It’s Thursday night in the NBA and for a small slate, we have some great matchups! Luka and LeBron square off for the first time since Christmas. The Lakers are 6-2 over their last 8 games and the Mavericks are 7-13 on the road for the season. Kyrie leads the Durant-less Nets against his old team in the Boston Celtics, who are coming off a back-to-back. It has yet to be confirmed what starting lineup we will see from Nets HC Jacque Vaughn. Lastly, the Heat and Bucks meet in Miami as Giannis is coming off one of his worst scoring performances of the season (7 points). Make sure you read our NBA picks for tonight’s games, but for now, let’s look at some player props for tonight!
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Scottie Barnes (TOR) over 11.5 rebounds + assists (-115)
Line available on DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
Barnes has cleared this in 6 of his last 8 games and is leading the team in potential rebounds for 2023 (14.3 per game). In the assists category, he’s 3rd on the team in January with 10.6 per game, and this is a great matchup for the Raptors scorers to excel. The Hornets are top 10 in pace, 25th overall in opponent assists per game, and are just putrid on both sides of the ball. Charlotte is 26th in defensive rating and 28th in offensive rating. This is a 1.5U play for me and we’ll see Barnes later in our “$5 and a Dream” parlay.
Be sure to check out our full Charlotte Hornets vs Toronto Raptors predictions
Ben Simmons (BKL) over 2.5 blocks + steals (+145)
Line available on DraftKings sportsbook at the time of publishing.
Simmons will be thrust into a bigger role in Durant’s absence whether he likes it or not. The Nets will lose size while Durant’s gone and with only Nic Claxton manning the middle, Simmons will see more minutes on the floor as a result. He’s averaging 1.4 steals per game this season, but the blocks should come in situations where he may be needed to play center on this undersized Nets squad. The Celtics are relatively small in the frontcourt with Al Horford and Robert Williams playing the lion’s share of minutes in the paint, and both are players that Simmons can manage in sparing possessions. He’s logged a block in 2 straight games and has hit this line in steals alone in 3 of his last 4 games. 1U
Bam Adebayo (MIA) over 9.5 rebounds (-135)
Line available on BetMGM sportsbook at the time of publishing.
The Bucks are on a back-to-back and missing several key players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Grayson Allen and Joe Ingles. The Bucks’ frontcourt will consist of Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, who can hold their own, but will struggle to match the energy of Bam coming off 4 days of rest. Adebayo sees a slight uptick in the rebounding column at home (10.2) and would love to grab a win tonight before heading on a 3-game road stretch. Bam has hit this in 10 of 17 games since the start of December and 4 of the last 7. 1U
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$5 and a Dream Parlay (+31034)
- Tyrese Maxey 25 Points + PHI Win (+300)
- Scottie Barnes DD + TOR Win (+340)
- Darius Garland DD + CLE Win (+480)
- Jayson Tatum 32+ Points + BOS Win (+205)
$5 pays $1551
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