After a loaded Wednesday night schedule, the NBA slate for Thursday is considerably smaller. Still, there’s plenty of opportunity for bettors to make a profit off the five games on tonight’s schedule, featuring a load of teams battling for playoff positioning.
What can bettors expect from the players highlighting Thursday’s NBA games? We’ll cover that below with our top four NBA player prop bets for tonight’s action.
With news breaking Wednesday that forward Anthony Davis will sit out the next week, the Los Angeles Lakers will look toward their bench for potential help against the Washington Wizards. Dalton Knecht and Dorian Finney-Smith played the most minutes off the bench on Tuesday against the 76ers, and those two pieces will continue to receive the bulk of the minutes.
Replacing the presence Davis gives the Lakers on the glass will be difficult, especially since he’s averaging nearly 12 rebounds per night. Expect LeBron James to fill in that role tonight as he easily covers his player prop bet against the Wizards.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the Eastern Conference’s best team this season, largely behind the strong backcourt play featuring Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. The duo is combining for over 45 points and 11 assists each night to help facilitate Cleveland’s offense.
Mitchell’s ability to pass the rock has been underrated this season, and he enters the contest having surpassed his season average in five of the last six outings. In both games against Atlanta, he’s finished with at least six assists in a pair of losses to the Hawks. Expect him to continue that trend on Thursday as he covers his prop bet.
The Houston Rockets have unexpectedly been the second-best team in the Western Conference this season, elevating their record behind a young but solid core. That includes 6-foot-11 center Alperen Sengun, who in his fourth season is averaging 19.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per outing.
For the final time during the regular season, the Rockets will play against the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. In his three previous matchups, Sengun has had double-figure rebounds twice, finishing with 14 or more during those games. Expect him to continue his strong play against Memphis and cover this player prop bet.
Orlando is in the playoff hunt despite their .500 record. The Magic have pieces and can stay with good competition, but Orlando has struggled to show that consistently. That’s despite the strong play of power forward Paolo Banchero, who is averaging 23.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game.
Tonight, the Magic will start their five-game Western Conference tour by playing against the Portland Trailblazers. Last week, the Trailblazers surprised Orlando, winning the game by more than 20 points inside the Kia Center.
Portland has been a struggle for Banchero during his career in the NBA. The 6-foot-10 star is averaging just 12.3 points in his last three outings against the Trailblazers, and there’s little reason to expect him to cover his player prop bet on Thursday, either.