Before we get into everything, CONGRATULATIONS to LeBron James for passing Kareem Abdul-Jabar for most post ever scored in league history! It’s very cool to be able to witness an all-time great with your own eyes, and we should all feel lucky. As for the props, we went 1-1 last time out with one push, for an overall record of 7-6 in the month of February. Not as hot as last month, but there are still plenty of days to go. 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 8
Donovan Mitchell UNDER 27 Points:
The Cavs take on the Detroit Pistons tonight, and to be honest, this should be a perfect night for Donovan Mitchell to go off. The Pistons 2nd to last in defense, and they play at the 12th fastest pace in the league. However, we have to take into account his recent form. Mitchell has scored UNDER 27 points (his season average) in NINE STRAIGHT GAMES. His past two games, he’s shot very well from the field, but the Cavs have won in blowout fashion, leading to fewer minutes played from the star. When talking about the 34-win Cavs vs. the 41-loss Pistons, I think we could be in store for another potential blowout. I think it makes sense to bet the UNDER in this one. I expect ten straight games UNDER Donovan Mitchell’s season average tonight.
Kristaps Porzingis OVER 21 Points:
Kristaps Porizingis has averaged 22 PPG over the season and has scored OVER 21 points in six of his last 11 games. Some of them have been missed by Beal and Kuzma, or just Beal, or just Kuzma. There’s a solid chance that both Kuzma and Beal miss the game tonight, putting more usage and scoring on the seven-footer. But the reason I love this bet is because even if Beal and Kuzma played, the Wizards are playing Charlotte, who are 25th in the league in defense and 8th in the league in pace. That’ll be a tremendous pace up matchup for Washington, so it makes sense to expect added possessions that are poorly defended. I also don’t have to worry about blowout risk either, as the Wizards aren’t really the type of team that can pull away in a track meet (they are 14th in offense).
Rudy Gobert OVER 14 Points:
We should be able to get some solid odds on this bet, as last time out, Rudy Gobert scored 0 points. ZERO! But the big man averages 13 PPG on the season, so we’re essentially betting on him to do what he does. On top of that, the Minnesota Timberwolves have had D’Angelo Russell in trade rumors, so as the trade deadline looms tomorrow, there’s a chance we see Russell sit or traded by tonight’s game (opening up usage for Gobert). On top of that, Gobert has hit this mark in five of his last nine games. And as the cherry on top of this bet, Gobert will be playing Utah (his old team before Minnesota). The last time he played Utah, he dropped 22 points. Utah is 27th in defense and 15th in pace.