With a healthy LaMelo Ball, a future building block in Brandon Miller, last season’s runner-up for Rookie of the Year, and a rookie lottery pick in Tidjane Salaün, the Charlotte Hornets could have realistically hoped to compete for at least a Play-In Tournament spot. But Ball has played just 46 games because of a variety of ailments, Brandon Miller suffered a season-ending wrist injury on January 15, and Salaün has shot a putrid 32.6% from the field, the worst among 230 players who have appeared in at least 25 games and attempt at least five shots per game.
At least Ball is expected to suit up for tonight’s contest against the Orlando Magic, who are coming off a surprising win over the Los Angeles Lakers last night. For the season, the 23-year-old is averaging 25.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game, and he’s one of two players — along with Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić — to average at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal per game in each of the last four seasons.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Hornets are 5.5-point underdogs and the total is set for 213.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around Ball.
Best LaMelo Ball Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
LaMelo Ball O35.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-110)
Even after losing arguably its best defensive player — point guard Jalen Suggs — for the season and its second-best defender, center Goga Bitadze, falling mostly out of the rotation, Orlando has allowed the league’s second-fewest points and fewest assists per game since the All-Star break. Most of it has to do with the fact that the Magic play at the league’s fourth-slowest pace; Orlando has had just the league’s 12th-best defensive rating since that point. Charlotte also plays at a slower-than-average pace, which explains why this line is so low.
Ball’s efficiency — 35.3% from the field — has been quite bad since the All-Star break, but some of that is driven by back-to-back horrid performances in which he was a combined four-for-23 (17.4%) from the field in a pair of games that the Hornets lost by a combined 95 points. Since the All-Star break, although the Magic have held teams to the ninth-lowest field goal percentage, they’ve been merely league-average in terms of opponent three-point shooting, leaving an opening for Ball, whose three-point percentage of 33.1% has been consistent with his season average. They’re also by far the worst three-point shooting team in modern history, and more missed triples means more long rebounds, which should allow Ball to snag more than usual.
