Orleans Pelicans (20-44), sitting 13th in the Western Conference, head to Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday, March 6, for a 9:00 PM ET tip against the Phoenix Suns (35-27), who enter tonight missing Mark Williams (foot stress reaction), Dillon Brooks (broken hand, now accompanied by a DUI arrest early this morning), and Jordan Goodwin (calf), with Royce O'Neale carrying a questionable tag with right foot soreness. Devin Booker played through a sluggish 103-105 home loss to Chicago on Thursday and now faces a Pelicans squad that is, for the first time this entire season, fully healthy: Dejounte Murray (returning from Achilles recovery), Trey Murphy III (shoulder), and Zion Williamson (ankle) all available, with Zion coming off 23 points and nine rebounds the night before in Sacramento. The line opened Suns -5.5 and has settled between -5.5 and -6.0 across books, with a posted total of 225.5. With Williams gone and Zion operating at 58.7% from the field this season, the most interesting number on the board tonight might not be the spread.

The New York Knicks (40-23), third in the Eastern Conference, travel to Ball Arena to face the Denver Nuggets (39-24) on Friday, March 6, tipping off at 9:00 PM ET, with the Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Lakers 120-113 on Thursday, Peyton Watson confirmed out with a hamstring strain, Aaron Gordon listed as questionable after missing 17 straight games with his own hamstring injury, and Cameron Johnson questionable with an ankle problem, as New York arrives as a 1.5-point road favorite posting a 7-3 ATS record in their last ten road games against a Denver team that leads the NBA in offensive rating but ranks 22nd defensively and has gone just 5-13 ATS in their last 18 March games.