This Saturday’s NBA TV doubleheader concludes with a matchup at the Moda Center between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers. The contest is the final game on the scoreboard and tips off at 10:00 p.m. ET. Both squads are a little banged up, leaving plenty of uncertainty, but there are some strong player prop bets to consider if you’re looking to close out your Saturday night with some wins on player props.
The home town Trail Blazers are actually 3.5-points favorites in the bigger picture on DraftKings Sportsbook with the point total set at 223.5.
The Lakers will be without Luka Doncic, which is the biggest news in the matchup, but the team also listed former Blazer Deandre Ayton as questionable and Jaxson Hayes as out, which could dramatically impact the frontcourt rotation. The Blazers ruled Deni Avdija out, while Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday are each probable.
The Blazers knocked off the Hawks on Thursday to improve to 20-22 on the season after going 8-3 in their last 11 games. The Lakers are trending the other direction, having lost four of their last five games to slide to 24-15. They’re still No. 6 in the Western Conference, while the Blazers have climbed to No. 9 in the conference.
Let’s break down this Western Conference matchup that wraps up the NBA schedule on Saturday night, taking a look at my favorite player prop bets on the board.
Lakers vs. Trail Blazers Best Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jrue Holiday over 11.5 points (+100)
Holiday has been limited to 15 games this year, but he’s been good when available. He played the first 12 games of the season, averaging 16.7 points per game and scoring at least 12 points 10 times in 12 contests.
The veteran was sidelined from Nov. 14 through Jan. 9 but has returned for the last three games for the Blazers. He had eight points in his first game back, then posted 12 points in Tuesday’s game against the Warriors. He returned to the starting lineup on Thursday with 12 points once again in just 20 minutes. He should be ready to ramp up a little bit on Saturday after being upgraded from questionable to probable.
The former Celtic had 24 points in his first game against the Lakers this season in Los Angeles but only had eight points in the rematch. Even though he’s not all the way back to full speed, he’s been good enough to get over this prop line, and he should be able to dominate the Lakers’ backcourt without Luka Doncic available.
LeBron James over 8.5 assists (+107)
Without Luka, LeBron James will likely get more work at point forward against the Trail Blazers. He’ll have to take matters more into his own hands and be the main creator.
James has played two games this season without Luka. In the first of those games, The King had 11 assists in 36 minutes against the Raptors in a close game in Toronto. In his second game without Luka, James had six assists, but he only ended up playing 26 minutes in that game since it turned into a blowout.
LeBron has recently been dishing dimes even with Luka in the game, handing out at least 10 assists in three of his last six contests. He has only averaged 7.0 helpers per game on the year, but without Luka in what should be a close game against Portland, I love getting him at plus money to hand out nine assists or more. If you want to play LeBron’s assist ladder, 10+ assists is available at +174 odds and 12+ assists comes in at +434.
Jake LaRavia 15+ Points (+101)
One of the many Lakers who will have more scoring responsibility in this matchup will be Jake LaRavia. LaRavia posted 18 and 17 points in his last two games against the Hornets and the Hawks, respectively.
LaRavia has started the last nine games for the Lakers, averaging 14.1 points in 35.8 minutes per game over that span. He has gone over this prop line five of his last eight games, even with Luka taking plenty of shots alongside him in the starting five.
In his last two games without Luka, he had 14 and 12 points, plus he has averaged 12 points per game in his contests without Luka this season. However, this will be just his second game without both Luka and Austin Reaves, and he had 11 points in that previous contest.
Since he’s been so much better lately than he was earlier in the year and looks more involved in the offense, I think he’ll be able to get to 15 points in this favorable spot against the Blazers.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Toumani Camara under 2.5 3PM (-137)
Camara has the green light and has taken plenty of three-pointers lately. The 25-year-old from Belgium has averaged 7.7 three-point attempts per game over his last six games, but he has been under this prop in all but one of those games. Camara went 1-for-9 on Thursday from long range and is shooting only 28.3% from long-range in those six games. With Holiday and Grant back in the mix, he could start losing some of that usage, and even though he has great upside, he’s been struggling to convert lately.
If you’re looking to use these props to create a Same Game Parlay (SGP) or as part of an SPGx, adding in the under on Camara’s 3PM takes the SGP to a solid +1000, as you can see below.
