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 Monday’s slate of 10 games.
Odds via DraftKings and updated as of 2 p.m. ET Dec. 6.
Detroit Pistons: SG Cade Cunningham
The Prop: 28.5 points/rebounds/assists (vs. Oklahoma City)
The Odds: Over -115/Under -115
At first blush, tonight’s prop hardly reads like a Pick’ Em wager.
When charting his combined points/rebounds/assists over the last six outings, Cunningham — the No. 1 overall pick from last summer’s NBA draft — has toppled the 28.5 figure just once. (The game-by-game breakdown: 15, 24, 19, 28, 34, and 26 PRA credits.)
Along those lines, in his first nine home games, Cunningham (seasonal averages: 14.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists) crossed the threshold of 28.5 credits only once — notching 25 points, eight rebounds, eight assists vs. Sacramento on Nov. 15.
What can be explained for DraftKings’ seemingly ambitious prop?
For the season, Oklahoma City’s defense ranks in the bottom 10 for both rebounds allowed per game (48.2, 29th overall), and assists allowed per game (25.0, 24th place).
Also, for their ongoing eight-game losing slide, the Thunder have given up 112.4 points per contest.
Speaking of infamy: On Thursday night (the team’s last game), the Thunder lost by the largest single-game margin in NBA history — 73 points to the Grizzlies. For its 152-79 defeat, backup Memphis guard collected 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists (or 30 PRA credits) … in just 21-plus minutes of court time.
Thursday’s debacle opened the Thunder’s three-game road trip. Conversely, the Pistons just concluded a West Coast swing from last week, and have been idle for three days.
Related: New to NBA betting props? Check out our complete NBA Prop Betting Guide.
Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets
The Prop: Sixers -1.5, first quarter
The Odds: Philadelphia -115/Charlotte -105
The Sixers have a 3-3 record with opening quarters in their last six road games, mirroring the club’s overall road mark during this stretch. The first-quarter results: Leads of +9, +11, and +1, and deficits of -1, -5, and -5.
The Hornets own a 3-2 record with first quarters from their last five home outings. The leads were modest at +2, +5, and +3. The deficits were -5 and -16.
Recent early troubles aside, Philadelphia is 15-8 ATS with first-quarter action this season. Conversely, Charlotte sits at 9-16 ATS with opening quarters.
For the season, Philadelphia (last played Friday) and Charlotte (Sunday game in Atlanta) share a No. 9 overall ranking with first-quarter scoring, at 27.8 points per game.
Atlanta Hawks at Minnesota Timberwolves
The Prop: 226 combined points (alternate total)
The Odds: Over +125/Under -155
This alternate tally, which is 3.5 points higher than the actual total of 222.5, could appeal to both sides.
For the Over crowd, the Hawks and their opponents have cleared this prop number four times in their last seven road games. The combined totals for the seven contests: 225, 232, 230, 201, 208, 240, and 238 points.
Also, Hawks guard Trae Young has rolled for 30-plus points in each of his last four road games (33, 31, 31, and 30 points).
For Under bettors, the Timberwolves and their opponents have fallen short of ‘226’ six times in Minnesota’s last seven home outings. The underwhelming count for that home stretch: 198, 214, 233, 205, 204, 195, and 188 points.
Minnesota (17th overall) and Atlanta (21st) both rank middle-of-the-pack with scoring defense, yielding averages of 107.0 and 108.4 points per game, respectively.
Fatigue could be a factor for one side. The Hawks lost at home Sunday versus Charlotte and then flew to Minnesota overnight. The Timberwolves, though, haven’t played since Friday (at Brooklyn).
Phoenix Suns: PG Chris Paul
The Prop: 9.5 assists (vs. San Antonio)
The Odds: Over -140/Under +105
There are a few robust reasons to support tonight’s Over:
— Paul has racked up 10 or more assists in 15 of 23 games this season.
— The Suns star has tallied double-digit assists in his last five home outings (14, 14, 10, 11, and 12 dimes), while averaging 12.2 assists for this span.
— Paul has logged 30-plus minutes of court time in 10 of his last 11 games.
— The defensively challenged Magic rank 28th overall in assists allowed per game (25.9 dimes), 24th in scoring defense (110.5 points per contest), and 23rd in opponents’ field-goal shooting rate (45.8 percent).
On the downside, dating back to December 2017, Paul — who last played Friday night versus Golden State — has registered nine or fewer dimes in 10 of his last 13 meetings with San Antonio. (The tallies for this stretch: 10, 6, 10, 7, 5, 5, 5, 10, 4, 9, 2, and 8 dimes.)
Golden State Warriors: PG Stephen Curry
The Prop: 5.5 three-pointers (vs. Orlando)
The Odds: Over -105/Under -125
DraftKings rarely goes above the ‘6’ mark with three-pointer props. Perhaps this policy warrants a regular Curry exemption.
Charting his last 18 games, Curry attempted double-digit three-pointers 16 times.
Since Nov. 16, Curry collected six-plus triples six times. The nine-game breakdown: 9, 9, 1, 6, 6, 7, 3, 6, and 5 threes.
And tracking his last 14 home games, Curry has a grand total of 70 made three-pointers, including seven outings of six or more triples. (Per-game breakdown: 6, 5, 6, 6, 1, 9, 3, 9, 4, 5, 3, 6, and 7 made threes.)
Rest-wise, Curry was idle Sunday, after logging 36-plus minutes Saturday against the Spurs.
