Ahaan Rungta
Show Bio
The 2023-24 NBA season has arrived and we have primetime action tonight. With only two NBA games on the slate after a 12-game festival last night, it is important that we stay disciplined and massage our bankroll until we get better slates and a clearer view of the data.
However, for now, I have found a spot of value so let’s look into why I have picked this spot for my favorite NBA player prop bet of Thursday, October 26. You can read all of our NBA predictions too!
Same Game Parlay: Austin Reaves 4+ assists & Lakers ML (-105)
Available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Recommended 0.50u wager.
This bet is a positively-correlated two-leg Same Game Parlay, which you can construct on your book with the two listed legs. The Lakers are coming off a loss on Opening Night when LeBron James was limited to only 29 minutes and Anthony Davis was absent offensively in the second half. They fell to the defending champion Denver Nuggets, but are still far superior to the roster the Phoenix Suns will be potentially putting out on the floor tonight, without Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. In the paint, the Lakers bigs will have mismatches against Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks. On the perimeter, the Lakers wings should be able to expose the slow-footedness of Grayson Allen in the starting lineup and Eric Gordon off the bench. The Lakers were 20-11 straight up and 16-15 against the spread last season as a home favorite and they should have no issues getting the job done against the depleted Suns.
If they are to get the job done, they need a strong performance from their offense, which is often facilitated by starting guard Austin Reaves, one of the few members of the Lakers’ rotation whose minutes are safe barring foul trouble. As a starter alongside James last year, Reaves averaged 3.8 assists per 33 minutes and this season he will have a more definitive role with more scorers surrounding him. That showed in the season opener when he posted 4 dimes on 8 potential assists against the staunch Nuggets defense in just 31 minutes. We don’t even need better efficiency from Reaves’ teammates in this one to repeat a 4-assist performance but we could get it against the Suns, who allowed Chris Paul to record 9 assists on 24 potential in their season opener.
Check out our 76ers vs Bucks Same Game Parlay
