The NBA had a great All-Star break with a fun weekend of festivities last weekend, but now it’s time for teams to get serious as they look to chase their playoff spots. In a great matchup between two teams definitely looking to make a mark in the playoffs, the Rockets visit the Knicks at Madison Square Garden at 8:30 p.m. ET in a game that gets the spotlight of the national TV audience on ABC. Let’s break down the matchup and find some Rockets at Knicks player prop bets that make sense to add to your betting card for Saturday’s big game.
In the overall picture, the Knicks are slight 2.5-point home favorites with the point total at 218.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook. It’s expected to be a lower-scoring game than usual, so keep that in mind as you pick your player prop bets.
Both teams have their rotations relatively healthy coming out of the break as they look to push to the postseason. The Knicks are currently No. 4 in the Eastern Conference at 35-21, while the Rockets are 34-20, sitting No. 4 in the Western Conference. The Knicks are 21-8 at home, though, while going just 13-13 on the road. The Rockets are also much better at home, going just 15-13 on the road. The Rockets did get a nice road win on Thursday against the Hornets, while the Knicks lost at home to the Pistons.
Let’s take a look at some of the top player prop bets from both the Rockets and the Kings in this Saturday night matchup. These picks can be used as standalone plays or combined in a Same Game Parlay (SGP), as indicated at the bottom of the post.
Rockets at Knicks Best Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Amen Thompson O6.5 Rebounds (-101)
One of the strongest trends in the “Streaks” section of the stats page on DraftKings Sportsbook is this prop from Thompson, who has done great work on the glass for most of the season. Rather than attacking an obvious prop like scoring, let’s start with a rebound-focused one in this defense-first matchup.
Thompson only had nine points in 37 minutes against the Hornets on Thursday, but he still snagged seven rebounds while contributing four steals in the Rockets’ four-point win. He’s averaging a robust 7.6 rebounds per game in his 53 games this season, and that number is even more impressive with 8.4 rebounds per game in his 28 games on the road.
He was held under this prop line for four straight games before the break but bounced back with that seven-rebound game on Thursday. He has hit the over on this prop 14 times in his last 20 games and 29 times in his last 40 games (72.5%).
Part of the reason he gets so many rebounds is that Thompson typically plays huge minutes. He is averaging 37 minutes per game, and if he gets that much work against the Knicks in a close game, he should be able to extend this streak and go over this prop line once again.
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OG Anunoby 15+ Points (-125)
Anunoby returned from a four-game absence due to a right toenail avulsion on Thursday, but he struggled with his shooting, going only 3-for-13 with eight points despite playing 32 minutes against the Pistons. After knocking the rust off in that game, Anunoby should be able to have more success in this matchup against the Rockets.
In his 42 games this season, the 28-year-old is averaging 16.4 points per game in 33 minutes per game. Before missing the four games with the injury, he had gone over this prop in seven straight games, and in 13 of his last 15. He averaged 19.1 points per game over that 15-game stretch and 21.7 points over his last seven games.
Anunoby will have to find his rhythm after such an extended time off, but getting him at this over/under is a good value for Saturday night’s game.
Mitchell Robinson U7.5 Rebounds (-120)
This could be a tough matchup for Robinson since the Rockets don’t have a traditional, stationary center since Steven Adams’ injury. With Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. filling the position most of the time, the Rockets roll with a more athletic group that could make it hard for Robinson to log his usual heavy minutes.
While they aren’t oversized anymore without Adams, the Rockets are still a very good rebounding team, and even when he’s on the floor, Robinson could have a hard time corralling rebounds.
While he’s averaging 9.0 rebounds per game in 20 minutes per game on the season, he has been held to seven or fewer rebounds in five of his last seven games, including on Thursday, when he had just six boards against the Pistons in his first game after the break.
Robinson definitely can go over this number, but I think it’s much more likely he comes up short of this prop again on Saturday night.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Tari Eason O12.5 Points (-117)
If you’re building an SGP (Same Game Parlay) from this Saturday night matchup, adding in the over on Eason’s points boosts the odds to a solid +900 for these four Rockets-Knicks bets.
I covered Eason’s point total in my top player props for the full day, and I think he’ll be able to get at least 13 points in this spotlight matchup on Saturday.
