The NBA has an awesome Saturday night schedule to start off the month of February, and the main game on national TV is LeBron James visiting Madison Square Garden to take on the Knicks. The game tips off at 8:40 p.m. ET and includes plenty of fun storylines to follow. As you enjoy what should be a great matchup, check out these three best Lakers and Knicks prop bets to consider.
The Knicks are 11-point home favorites in this matchup, which has a point total of 226 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Coming into the game, the Knicks are 32-16, sitting third in the Eastern Conference, while the Lakers are 27-19 and hold the No. 5 spot in the West. This is the teams’ first meeting this season.
The Lakers will be without Anthony Davis (abdominal) and Cam Reddish (personal) for this game, but the team lists Dorian Finney-Smith (shoulder), Rui Hachimura (calf), and Gabe Vincent (knee) as probable along with LeBron James (foot), who has been playing through injury over the past several weeks. On the other side, Josh Hart (knee) is questionable with knee soreness for the fourth straight game, but he has played through the issue in his previous three contests.
Best Prop Bets for Lakers vs. Knicks on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jalen Brunson over 2.5 three-pointers (+105)
Brunson has gone over this number in 51% of his games this season, and he has been on a hot streak coming into this matchup with the Lakers, so I love getting this prop at plus-money.
Brunson has knocked down at least three three-pointers in each of his last three games and in six of his last seven. He made exactly three three-pointers against the Nuggets on Wednesday and led his team to a 10-point home win.
Brunson will be fired up to face the Lakers and LeBron and has hit at least three three-pointers in three of his last five matchups against Los Angeles. He had a 36-point, 10-assist double-double in their last meeting at Madison Square Garden last year, so I also like taking Brunson to score 30+ points at +155 if you’re looking for an even juicier play. You can also stack the two picks together for a Brunson-based SGP that boosts up to +220.
Austin Reaves under 32.5 points + rebounds + assists (-110)
Reaves’ PRA (points + rebounds + assists) number is inflated for this matchup due to the “spotlight” factor and the absence of Anthony Davis. Reaves has been under this number in nine of his last 10 games and in 30 of his 41 games this season (73%).
Reaves has had some spike games that put him over this number, but even on Thursday without Davis, he had only 28 PRA in a very favorable matchup against the Wizards.
The Knicks are a tougher defensive matchup than that, and while this game should be more competitive and give Reaves a full workload, I still think he’ll come in under this number.
LeBron James to record a double-double (-135)
There are so many ways to back LeBron’s greatness, but this seems like a solid play at this price and a very attainable mark for him in almost any game script.
LeBron only had to play 27 minutes against Washington to post a double-double with 24 points and 11 assists. That performance gave him five double-doubles in his last seven games and 22 double-doubles in his 43 games on the season (51%).
James has stated in the past that MSG is his favorite road venue and has posted nine double-doubles in his last 20 trips to New York to face the Knicks. Last year, he had just 24 points, five rebounds, and five assists, but in 2023, he had 28 points, 10 boards, and 11 assists for a triple-double. LeBron is +500 to post a triple-double on Saturday, and I don’t hate that as a long-shot play, either.
At this point in his career, any trip to Madison Square Garden could potentially be the final one he plays there, so look for The King to do all he can to put on a show on Saturday night.
