The late game on Friday night’s big NBA doubleheader on ESPN is a Western Conference showdown between the Lakers and the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Lakers are playing for the second night in a row, while the Clippers have been off since Wednesday when they beat the Bulls in Chicago. In what should be a fun late matchup, let’s take a look at some of the best player prop bets available.
In the big picture, the Clippers are 4.5-point road favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook in this matchup, which has a point total of 220.5. Since it’s the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers listed both LeBron James and Luka Doncic as questionable due to injury management, starting center Jaxson Hayes (hip) is also questionable, and Rui Hachimura (knee) is out. The Clippers listed Norman Powell (knee) questionable but are otherwise healthy coming into this contest.
Best Prop Bets for Clippers vs. Lakers on DraftKings Sportsbook
Ivica Zubac over 11.5 rebounds (-125)
Zubac has 12+ rebounds in 33 of his 56 (59%) of his games this season and is averaging 12.5 boards per game on the season. He has pulled in at least 15 rebounds in two of his last four games since the All-Star break and at least 12 in five of his last eight.
While he only had 10 rebounds in 28 minutes in their last matchup, which was a blowout, Zubac had 19 rebounds against the Lakers in his other matchup against them earlier this season. He should be extra motivated to take on his former squad on Friday, and he won’t have to deal with Anthony Davis or Rui Hachimura. If Hayes is also out, he should dominate down low and especially clean up the glass against an undersized Lakers’ frontline.
If you really want to live dangerously, Zubac is +205 to get 2+ blocks, and he has multiple blocks in three of his last four gams since the All-Star break.
Austin Reaves 4+ 3-pointers (+195)
Admittedly, lots of the reason I like this is that I think LeBron, Luka or both will sit this game out. Reaves did make four three-pointers once since the All-Star break by lighting up the Nuggets for 23 points with four threes last Saturday, and both James and Doncic were in the mix.
With Luka out just before the break, Reaves had eight three-point attempts but only made two while scoring 32 points in a win over the Trail Blazers. In the last game LeBron sat, Luka was also unavailable and Reaves carried the load against the Pacers. He made four three-pointers in that game and piled up 45 points.
This is my favorite of Reaves’ props, but you could also just take him for 30+ points at +380 odds and hope he steps up with one of the stars out.
Kawhi Leonard over 1.5 steals (+100)
Kahwi has been limited to two games since the All-Star break but played over 32 minutes in both with multiple steals in each contest. He has multiple steals in three-straight games and is coming off a season-high four steals on Wednesday in Chicago.
When he’s healthy, he is very active defensively and gets plenty of steals. Last year, he had multiple steals in three of four matchups against the Lakers, but he didn’t get multiple steals in either game against the Lakers earlier this season, partly due to his limited minutes.
If Luka or LeBron sit, the Lakers will have fewer ball-handlers and probably worse passing, allowing Kawhi to keep on his recent roll with multiple steals for a fourth-straight contest.
