Look out, NBA. Here comes Fun Guy.
Since the All-Star break, two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard has averaged 24.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 50.6% from the field and 41.5% from beyond the arc. LA — despite being without leading scorer Norman Powell for 12 games — has mostly stayed afloat in the West, going 10-8 with a plus-5.0 net rating. Could the Clippers — with a healthy Leonard, a much-improved Powell and Ivica Zubac, and a rejuvenated James Harden — make some noise in the playoffs?
NBA fans probably won’t find out tonight, given that LA will be traveling to the Big Apple to take on the woeful Brooklyn Nets, who have gone just 3-16 since the All-Star break and have lost top scorer Cam Thomas for the season.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Clippers are 12.5-point favorites and the total is set for 212.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around Leonard.
Best Kawhi Leonard Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Kawhi Leonard O22.5 Points (-110)
I’m going to back Leonard to score more than 22 points until he fails to do so, but given that he’s reached that mark in each of the last seven games — shooting 57.9% from the field and 51.4% from deep across that stretch — there’s no reason to expect that the streak will come to an end tonight. The only reason I’m not taking him to score more than 25 is because the game might be lopsided and he might ride the bench for much of the fourth quarter, but if he gets anywhere near a full workload, the Nets will have trouble stopping him. In his past two games, he’s faced two of the league’s better wing defenders — the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Luguentz Dort and the New York Knicks’ OG Anunoby — and he hasn’t had much trouble.
For parts of the season, Brooklyn had an inability to score, which was fine because it also excelled at keeping the ball out of its own basket. However, since the All-Star break, the Nets have had a two-pronged problem, posting the league’s third-worst offensive rating and it’s 12th-worst defensive rating. It’s still been okay by count statistics because it plays at sixth-slowest pace, but that won’t prevent it from being exploited by Leonard. Brooklyn has allowed the league’s fourth-highest field goal percentage on midrange shots this season, and Leonard is one of the greatest midrange scorers in league history.
Kawhi Leonard 8+ Rebounds (+115)
There’s a reason why Leonard developed the nickname Board Man during his time at San Diego State. During his three seasons with the Aztecs, he averaged 10.2 rebounds per game, and although his career-high average in an NBA season is just 7.3, that’s pretty decent for a six-foot-seven wing. Either way, he’s recorded exactly 10 rebounds in each of his last three games.
He should have a good opportunity to make that streak four against the Nets, who have struggled mightily on the interior this season despite a mostly-healthy season from center Nic Claxton. Since the All-Star break, Brooklyn has given up the seventh-most rebounds per game and posted the fifth-worst rebounding percentage. To make matters even worse, the Nets have also had bottom-half ranks in both points in the paint and second-chance points.
