The NBA has another busy Saturday lined up with nine games on the schedule. The very first matchup on the board is a 5:00 p.m. ET matinee matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz from the American Airlines Center in Big D. While both teams have struggled and the game may not be the prettiest on the schedule, there are still some strong player prop bets to consider if you are looking to get an early start on the day’s NBA action. You can use these picks to build your bankroll for the later games since this contest should wrap up before most of the rest of the games get started.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Mavericks are narrow 2.5-point home favorites, with the point total set at 241.5. The two teams met on Thursday of this week, with the Mavericks winning, 144-122.
That win moved the Mavs to 16-26 on the year in the No. 12 spot in the Western Conference, just ahead of the Jazz, who are now 14-27. Dallas is 12-11 at home and 4-3 in its last seven games. Thursday’s win came despite missing several key starters, and both teams have long injury lists once again on Saturday.
The Jazz already ruled out Lauri Markkanen, while the Mavs listed Cooper Flagg and Daniel Gafford as doubtful. P.J. Washington will join Anthony Davis on the sidelines, but Max Christie is probable after missing two games this week with an illness. Let’s break down this matchup on Saturday night and focus on some of the best player prop bets for the players who will be on the floor for Saturday night’s contest.
Mavericks vs. Jazz Best Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Brice Sensabaugh over 18.5 points (-101)
In their two games this week, the Jazz have left Jusuf Nurkic and Svi Mykhailiuk out of the rotation (even though they’re not on the injury report) and Markkanen’s absence due to illness has left the door wide open for Sensabaugh to step up with huge scoring games in the second unit.
He had a career-high 43 points on Wednesday in 34 minutes off the bench against the Bulls, and he followed that up with 27 points in 28 minutes against the Mavs on Thursday.
Sensabaugh has gone well over this prop line in three of his last four games and has gone over this line in four of his five games without Markkanen in which he played at least 25 minutes.
The 22-year-old, third-year forward out of Ohio State has shown plenty of potential, and the Jazz should continue to give him all the playing time he can handle as they look to develop him as part of the team’s young core going forward. This matchup against the Mavs should be another soft one for him to take advantage of on Saturday.
Max Christie over 2.5 3PM (-116)
The Mavericks will be in desperate need of scoring in this contest, and Christie will likely carry a lot of responsibility in his expected return from a two-game absence.
He only went 1-for-8 from long range in his last game on Monday, but he’s still shooting 44.1% from three-point territory this season, averaging 2.4 3PM per contest.
In his one game without both Flagg and Davis this season, Christie made three three-pointers and finished with 15 points. With Washington also absent for this matchup, Christie will have to take all the shots he can handle, and I think he’ll be able to get at least three three-pointers in this favorable matchup against Utah.
Isaiah Collier under 10.5 points (-125)
Even with so many absences for the Jazz, Collier isn’t doing a ton of scoring. He is averaging 8.6 points per game on the season and remains firmly behind Keyonte George as an option in the offense. He moved into the starting lineup for the last two games, but he still only scored eight and 10 points, despite the Jazz scoring over 120 points as a team in both of those games.
Collier has finished under this prop line in seven of his last eight games and 12 of his last 14. While Sensabaugh has been lighting it up, George has even been a little quiet. If George bounces back with a more typical performance on Saturday, there could be even less usage for Collier.
He definitely has the potential to go over this prop line in this matchup, but so much of his game is defense and assists that his scoring isn’t his focus and he usually comes in under this prop line.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Naji Marshall over 20.5 points (-106)
Along with Christie, Marshall is another key player who will need to step up for the Mavs with so little scoring available. He had 22 points on Wednesday even though he only played 24 minutes. He’ll probably play more minutes if this game stays close and could have more usage if Klay Thompson cools off after scoring 26 points on Thursday. Marshall has been more consistent than Klay this season and is averaging 20.8 points per game in his five games without Washington and Davis. He has gone over this prop line in three straight games.
If you’re looking to use these props to create a Same Game Parlay (SGP) or as part of an SGPx, adding in the over on Naji’s points takes the SGP to a strong +950, as you can see below.
