The NBA has provided another nice-sized slate tonight, with eight games. The up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder will have a road test against the star-studded Cleveland Cavaliers, while tonight’s main event is a throwback to last year’s NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. Below bettors can check out some of the best NBA player props and bets to make for Saturday, Dec. 10.
PrizePicks NBA Player Props | Dec. 9
Jaylen Brown Over 3.5 Assists
While he’s not necessarily known for his playmaking ability, Jaylen Brown has a real opportunity to help in that area tonight in a 2021-22 NBA Finals rematch. Brown is averaging 3.6 assists per game this season, and that number has been up over the last month. Since Nov. 10, Brown is averaging 4.3 assists per game. Tonight the Celtics will be missing Al Horford, who provides five potential assists per game this season. Expect the Celtics core players to get more run tonight in his absence, and expect Brown to level up his playmaking like he has in other games without Horford.
This season Brown is averaging 3.5 assists per game when playing with Horford, compared to the 4.5 per game he records without him. The same thing happened last season, as Brown’s assist numbers jumped from 3.3 assists per game up to 4.7 assists per game when Horford didn’t play. What could also help this bet is the fact that the Warriors currently allow the second-most assists per game to the shooting guard position.
This bet is listed at -110 on PointsBet.
Luguentz Dort Over 1.5 Assists
The Thunder are a promising team with a few really good young players. One of those guys is Luguentz Dort, who sometimes gets overshadowed by the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Dort is an all-around player that’s averaging 2.3 assists this season on 4.5 potential assists per game.
He has positive rates in all three months of the season when it comes to this assist line. Dort had two or more assists in 83% of his October games and in 63% of his November games. He’s played two December games thus far, totaling two and three assists (100% hit rate) in those outings. He is playing over 30 minutes per game and has a 23% usage rate over his last five games.
The Thunder will face the Cavaliers tonight, who are a solid defensive team. Expect Gilgeous-Alexander to carry the scoring load with respectable ancillary performances from Giddey and Dort.
This bet is listed at -130 on DraftKings and currently has a 54% chance to win.
