The NBA regular season tips off on Tuesday night with a pair of great matchups. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder host the new-look Houston Rockets in the first game of the day, while the Los Angeles Lakers welcome in the Golden State Warriors for the nightcap. One fun way to attack the matchups is to pinpoint some 3-point prop bets to attack. Regardless of the score and who wins the games, cheering for specific players to hit three-pointers is a great way to enjoy the action, and DraftKings Sportsbook has plenty of player props on the board from these four teams.
My top 3-point prop bets for Tuesday are from Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Rui Hachimura. Typically, I try to target a lower total of 3PM totals so that they can hit quickly, either early or late, without needing lots of buildup. It’s early in the season, so we don’t have a ton of data yet as far as which teams are taking the most threes or allowing the most threes, but we’ll incorporate that data as it becomes available. I also usually play these props in a round robin style, so that even if they don’t all hit, they still bring solid returns.
Breaking down the numbers and matchups, here is why I like these three 3-point props on Tuesday night.
Top 3-point prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Kevin Durant over 2.5 3PM (+103)
Durant will make his Rockets’ debut on Tuesday night, and he’ll do it back where his career began in Oklahoma City. Durant should be plenty motivated to be aggressive and fill it up in his Rockets’ debut, and this line feels very getable for the 37-year-old who still has plenty in the tank.
Last year, he was limited to 62 regular-season games for the Suns, but when he played, he made 2.6 three-pointers per game.
In his 15 career games against the Thunder since leaving as a free agent, he has averaged 2.9 three-pointers per game and gone over this 3PM line in nine of those 15 games (60%), including three of his last four.
The Thunder played at the fifth-highest Pace last season, and this game has a high point total at 228.5. If around that many points are scored, it’s easy to see Durant drilling at least three threes to keep his new team in the game with his former team.
Jabari Smith Jr. over 1.5 3PM (-173)
Durant’s arrival could unlock more scoring opportunities for Smith Jr. as well, and I love that he just needs two three-pointers to hit this over. He averaged 1.7 three-pointers per game last year, but should have an expanded role early in the season, especially on offense.
He had a great preseason, hitting multiple three-pointers in each of his three games, even though he was only playing minutes in the low 20s. He has the potential to have a breakout season, and he should be able to get started by going over this 3-point prop on Tuesday night.
Rui Hachimura over 1.5 3PM (-143)
The Lakers won’t have LeBron James (sciatica) for their season opener, leaving plenty of usage for the rest of his supporting cast. While Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic have to hit four three-pointers to get over their total, Hachimura only has to knock down a pair of triples to deliver the green in this 3-point prop.
Hachimura averaged 1.9 3PM in his 14 games after the All-Star break last season and then increased that to 3.0 3PM per game in his five playoff games. In his five games without LeBron last year during the regular season, Hachimura averaged 2.2 3PM per contest. Without LeBron early in the season, the Lakers will look to Hachimura to pick up the scoring load, and I think he’ll get off to a strong start against the Warriors on Tuesday.
While the three of these 3-point props are not extremely long odds individually, if you stack them into a parlay, they stack up to a solid +419. If you’re looking for more risk and more reward, playing them as a parlay is a great way to start the season. Let’s see if we can dial up a winner from long-distance this Tuesday!
