Sean Barnard shares his top three favorite NBA player prop bets across Sunday’s 11-game NBA slate.
There are 11 games of action tipping off across today’s NBA slate. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder will open the day up with an afternoon matchup, and the action will build up to a late game between the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers.
There are plenty of ways to get involved in the action across DraftKings Sportsbook. This article will look at my three favorite NBA prop bets across the Sunday slate.
Sam Hauser Over 2.5 Made Three-Pointers (-114)
The Boston Celtics will face off with the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, with the battle at the three-point line set to be a major factor in deciding the outcome. Boston attacks the three-point line at a great rate, ranking third in the league in three-point attempts per game and ninth in three-point percentage as a team. This will be problematic against a Lakers defense that ranks 15th in three-point attempts allowed and 22nd in opponent three-point percentage.
Expect Sam Hauser to continue playing a major role in this attack. The 28-year-old is averaging 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 39.8% on three-point attempts. Hauser is launching almost seven perimeter shots per game and averaging 2.6 made three-pointers per game. He has made over 2.5 three-pointers in 21 games this year. This includes three of the last four games, and he is coming off back-to-back games with four made perimeter shots.
Count on the Celtics to have success attacking this Lakers defense and kicking the ball to the perimeter throughout. Luka Doncic’s inability or unwillingness to provide adequate perimeter resistance has led to these breakdowns on a regular basis for Los Angeles. Hauser is a huge part of this attack, and this is a matchup that favors his skillset. Expect him to remain hot from the perimeter and knock down over 2.5 made three-pointers for the third straight game and 22nd time this season.
Julius Randle to Record 9+ Rebounds (+120)
The Minnesota Timberwolves will be facing the Philadelphia 76ers tonight, who are playing on the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the New Orleans Pelicans last night. They will also be without Rudy Gobert, who is serving a suspension due to flagrant foul accumulation. Even under the best of circumstances, the Sixers have issues rebounding the basketball. Philadelphia ranks 19th in the league in rebounds per game, 22nd in opponent rebounds allowed and 21st in total rebounding percentage.
With Gobert sidelined, count on Julius Randle stepping up as the primary rebounding option. The bruising forward is averaging 6.9 rebounds per game on the season. However, he averaged 8.5 rebounds per game last year in the games played without Gobert and is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game in the two matchups played without the Frenchman this season.
Count on Randle using his physicality to establish position and pull in rebounds throughout. Joel Embiid’s injuries have not helped the rebounding output, but he is not the solution to all of these issues individually, and the team has had similar struggles when he is on the floor. Embiid’s status is uncertain for tonight. In last night’s loss, DeAndre Jordan pulled in 15 rebounds against the 76ers, while Derik Queen added nine boards of his own. The standard rebounding prop for Randle is set at 7.5, with the over favored at -142 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. But I am further bumping this up to nine rebounds with the favorable matchup in mind.
Bennedict Mathurin Over 21.5 Points (-113)
In the late matchup tonight, the Los Angeles Clippers will host the Orlando Magic. The Clippers went through a significant facelift at the trade deadline, sending out James Harden and Ivica Zubac in trades. Bennedict Mathurin came to Los Angeles as part of the return and has filled the shoes of the score-first role in a way the team needed. Across his first four games with the Clippers, Mathurin is averaging 22.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Orlando has built an identity as a defensive-minded team, but it has failed to live up to this reputation this year. The Magic are allowing 114.8 points per game, which ranks 14th in the league. They also rank 22nd in opponent field-goal percentage and are 23rd in opponent free throws allowed. The Magic do a nice job chasing teams off the three-point line, ranking third in opponent three-point attempts allowed, but Mathurin does most of his damage inside the arc anyway. Across his four games with the Clippers, only 15 of his 61 field-goal attempts have come from beyond the arc. He has also gotten to the free-throw line 38 times, which will be a factor in this matchup.
The Clippers need more sources of consistent offense, and Mathurin has taken this challenge with open arms. Expect him to have success getting downhill, creating contact and getting to the free-throw line throughout. Mathurin has openly discussed how much he has enjoyed the basketball freedom he is allowed to play with, and he will continue playing in attack mode. The Arizona product has scored 38 and 26 points in his past two games, so look for him to build off this momentum to record over 21.5 points for the third straight game tonight.