After a magical Christmas Day game in the Garden — in which the man they traded five first round picks for in the offseason turned in his finest performance in blue and orange — the New York Knicks will set their eyes next on the Orlando Magic, traveling to Central Florida for a 7 p.m. ET contest.
It’ll be up to the Knicks’ other big offseason acquisition, center Karl-Anthony Towns, to perform against one of the league’s toughest defenses. The Big Bodega — as he has affectionately become known — has made quite the first impression in the Big Apple, averaging 24.6 points and a league-leading 13.7 rebounds per game.
Orlando has performed admirably despite a myriad of injuries, sitting at 19-13, in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. However, it lost six of its last 10 games and is surely looking forward to Paolo Banchero’s likely return some time in January.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, New York is a seven-point favorite and the point total is set to 212. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around KAT.
Best Karl-Anthony Towns Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Karl-Anthony Towns U13.5 Rebounds (-130)
Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley has the fourth-best odds to win Coach of the Year at DraftKings Sportsbook, and for good reason. The team has lost three of its best forwards but has not missed a beat defensively. In the last seven games — since wing Franz Wagner went down with a torn oblique — Orlando has allowed the third-fewest points, fewest rebounds, and fewest assists while blocking the second-most shots and forcing the second-most turnovers. It’s not just a matter of pace; the Magic still have the fifth-best defensive rating over that span.
That’s all bad news for Towns, who will be going against one of the league’s most improved big men in Orlando center Goga Bitadze. The Georgian is averaging career highs in every major statistical category and ranks in the top ten in several advanced statistics, including ninth in rebounding percentage (20.0%), fourth in defensive box plus-minus (2.8), and third in block percentage (6.7%). The Magic’s other big man, Wendell Carter Jr., is no slouch on the boards either, ranking 25th in rebounding percentage among 237 players averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
To make matters worse for the foul-prone Towns, Orlando is the best team in the NBA at drawing whistles. In his past three games, Towns has had five, six, and five fouls, relegating him to the bench for most of the last 6:34 of the Christmas Day thriller against the San Antonio Spurs. His rebounds suffered accordingly, and Wednesday’s win was only his third single-digit rebounding performance of the season. If he gets in foul trouble again on Friday, he might not get enough playing time to grab 14 rebounds.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
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