Germantas Kneita
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The NBA is following up last night’s incredible top-of-the-conferences clash between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers with another strong 8-game slate tonight. The highlight of the games will see the two 24-win teams chasing the Thunder go head-to-head, as the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Houston Rockets. You can find out our NBA picks for that game tonight’s other big matchups. But for now, let’s dive into my best NBA player prop bets for Thursday, January 9.
LeBron James (LAL) over 23.5 points (-120)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
LeBron James is coming into tonight after 2 sub-par scoring performances for his standard, dropping 18 and 21 points in losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, respectively. This will be a great chance for him to bounce back at home against the Charlotte Hornets. James has been far more efficient when playing in front of his home fans. Both his field goal and three-point percentage spike at home, with the latter reaching an impressive 43.5%. It has helped him average 24.5 points per game in those games. The Hornets should be favorable opponents, considering they lack lockdown wing defenders on their roster. The visitors also rank 27th in the league in opponent three-point attempts per game over the last 10 games. With the efficiency James has shown knocking these down, it should help him use this to hit the Over on his points line tonight.
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Kevin Durant (PHX) over 26.5 points (-115)
Odds available at Bet365 at time of publishing.
On the season, Kevin Durant is averaging 27.4 points per game. Tonight, he will be up against an Atlanta Hawks team that should be an ideal matchup. Over the last 10 games, the Hawks are just 25th in defensive rating while being 2nd in pace. They also have Dyson Daniels, who is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league. He is likely to pick up Devin Booker here, which will put more emphasis on Durant to carry the Suns offense. The Hawks are 28th in opponent field-goal percentage during that time too. The Suns’ star is likely to be picked up by either Vit Krejci or rookie Zaccharie Risacher, matchups he should be set to dominate. Lauri Markkanen did just that in the Hawks’ last outing, dropping 35 points for the Utah Jazz. Durant has the skill set to follow in his footsteps here.
Read our full Atlanta Hawks vs Phoenix Suns prediction
Anfernee Simons (POR) over 3.5 made threes (+125)
Odds available at Caesars Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons has been in a rich vein on form, largely due to his three-point shooting of late. Over the last 6 games, he has knocked down at least 40% of his shots from beyond the arc in every single one. He ended up hitting the Over on this line in 5 of those games, one of which was against tonight’s opponents, the Dallas Mavericks. He has knocked down 10 of 19 three-pointers against them this season. With that kind of efficiency, he should see no shortage of attempts. Over the last 3 games, he has had 2 contests with 12 attempts beyond the arc. If Simons gets anywhere close to that number of attempts here, he should be favored to hit the Over on this line.
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