Tipping off as part of today’s NBA slate, the New York Knicks will face off with the Los Angeles Lakers. This is the second and final matchup between these two teams, with the Knicks producing a 112-100 win in the first game, which took place on Feb. 1st.
The Knicks enter this matchup as 3.5-point favorites and hold -155 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Lakers hold +130 odds of pulling off the outright upset, with the game total set at 227.5 points.
You can check out a full pick and prediction for the matchup on DraftKings Network here. But this article will look at the three top player prop bets for this high-profile matchup today.
Knicks at Lakers Best Prop Bets
Karl-Anthony Towns Over 11.5 Rebounds (+104)
Karl-Anthony Towns leads the Knicks in rebounding and ranks second in the NBA, pulling in 11.9 boards per game. He has tallied over 11.5 rebounds in 32 of his 60 games played. Towns has pulled in as many as 22 rebounds in a game, and he has tallied 12+ boards in five consecutive games leading into today.
Looking at this matchup, the Lakers rank 29th in the NBA in rebounds per game and 12th in rebounding percentage. Deandre Ayton leads the team in rebounding with 8.2 boards per game. However, Ayton has started to wear out his welcome in Los Angeles, and his leash has become increasingly shorter. Ayton has questions about his effort level, and the only other players on the Lakers averaging more than 4.7 rebounds per game are Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Any way you slice it, Towns will be the best rebounder on the floor tonight and he has a clear path to filling up the stat sheet. He pulled in 13 rebounds during the first matchup with the Lakers and holds a promising outlook for replicating this tonight. Count on Towns leading the charge on the glass and pulling in over 11.5 rebounds for the sixth straight game and the 33rd time on the season.
Luka Doncic Over 30.5 Points (-105)
The NBA’s leading scorer enters this matchup averaging 32.5 points per game on the season. Luka Doncic has tallied over 30.5 points in 29 of his 51 games played. He was limited to exactly 30 points in the first matchup with this Knicks team, along with 15 rebounds and eight assists.
New York had some defensive struggles in the early portions of the season, but it has cleaned things up as the year has progressed. On the season, the Knicks rank fifth in opponents’ points per game. They also rank seventh in defensive rating, seventh in opponents’ field-goal percentage and 12th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
However, there are still inherent weaknesses given that this Knicks foundation is built around Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Both players compete on this side of the floor but have some limitations in their size and ability to move their feet. Doncic hunts switches and attacks in isolation as well as any player in the league, and both of these players is a target he will have circled.
It is a make-or-miss league, and Doncic failed to connect at a high enough rate in this first matchup between these two sides. The six-time All-Star shot 10-for-23 on FGA and 5-for-14 on 3PA in this loss. But don’t expect him to fall short in this area again. Both these teams play at a slow pace and allow their stars to attack in isolation. Expect Doncic to see similar volume and have more success in the second matchup between these two sides. Count on him recording over 30.5 points for the 30th game this season.
Josh Hart to Record 30+ Combined Points, Rebounds & Assists (+302)
While the headline stars will take the spotlight in this matchup, it is going to take the X-factor rotation players for each side to get their desired result. Josh Hart headlines this spot for the Knicks and is (pun intended) the heart and soul of this New York roster. On the season, the Villanova product is playing 30.1 minutes per game and producing averages of 11.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. This comes out to 24.6 combined points, rebounds and assists.
The standard prop line for Hart’s combined statistics is set at 23.5 for this matchup. The 31-year-old has tallied over 23.5 combined points, rebounds and assists in 30 of his 52 games played this year. Hart has also tallied 30+ combined points, rebounds and assists in 14 games. He finished with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists in the first matchup between these two teams.
Los Angeles holds some even deeper defensive concerns. It ranks 15th in opponent points allowed, 21st in defensive rating, 26th in opponent field-goal percentage and 18th in opponent three-point percentage. Even more noteworthy, there is sometimes a stunning lack of hustle in some of the bigger moments. These are the chances where Hart thrives, which I expect to be put on display today. His lack of rebounding impact was a bit surprising in the first matchup, with his four rebounds tied for his fourth-lowest rebounding output on the year. Hart still made an impact by pouring in 20 points, but expect a more complete effort tonight in which he fills up the stat sheet in each category. Expect the hustle plays to swing this game and for Hart to be at the epicenter of this impact.
