The Los Angeles Lakers continue to adjust to playing without Luka Doncic, who injured his hamstring on April 2, which now puts even more pressure on future Hall of Famer LeBron James in his 23rd NBA season. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, has always been more than just a scorer throughout his career, but with both Doncic and Austin Reaves (oblique) out, a significant amount of the scoring pressure falls on James for the time being. The Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, and while his scoring may increase, the SportsLine Projection Model expects a decrease in James’ facilitating, making Under 9.5 assists one of its top Thursday NBA player prop picks for prop betting. He’s finished Under this total in four of his last six games.
The model is also backing Knicks guard Jalen Brunson Under 7.5 assists against the Celtics when online sports betting for Thursday NBA props. One of SportsLine’s top NBA experts has locked in his NBA player prop bet for Thursday, picking Raptors forward RJ Barrett Under 30.5 total points + rebounds + assists against Miami. Before locking in Thursday NBA prop picks and other NBA bets on betting sites like FanDuel or DraftKings, be sure to check out top picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
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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 Week 25 on a sizzling 47-20 roll on top-rated NBA spread picks dating back to last season. Anyone following its NBA betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
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Top NBA player prop picks on Thursday
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks, Under 7.5 assists
- LeBron James, Lakers, Under 9.5 assists
- RJ Barrett, Raptors, Under 30.5 total points + rebounds + assists
Jalen Brunson, Knicks, Under 7.5 assists
Brunson is coming off back-to-back games with double-digit assists, however, playing the Celtics always poses defensive challenges. Boston has the No. 1 scoring defense in the NBA, allowing 106.9 points per game this season, on the second-fewest made field goals and fourth-fewest assists allowed per game. Boston hasn’t allowed a player to record at least eight assists in six of its last seven games. The model projects Brunson for 6.6 assists on Thursday.
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LeBron James, Lakers, Under 9.5 assists
The Lakers will be shorthanded offensively without Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), which means that more of the scoring responsibilities will fall on James, and the all-time great will have fewer reliable options to pass the ball to for assist opportunities. The Lakers play the Warriors in the latest potential James vs. Stephen Curry battle (although Curry is questionable with his return from a knee injury), and James could be additionally focused on scoring to keep pace with Curry. James has gone Under this total in two of his last three, four of his last six and 17 of his last 20 games. For NBA betting, the model projects James for 8.4 assists on Thursday.
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RJ Barrett, Raptors, Under 30.5 total points + rebounds + assists
“This is a big combo line for RJ Barrett, who is averaging a combined 26.3 PRA on the season,” SportsLine props expert Alex Selesnick, AKA PropStarz, said. “While this is definitely a good matchup on paper against a Heat team that hasn’t been particularly good defensively, it is a must-win game for both teams and should be a playoff atmosphere. The Raptors are also as healthy as they have been all season long. Ultimately, this number is a couple ticks too high for a guy that doesn’t create a lot of offense.”
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