The NBA Cup group play wrapped up in dramatic fashion on Friday night, and the Association is back on the courts this Saturday with eight good games on the schedule. The first game of the day is a late afternoon matchup between the Celtics and Timberwolves in Minnesota. Let’s take a look at that matchup and find some fun player prop bets to consider to start the night off with some green from these two squads.
In the bigger picture, on DraftKings Sportsbook, the Timberwolves are 7.5-point home favorites, with the game total set at O/U 227.5 points.
Both teams come in with identical 10-8 records after the Celtics won big home games against the Magic and Pistons to start the week. The Timberwolves have been on the road, losing three straight to the Suns, Kings and Thunder.
The Wolves are 5-3 at home, while the Celtics are 4-4 on the road. It should be a great way to tip off the evening, so let’s dive in and hunt down some top player prop bets that look like good spots to attack this Saturday night.
Timberwolves vs. Celtics Best Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Rudy Gobert over 11.5 rebounds (-101)
Gobert is only averaging 10.3 rebounds per game on the season, but he has at least 12 boards in four straight games. He’s played at least 32 minutes in each of those games, and he should be ready for a full workload since the Wolves have been off since Wednesday.
He’ll also have a favorable matchup against the Celtics, who have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing centers. They could also be without starting center Neemias Queta (ankle, questionable) for a second straight game, leaving former Timberwolves center Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Amari Williams to try and slow down the Stifle Tower.
Gobert has been good on the glass lately, and I’ll take him to keep rolling at even money in this player prop to start my picks for this Saturday night matchup.
Payton Pritchard over 17.5 points (-109)
Pritchard is averaging 16.6 points per game this season, but he has been trending up over the last few games and could end up carrying more workload since the C’s have a pretty extensive injury report.
Pritchard had 16 points in the team’s big win over the Pistons on Wednesday, but he had gone over this prop line in four of his previous five games. He had 19 points against the Magic, 22 points against the Nets, 30 against the Clippers, and 24 against the Grizzlies over the last few weeks, and he has a good chance of going over this prop line even if White and Brown play. If either are limited or out, he’ll get even more work and have a higher ceiling in this matchup against Minnesota.
Last season, Pritchard was very streaky, and he seems to be getting on a nice roll again after a slow start.
Anthony Edwards over 3.5 3PM (+108)
Edwards is always a threat to go off for a monster game and he is averaging 28 points and 44.1 fantasy points per game. His long-range shooting has been especially sharp this season, as the dynamic scorer has added another element to his repertoire.
Edwards has averaged 3.4 three-pointers per game this year, and he has made at least five three-pointers in each of his last three games. Normally, I don’t take 3PM props that are this high, but Edwards is so streaky and handles so much volume, that I’m comfortable taking him to make at least four at plus-money to round out my picks for this early game.
He’s actually shooting a much higher percentage on the road than at home, but facing a banged-up Boston backcourt seems like a good spot for some positive regression at the Target Center for Edwards on Saturday night.
