LaMelo Ball is one of the most exciting and electric basketball players in the Association. Unfortunately, he’s played over 51 games just once in his four-year career, and totaled 22 and 36 games over the last two seasons. In Wednesday’s opening night season debut, though, Ball reminded us all that he’s one of the best when healthy, finishing with 34 points, eight rebounds, 11 assists, a steal, a block and four treys.
Brandon Miller only played 11 minutes due to injury on Wednesday, and has been ruled out for Friday’s contest against the Hawks. Will Ball be able to duplicate his opening night performance?
Here are some intriguing player props for LaMelo Ball on DraftKings Sportsbook against the Hawks:
Best LaMelo Ball Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
First things first, the game environment should be a juicy one for fantasy goodies. The CHA/ATL game has the second-highest total on the slate at 231.5, with the Hawks favored by 4.5 points at home.
In one game this season, Atlanta is fifth in offensive pace. Last season, they were….what do you know, fifth! Atlanta was also 27th in defensive efficiency, while Charlotte was 29th in defensive efficiency. They played at the seventh-slowest pace, but that was without Ball for much of the season. With Ball, Charlotte has been top-five in pace. So, there should be lots of possessions in this one.
Ball normally has a usage rate in the 30% range. When he played last season without Brandon Miller on the floor, the usage rate jumped 3.71%. Ball attempted 20 shots on Wednesday, and has averaged 19-to-20 shots per game in the prior two seasons. He averaged 23.3 and 23.9 points per game.
Ball also averaged 10.9 and 9.0 three-pointers per contest. On Wednesday, he hoisted 12, converting four.
Last season, Atlanta allowed three-pointers at the 10th-highest rate, with the third-highest conversion rate.
As of 8:30 PM ET on Thursday, DK Sportsbook as the O/U for Ball points at 25.5 -115. For three-pointers, the O/U is 3.5. The Over is at -160 while the Under is at +124.
I like both the Over 25.5 points and Over 3.5 three-pointers for Ball on Friday, as he will see an uptick in usage rate with Miller out, the matchup is as good one while the game environment should be robust for points.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
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