Following the second night of NBA Cup action, there are just five games on the docket tonight.
In the lone afternoon game, the Milwaukee Bucks will face off against the Charlotte Hornets. The Lakers will then play the Pelicans, the Raptors are facing the Celtics, and the Spurs and Mavericks will face off for the start of the night slate. Finally, the Utah Jazz will play the Sacramento Kings in the night’s final game after De’Aaron Fox’s 60-point performance yesterday.
You can check out each matchup on DraftKings Sportsbook. Here are my favorite player props for November 16.
Anthony Davis Over 43.5 Points, Rebounds, & Assists (-115)
JJ Redick’s new offense has further unlocked Anthony Davis and he is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Through the opening 11 games of the season, Davis has averaged 31.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He has eclipsed 34.5 combined points, rebounds, and assists in six of the 11 games he has played this year.
While the Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back, this is a great matchup for Davis. Last night against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, Davis recorded 40 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists. He will now face a Pelicans team heavily impacted by injuries. Most notably, Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins, and Jose Alvarado will all continue to miss time due to their various injuries. Trey Murphy III is also out. Expect rookie Yves Missi to get the first crack at guarding Davis, as he has started the past eight games at the center spot.
This game will take place in New Orleans, where the nine-time All-Star is plenty comfortable suiting up. Since joining the Lakers, Davis has averaged 26.1 points. 11.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game when facing the Pelicans. In the six games played in New Orleans, he has averaged 29.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. He has scored 41 points once, scored more than 30 points four times, and tallied three 30-point double-doubles. With a strong track record and favorable matchup, look for Anthony Davis to continue his strong level of play and record over 43.5 points, rebounds, and assists in tonight’s matchup.
Jayson Tatum 9+ First Quarter Points (-130)
The Boston Celtics will face off with the Toronto Raptors tonight. Boston is listed at 17-point favorites and -1650 on the moneyline. They will be playing in Boston for this matchup, too. The Raptors are coming off a loss to the Pistons last night, while the Celtics have been off since Wednesday.
In his first 13 games of the season, Tatum has averaged 30.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. He continues carrying a chip on his shoulder following the disrespect this offseason and is making an MVP case for himself.
This game has blowout written all over it, so expect Tatum to be locked in and looking to pad his stats early. So far this season, Tatum has averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in the first quarter. Toronto does not have a strong defense and ranks 27th in opponent points per game on the season. Count on Tatum to continue adding to his stats and come out firing in this game by scoring 9+ points in the opening quarter.
Luka Doncic Most Points in Mavericks vs Spurs (-155)
The Dallas Mavericks are set to face off with the San Antonio Spurs in a Texas-team matchup. Keep an eye on the injury report leading up to this game, as Devin Vassell has already been ruled out and Victor Wembanyama is listed as questionable. Luka Doncic is also listed as questionable with a knee issue, but he has not missed a game yet this year while playing through these types of injuries.
Doncic’s scoring prop is set at 29.5 points with the over favored at -115 odds. He has averaged 29.3 points per game this season and has eclipsed this number in five of the past seven games. After a slow start shooting the ball this season, Doncic’s efficiency is returning to normal. Looking at the rest of the Mavericks’ production, Kyrie Irving has averaged 25.2 points per game with no other player cracking over 15 points on average.
When looking at the Spurs, Wembanyama is the team’s leading scorer at 22.7 points per game. Vassell is the only other player to average over 15 points per game. Wembanyama’s point prop is set at 24.5 for this game, while Irving’s is set at 22.5 points. While I lean toward the over of Doncic’s points in general, he should have little competition to be the leading scorer tonight. Expect last year’s league-leading scorer to be up for his usual workload and have no problem leading this game in scoring at -155 odds.
John Collins Under 9.5 Rebounds (-125)
The Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz will face off in the final game of tonight’s slate. The Kings are coming off a frustrating overtime loss at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. They now have a great chance to get back in the win column against the 3-8 Jazz.
There have been some positive signs for the Jazz, with John Collins being a notable storyline. The former Hawks standout has averaged 18.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. However, Collins also has been held under 9.5 rebounds in seven of his 11 games this season.
This is a particularly tough matchup for Collins with Domantas Sabonis set to lock down the boards for the Kings. Sabonis is averaging 12.5 rebounds per game this season after leading the NBA in rebounds the past two years. Keegan Murray is also averaging 8.2 rebounds per game and will be in the ballpark of matching Collins’ athleticism if they choose to match up this way. Expect Collins to still have his flashes, but the 9.5 line is too high for this game. Expect him to remain under.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is seanbarnard) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
