It is a huge day in the National Basketball Association with Anthony Davis’ Mavericks’ debut headlining the action. Despite the protests outside the arena and continued shock over the trade taking place, Davis will do his best to endear himself to the Dallas fanbase as the Mavs take on the Houston Rockets today. While Luka Doncic will not be making his debut just yet, the Los Angeles Lakers are next up on the NBA schedule as they take on the Indiana Pacers today. LeBron James has been ruled out of this matchup with an ankle injury.
Following the pair of afternoon games, nine matchups will occur across the night. Tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Atlanta Hawks will play the Washington Wizards and the San Antonio Spurs will play the struggling Orlando Magic. Three games are taking place an hour later. The Chicago Bulls will host the Golden State Warriors in a matchup where Jimmy Butler is expected to make his Warriors debut. In addition, the streaking Portland Trail Blazers will play the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder will square off against the Memphis Grizzlies.
At 8:30 p.m. ET, the New York Knicks will host the Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference battle. The Phoenix Suns will then host the Denver Nuggets before the Sacramento Kings play the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz face the Los Angeles Clippers to conclude the night’s slate.
With the stage set and the NBA beginning to settle down after a hectic stretch, here are my favorite prop bets for the Feb. 8 slate of games.
Trae Young Over 11.5 Assists (-110)
The Atlanta Hawks are set to take on the Washington Wizards for the fourth time already this season. These teams rank second and fourth in pace on the season, so expect plenty of offensive possession to take place. Trae Young will continue to headline the production for Atlanta and he is averaging 23.3 points and a league-leading 11.4 assists per game this season. He has had success against the Wizards so far, averaging 12.3 assists per game across the three matchups.
Washington made a few changes at the trade deadline, but it is still a sure bet it ends up as one of the NBA’s bottom-feeders. The Wizards hold a record of 9-42 on the season. They rank dead last in points allowed per game, are 29th in defensive rating, 28th in assists allowed and 26th in opponent field-goal percentage. This will also be the second night of a back-to-back as the Wizards fell 134-124 to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night in one of their more respectable efforts on the season.
With tired legs set to play a factor and Washington struggling defensively already, expect Young to be in line for a monstrous statistical output. Young has tallied as many as 22 assists in a game already this season and recorded over 11.5 assists in 21 of the 48 games he has played. Expect the Hawks to push the pace and have success in the fast break against a team that ranks 26th in fast break points allowed over the past 10 games. Count on Young to build on his league-leading assist total and record over 11.5 assists again tonight.
De’Aaron Fox Over 26.5 Points & Assists (-120)
The San Antonio Spurs emerged as one of the biggest winners of the trade deadline, landing De’Aaron Fox to catapult themselves into contention. The former Kings star is settling in quickly with the Spurs and will suit up for his third game with San Antonio tonight. He finished with 24 points and 13 assists in his debut and followed that up with 22 points and six assists in his second game. The Spurs will be on the second night of a back-to-back but are set to suit up against an Orlando Magic team that is just 3-12 in their last 15 games.
On the season overall, Fox is averaging 24.9 points and 6.3 assists per game. He has recorded over 26.5 combined points and assists in 32 of the 47 games he has played this season. It feels as if the oddsmakers have not quite settled on what the expected output is for Fox as he gets acclimated to his new team and there is some value on the board as a result.
Fox was brought to this Spurs team for a reason and the early signs have already been encouraging. He is already showing the signs of forming one of the most dangerous duos in the NBA with his skillset flashing to be extremely complementary to Victor Wembanyama. Expect them to take another step forward in this effort today and for Fox to make an impact with both his scoring and playmaking. Count on him recording over 26.5 combined points and assists for the third consecutive game with the Spurs and for Orlando’s struggles to continue.
Jimmy Butler Under 19.5 Points (-125)
Another blockbuster trade at the deadline sent Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors and put an end to the ongoing saga in Miami. With Steph Curry still proving capable of playing at a high level, Butler will hopefully give the team at least a chance in a deep Western Conference. Golden State desperately needed another player capable of playmaking and creating offense, which Butler can step in and do.
While the long-term results are to be determined, expect some early growing pains at the start of Butler’s Warriors career. The 35-year-old has not played since Jan. 21 after being suspended by the Heat for conduct detrimental to the team. He has also played just five games since Dec. 21. Butler will have to shake off some rust with his own game while adjusting to his new teammates and the Warriors’ offensive system.
When he has been on the court, Butler’s play has been far from inspiring this season. He averaged just 11.3 points per game in January and has only scored in double figures in two of these six games. While it is fair to argue Butler was not playing with his usual level of desire, he is averaging just 17.0 points per game this season, and just ‘flipping the switch’ is not the easiest thing to do in an NBA season. Butler’s impact and level of importance will be shown as the season progresses, but expect a slow start to his Warriors tenure and for him to be held under 19.5 points in his debut.
James Harden Over 2.5 Made Three-Pointers (-135)
The final matchup of today’s NBA slate will take place between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have impressed this season and remain in the mix in the Western Conference, currently holding the seventh seed. James Harden deserves a great deal of credit for helping to keep the team afloat during Kawhi Leonard’s absence and the team is shaping into form as it gets closer to full strength. Harden is averaging 21.3 points, 8.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game this season.
Looking at his production from beyond the three-point arc, Harden is shooting just 34.4% on 8.1 long-range shots per game. This is well below the 36.3% he has shot for his career and the 38.1% he shot last season for the Clippers. Expect this efficiency to begin to creep up with Leonard back and taking away some defensive attention from Harden. Even amid the struggles, he has connected on over 2.5 made three-pointers in 25 of the 48 games he has played.
Looking at the matchup, Utah holds a record of 12-38 this season. It ranks 27th in opponent points allowed and 25th in opponent field-goal percentage. While the Jazz rank 10th in opponent three-point percentage, Utah is dead last in three-point attempts allowed. This will be the third matchup between these two teams with Harden shooting a combined 9-for-19 from beyond the three-point arc in the opening two matchups. Expect him to make the most of his chances tonight and connect on at least three three-pointers with the home crowd behind him.
