The Los Angeles Lakers will look to close out the Houston Rockets on the road in Game 6. Lakers center Deandre Ayton has been extremely effective in Los Angeles’ past two losses against Houston, securing a double-double in both outings. He’s coming off an 18-point and 17-rebound performance in Game 5, and he could be a focal point for NBA prop picks on Friday. Ayton’s over/under for total points scored in Game 6 is 11.5, according to the latest NBA betting odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. The SportsLine Projection Model projects he’ll exceed that total against the Rockets, predicting he’ll finish with 15.3 points, and identifies it as one of Friday’s top NBA player props and NBA best bets today.
SportsLine NBA expert Larry Hartstein is also high on Pistons guard Ausar Thompson to be an effective rebounder when Detroit takes on the Orlando Magic at 7 p.m. ET. Robinson has logged eight or more rebounds in each of his past four meetings with the Magic, and his over/under for total rebounds on Friday is 6.5. Before locking in Friday’s NBA prop picks and other NBA bets on betting sites like FanDuel, be sure to check out top picks from the proven computer model and team of experts at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past eight-plus seasons. The model entered the second full week of the 2026 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 25-9 roll (74%) on top-rated NBA spread picks this season. Anyone following its NBA betting advice at online betting sites and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Top NBA player prop picks on Friday
- Ausar Thompson, Pistons, Over 7.5 rebounds
- Collin Murray-Boyles, Raptors, Over 18.5 points + rebounds
- Deandre Ayton, Lakers, Over 11.5 points
Ausar Thompson, Pistons, Over 7.5 rebounds
“Pistons all-world defender Ausar Thompson has played 32 or more minutes in three straight games and is coming off an incredible all-around performance: 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks (not to mention six points),” SportsLine expert Larry Hartstein said. “The 23-year-old has recorded seven, eight, eight, nine and 15 boards in this series. Fellow starter Tobias Harris (ankle) is questionable for Game 6. He’s averaging 7.6 rebounds in this series, so his potential absence (or if he’s limited) would put even more of a rebounding burden on Thompson.”
Collin Murray-Boyles, Raptors, Over 18.5 points + rebounds
“Collin Murray-Boyles didn’t do much in the first half of Game 5, but still finished with eight points and five rebounds over 25 minutes,” SportsLine expert Mike Barner said. “For the series, he is averaging 15.2 points and 6.8 rebounds. In the two home games, he combined for 30 and 25 points and rebounds. Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) is still out, Brandon Ingram (heel) is questionable and it looked like something was bothering Scottie Barnes in the second half of Game 5. Murray-Boyles should play around 25 minutes and take more than the five shots that he attempted Wednesday, so I like this over.”
Deandre Ayton, Lakers, Over 11.5 points
Deandre Ayton has been extremely productive for the Lakers despite Los Angeles dropping its last two games. In Wednesday’s loss to the Rockets, Ayton stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points and 17 rebounds. He’s now scored 18 or more points in three of his five meetings with the Rockets, and SportsLine’s model expects he’ll be an effective scorer again on Friday, projecting he’ll finish with 15.3 points on average.
