The Pelicans will try to advance with their star power forward Zion Williamson (hamstring) sidelined. Domantas Sabonis is a handful in the middle, so expect Jonas Valanciunas to see a boost in playing time. During the regular season, he averaged 27 minutes across five meetings with the Kings. He posted at least 26 combined points, rebounds and assists in each of those meetings. Look for him to play enough Friday for him to reach this over.

Joe Ryan just faced the Tigers in his last outing. In that matchup, he allowed three runs (one earned) and recorded 12 strikeouts over six innings. He has logged six innings in both of his last two starts and has a favorable opportunity to last at least that long again Friday. The Tigers’ lineup has struggled mightily, posting the fifth-worst OPS in baseball.

The Heat are missing two of their top scorers in Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck). When Butler missed 11 out of 12 games during a span from late December into mid-January, Jaime Jaquez Jr. averaged 16.3 points over 35 minutes per game. Jaquez had success against the Bulls this season, scoring at least 18 points in three of their four meetings. With more minutes and shot attempts likely coming his way, I’ll take the over here.

The White Sox will deploy their best starter in Garrett Crochet. As good as he has been, the White Sox are just 1-3 in the games that he has started. Their lineup has been dreadful, averaging 2.1 runs per game for the season. That has resulted in them posting a 3-15 record. The Phillies have a much more dangerous lineup and will be rolling with a serviceable starter in Spencer Turnbull. I’ll pay the juice and take the Phillies to win.

Across the six games that Herro played since returning from a foot injury, he averaged 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists. That was despite logging fewer than 30 minutes in three of those games. He should play a ton against the 76ers since Terry Rozier (neck) has been ruled out. The first time Herro faced the 76ers this season, he recorded six rebounds and five assists over 38 minutes. The second time, he posted seven rebounds and seven assists over 38 minutes. Take the over here.

The playoffs are when the Heat come alive. They were in the Play-In Tournament last season and ultimately advanced to the NBA Finals. Jimmy Butler tends to coast through the regular season, but he goes to another level when the lights are the brightest. He also loves to stick it to his former team. When the Heat faced the 76ers in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Butler averaged 27.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists to help his squad advance to the next round. Give me the points, and I also don’t mind taking the Heat to win outright.

Dane Dunning only had three strikeouts in his last start against the Astros. However, he had seven strikeouts in both of his first two starts. The Tigers don’t do a great job of making contact, which has resulted in them striking out the ninth-most times in baseball. Dunning faced them two times last season and posted at least six strikeouts in both outings. There’s plenty of juice here, but I’ll pay it and take the over.

Finishing with the 10th seed in the West is certainly a disappointment for the Warriors. However, they finished the regular season on a high note, winning 10 of their last 12 games. Just as impressive is that six of those 10 wins came on the road, where they finished 25-16. The Kings have gone in the other direction, losing five of their last seven games. The Warriors enter this matchup with no key injuries, while the Kings are down Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk. Their absences further tilt the scales in the Warriors’ favor to earn a victory.

The Braves are averaging 6.5 runs per game this season. The Astros haven’t been as potent, but they have done plenty of damage while averaging 4.7 runs per game. Expect both teams to score in bunches in a pitching matchup between Darius Vines and Spencer Arrighetti. Vines didn’t miss a ton of bats at Triple-A and had just a 16.7 percent strikeout rate over 20 1/3 innings with the Braves last year. Arrighetti had a 4.64 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP at Triple-A last year. In his first start in the majors last week, he allowed seven runs over three innings to the Royals.

The Royals have a significant advantage in the starting pitching department for this game. They will deploy Seth Lugo, who held the White Sox to one run over 6 2/3 innings earlier this season. Lugo has logged at least six innings and allowed two or fewer runs in all three of his starts this year. The White Sox will start Nick Nastrini, who didn’t post impressive numbers at Double-A and has only thrown 26 2/3 career innings at Triple-A. The Royals also have a more dangerous lineup, so look for them to come away with the victory.

This is an underwhelming pitching matchup between Griffin Canning and Cooper Criswell. However, things could be a little easier for the Angels with Rafael Devers (shoulder) still injured and Tyler O’Neill getting the day off. The bottom-half of the Red Sox’s lineup consists of Emmanel Valdez, Ceddanne Rafaela, Reese McGuire and David Hamilton, none of which inspire much fear at the plate. Look for the Angels to outslug the Red Sox on their way to a victory.

This is my second player prop for Bobby Witt Jr. for the day. I already like him to record over 1.5 total bases, given his .358 batting average and 1.169 OPS. With having so much success in the early going, he has scored 13 runs over 13 games. The Mets are also one of the worst teams in the league in terms of catching players stealing, which should further help Witt with his speed. I expect Witt to have plenty of success against Luis Severino and to cross home plate at least one time.

Starting for the Mets on Friday will be Luis Severino. Following his 1.65 WHIP with the Yankees last season, he has a 1.60 WHIP over his first two starts this year. Bobby Witt Jr. is locked in at the plate right now, batting .358 with a 1.169 OPS for the season. Over his 13 games, he has recorded at least two total bases nine times. Don’t expect Severino to be the pitcher that slows him down.