With eight games on the scoreboard this Saturday, there are plenty of fun matchups for NBA fans to enjoy. The NBA TV matchup features the Los Angeles Lakers rolling into Atlanta to face the Hawks at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Lakers are an impressive 7-2 to start the season, including 4-0 on the road. They’ll take on the banged up Atlanta Hawks, who are 4-5 after losing at home on Friday in an NBA Cup game to the Raptors.
On the injury report, the Lakers listed Austin Reaves (groin), Gabe Vincent (ankle) and Maxi Kleber (abdominal) as questionable. The Hawks haven’t submitted a report yet since they just played Friday, but they are expected to be without Trae Young (knee) and possibly Luke Kennard (illness), who missed Friday’s game.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Los Angeles is favored on the road by 3.5 points, with the game total set at 230.5 points. In addition to the main game line, DraftKings Sportsbook has numerous player prop bets for Saturday night’s matchup. In this post, I’ll take a look at a few of my favorites. Let’s dive in.
Best Lakers at Hawks Player Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Luka Doncic over 55.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-116)
Taking anyone to produce at least 56 PRA (points, rebounds and assists) is a tall task, but Doncic has been otherworldly when available this year. He has played five games for the Lakers and produced 40.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 60.2 PRA per game.
He has only played one game this year without Reaves, and in that matchup, he had 35 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for 57 PRA on Wednesday against the Spurs.
Doncic has scored at least 29 points in every one of his five games this season with at least a double-double in each contest. While the Hawks are typically fairly solid against point guards, Doncic will need to carry the load again on Saturday, and catching the Hawks on the second night of a back-to-back should set him up for another monster stat line. All his over/under props are extremely high since he has been so good this year, but using PRA as opposed to just one category provides Doncic more paths to hitting the over on the prop.
Dyson Daniels over 12.5 points (-114)
Without Trae Young, Daniels has had to step into a more active scoring role for the Hawks. He is averaging only 9.8 points per game this season, so this prop level seems a little high at first, but it is actually a good value when you dig deeper.
Daniels scored exactly 18 points in the first three straight games that Young missed. That streak came to an end on Friday, when he had just seven points to go with eight rebounds and eight assists in the team’s loss to the Raptors. He shot just 2-of-10 from the field, taking a season-high in field-goal attempts, meaning the opportunities were still there for Daniels but his shot wasn’t dropping.
He could be in for even more opportunities depending on who the Hawks opt to play on the second game of their back-to-back. In their first back-to-back of the season, Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis did not play. Johnson also seemed to bang his knee at the end of Friday’s loss and could end up sitting Saturday for that reason as well.
While the absence of either or both big men would be a big boost for Onyeka Okongwu, it would also mean more usage and scoring chances for Daniels, making him a good pick to get over this scoring line on Saturday as he tries to help his Hawks soar against Luka and the Lakers.
Rui Hachimura over 1.5 3PM (-160)
I almost included Hachimura’s over in my top three-point player props of the day, but ultimately went with some props with longer odds instead. I still love this play, though, if you’re looking to build an SGP or go with a conservative independent play.
Hachimura has been very involved in the Lakers’ offense this year, scoring at least nine points in every contest and averaging 16.7 points per game. He has made multiple three-pointers in seven of his nine games this season (78%) and has hit multiple three-point shots in each of his last four games.
While Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht have gotten most of the hype while Austin Reaves has been out, Hachimura continues to chip in solid numbers in the starting lineup and should keep getting good chances on a regular basis until LeBron James is ready to return. Taking him to hit multiple three-point shots has been a great prop that has hit multiple times in my picks already this season, and I’m going back to the well with Hachimura’s threes on Saturday night, looking for him to deliver once again in this matchup in Atlanta.
