Alex Hunter details his best NBA player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for Thursday’s game between the Thunder and Lakers.
The Thunder are hosting the Lakers on Thursday. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Oklahoma City is favored by 9.5 points and this game carries a total of 231.5 points.
Let’s dive into three of my favorite player prop bets for Thursday’s matchup between the Thunder and the Lakers.
Best Thunder vs. Lakers Player Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Luguentz Dort U 6.5 Points (-109)
Dort’s role has been fragile recently and his numbers have suffered. Monday’s game vs. the Pistons went to overtime and despite the extra period, Dort only logged 22 minutes and scored two points. The wing has only surpassed 6.5 points three times in his last 10 and over this span, Dort is shooting just 32.6% from the floor and 29.4% on three pointers.
Dort is primarily an outside shooter, who doesn’t score in the paint often, as 65% of his points this season have come via three-pointers. This is bad news for this matchup vs. the Lakers and Dort shouldn’t contribute much as a scorer tonight. Since the All-Star break, no defense has been better at defending the outside shot than Los Angeles, with the club giving up the fewest made three-pointers (11.2) on the lowest percentage in the league (32%).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander U 1.5 Made Three-Pointers (-140)
As just mentioned, the Lakers have been the best defense in the NBA since the All-Star break at stopping the three-point shot and backing Gilgeous-Alexander for under 1.5 made treys in this spot makes sense.
The superstar isn’t known as a deep shooter and since the All-Star break, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 1.4 made three-pointers on 4.0 attempts per game and shooting 35% from beyond the arc. In nine of his 15 starts during the stretch, Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t hit multiple treys.
Austin Reaves U 19.5 Points (-125)
The Thunder lead the NBA in defensive rating and Reaves has had trouble in this matchup this season. In his two meetings with the defending champions, Reaves has scored 13 and 16 points. The guard is shooting just 38% from the field against Oklahoma City, which is his worst shooting percentage against any team he has played more than once.
The Thunder know how to bother Reaves and 19.5 points is just too high of a line for him in this matchup. Since the All-Star break, Reaves has stayed under 19.5 points in 13 of his 22 starts and he is handling a 23.9% usage rate, which is a notable drop from the 29.1% he saw before the break.