Zach Thompson details his best player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for Saturday’s matchup between the Magic and the Heat.
One of the three games on the Saturday night schedule in the NBA is a Florida showdown in South Beach between the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat, tipping off at 8:00 p.m. ET. The two teams are next to each other in the Eastern Conference standings, and their geographical proximity should only add more fuel to the rivalry in Miami. Let’s dive into the matchup and spotlight a few strong player prop bets to add to our betting card for this Magic-Heat matchup.
In the overall picture of this contest, the Heat are 4.5-point home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with a game total of 237.5 points.
The Heat are 38-29 and currently sit sixth in the East, while the Magic are 37-28 in the No. 5 spot. Orlando has won six straight, and Miami has won seven straight, so both teams are surging a little bit coming into this contest.
On the injury report, the Heat listed Norman Powell and Tyler Herro as questionable but upgraded them to available. Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic remain out, but Kel’el Ware will also be able to play on Saturday in this matchup. On the Magic side, Franz Wagner, Anthony Black and Jonathan Isaac remain out, but no players are questionable.
Magic at Heat Best Prop Bets
Jalen Suggs o15.5 Points (-107)
Without Black and Wagner, Suggs has to carry more of the offense, and he has been doing that successfully for the last three games, averaging 18.2 points per game and going over this prop three times.
Suggs and the Magic should get a pace-up boost since the Heat play at the fastest pace in the NBA this season and over the last 10 games. Overall, it’s a good spot for them to exceed their season averages since they’ll have more possessions than in typical matchups.
Suggs had 16 points against the Heat when he faced them at the end of January and also went over this prop line against them twice in December, posting 22 points and 20 points in back-to-back home games against Orlando’s in-state rivals.
With good form and a matchup he can attack, look for Suggs to build on his 28-point outburst from Thursday against Washington, which was a new career-high for the 24-year-old out of Gonzaga.
The Heat have leaned on Larsson for the last few games with Norman Powell and Tyler Herro out, and Larsson came up huge on Thursday against the Bucks, scoring 28 points and producing 40 PRA (points, rebounds and assists) in 38 minutes while fueling his team’s 112-105 victory.
On the season, Larsson is only averaging 17.5 PRA, and in games with the rest of the team at full strength, his usage usually dips. In 12 games this season with Powell, Herro and Bam Adebayo all playing full games, Larsson averaged just 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists for 12.3 PRA.
He’ll probably be more involved than he typically is with Wiggins still out, but I think he’ll stay well below this PRA line despite his success on Thursday when asked to step into a bigger role. The Magic defense is also a tough matchup for him and the rest of the Heat, making me lean generally under on their props.
Tristan da Silva o20.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-103)
On the other side of the PRA over/under, I’ll take da Silva to get at least 20 PRA, since he’s been playing such a huge role for the Magic with Anthony Black on the sidelines. He’s only averaging 14.8 PRA per game for the season, but over his last 10 games, he is averaging 22.8 PRA.
In his two games this week, he scored 23 points against the Cavs and 26 points against the Wizards, clearing this PRA line with points alone. He has gone over this PRA prop line in four of his last five games and six of his last nine.
Since this is a pace-up spot for him and the Magic, it mkaes sense to target his over, especially if he gets another start in place of Black, as expected.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Bam Adebayo u21.5 Points (-110)
If you’re building an SGP (Same Game Parlay) from this Saturday night showdown, one way to boost the odds even higher is by adding the under on Bam’s points. Adding that fourth player prop into the mix boosts the SGP all the way up to +1100 for these four Magic-Heat bets.
Taking Bam to stay under 21 points might seem bold after he scored almost four times this many against the Wizards earlier this week, but the Magic aren’t the Wizards. Not only will he be in a much tougher matchup, but he will also have much more help with Herro and Powell back in the mix. Adebayo is averaging 20.0 points per game even after his explosion earlier this week, and he finished under this prop in each of his last two matchups against the Magic and three of his four head-to-head matchups with Orlando over the last calendar year.
