Friday night's NBA slate features exciting matchups, fast-paced games, and numerous player prop opportunities to consider. From LaMelo Ball's facilitating potential against the Bulls to Julius Randle's revenge game in New York, there’s no shortage of compelling storylines. Whether you’re chasing value plays like Giannis Antetokounmpo’s triple-double odds or backing Zion Williamson to dominate an undermanned Jazz team, these are our top prop bets for the evening.
Hornets PG LaMelo Ball Over 8.5 Assists vs. Bulls (-114, Caesars)
LaMelo Ball is in the best-possible spot to facilitate against the Bulls, who have allowed an NBA-high 10.74 assists per game to opposing point guards. Ball averages 7.5 assists on the season, but 13.7 potential helpers and has a 14-12 O/U record against his assist total this season so far. Chicago ranks 23rd in Defensive Rating, dead-last in points in the paint allowed and plays at the 2nd-fastest pace, which helped guide this game total into the mid 230s. I expect Ball to rack up plenty of dimes tonight.
Timberwolves PF Julius Randle Over 19.5 Points vs. Knicks (-104, FanDuel)
Revenge narrative alert! This will be Randle’s first game back in New York City since the Knicks traded him to the Timberwolves in the offseason. After years of getting bashed by the media and fans alike for his inability to get the team over the hump, this will be an emotional situation for him. When he faced the Knicks on 12/19, it was in Minnesota and he scored 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting (4-for-8 from three) and has gone 20-20 to the O/U vs. his point total props so far this season. I like this number today.
Bucks PF Giannis Antetokounmpo Triple-Double vs. Raptors (+850, FanDuel)
Giannis apparently really likes playing the Raptors. He posted a triple-double on 1/6 against them (11 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists) in a 128-104 win in Toronto and has posted three triple-doubles in his last five games against them dating back to 2023. Since the start of last season, he’s accomplished three triple-doubles against this team and 12 against every other team combined! In that last meeting, he had a team-high 17 rebounding chances and team-high 14 potential assists in just 29 minutes. Let’s run it back.
Heat SF Jimmy Butler Over 22.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists vs. Nuggets (-125, DraftKings)
This will be Butler’s first game back from a team-issued suspension and I think it’s important to remember back to January 1, when he returned from his last multi-game absence. Coming back from an ankle injury and illness that time, he didn’t look engaged and his effort was called into question, which started a series of events that led to him requesting a trade. After meeting with Heat owner Micky Arison yesterday, teammate Kevin Love insinuated that Butler wasn’t going anywhere and this is the perfect opportunity to make a huge statement with a fresh haircut to go along with Vice City uniforms in South Beach.
Pelicans PF Zion Williamson Over 23.5 Points vs. Jazz (-120, DraftKings)
The Jazz will be without Walker Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson, Johnny Juzang, Micah Potter and Taylor Hendricks tonight, which means that the combination of Drew Eubanks, Kyle Filipowski and Oscar Tshiebwe will be tasked with protecting the rim from Williamson and the Pels. Advantage: Zion. Williamson has scored an average of 15.3 points per game in the paint this season through nine games played, the third-highest mark in the NBA behind only Giannis and Nikola Jokic, and I expect him to absolutely do whatever he wants on the interior tonight.
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