Buckle up for one of the busiest days across the NBA season. Today’s matchups are already off to the races as the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers played the second consecutive matchup in France as a part of the NBA Global Games.
Don’t feel left out if you missed it as there is plenty of NBA action still to go. 14 total matchups will be taking place across the day spaced out throughout the afternoon before a full slate of night games.
Most notably, the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves will face off at 3:00 p.m. ET and the Dallas Mavericks will host the Boston Celtics at 5:30 p.m. ET. The Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons will face off at 7:00 p.m. ET before a rematch between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the Cavs coming off back-to-back losses for the first time all season.
In the later window, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will face off before the Phoenix Suns host the Washington Wizards. The final matchup of tonight’s slate will be between the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers.
With a ton of exciting basketball set to take place throughout the day, here are my favorite prop bets across the Saturday slate.
Cade Cunningham Over 13.5 Assists & Rebounds (-135)
The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic both deserve to be mentioned on the list of most exciting young teams in the NBA. Orlando has battled significant injuries but is getting closer to 100% with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner having made their return to the floor. Detroit has had some better injury luck and has climbed up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 23-21 record.
Cade Cunningham has been the biggest driving force of this season’s improvement from Detroit. The former number-one overall pick has taken a notable step forward and is averaging 24.6 points, 9.4 assists, and 6.5 rebounds which mark career-highs in each category. While his career-high shooting splits from the field and beyond the three-point arc are also an extremely positive sign, what has been most impressive has been Cunningham’s ability to orchestrate an offense and seemingly have his fingerprints on every aspect of the game.
The Oklahoma State product has recorded over 13.5 combined assists and rebounds in 28 of the 40 games he has played this season. This includes three consecutive games entering tonight’s matchup. Orlando plays a hard-nosed defensive style that is tied for the fewest points allowed per game. But this is the third matchup between these two teams with Cunningham finishing with 19 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in the lone game he was active for. Look for him to continue operating as the heart of this Pistons team and for Cunningham to tally over 13.5 assists and rebounds just as he has in 70% of the games already this year.
Donovan Mitchell Under 25.5 Points (-110)
For the first time all season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have lost a bit of steam. They enter tonight’s game coming off back-to-back losses, with one of those coming against the Houston Rockets, whom they will be playing again tonight. This will be the third game in four nights for Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers. The Rockets’ defense is no joke, with Houston ranking fourth in opponent points allowed and opponent field goal percentage so far this season. They also are holding opponents’ starting shooting guards to just 12.6 points per game across the past 20 contests, which is the lowest number in the league.
Mitchell is averaging 23.5 points per game on the season and has been held to under 25.5 points in 25 of the 42 games he has played. While Mitchell exploded for 37 points on 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the three-point arc last night against the Philadelphia 76ers, he was held to 19 points on Wednesday against the Rockets.
Tonight’s matchup between these two teams will take place in Cleveland in contrast to playing in Houston earlier in the week. But, expect tired legs to show up against this hard-nosed Houston defense, especially with Mitchell having logged over 65 game minutes across the past three nights. With tough defense and fatigue set to be a factor, count on Mitchell to be held to under 25.5 points for the 26th time already this season.
Zach Edey Over 6.5 Rebounds (-125)
The Memphis Grizzlies will host the Utah Jazz tonight and sit in third place in the Western Conference with their 30-15 record. Utah finds themselves at the other end of the conference, sitting dead last at 10-32 on the year. One of the biggest storylines surrounding this Grizzlies team has been the strong play from their rookies, as both Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells have proven to be key parts of this Memphis team. Expect this to continue as the season progresses and for this to be a matchup that is especially favorable for Edey.
Across the 31 games that he has played, Edey is averaging 9.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in 20.6 minutes of play. The Purdue product is especially impressive on the offensive glass, pulling in 3.1 offensive boards per game, which ranks in the 98th percentile across the NBA. He will be set to match up with Walker Kessler tonight, who holds a similar profile as a player and is averaging 11.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
Overall, Edey has tallied over 6.5 rebounds in 19 of the 31 games he has played this season. He was held to just five rebounds in the first matchup between these two teams but this game took place back in October with Edey being limited to 14:44 of game time. The reigning Collegiate National Player of the Year has earned his stripes more since this time and logged 23:38 of action last night, ending with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Expect Edey’s minutes to be further expanded with Kessler as the matchup and for the Purdue product to be active on the glass from start to finish. Count on him to record over 6.5 rebounds with Edey being especially dangerous on the offensive glass.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Over 29.5 Points (-125)
The final matchup of tonight’s slate will take place between the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. Both these teams sit in the top six in their respective conferences and should be relatively satisfied with how they stand at this point in the year. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to be the driving force of this for Milwaukee and is playing at an incredibly high level. The two-time MVP is averaging 31.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game on the season overall.
Antetokounmpo has recorded over 29.5 points in 23 of the 36 games he has played this season including three of the past five games. The Clippers have embraced a more defensive-minded identity this season and currently rank third in the NBA in opponent points per game allowed. They also are fifth in opponent field goal percentage allowed and sixth in opponent points in the paint.
However, Antetokounmpo is a combination of size and athleticism that will push this Clippers team in a way they are not used to. The Greek Freak has nearly eliminated three-point shooting from his shot diet as he is attempting 0.7 perimeter shots per game, his fewest since the 2014-15 season. Instead, he has continued his relentless attack on the rim and is attempting a career-high 20.7 field goal attempts per game while connecting at a 60.3% rate. The Clippers will not have a clear answer for this and the effects of the floor spacing from Damian Lillard and the rest of the supporting cast are beginning to be seen. Expect him to continue to operate in attack mode and for Antetokounmpo to record over 29.5 points for the 24th time already this year.
