In the blink of an eye, we’re at the quarter-way mark of the NBA season, with still many surprising findings.
In California, both the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers got off to horrid starts before rebounding somewhat to get themselves to .500 (Warriors) or closer to it (Lakers). Out in the midwest, the Chicago Bulls hardly resemble the gutsy regular-season team they were a season ago, while the Milwaukee Bucks are quietly playing some of the best basketball in the NBA and flying under the radar.
Well, I guess not everything is a surprise.
The four teams are in action tonight as part of ESPN’s NBA doubleheader. Could we see any surprising performances by some key players?
Here’s a look at which players’ props stand out as ones to bet on this Friday night.
All odds via BetMGM
(Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)
How many great duels have we seen between the Lakers and Bucks over the past few years? Several. And at the center of them are Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With James and Davis finally healthy and playing some extremely good basketball as of late, I expect this to be a competitive and hard-fought game, meaning we should see a lot of star players playing meaningful minutes.
The player most likely not to disappoint is Giannis. He’s in his prime, plays hard as heck, and might even get a little more juice playing in such a star-studded matchup in front of his home crowd. I’d bet on him to score over 31.5 points on Friday night for the fifth time in his last six games.
(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Only a handful of NBA players might have had a better recent couple of weeks than Anthony Davis. Whether you choose to believe it or not, the numbers suggest he’s playing as good of basketball as he ever has in his career.
Like Giannis, who he’ll surely be guarding, AD will also be inspired tonight. I think he rides the momentum he’s picked up and has another impactful game. I won’t say how many points it’ll result in, but there’s no reason to pass up his 1.5-block player prop. Take over.
(David Banks-USA TODAY Sports)
What do we even say about Steph Curry at this point? He’s still truly elite and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. With how he plays basketball, you could tell me he made 15 threes in a game and I wouldn’t doubt you. So getting his line at 4.5 feels like child’s play.
The Dubs are back at home, on National TV, and off of a disappointing loss. Expect Chef to go off. Lock him in for at least five 3-pointers.
(Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports)
The Bulls have not been good and the vibes surrounding the team just aren’t great at the moment. The decline in play from Zach LaVine early in this season is partly why Chicago is struggling.
Coming off of three straight seasons of averaging better than 24.0 points per game, it’s hard to believe that LaVine is currently at 20.9 points per game. The percentages are down across the board, but with the volume remaining, it’s not out of the question that he can have a semi-efficient night and score over 21.5. I’m banking on such a thing happening against the Warriors in the Bay Area on Friday night. Will it lead to a win? Probably not.
(Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)
Patrick Beverley won’t ever be confused for a 3-point specialist, but over his career, he’s a 37.5 percent shooter from deep on north of 4.0 attempts per game. That certainly is a respectable number, which is why he’s been able to last in this league even as his defense has slipped a bit with age.
Unfortunately, Beverley’s 26.8 percent 3-point shooting is not getting the job done in Los Angeles and is probably a part of the reason why he’s recently been mentioned in potential trades. Yet, he’s still starting for the Lakers and playing an average of 27.1 minutes per game. More than half of his shots this season have come from three, so there’s a good chance he’ll get up multiple tonight against the Bucks. He can make one, right?
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