We’re coming off of last night’s monster twelve game slate, with a mini four game slate tonight. That said, there’s a couple great matchups that give us a clear thesis to bet on. 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 props.
NBA Player Props for January 5
Chris Wood, OVER 20 Points:
The best game of the night will likely be the Celtics vs. Mavs. I can’t wait to watch the star power in what could end up as the NBA Finals preview. The Celtics are coming off of an embarrassing loss vs. the Thunder in which they couldn’t get it going on either end of the floor. I’m viewing that as a one-off. An outlier. Boston is one of the best teams in the league. There’s a reason they have the best net rating in the NBA. The reason I’m targeting Chris Wood is because Robert Williams is still not 100% healthy and Al Horford hasn’t been playing well as of late. Grant Williams has been great defensively, but I imagine he’ll spend many possessions helping guard Luka. With the Celtics focusing on making life hard on Luka, I think the gameplan is ripe to leave Chris Wood to flourish in a pace up matchup. Further, he’s had 20+ points in four of his five past games. You should be able to get good odds on this line, considering Wood averages 17.8 PPG on the year.
Lauri Markkanen OVER 40 Points+Rebounds+Assists:
Jazz vs. Rockets?! Take the over, my friends. On almost everything. Utah is 27th in the league in defense and in the top half in pace. The Rockets are 28th in defense and 17th in pace. I expect everyone to look like a matador tonight. That said, I’ll be targeting the stars of their respective teams to go to work. Lauri Markkanen has hit over 40+ PRA in four of his last five games. He faltered in his last matchup vs. the Kings, but Domantas Sabonis is a lot to deal with. I love Sengun and Mobley, but they aren’t at Sabonis’ level quite yet. There won’t be anybody to make Markkanen work on defense, or tire him out on offense. Expect big things from the Jazz forward tonight!
Nikola Jokic Triple Double:
You can usually always find plus juice somewhere on a player to record a triple double. With Nikola Jokic, it’s as much as a lock as you’re going to find. Even with Jamal Murray and MPJ back healthy, the offense still goes through the Joker. As it should. He’s an incredible passer, a fluid scorer, and a tenacious rebounder. He has the skillset to get a triple double every night, and he’s done so in three of his last six games. The Clippers are a tough matchup with the 6th best defense in the league, and a solid big in Zubac, but certain superstars have absolutely no matchup that can keep them from doing their thing. Jokic is one of those superstars. Find the best odds for a Jokic triple double, and press your luck!
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