In one of the two Monday night games in the NBA, the Jazz visit New Orleans in a Western Conference matchup that tips off at 8:00 p.m. ET. These two teams have the two worst records in the West. The Jazz are at the bottom of the conference at 10-30 with the Pelicans at 11-32 just barely ahead of them. Even though both teams have struggled, there are some nice player props to attack in this matchup. The Pelicans are ten-point favorites with the point total set at 229.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
One of the main reasons for both teams’ rough records is that both have been hammered by injuries. For Monday, the Jazz will be without Jordan Clarkson (foot), John Collins (hip), Lauri Markkanen (back), and Collin Sexton (rest). The Pelicans will be without Brandon Ingram (ankle) and Herbert Jones (shoulder) and they also ruled out Yves Missi (illness) and Zion Williamson (illness) on Monday afternoon.
Both teams will have to use makeshift rotations once again on Monday night without those key players. With what we know now, here are my top picks coming into the afternoon:
Best Prop Bets for Jazz vs. Pelicans on DraftKings Sportsbook
Dejounte Murray under 8.5 assists (-120)
Murray has been very productive with at least 40 fantasy points in six of his last nine games. He was listed as probable for this game as he continues to play elbow bursitis, but he was upgraded to available on Monday afternoon.
On the season, Murray has averaged 7.5 assists in his 26 games. He has been held under 8.5 assists in 18 of his games (69.2%). He has been under 8.5 assists in seven straight games and only played 25 minutes against the Jazz on Friday, finishing with eight points, five rebounds and six assists.
Without Zion, Murray will likely take on more of the offensive workload, but that could mean taking more shots himself rather than setting up Williamson down low. Murray’s recent lack of assists, elbow issues, and overall trends point to the under as a strong play on Monday against Utah.
Keyonte George over 30.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
George has only gone over 31 PRA in seven of his 30 games this season, meaning he has gone over this total only 23% of the time. While the numbers point to this a a bad play when you look at the whole season, George has stepped into a much larger role lately with the Jazz so short-handed.
Two of his seven games over 30.5 PRA were in his last two contests after returning from missing five games with heel inflammation. He scored 26 points in each of those games with 36 PRA against the Hornets and 33 PRA against the Pelicans. He only played 27 minutes on Friday, but he still went over this line. Sexton played in that game as well, so there should be even more usage for George like there was against the Hornets last Wednesday when he took 22 shots in 31 minutes in his return.
If you’d rather back George’s scoring on its own, you can get him to score over 21.5 points at -120 or even to score over 25+ points at +145. Since he had 26 points in each of his last two games, he could hit for this number Monday if this matchup stays competitive.
Isaiah Collier over 7.5 assists (+100)
Collier will likely move back into the starting lineup with Sexton resting. He had started six straight games before coming off the bench on Friday. Even off the bench, he played 35 minutes and had 11 assists.
He has gone over this stat line in five of his last six games while averaging 9.0 assists per contest. In the only game below this mark, Collier had seven assists against the Nets. He bounced back with 10 and 11 assists in his last two games agains the Hornets and Pelicans.
The Jazz are short on scoring options right now, but the rookie from USC has been turning in good enough assist numbers even in this makeshift offense to be a very solid pick to go over this assist number at even money.
