Zach Thompson details his best player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for Sunday’s matchup between the Rockets and the Warriors.
The NBA has just a week left in the regular season, and 11 games fill up a very busy Sunday. The final game of the night is the second game of Sunday Night Basketball, featuring the Houston Rockets visiting the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Both teams are gearing up for the postseason, and the Warriors could get Steph Curry back in action. Let’s take a look at some of the top options for player prop bets on each side of this Western Conference contest.
The Rockets are 3.5-point road favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with a game total of 226.5 points.
The Rockets are 48-29 and currently fifth in the Western Conference, but can play their way up to the No. 3 seed. The Warriors are 36-41, sitting at No. 10 in the conference and headed for the Play-In Tournament, where they’ll face either the Clippers or the Trail Blazers in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup. The Warriors have lost three straight and are just 5-13 since Feb. 28. The Rockets, on the other hand, have won five straight and seven of their last nine.
On the injury report, Steph Curry is questionable along with Seth Curry, while Al Horford and Moses Moody are out, and Gui Santos is probable. The Rockets have a mostly clean injury report, with only long-term injuries on the board.
Rockets vs. Warriors Best Prop Bets
Gui Santos o20.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-103)
Santos missed a game with a right pelvic contusion, but he was able to return on Thursday agianst the Cavaliers and contribute 25 points, four rebounds and four assists. He has gone over this prop line in eight of his last 10 games and 17 of his last 20.
He is averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists for 26.3 PRA (points, rebounds and assists) over his 21 games since the All-Star break.
Even with Curry expected to return, Santos will most likely continue to be involved enough to surpass this total against the Rockets. He had 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists for 26 PRA when he last faced Houston in early March.
Tari Eason o10.5 Points (-131)
Eason went through a woeful shooting stretch in early March and moved back to the bench. He averaged 6.9 points per game in the first 19 games after the all-star break, shooting 32.5% overall and 15.6% from long distance.
He has bounced back, though, scoring at least 11 points in four of his last five games while averaging 13.8 points and shooting 48.1% from the field. He is still typically coming off the bench, but he is involved enough to get over this scoring prop against the Warriors.
Eason can be a big secondary scoring piece for the Rockets in the postseason, so they’ll try to keep him on track over the last week of the regular season.
Brandin Podziemski o20.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-103)
Podziemski has been carrying the load for the Warriors without Curry, and he has gone over this prop line in six straight games. Even with Curry likely back, Podziemski should get plenty of rebounds and assists. The defense having someone else to focus on could open more space for him on the wings.
When he faced the Rockets without Curry in March, he had 26 points, nine rebounds and an assist for 36 PRA. He had 20 PRA against them in November with both Curry and Jimmy Butler active.
Podziemski is not exactly a lock now that Curry will take some of the work, but especially as Curry ramps up, Podziemski should still remain critically involved.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Jabari Smith Jr. o14.5 Points (-114)
If you’re building a SGP (Same Game Parlay) for the Sunday night matchup, one way to boost the odds even higher is to take the over on Smith’s scoring line. Adding this into the mix as the fourth player prop boosts the SGP all the way up to +1000 odds for these four Rockets-Warriors bets.
Smith has scored at least 15 points in five of his last six games, with 12 points against the Bucks in the only matchup in which he fell just short. He’s stepped back into a big role for the Rockets and has at least 15 points in 11 of his last 15 games (73.3%).
