The return of the NBA means the return of player prop betting. Whether you’re a fan of going all in on the superstars or enjoy looking for the under-the-radar steals, player props are a huge part of NBA bets. Today, we focus on five key players to watch out for in the Western Conference.
DraftKings Sportsbook offers numerous ways to bet on the NBA return, including game lines, player futures and team futures.
1. Lonzo Ball – New Orleans Pelicans
As all of the attention shifted to the impressive beginning of teammate Zion Williamson’s career and brother LaMelo’s draft projection, Lonzo has started to become the player we expected out of UCLA. Since Williamson’s debut on Jan. 22, Ball has averaged 8.4 assists per game. For reference, only four players had a higher assists per game rate during the 2019-20 regular season. New Orleans has its sights set on the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and Ball will be one of the players the Pelicans lean on to get there.
Stat props to look out for: Assists and Steals
2. Kristaps Porzingis – Dallas Mavericks
There are not many players who have donned a Knicks jersey this millennium who I would consider for this article, but Kristaps is one of the outliers. In his past 20 games, Porzingis has averaged 22.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks and I am confident that he will continue to keep up that production as he returns to form from his ACL injury in February 2018. I imagine that the Mavericks will not want to face the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, so the team has incentive to move up in the standings during the seeding games.
Stat props to look out for: Points, Rebounds, Blocks
3. Joe Ingles – Utah Jazz
The self-proclaimed “Best Shooter In The World” will have to live up to that moniker for the Jazz to contend in the Western Conference. Ingles’ points per game average plummeted from last year’s career-high of 12.1 to 9.8 this season, but I expect that to number to spike with the Jazz’s second-leading scorer, Bojan Bogdanovic, out for the remainder of the season. Ingles’ three-point attempts per game had a similar drop this season, going from a career-high of 5.9 down to 4.8. The Utah offense will suffer in Bogdanovic’s absence, so I expect the Jazz to rely on Ingles to get back to his 2018-19 form.
Stat props to look out for: Points, Three-pointers
4. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Los Angeles Lakers
KCP is quietly third in minutes per game for the Lakers this year behind superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and I expect his 25.4 minutes per game number to increase with guards Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley out. Pope only started 20 games this season, but his 39.4 three-point percentage is a key part of the team’s success. Bradley’s absence and Rondo’s injury will likely bring Pope into the starting lineup, which may also mean an increase in playing time and shots.
Stat props to look out for: Points, Three-pointers
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
How many NBA fans would know that SGA is the Thunder’s leading scorer this season? All-Star Chris Paul and Sixth Man of the Year favorite Dennis Schroder have received most of the praise for OKC, but Shai narrowly edges out Danilo Gallinari and Schroder as the Thunder’s leading scorer with 19.3 points per game, while also leading the team with 35.1 minutes per game. SGA also had two games with 20-plus points in last season’s playoffs when he was a key member of the Clippers team that pushed the top-seeded Warriors to six games. I see no reason why he will not build on those performances for the seeding games through the playoffs this year, so he should be a major factor on both offense and defense for Oklahoma City.
Stat props to look out for: Points, Steals
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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