Friday features an awesome 12-game NBA slate, including a Prime Video doubleheader that features the Lakers-Celtics and Mavericks-Thunder matchups. Aside from those two spotlight games, another fun matchup on the board features the Suns heading to Houston to face the Rockets, in a matchup of two of the team that are on the rise in the early part of the season in the Western Conference. With plenty of exciting players and storylines on both sides of this contest, let’s cook up some fun player prop bets to consider from both sides of this matchup on DraftKings Sportsbook.
In the bigger picture, the Rockets are 10.5-point home favorites, with the game total set at O/U 222.5 points.
The Rockets actually started the season 0-2, but they have gone on a 14-3 tear since then. They won their last game on Wednesday by defeating the Kings, 121-95. The Suns also had a big win in their last game, knocking off the Lakers in Los Angeles on Monday, 125-108. They’ve had the rest of the week off, so they should be well rested for this matchup at the Toyota Center.
These two teams made one of the biggest trades of the past offseason with Kevin Durant heading to Houston. This will be the second time they’ve faced off since the deal, providing multiple revenge narratives on both sides. The Rockets beat the Suns, 114-92 in that matchup on Nov. 24.
In what should be one of the most entertaining matchups on the scoreboard, check out these player prop bets to play in Friday night’s Western Conference matchup.
Suns vs. Rockets Best Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Collin Gillespie over 20.5 Points + Assists (-113)
Gillispie has been one of the biggest reasons for the Suns success this season, as the third-year guard has stepped into a much bigger role in the re-fashioned rotation.
Last season, he produced just 5.9 points and 2.4 assists in 14 minutes per game over 33 appearances. This year, he has averaged 26.8 minutes per game, producing 13.4 points and 5.0 assists per game.
Devin Booker (groin) will be out for this game, which should leave more work for Gillespie. Even though this prop line is over his 18.4 points plus assists average, he has been hot lately, producing 18.9 points and 5.0 assists per game over his last nine games and going over this prop line in seven of those games, including three of his last four.
On Monday, Gillespie started and poured in 28 points against the Lakers while adding five assists as well. He has the potential to go well over this prop line, making him an intriguing play if you want to be more aggressive as well. If you go up to 25+ points and assists the line jumps to +183, and 30+ points and assists comes in at +452.
Steven Adams over 16.5 Points + Rebounds (-128)
Adams has been coming off the bench for his last three games and has also missed two of the last five games with a minor ankle injury. In the three games he has played, Adams had 11 points and eight rebounds against the Kings, 13 points and 12 rebounds against the Jazz, and six points and seven rebounds against the Suns.
The Big Kiwi is averaging 6.8 points and 9.3 rebounds (16.1 Points + Rebounds) in his 16 games.
In addition to his strong showings recently, Adams makes sense in this spot on Friday night since Alperen Sengun (illness) was added to the injury report as questionable. With the Rockets also playing on Saturday, the team could play it safe with Sengun and have him sit out, and even if he plays, he could be more limited, setting up more minutes and work for Adams, who isn’t on the injury report at all for this matchup.
Royce O’Neale 20+ Points + Rebounds + Assists (+117)
Without Booker for most of the game on Monday against the Lakers, O’Neale finished with 11 assists and added six points and seven rebounds for 24 PRA (points, rebounds, and assists).
He has at least 15 PRA in eight straight games and has gone over 20 PRA in each of his last two games.
Without Booker, the versatile forward will likely find multiple ways to contribute on Friday night, and I love getting him at plus odds for what looks like a very attainable total in this contest.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Kevin Durant over 0.5 blocks (-110)
If you’re looking for a fourth leg for your Same Game Parlay or SGPx, Durant to get a block against his former team is a fun one to chase. He didn’t play in the Rockets’ first game against the Suns, but you know he’ll be itching to swat someone’s shot on Friday.
Durant has averaged 0.6 blocks per game on the season, making it basically a toss-up if he gets one or not. However, he has blocked at least one shot in three of his last four games and four of his last six, so with the added motivation of facing his former team, possibly without Sengun, I think he’ll get at least one blocked shot Friday.
If you add in Durant at these odds, the four picks in this post check in at a juicy +1100 as an SGP:
