PICKS & PARLAYS

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.

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 San Antonio Spurs (45-17), sitting second in the Western Conference and just three games behind the Thunder, host the Los Angeles Clippers (30-31) at Frost Bank Center on Friday, March 6, tipping off at 9:30 PM ET, with Darius Garland (left toe), John Collins (neck strain), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Lisfranc), and Bradley Beal (hip) all out for LA, and the Spurs playing the second night of a back-to-back after throttling Detroit 121-106 Thursday. San Antonio is a -7.5 favorite despite the fatigue factor, and the Clippers arrive riding a three-game win streak and a 9-1 ATS run that demands respect, as one of the more deceptively tricky betting spots on tonight's slate sets up in San Antonio.

The Portland Trail Blazers (30-33), sitting 10th in the Western Conference, wrap up a long road trip at Toyota Center to face the Houston Rockets (38-23) on Friday, March 6, tipping off at 8:00 PM ET, with Deni Avdija listed as doubtful for a sixth straight game due to lower-back injury management, Shaedon Sharpe ruled out with a left fibula stress reaction, and Damian Lillard still sidelined on his torn Achilles, this matchup puts a shorthanded Portland squad that is 11-9 against the spread when given 6.5 points or more against a Houston team playing the second night of a back-to-back, fresh off a draining overtime loss to Golden State in which KD, Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Reed Sheppard all logged over 37 minutes, as Portland arrives at +6.5 trying to do what it already did twice this season: beat the Rockets on the scoreboard or at least keep it close enough to cash.

The Boston Celtics (41-21), sitting first in the Atlantic Division, host the Dallas Mavericks (21-41) at TD Garden on Friday, March 6, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN, with Jayson Tatum listed as questionable for what would be his season debut after tearing his Achilles last May, Cooper Flagg returning to action last night for the first time in eight games only to absorb a 115-114 gut-punch loss to the Magic on a buzzer-beater in Orlando, and Dallas now limping into Beantown on the second night of a back-to-back with a five-game losing streak and two more bodies unavailable, as Boston opens as a 14.5 to 15.5-point favorite in a matchup that is fundamentally about one question: can the Celtics run up a margin this large against a team depleted enough to get embarrassed but experienced enough to stay out of the garbage-time spiral?