Some games on tonight’s slate — such as the 26-12 Houston Rockets visiting the 24-15 Denver Nuggets — promise to be both competitive and high-quality. Others, like the 8-28 Charlotte Hornets visiting the 10-28 Utah Jazz — do not. Alas, there needs to be 48 minutes of action regardless, so Utah fans will be treated to a show in the Slightly-Less-Than-Mile-High City (Salt Lake City, elev. 4,265′).
Thankfully for the Jazz, the man in town is arguably the best show in the NBA, Charlotte point guard LaMelo Ball. Ball — the East’s leading All-Star vote-getter among guards — is an offense unto himself, averaging 29.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game on 42-34-83 shooting splits. He also leads the league with a ridiculous 38.3% usage rate.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Hornets are five-point favorites and the point total is set to 220.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around Ball.
Best LaMelo Ball Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
LaMelo Ball 10+ Assists (+190)
If Utah is trying to tank for Duke forward Cooper Flagg, it’s doing a fantastic job with the starting lineup it will trot out tonight. Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, Johnny Juzang, Taylor Hendricks, Lauri Markkanen, and Collin Sexton have all been ruled out for tonight’s game, with Keyonte George questionable. If George doesn’t play, that’s a whopping 99.8 points per game sitting on the Jazz bench. To put that injury report into context, Utah averages 110.9 points per game. Some players — like Hendricks, who broke his leg in the third game of the season — have serious injuries, but Sexton’s absence (rest) seems like the classic move of a franchise racing to the bottom.
Even when their best players have been available, Utah hasn’t been great, allowing the fifth-most points (117.6) and and fifth-most assists (28.4) to opposing players. Rookie point guard Isaiah Collier has gotten plenty of run, but he’s not exactly lighting it up — averaging 4.1 points and 4.2 assists per game on 35-20-56 shooting splits — and he’s a significant negative on the defensive end of the floor. A savvy playmaker like Ball should be primed to take advantage of either Collier or George, if the latter plays. George has been an even worse defender than Collier, with a negative-3.0 defensive box plus-minus.
Meanwhile, the Hornets will trot out a mostly healthy team tonight, with only Grant Williams (torn Achilles) and Tre Mann (back) out, so Ball should have plenty of scoring options around him. Although he has only recorded double-digit assists six times this season, Ball is still posting the highest assist percentage and lowest turnover percentage of his career. In his most recent game, a 120-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on January 12, he recorded 11 assists to go with his 25 points, even though Charlotte shot just 44.6% from the field. This season, Ball ranks seventh in the league with 13.6 potential assists per game, so if enough shots fall against the Jazz — who allow the seventh-highest field goal percentage in basketball — tonight, he should reach double digits.
LaMelo Ball O4.5 Three-Pointers Made (-110)
Utah has struggled against opposing shooters, allowing the third-most three-point attempts per game to opposing players (40.0) and the seventh-highest three-point rate (43.8%). Meanwhile, Ball leads the league by a huge margin in three-point attempts, hoisting 13.2 shots per game from beyond 24 feet. He’s made at least five three-pointers in each of his last two games despite shooting just 10-for-33 from deep across that span. Given his high volume, Ball should extend that streak to three, especially if he is guarded by Collier; opposing players have shot 41.7% from deep this season when guarded by the Jazz rookie.
