The Sacramento Kings will go on the road to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, April 19. Tipoff from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans is set for 9:30 p.m. ET, and it will air on TNT. This will be the sixth matchup between these teams this season, with New Orleans winning the first five. The winner of this game will advance to the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs as the No. 8 seed to face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Here are our favorite player prop bets for Friday night’s play-in game, with odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Domantas Sabonis under 13.5 rebounds (+105)
When facing the Pelicans this season, Sabonis has finished with 10, nine, 13, 10 and 10 rebounds. He is a double-double machine, but that doesn’t mean he needs more than 10 rebounds to achieve that feat. Sabonis has had fewer than 14 rebounds in four consecutive games and nine of his last 12 games. I like the under for him to hit tonight against New Orleans.
Dyson Daniels over 0.5 steals (-130)
Daniels has come away with at least one steal in four of the five matchups against Sacramento this season. There was a game in which he only played six minutes coming off the bench against the Kings, and he had two steals. Daniels didn’t have a steal in his last game, which ended a streak of 15 games with at least one steal. He should pick up at least one Friday.
De’Aaron Fox under 6.5 assists (-142)
I keep taking the under on the Kings’ player props, but still think they win and cover the spread. The lines seem too high based on how they have played against the Pelicans this season, and it isn’t a small sample size. In five matchups during the regular season, Fox finished with at least seven assists just once. He had zero, five, four and four in the other games. Fox had fewer than seven assists in back-to-back games and in four of his last six. He’s likely to go under on this prop again Friday.
Jonas Valanciunas 20+ pts + rebounds (-180)
I also like the over 23.5 PRA line (-110) but I feel more confident in this hitting. Valanciunas has been a solid counter to Sabonis in these teams’ matchups this season. He’s finished with 23, 26, 29, 27 and 23 combined points and rebounds against the Kings this season. With no Williamson, New Orleans could look to try and take more advantage of this matchup. That only provides Valanciunas with more upside.
