Each week, Props.com selects five intriguing player and/or team NBA betting props from a busy night of action. Then, we do what we do best: Provide in-depth analysis that you can choose to use (or not use!) for wagering purposes.
Here are our five favorite NBA betting props from Wednesday’s slate of 13 games.
Odds via DraftKings and updated as of 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 24.
Charlotte Hornets: PG LaMelo Ball
The Prop: 8.5 assists (at Orlando)
The Odds: Over -110/Under -120
Do you believe in patterns? If so, you’ll like this one: In his last 10 games dating to Nov. 5, Ball has alternated going Over and Under this prop number each time.
Ball’s assist numbers during this stretch: 13, 3, 11, 8, 9, 5, 14, 8, 11, and 7 assists. Based on this trend, Ball — who is averaging 7.7 assists for the season — is due to hit the Over against Orlando. As it is, the Magic rank 25th overall in opponent assists (25.3 per game), and 26th in scoring defense (110.8 points allowed per game).
Then again, in his last four meetings against Orlando, Ball amassed only 21 total assists, never once eclipsing 8.5 dimes.
Rest-wise, Ball had Tuesday off, while the Magic are at the tail end of a three-game road trip.
Related: New to betting NBA props? Check out our complete NBA Prop Betting Guide.
Los Angeles Lakers at Indiana Pacers
The Prop: 220.5 combined points (alternate total)
The Odds: Over +115/Under -155
This alternate tally is 3.5 points higher than DraftKings’ actual total (217), and it might appeal to the Over crowd based on three factors:
— The Lakers have scored and allowed at least 100 points in each of their last six games. The combined totals: 220, 224, 211, 238, 237, and 206.
— The Pacers have notched 111 or more points in their last four home games (131, 111, 118, 111), for an average of 117.9.
— LeBron James’ served his one-game suspension Tuesday, missing the team’s 106-100 loss at the Knicks. So he enters the Lakers’ finale of a five-game, eight-day East Coast road swing on three full days of rest.
Looking for a head-to-head trend that might sway your opinion on this prop? There isn’t one. In their last six meetings, Indiana and Los Angeles combined for 207 or fewer points three times and 227-plus points three times.
While the Lakers are wrapping up a grueling road trip, the Pacers have played just three times — Friday, Saturday, and Monday — in the last week.
Boston Celtics: SF Jayson Tatum
The Prop: 39.5 points/rebounds/assists (vs. Brooklyn)
The Odds: Over -105/Under -120
On paper, the Over in this one seems like a gimme, seeing that Tatum has scored 30-plus points in each of his last four games (30, 33, 37, 34). He’s also put up robust points/rebounds/assist numbers in his last five home outings (39, 46, 50, 39 and 40).
Tatum has grabbed eight or more rebounds 11 times in 18 games, and he’s dished out five or more assists on five occasions.
Also, during last year’s playoff series against the Nets, Tatum erupted for 50, 40, and 32 points in Games 3 through 5. And in three regular-season meetings with Brooklyn in 2020-21, he averaged 29.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3 assists — which adds up to 40.4.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Prop: Bucks -4.5, first quarter (at Detroit)
The Odds: Pistons -110/Bucks -110
The last time Detroit defeated the Bucks (February 2018), current rookie — and this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick — Cade Cunningham was a sophomore in high school.
A big reason for the Pistons’ ongoing struggles against Milwaukee: They’ve fallen behind early — and often by big margins.
In 15 head-to-head meetings over the past three seasons (including a four-game sweep of Detroit in the 2019 playoffs), Milwaukee owned a first-quarter lead over the Pistons 12 times. Only once in those dozen contests was the Bucks’ first-quarter advantage less than seven points.
The only occasions when Milwaukee failed to lead Detroit by at least five points in the past 15 meetings, it had a three-point lead once and trailed by exactly two points three times.
This season, the Bucks rank second overall in first-quarter scoring at 30.1 points per game, while the Pistons are a lowly 29th (23.2 points per game). And even though Milwaukee is only 8-10 ATS after the first quarter, it has won the opening 12 minutes three times during its current four-game winning streak — and all three times the Bucks held double-digit leads (10, 12, 20 points).
Golden State Warriors: PG Stephen Curry
The Prop: 5.5 made three-pointers (vs. Philadelphia)
The Odds: Over +100/Under -125
Just how hot has Curry been from long range lately? The former MVP has buried nine three-pointers on four different occasions in his last six games. To put that into context, no other player in NBA history has 10 career games of nine-plus made triples.
Curry played in eight consecutive home games from Oct. 28-Nov. 12, during which he went Over this prop four times while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. However, in Sunday’s 119-104 home win over Toronto, the future Hall of Famer went just 1-for-6 from downtown. Thus, Curry has now made six or more triples in less than half of his games (8 of 17).
The good news for Curry: He sat out Friday’s road-trip finale at Detroit and has played just 37 minutes (against Toronto) since Thursday. So he’ll have fresh legs in this one.
