The NBA has 10 games spread throughout Sunday, and the NBA Sunday Night Basketball doubleheader on NBC and Peacock gets going with a Texas-sized rivalry between the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs host the Rockets at the Frost Bank Center for this matchup after taking two of three from their in-state rival so far this season. With both teams chasing high playoff spots in the Western Conference, each side has some exciting players to watch that offer strong player prop bets to build around.
The Spurs are 5.5-point home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the game total set at 222.5 points.
The Spurs have gone 14-1 since the beginning of February after knocking off the Pistons and Clippers in a very difficult back-to-back earlier this week. They are leading the Southwest Division at 46-17 and are second in the Western Conference, just three games behind the Thunder. The Rockets rank No. 4 in the conference at 39-23, sitting 6.5 games behind the Spurs. They are looking to gather momentum after alternating wins and losses in their last four games.
Both teams are remarkably healthy for this point in the season. The Rockets are missing a few players due to long-term injuries and Harrison Barnes is out for the Spurs.
Rockets vs. Spurs Best Prop Bets
Carter Bryant o3.5 Rebounds (-104)
Carter Bryant wasn’t a name most basketball fans were familiar with until the dunk contest at NBA All-Star Weekend. The 20-year-old rookie has played in 52 games this season for San Antonio but has averaged only 10 minutes per game. He’s been getting more playing time lately, and especially with Barnes out again, he should be more in the mix on Sunday.
Bryant has played at least 20 minutes in each of his last three games, grabbing nine rebounds against the Sixers, six rebounds against the Pistons, and three rebounds against the Clippers. In five of his last six games with at least 15 minutes, he has gone over this prop, with that game against the Clippers being the only exception.
Without Barnes, Bryant will likely play about 20 minutes again on Sunday, which will be the first time he has had that much time against the Rockets. He’s stepping up for the Spurs, and the youngster should be a solid contributor.
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Amen Thompson o1.5 Steals (+100)
Thompson is averaging 1.6 steals per game, but he should have a heavy workload in this contest. The elite defender is averaging 37.1 minutes per game in 60 games this season and has been very successful even though he’s been playing through a right ankle sprain.
He has multiple steals in each of his last three games and six of his last eight, dating back to the All-Star break. He is averaging 2.4 steals over that stretch, which is why this prop is great value at plus money.
In his last meeting with the Spurs, he had four steals, but he only had one steal in each of his first two games in this head-to-head matchup. With the way he’s trending now, this is a great play on Sunday night.
Devin Vassell o2.5 Assists (+121)
Vassell has started 48 of his 50 games and is playing 30.6 minutes per game this season. He’s averaging 2.4 assists per game on the season, but he has been trending up in this category lately.
He has gone over this prop line in six of his last eight games and is averaging 3.0 assists per contest during that span.
Vassell had three assists in his first game against the Rockets this season, but he missed the second game and was limited in the third matchup. With his current trends, though, it makes sense to play this attainable prop at plus-money.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Kevin Durant 5+ Rebounds (-164)
If you’re building an SGP (Same Game Parlay) from this Sunday night showdown, one way to boost the odds even higher is by adding the over on KD’s rebounds. Adding htat into the mix boosts the SGP all the way up to +1100 for these four Rockets-Spurs bets.
Durant has at least five rebounds in 10 of his last 11 games. He was under this prop line in all three of his matchups with the Spurs, but he has been more more active on the board lately without Steven Adams in the mix anymore.
