We are officially 1-1 for the month of February. Last night the Detroit game was postponed, the Kyrie UNDER hit, and our Anthony Edwards OVER missed. We’ve got a seven game slate on tap tonight, so let’s see if we can go three for three! With prop bets, we don’t need to wait for season-long storylines to play out. Every day is a new day. Fantrax wants to help you win a bit of money, so we will be giving you NBA Player Prop Bets every week. We’ll shy away from keying in on any particular sportsbook, as we know odds vary, and so do props. We’ll focus on our projections, and allow you to find your best odds. Let’s get into today’s prop bets.
NBA Player Prop Bets for February 2
LeBron James OVER 27 Points:
The Lakers take on the Pacers, following their overtime win vs. the Knicks on Tuesday. At this point, throw the matchup data out of the window. With LeBron now less than 80 points from breaking the all-time scoring record, it’s now possible that he could achieve the record in a single game. I know it’s unlikely, but as we get closer, the Lakers’ players will just feed him the ball to do something special. On top of that, he’s been playing out of his mind recently, so that may be the best strategy to win anyway. From a matchup perspective, the Pacers are 24th in defense and 4th in pace, which is a recipe for a high-scoring night for the Lakers. Bron has had 27+ points in seven of his last nine games. I feel good about this over hitting.
Ja Morant UNDER 30 Points:
The Grizzlies face the Cavs in Cleveland tonight. While this is a great matchup on paper, the Grizzlies played Portland last night, and avoiding players on a back-to-back is a generally prudent thing to do. Travel exhaustion is real. Not sleeping in your own bed sucks. Playing over 70 NBA minutes in under 48 hours would make anyone fatigued. Which is why I’m loving Ja Morant UNDER 30 points tonight. Morant has hit this UNDER in four of his past five games (last night he had 32). On top of that, the Cavs sport the BEST defense in the league, while also playing at the SLOWEST pace in the league. This is a prime spot for an UNDER to hit. The Grizzlies are on the 2nd leg of a back-to-back, in a pace-down matchup, against an elite defense. Don’t expect any career highs in scoring from Memphis.
Brandon Ingram UNDER 23 Points:
The Pelicans play the Dallas Mavs tonight, and I love the Brandon Ingram UNDER in this one. Ingram averages 20+ points on the season, but the Pelicans have lost four straight games, and Ingram is playing in only his fourth game since an extended absence for a foot injury. He played 33 minutes on Tuesday, which is his highest since late November. With Ingram still working his way up to full strength, I expect him to be held to UNDER 23 points which he’s missed in his last five games. Further, the Mavs play with the 2nd SLOWEST pace in the league. There will be fewer possessions to go around, which means we can probably expect Brandon Ingram to take less than 19 shots, which is what he averaged in the three games since he returned. He’s also shot UNDER 30% from the field on those 19 shots, and UNDER 15% from three. He’s struggling. The Pelicans, as a whole, are struggling. It’s going to be hard to get right against the 5th seed in the West. I like this one. You should be able to get + odds for this one.