We’re only hours away from basketball fans’ favorite time of year: March. The madness that exists in both the prep and college worlds will often spill over to the NBA, creating unthinkable upsets for underdogs preparing for their playoff stretch.
On Thursday, only five NBA games are on tap. What should bettors expect from important matchups featuring some of the Western Conference’s top teams? We’ll cover our top four NBA player prop bets for Thursday, February 20th, while adding in a few predictions on the game, too.
With three MVP awards to his credit, Denver center Nikola Jokic has been impressive before. Still, Jokic has never averaged a triple-double for an entire season. He’s currently doing that, contributing 29.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per night to the Nuggets’ stat sheet.
Since returning from the NBA All-Star break, Jokic has not been his normal stat-producing self. His team has won two of the three outings he’s played, but he’s recorded 50 combined points, rebounds, and assists only once. Expect the Nuggets to cover their 3.5-point spread against the Bucks, but do not expect Jokic to cover his combo player prop bet on Thursday.
Without Luka Doncic or Anthony Davis, the Mavericks have relied on Kyrie Irving. The 6-foot-2 guard is now 13th in the league as he’s scoring 24.9 points per game, and he’s contributing 4.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists each night.
Irving has relied on his long-distance shooting to increase his scoring each night. In February, he’s chucking up an average of eight three-point attempts per night, hitting more than 39 percent of those. Bettors should expect him to hit at least four tonight against Charlotte, but the Hornets will stay within the 9.5-point spread and make this a close contest.
Devin Booker is having one of his best seasons despite his team’s poor mark. The shooting guard is among the top 10 in points (26.2 per game) and assists (6.8 per outing), helping him remain a constant threat to find scoring opportunities for his team.
Booker has been especially hot distributing the basketball this season. He’s had eight or more assists for five straight games, giving bettors confidence that he’ll finish with at least assists to cover his player prop bet. Still, I expect the Pelicans to make this a game and cover their 7.5-point spread.
The Los Angeles Lakers made waves by acquiring Luka Doncic from the Mavericks, a mid-season trade for the ages earlier this month. It’s not been perfect for the Lakers nor Doncic, but the team has won three of the five outings he’s played.
On Thursday, Doncic and the Lakers square off against the Timberwolves. Doncic should be able to contribute significantly to his team’s victory over Minnesota, but scoring 26 points isn’t what should be expected. Take the under on this scoring prop bet as well as the Lakers winning by more than the 6.5-point spread.