Germantas Kneita
The penultimate week of the regular season is coming to a close in the NBA. Luckily for us there are still plenty of teams fighting for positioning in the standings, which should keep these contests competitive. That will be evident in todays nationally televised game on NBA TV as the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Detroit Pistons. Both sides will be desperate for a win to either improve or consolidate their positions.
You can find our NBA previews here. But for now check out my favorite player props for Saturday below.
Rudy Gobert (MIN) over 11.5 rebounds (-135)
Rudy Gobert has been on a rebounding tear of late managing to hit the over on this line in each of his last 5 games. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been relying on him more heavily, with the Frenchman playing for at least 35 minutes in each of those games. He had managed that in just 1 of the previous 7 games before then.
The Philadelphia 76ers should be a favorable opponent too, considering they do not have a deep rotation of bigs. Over the last 10 games they have ranked just 27th in the NBA in rebound percentage. They are also just 24th in true shooting percentage so there should be no shortage of boards for him to chase down. His direct matchup Adem Bona is also not someone that will space the floor and force Gobert to vacate the paint. Over the last 10 games the 76ers are also 27th in opponent offensive rebounds per game. There will be no shortage of avenues for Gobert to grab 12 rebounds as a result.
Klay Thompson (DAL) under 12.5 points (-115)
This will be the second meeting in as many nights between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers. Klay Thompson failed to make much of an impact last night, finishing with 3 points in 13 minutes before leaving the game with an illness and not returning. With this being the second game of a back-to-back, its hard to see Thompson make a miraculous recovery and return to his usual form.
Over the last 10 games the Clippers have been leading the league in defensive rating, so would be well equipped to deal with Thompson either way. During that stretch of games they have been allowing teams to make just 10.8 three pointers per game on 30.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Both marks are the best in the NBA. With Thompson being so reliant on hos 3-point scoring, this would be a tough matchup for him either way.
