Three things are guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and Devin Booker being a walking bucket. Since his rookie season, the Phoenix Suns guard has never averaged fewer than 22 points per game.
The tenth-year pro should have a golden opportunity to score in bunches on Thursday, as the Suns travel to New Orleans to take on the bottom-feeding Pelicans at 8 p.m. ET. Phoenix has been consistently solid, sitting at 12-8 and in fifth place in an ultra-competitive Western Conference, while the New Orleans has been hit with a spate of devastating injuries and sits at just 4-18.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Suns, missing star forward Kevin Durant with an ankle sprain, are three-point favorites, and the point total is set at 222.5. Below, I’ve identified my favorite prop bets centered around Booker.
Best Devin Booker Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Devin Booker 45+ Points + Rebounds + Assists (+165)
I expect Booker to have a huge all-around performance against a Pelicans defense that has struggled in all facets of the game. New Orleans has bottom-eight marks in points, rebounds, and assists allowed this season, as well as the third-worst defensive rating overall. The Pelicans haven’t improved since reintroducing 2017-18 All-Defensive honoree Dejounte Murray back into the starting lineup, either, as the defensive woes that dogged Murray during his disastrous stint in Atlanta have carried over to the Bayou.
Fans can also expect Booker to command a larger share of the offense with Durant sidelined. During Durant’s seven-game absence earlier in the season, Booker’s usage rate saw a slight uptick to 28.3%, volume that he has maintained in recent games even after the forward’s return. I expect Booker to be confident and precise in attacking a disjointed and undermanned New Orleans backline.
Devin Booker O2.5 Three-Pointers Made (-142)
Amid their woeful season, the Pelicans have particularly struggled defending the three-point line. New Orleans has allowed opponents to attempt 38.7 threes per game, the seventh-highest rate in the league. To make matters even worse for them, opponents have been hitting them at 37.3% clip, the sixth-worst rate in basketball.
While Booker is mostly known as a midrange ace, the 7.8 threes per game that he has attempted this year represent a career high. Phoenix is a shot-happy team in general, attempting 39.7 threes per game, the eighth-highest mark in the league, and Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer will likely instruct his team to fire away tonight. Booker has hit at least three shots from beyond the arc in his last four games, and I expect him to extend that streak to five.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
