Kevin Durant can change his legacy in Game 3, plus other best bets for Friday and the weekend

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All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook

🔥 The Hot Ticket

Nuggets at Suns, 10 p.m. | TV: ESPN

Key Trend: Kevin Durant is an all-time great.
The Pick: Kevin Durant Over 43.5 Points, Assists & Rebounds (-119)

Break glass in case of Legacy Game! Yes, that's right, I'm declaring a Legacy Game for Kevin Durant tonight.

Kevin Durant is already one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen. This series will not change that. However, KD is a player who is very aware of the league's history and his place in it. He knows he's not viewed as one of the all-time greats because, unlike players like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and his former teammate Steph Curry, he hasn't led a team to an NBA title (with Golden State, he was seen as a piece of a super team after joining a squad that had already won without him).

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Things aren't looking good for him at the moment. After pushing for a move to Phoenix when the Brooklyn thing fell apart, the Suns find themselves in a 2-0 hole without Chris Paul. Truthfully, not having Paul isn't as big of a deal as it may have been a couple of years ago, but still, symbolically, this is the moment Durant hopes for.

If Phoenix loses tonight, the series is over. Hell, it probably already is. But tonight is a chance for Durant to take over alongside Devin Booker and keep Phoenix's hopes alive. Whether or not he'll succeed, I don't know. Denver is the better team. That said, win or lose, I fully expect Durant to have a monster performance and push past this total.

Here's what SportsLine is saying about the game: The Projection Model has a slight lean toward one side of the total if you're looking for a more traditional play.

💰 The Picks

🏀 NBA

Celtics at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN
The Pick: James Harden Over 34.5 Points, Assists & Rebounds (-119) -- Kevin Durant's former teammate James Harden is in a similar spot. The letdown from the Sixers in Game 2 wasn't hard to see coming. They picked up a big win in the first game without Joel Embiid, and even though he returned for Game 2, it was clear he wasn't 100%. He won't be tonight, either, leaving the onus on Harden's shoulders.

We saw what Harden is capable of in the first game, and even if it's hard to believe he'll shoot as well again tonight, he'll be a usage monster. I anticipate Harden playing around 40 minutes after he was able to sit out so much of the second half in Game 2. Harden will have the ball in his hands every possession. Whether he's scoring or distributing, Harden will have a hand in everything the Sixers do tonight.

⚾ MLB

Red Sox at Phillies, 7:05 p.m. | TV: MLB.TV
The Pick: Masataka Yoshida Over 1.5 Total Bases (+145) -- Yes, we bet this last night, and yes, we're betting it again tonight. We are riding with Yoshida until he gives us a reason not to. He hit the over for us Thursday when he homered in his first at-bat, and nobody should've been surprised.

He finished the evening with six total bases. It was the 13th time in his last 14 games that he finished with at least two total bases in a game. He's averaging 3.2 total bases per game in that stretch. It will end one day, but as long as they keep giving odds like this on it happening, we will continue betting it. Masataka Yoshida will put your children through college.

⚽ Serie A

Roma vs. Inter Milan, Saturday, 12 p.m. | TV: Paramount+
The Pick: Inter Milan (+135) -- My initial instinct was to take the contrarian approach of taking Roma as a home dog for the second week in a row, but I thought better of it. Not because it didn't work out last week, but for the reasons why it didn't work out. Roma looks exhausted. It's dealing with a myriad of injuries, and Jose Mourinho is complaining about the depth of his squad. The grind of competing for a top-four spot in Serie A while simultaneously competing in the Europa League has taken a toll on this roster, and it's showing in their performances.

Enter Inter Milan. Like Roma, Inter is still in a fight for a top-four finish. Unlike Roma, it's not dying at an alarming rate. Inter comes into the match playing some of its best soccer of the season. It's won four straight matches, including wins over Juventus in the Coppa Italia and a 3-1 win over Lazio. While Inter's been a better home team than road team this season, it hasn't allowed an xG over 1 in any of its last six matches. That defensive solidity is why I'm so confident they'll go into the Stadio Olimpico and take all three points this weekend.

Napoli vs. Fiorentina, Sunday, 12 p.m. | TV: Paramount+
The Pick: Fiorentina (+320) -- There's no math involved in this play. It's strictly common sense. Napoli won the scudetto (what they call the Serie A title) Thursday night in Udine, the club's first league title since 1990 when Diego Maradona played for it. The party began as soon as the official blew the whistle. The players were guzzling champagne in the locker room. They then returned to Naples, where the entire city was celebrating their victory.

How much sleep and rest do you think Napoli will get between then and Sunday when they're scheduled to play Fiorentina? Also, what kind of lineup do you think Napoli will field? Sure, some regulars may be forced into action, but I'm betting on a lot of reserves getting time against Fiorentina. Hurry up and bet the Violi before the market realizes what's happening.

🔒 SportsLine Pick of the Day: The Kentucky Derby is this weekend and SportsLine's Jody Demling has everything you need to know if you want to celebrate with a mint julep afterward.