The New York Knicks were rewarded for their fantastic opening half last Thursday when point guard Jalen Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns were both named All-Star starters, marking the first time a New York duo had accomplished that feat since Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier in 1975.
While the Knicks have had some moments of inconsistency and have yet to pick up a signature win against a top-two team in either conference, they are on a three-game winning streak and have climbed within two games of the Boston Celtics. In his third season as the most beloved man in the Big Apple, Brunson has averaged 25.9 points and 7.4 assists per game.
New York will have a tough matchup Monday night against the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies, who are on a six-game winning streak of their own. The game tips off at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Knicks are 3.5-point favorites and the point total is set to 241.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around Brunson.
Best Jalen Brunson Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jalen Brunson O25.5 Points (-115)
The Grizzlies’ defense has been pretty good this season, allowing just 110.0 points per 100 possessions, the sixth-best defensive rating in basketball. However, Memphis’ offense plays at the league’s fastest pace, thanks to speedster Ja Morant running the point, so opposing players can still put up big scoring performances. The Grizzlies allow 115.0 points per game, tied for the eighth-most in the league.
Of New York’s two stars, I prefer Brunson, who will be guarded for much of the game by Morant, who weighs just 174 pounds and has graded as a slightly negative defender this season. Meanwhile, Towns will have a difficult matchup regardless of who is on the court, as Memphis’ primary center rotation consists of former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. and two-time Big Ten All-Defensive honoree Zach Edey. The southpaw has scored at least 26 points in six of his last eight games, although Towns missed two of those games with an injury.
Jalen Brunson O2.5 Three-Pointers Made (+130)
Among the NBA’s starting point guards, Brunson is the rare true three-level scorer — he’s attempting 41.8% of his shots within 10 feet of the basket, 25.7% between 10 feet and the three-point line and only 32.3% from beyond the arc. However, he’s an elite marksman when he does fire away from deep, having shot 44.7% from three across his last eight games.
Memphis allows opponents to shoot just 34.7% from deep, the fifth-worst rate in basketball. While some of that is attributable to the long arms of Jackson, Santi Aldama, and Jaylen Wells — all of whom hold opponents to two-plus percentage points worse than their baseline from deep and contest at least 1.5 three-pointers per game — some of it is mere shooting luck. The Grizzlies allow the most wide-open threes in the league, but opponents are shooting the league’s fourth-worst percentage on such shots. Brunson shoots 46.4% on wide-open triples, the 19th-highest percentage among players who have played at least 30 games and attempted at least two such shots per game.
