Before the NBA gets back to its regular busy schedule with 12 games on Thursday, the Association has a light two-game slate on Wednesday night. The NBA TV matchup of the night features the Western Conference matchup between the Grizzlies and the Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis. Each team has plenty of star power and potential storylines, offering some exciting favorite player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook. Let’s pull out a few top player props for Wednesday night’s matchup.
In the big picture of the matchup, the Timberwolves are 7.5-point home favorites, with the game total set at 229.5. This is the first matchup between these teams, who will play four times during the regular season.
The T-Wolves have won seven of their last eight games to improve to 17-9 after beating the Kings on Sunday. The Grizzlies are just on the other side of .500 at 12-14, but they have won six of their last eight and are starting to gather a little momentum after a big in on Monday over the Clippers.
Who will step up in this big matchup? Let’s dive into this fun Western Conference matchup and check out some player prop bets to target.
Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves Best Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Julius Randle over 22.5 points (-116)
Both teams have multiple big names on the injury report for this matchup, led by Anthony Edwards (foot), who has missed the last two games and is questionable for Wednesday’s matchup.
Randle has stepped up in the two games that Edwards missed with 27 points and 24 points in wins over the Warriors and Kings. He’s averaging 23.1 points per game on the season and 26.2 points in his six games without Edwards.
He has gone over this prop line in four of his last five games and has scored over 23 points in 14 of 26 (54%) of his games this season. He went over this prop line in two of the last three games he played with Edwards, so he has a good shot at going over this prop line with Edwards, and an even better chance if Edwards is out.
Cedric Coward under 15.5 points (-126)
Even with Ja Morant (ankle) doubtful and Cam Spencer (personal) ruled out, Vince Williams, Jaylen Wells and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will likely get more work rather than Coward, whose point line seems very inflated in this contest.
Coward has played big minutes this season, averaging 13.4 points in 27 minutes per game this season. He has had a few big games where he went over this point production line, but he has been under 15 points in eight of his last 10 games and 12 of his last 16.
The Grizzlies wing will also be in a tough matchup since Jaden McDaniels typically locks down opposing small forwards. In fact, the Timberwolves allow the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards, so this doesn’t seem like a spot to be extremely aggressive on taking Coward’s over.
Naz Reid over 20.5 Points + Rebounds (-119)
Reid got off to a slow start but has found his groove lately, increasing his average to 20 points and rebounds per game. He’s averaging 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in his 26 games this season with a higher average of 15.0 points and 7.9 rebounds (22.9 points and rebounds) in his 13 home games.
Reid has also gone over this prop line in five of his last six games, including his most recent game which was at home against the Kings. In that contest he finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in 35 minutes, in one of his best games of the season. Part of that increased production was due to Rudy Gobert leaving the game early for personal reasons , but he’ll be available on Wednesday.
Even with Gobert, though, this prop is a strong over play given Reid’s momentum and production at home this season.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope over 3.5 assists (-119)
If you’re looking for a fourth leg for your Same Game Parlay or SGPx, you can add in the under on KCP’s assists prop to push your parlay all the way to +900, as you can see below.
KCP has at least five assists in four straight games. In the 12 games without Morant this season, he averaged 3.2 assists. In his minutes without Morant, his assist rate increases from 21.4% to 22.9%and all the way to 27.7% in his limited minutes without both Morant and Spencer.
SGP odds: +900
