The first Sunday of the NBA season has arrived, with seven games scheduled for the slate.
Tipping off at 5:00 p.m. ET, the Los Angeles Lakers will face the Utah Jazz. The Indiana Pacers will square off with the Brooklyn Nets at 6:00 p.m. ET before three games tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET: the Los Angeles Clippers against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Orlando Magic against the New York Knicks, and the Toronto Raptors against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 p.m. ET before the final matchup between the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET.
There are plenty of ways to get involved on DraftKings Sportsbook. Here are my top three player prop bets for Sunday’s slate.
Best NBA Prop Bets Today:
Tyrese Haliburton Over 9.5 Assists (-109)
After missing the entirety of last season while recovering from an Achilles tear, Tyrese Haliburton looks as if he has not missed a beat. Through the opening two games, the two-time All-Star is averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 assists and has returned to his place as the engine of the Pacers’ offense. Haliburton and Indiana will look to build on that production in a favorable matchup against the winless Nets, who are coming off a 20-62 season and expected to finish among the bottom-feeders in the Eastern Conference once again.
Haliburton finished with 12 assists in his season debut before recording seven in his second game. But the underlying metrics are even more encouraging for the 2023-24 assist champion. Haliburton recorded 20 potential assists in the season opener and tallied 15 potential assists in the second matchup. His Pacers teammates have not done him any favors helping to grow this stat output, but expect differently against a Nets team that finished last year ranked 26th in defensive rating. Brooklyn has done a nice job adding talent to take a step toward overall organizational competence, but they still leave plenty to be desired on the defensive end. Through their first two games, the Nets are allowing 117.5 points per game as well as ranking 24th in opponents’ assists per game.
Even more encouraging than the stat profile, Haliburton has had no physical or workload limitations to start the year. He has played 32+ minutes in both games this season, and his role looks just about identical to when he was last on the floor. Haliburton has averaged as many as 10.9 assists per game over a season, and tallied 9.2+ assists per game over each of the past four seasons he has been on the floor. Count on him to capitalize on the favorable matchup and continue effectively pulling the strings of this Indiana attack.
LeBron James Over 14.5 Assists & Rebounds (-104)
The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a 3-0 start to the season and will prepare to face off with the Detroit Pistons tonight. This includes picking up a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks last night, in which LeBron James sat out the first half of the back-to-back matchups due to injury management. He is expected to return to the court tonight, with Joel Embiid taking a seat as the Sixers continue their load management plan for the veteran stars.
Across the two games James has played, he is averaging 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists. He finished with 16 combined rebounds and assists in the season opener and 15 in his second appearance, clearing this prop’s 14.5 threshold in both games. With James sidelined Saturday, Embiid took charge of the offense and recorded his first triple-double of the season with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Expect James to step into these shoes tonight without his MVP teammate on the floor, especially with Jalen Duren set to be sidelined for the Pistons. The backup center position is the biggest weak spot on this Sixers’ roster, and without Embiid, the Sixers will likely lean on James as the primary big man option in small-ball lineups at a high rate tonight. The absence of Duren further hints toward this game plan.
Philadelphia has done an excellent job pushing the pace and getting out in transition at a high rate to start the season. This outlook starts with James pulling in rebounds and starting up the fast break. The 41-year-old still looks athletically fresh and has done a great job finding Tyrese Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe, and Jaylen Brown leaking out on the break. Expect this to remain the case tonight as he carries some additional responsibility as a rebounder and for James to record over 14.5 combined assists and rebounds for the third straight game.
Cameron Boozer Over 8.5 Rebounds (-133)
In the final matchup of Sunday’s NBA slate, the Memphis Grizzlies will square off with the Sacramento Kings. Neither team is widely expected to rank among the top Western Conference contenders, but Memphis has opened the season with a 2-0 record and will look to keep its momentum going on the road. Third overall pick Cameron Boozer has served as a major tone-setter for the entire franchise, carrying himself as a leader following his standout one-and-done season at Duke. Through his opening two games, Boozer is posting averages of 16.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game.
Expect him to especially play a role rebounding the basketball tonight. Zach Edey will miss the matchup due to ankle injury management, and Cedric Coward is questionable with a left wrist sprain. These are the second- and third-leading rebounders on the Memphis roster outside of Boozer to start the year. GG Jackson II is next on the team with 6.0 per game, with no other player pulling in more than five rebounds per contest.
Boozer pulled in 11 rebounds in his debut and 13 in the previous game. He will now take on a Kings team that is lacking in quality rebounders outside of Domantas Sabonis. Through their opening two games, Sacramento ranks 25th in rebounding percentage and 21st in rebounds allowed. The rookie has logged 33+ minutes in both of his first two games in the league, and will carry greater rebounding responsibility tonight with Edey sidelined. Expect him to deliver with over 8.5 rebounds tonight in the favorable matchup.
