There will be nine NBA games taking place across the Feb. 1st slate.
The action will begin at 5:00 p.m. ET with a doubleheader. The Indiana Pacers will host the Atlanta Hawks while the Utah Jazz face the Orlando Magic. Then, at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Denver Nuggets will play the Charlotte Hornets.
A triple-header will take place at 8:00 p.m. ET as the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Sacramento Kings, the Houston Rockets play the Brooklyn Nets and the Washington Wizards visit the Minnesota Timberwolves. A half-hour later, the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers will face off while the San Antonio Spurs play the Miami Heat. Finally, the final game of the night will be tipping off at 10:00 p.m. ET between the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers.
With a ton of exciting basketball set to take place, here are my favorite prop bets across the Saturday slate.
Mark Williams Over 29.5 Points & Rebounds (-115)
The Charlotte Hornets will host the Denver Nuggets tonight with both teams playing the second night of a back-to-back. This will not be a problem for Mark Williams, who is set to make his return after missing the previous two games due to injury management. Williams has taken his game to another level this season, especially in recent games.
The Duke product is averaging 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds in the 20 games he has played this season. Across the past seven games he has played, Williams is averaging 21.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Charlotte made it clear it views him as its center of the future by trading away Nick Richards, which has opened up some additional minutes on the floor for the 23-year-old.
While Denver has done an impressive job getting back on track for the season, defense remains the biggest concern in its outlook. The Nuggets rank 17th in opponent points per game and they are 28th in the league in points allowed in the paint. For all that Nikola Jokic brings on the offensive end, he leaves much to be desired as a rim protector. Just last night, 76ers’ starting center Guerschon Yabusele went for a career-high 28 points against Jokic. Williams’ monstrous 9-foot-9 standing reach and impressive athleticism will present him with a mismatch on this side of the floor and there will be plenty of lob opportunities Jokic will not be able to reach. Count on Williams to continue building off his strong stretch of play and for him to be active around the rim from start to finish in this matchup by recording over 29.5 combined points and rebounds tonight. Expect his athleticism and the additional rest to be evident in this game.
Amen Thompson Over 16.5 Points
Don’t look now but a star may be blossoming down in Houston. The Rockets are loaded with young talent but Amen Thompson is climbing toward the front of the line when discussing the highest potential of their youthful roster. The second-year forward has been moved into the starting lineup following the injury to Jabari Smith Jr. and is rightfully gaining plenty of attention for his impressive play.
Across the season, Thompson is averaging 13.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks. During his 17 games as a starter, Thompson has averaged 18.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while seeing his minutes grow to 37.5 minutes per game. He put together what was arguably his best game in the NBA this week, dropping 33 points against the Boston Celtics with the final two points coming as a game-winner over Jaylen Brown.
The 22-year-old will now turn his attention to the Brooklyn Nets, who are 15-33 on the season. Thompson has recorded over 16.5 points in 16 of the 33 games he has played this season. This includes five of his past seven games. Brooklyn does not have a player capable of matching Thompson’s level of athleticism, so look for him to continue playing in attack mode. Count on the Rockets to be hungry to add another win and strengthen their place in the Western Conference, with Thompson being a driving force in the production by recording over 16.5 points again tonight.
Anthony Edwards Over 3.5 Made Three-Pointers (-130)
UPDATE: Anthony Edwards has been ruled OUT for tonight’s game due to illness. This will be the first game he has missed all season.
Three-point volume has been a popular talking point regarding the state of the NBA and Anthony Edwards has kept up with the league’s trend. The former No. 1 overall pick is taking a career-high 9.8 three-point attempts this season, which ranks third in the NBA. Edwards is connecting on 43.3% of these attempts, which also marks a career-best. He has connected on over 3.5 three-pointers in 31 of the 48 games he has played this season.
Minnesota will be hosting the Washington Wizards tonight, who enter on a 16-game losing streak and are dead last in the NBA in points allowed. They also rank 29th in three-point attempts allowed and 20th in opponent three-point percentage.
This will be the second matchup between these two teams this season, with Edwards finishing with 41 points and connecting on five three-pointers in the first game. It should be noted that Edwards was added to the injury report as questionable with an illness, but he played the lone other game he was questionable with an illness this season. Donte DiVincenzo remains out with his toe issue and Julius Randle will miss tonight’s game, which puts some additional offensive responsibility on Edwards’ plate. He connected on 6-of-9 three-point attempts in his last game, so look for Edwards to build off this tonight. With a poor opponent and this already being a point of emphasis in Edwards’ game, count on him connecting on at least four three-pointers for the 32nd time already this season.
Deni Avdija Under 1.5 Made Three-Pointers (-130)
The Portland Trail Blazers will conclude tonight’s NBA slate by hosting the Phoenix Suns. They remain early in their rebuild and hold a 19-29 record on the season despite having several intriguing young talents on their roster. Deni Avdija was brought in via trade this offseason and has had a bit of an up-and-down season. The 24-year-old is averaging 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Avdija has been playing at a high level of late, recording 20+ points in three of the past seven games.
Looking at his three-point production, Avdija is shooting 34.4% from beyond the three-point arc on 4.3 perimeter shots per game. This comes out to an average of exactly 1.5 made three-pointers per game, but he has been held to under 1.5 perimeter makes in 26 of the 45 games he has played. This includes nine games in which he failed to make a three-pointer at all.
The Phoenix Suns will not be mentioned among the best defense in the NBA, but they rank 15th in opponent three-point attempts allowed and 18th in opponent three-point percentage. This will be the third matchup between these two teams and Avdija has shot 5-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc in the previous two matchups. Don’t expect this to be sustainable with the Trail Blazers’ standout being held to under 1.5 made three-pointers in seven of the past nine games even amid his scoring output. Expect most of Avdija’s scoring damage to be done inside the arc and for him to be held to under 1.5 made three-pointers tonight.
