LaMelo Ball and Ja Morant are two of the most entertaining point guards in basketball, for different reasons. The high-flying Morant is always a threat to throw down a nasty poster, before or after the whistle, while Ball tries audacious three-pointers and hits them at league-average efficiency.
The two All-Star guards will meet tonight for the first time this season when Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies host Ball’s Charlotte Hornets at 8 p.m. ET. This season, Ball has averaged 29.3 points — the fourth-most in basketball — 5.4 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game on 42-34-83 shooting splits. He’s also demonstrated some improvement on the defensive side of the ball, although he’s still a net-negative defender.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Hornets are 12-point underdogs, with the point total is set to 241. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around Ball.
Best LaMelo Ball Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
LaMelo Ball O13.5 Assists + Rebounds (+110)
Ball is a streaky shooter who has scored under 30 points in five of his last six games, averaging 26.2 points per game across that stretch while shooting 40.3% from the field, 29.2% from deep, and 77.8% from the free-throw line, so I’m going to avoid anything to do with his points. Where he’s far more consistent is as a passer — he’s had just four games this season with fewer than five assists — and as a rebounder, where he’s snagged at least six in exactly half of his games.
Memphis is roughly average at preventing both rebounds and assists, allowing the 12th-fewest rebounds and 13th-fewest assists per game this season, although these stats are bumped up by the fact that the Grizzlies’ offense plays at the league’s fastest pace. Ball has recorded at least 15 combined rebounds and assists in four of his last five games, despite facing a trio of teams — Phoenix, Utah, and Dallas — that play at a significantly slower pace than Memphis does. Plus, for all of the Grizzlies’ defensive strengths, their frontcourt pairing of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey is much better on that end than the backcourt duo of Morant and Desmond Bane.
LaMelo Ball O1.5 Steals (+110)
Ball has only racked up two or more steals nine times in 28 games, so these odds aren’t necessarily favorable.
However, he has been in strong defensive form over the Hornets’ recent hot streak. Charlotte has won four of its last five games and Ball has recorded at least one steal in four of the five, including a trio of two-plus-steal performances. Overall, since December 16, when he returned from a calf strain that had sidelined him for the previous three weeks, he has recorded two or more steals in five of his 10 games.
Meanwhile, Memphis has struggled to hold onto the ball, giving up the ninth-most steals per game (9.3) in the league. Morant is particularly loose with the ball, averaging 3.8 turnovers per game — the fifth-most in basketball — but Bane contributes 2.7 turnovers per game of his own. With his seven-foot-one wingspan and above-average agility, Ball should have no trouble forcing giveaways on Wednesday night. Morant recently had an ugly seven-turnover performance in a January 13 loss to the Houston Rockets.
