The NBA season is officially underway and we've got a four game slate on deck for Thursday night. With all of the offseason changes, the first few weeks can be challenging for casual bettors. Don't worry, we've done our homework and analyzed the matchups to identify a player prop best bet from each of tonight's games.
Before we jump into our picks, let's take a look at the full slate and betting odds for each of tonight's games:
7:10 PM: Boston Celtics (-14) at Washington Wizards - O/U 232 Points
7:40 PM: San Antonio Spurs (+9) at Dallas Mavericks - O/U 229 Points
10:10 PM: Oklahoma City Thunder (+2) at Denver Nuggets - O/U 227.5 Points
10:10 PM: Minnesota Timberwolves (-1) at Sacramento Kings - O/U 222 Points
Looking at last season, rebounding was one of several statistics Washington ranked among the worst teams in the NBA. The Wizards were dead last in the NBA in rebound rate last season, and were a full 1.6% behind the next-to-last team.
Hauser rebounded the ball exceptionally well throughout the preseason, averaging 7 RPG in just 18 MPG. He saw a healthy 24 minutes against the Knicks and put up 5 rebounds, we think he'll be even more efficient in this A+ matchup, and love getting the nice plus-money number here.
The Spurs struggled to defend on the perimeter last season and we don't think adding Chris Paul did anything to fix that. Klay should get the added benefit of drawing the Spurs' #3 perimeter defender, depending on how they elect to defend Luka.
We don't want to pound preseason numbers here, especially with a 34 year old Klay Thompson, but the vet did manage to knock down 6 of 12 3-pointers in the Mavs 2 home preseason games. Look for Klay to capitalize on the attention Luka and Kyrie demand and to knock down at least 4 threes in his Mavericks debut.
Alex Caruso was one of the offseason signings that have experts optimistic about the Thunder's chances of winning the West this season. That said, this is far from an ideal matchup for the 7-year veteran. Denver allowed the second-fewest 3-pointers made per game in the NBA last season and were 5th in opponent 3-point shooting percentage.
Caruso was just 1-8 from the 3-point line this preseason, and didn't even attempt a 3 in the team's final warmup game. Once again, we're getting nice plus-money value on this prop.
The Sacramento Kings open their season at home against a Minnesota Timberwolves team that should be hungry to right the ship after losing it's opener against the Lakers. This was already a tough matchup for Monk, as the Timberwolves are one of the best perimeter defending teams in the league and have held Monk under this prop in 5 of the last 9 meetings.
After bringing in DeMar DeRozan and getting Kevin Huerter back from injury, something has to give in this backcourt, and we think Monk may lose some minutes and usage this season. Give us the under 13.5 points tonight.