Another week, another small Saturday NBA slate of games. While there are just four games on the Association’s main docket, there are surprisingly some good matchups — both individually and team-wise. Thus, there’s plenty of an opportunity to make” bank” with some NBA player props featuring Kawhi Leonard, Anfernee Simons, and Karl-Anthony Towns. For more best NBA bets, be sure to visit the OddsShopper tool.
The Orlando Magic vs. Indiana Pacers (7 p.m. ET ) may not appear attractive, but each team has a budding NBA star and some other promising youngsters. Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Bol Bol, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jalen Smith are the exciting young players to watch in this game. Unfortunately, No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero (ankle) and Cole Anthony (oblique) remain out. Haliburton’s status for the Pacers is up in the air after leaving their win over the Houston Rockets last night.
The best games of the night are theoretically the Minnesota Timberwolves (7-8) at the Philadelphia 76ers and the Utah Jazz (11-6) at the Portland Trail Blazers (10-5). The Timberwolves have won two straight and may be starting to gel. However, the 76ers — on a three-game winning streak — are banged up with Tyrese Maxey (foot) likely joining James Harden on the sidelines for tonight. Tobias Harris (hip) missed the Sixers’ win over Milwaukee on Friday, and his status versus the Wolves is also up in the air.
The Jazz and Trail Blazers contest pits the top two teams in the Western Conference and should be a very entertaining game. Both teams have struggled recently. The Jazz snapped a three-game losing streak with a 134-113 thrashing of Phoenix on Friday, while the Blazers have lost two of its last three.
Our NBA player props have been 5-for-5 over the last two weeks. Let’s see if we can keep it going.
Best NBA Player Props
Kawhi Leonard Prop
Leonard finally re-entered the lineup against Detroit on Thursday, marking his first appearance since October 23. Leonard finished with six points, five rebounds, and four assists over a season-high 25 minutes in his first start of the campaign against the Pistons.
Expect Leonard, who has not shot the ball well this season, to be more of a playmaker than a scorer against San Antonio tonight as he continues to work off the rust from playing sparingly. Leonard should have plenty of opportunities to set up his Clipper teammates, with the Spurs being the worst defensive teams in the league. The Spurs own a league-worst defensive rating of 117.5, and their opponents average nearly 28 assists a game — the highest total in the league.
Leonard projects to accumulate four assists tonight. OddsShopper gives the over a 74% chance of hitting with an EV of 14%.
NBA Player Prop Pick: Kawhi Leonard Over 2.5 Assists
Anfernee Simons Prop
Simons is off to a fantastic start, producing a career-high 22.5 points a game. He, Damian Lillard, and Jerami Grant are the main reason the Trail Blazers sit atop the Western Conference.
While Simons is capable of running the offense, he is more of a scorer than a distributor, particularly when Lillard is on the court at the same time. Simons has compiled just two assists in each of the last three games. Simons has failed to dole out more than three assists in seven of the 10 times he and Lillard have played together this year. Moreover, Utah’s opponents average the second-fewest assists a game at 21.7.
OddsShopper gives Simons a 55% chance of finishing under 3.5 assists tonight with an EV of 6%.
NBA Pick: Anfernee Simons Under 3.5 Assists
Karl-Anthony Towns Prop
Towns is rebounding the ball better following a slow start. He has grabbed double-digit rebounds in five of the Wolves’ eight games in November, averaging nearly 10 boards a game this month.
Philadelphia is not a below-average shooting and rebounding team. So, there should be plenty of opportunities for Towns and Rudy Gobert to pad their stats.
The Sixers will likely be without two of their top scorers in Maxey and possibly Harris, so that hurts them offensively. The Sixers also allow opposing power forwards to collect a league-high 13 rebounds a game.
OddsShopper projects Towns to finish with nine caroms a game. The over is given a 56% chance of hitting with an EV of 20%.
NBA Player Prop Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 8.5 Rebounds
