The NBA Season is 25% done! We just crowned the Lakers as the In-Season Tournament Champions but there is so much basketball left in the regular season.
NBA Player Props Betting Forecast
Zach LaVine Out but Coby White Rising?
Schedule: Dec. 11 at Bucks | Dec. 12 vs. Nuggets | Dec. 14 at Heat
The Chicago Bulls will be without Zach LaVine for the foreseeable future after he received a PRP injection in his right foot last Thursday. Without LaVine, the Bulls have leaned on DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic for additional offense but a surprising beneficiary has been Coby White.
Let's dive into their impact.
DeRozan has seen his scoring increase from 21.1 points per game to 24.5 points per game without LaVine and Vucevic jumps from 15.4 points to 18.4 points and has had a clear uptick in his usage. Vucevic has a great matchup on Monday night against Brook Lopez. He's exceeded his 33.5 PRA line in seven of his last ten regular season matchups against Lopez and both games this season. He's exceeded this line in five straight matchups and he's been very stable in all three stats with a double double in 8/10 as well. Considering LaVine's injury, I expect Vucevic to continue seeing increased usage. After the Monday game, he has brutal matchups against Nikola Jokic and Bam Adebayo.
Coby White has seen his usage skyrocket without LaVine. With LaVine, White averaged 13.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists – in five games without him, White has averaged 24 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. He has played 37+ minutes in each of those five games and with that increased usage he has 3 turnovers in four of the five games. When a player has an uptick in usage, it is not uncommon to see them struggle with turnovers. While White has been fine considering the sheer volume of minutes he is playing, he still has 3 turnovers in four of those five games without LaVine. White's matchup against the Bucks on Monday is a dream scenario. The Bucks have been horrendous defending opposing guards and White already scored 23 points and tallied 7 assists against them two weeks ago without LaVine. I like him to score over 19.5 points in this matchup and I also like over 2.5 Turnovers (+145). If you parlay both you can get (+350) for a prop Coby has hit in four of the five without LaVine.
Will the Suns Big 3 Finally Rise in the West?
Schedule: Dec. 11 vs. Warriors | Dec. 13 vs. Nets | Dec. 15 vs. Knicks
Bradley Beal is once again expected to return to the Suns' lineup and is targeting a return for Tuesday's game against the Warriors. This would mark the first time that the Suns' Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal would play together. In the 3 previous games Beal has played this season, he only shared the floor with Durant as Booker was out with an injury.
So what should we expect? In the 3 games Beal played 24, 32, and 30 minutes and averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists and Kevin Durant continued to dominate the scoring with 30.3 ppg, 8.3 RPG, and 6.0 apg. Beal is a three-level scoring threat and should help the Suns with a bit of their spacing issues with his ability to knock down 3s as well. Beal will absolutely make it more difficult to double either Booker or Durant when he is on the floor. I expect to target Beal's assists prop as well, he's averaged 4.3 on his career, and since Phoenix does not have a true point guard those opportunities to facilitate as he gets his legs back under him should come regularly.
Another player who should continue to play well alongside Beal is Jusuf Nurkic. In the three games they played together, Nurkic saw his assists spike. Although he had one game with just 1 assist, the other two he tallied 7 and 8. Beal actually shot poorly on Nurkic's passes as well, making just 28.6% of his attempts, this number should regulate and it would only boost Nurkic's passing stats where he's averaging 3.8 assists on 4.7 potentials per game.
Pivoting with Kyrie Irving's Injury
Schedule: Dec. 11 at Grizzlies | Dec. 12 vs. Lakers | Dec. 14 vs. Timberwolves
Kyrie Irving seems to have avoided a brutal injury but still is dealing with a right heel contusion after Norman Powell took a tough fall onto Irving's right foot. There is no timeline on the injury but will miss Monday's contest against the Grizzlies. Kyrie's absence opens up a significant portion of Dallas' Usage especially since Grant Williams (knee) also remains out.
Luka Doncic will obviously see a bump without Kyrie as he is needed to generate even more offense. However, it is certainly notable that the stat that spikes the most without Kyrie are his assists, not his points. This year, Luka's assists have spiked to 10.3 per game compared to 7.9 per game with Kyrie. He's recorded 10+ in each of the four games he has played without Kyrie, including one game against the Grizzlies. In the game against the Grizzlies earlier this season, Luka dropped a 35-point, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists triple-double. In the four games he has played without Kyrie, Luka has two triple-doubles with both misses being at 7 rebounds. His assists prop is set at 9.5 (-110) and I think that's a viable play on Monday night along with a triple double (+225).
Another player that should see some extended run is Dante Exum. He has seen his minutes increase without Grant Williams and now if Kyrie misses time it should help him stay on the floor. Exum has struggled to crack into the rotation, but when he has gotten minutes his counting numbers can add up. In the last two games, Exum has played 26 and 33 minutes and recorded six rebounds and seven assists in each of those games. I expect him to see a similar minutes role in Monday night's game and will keep an eye out for both of those stats. Exum's props have been difficult to find given his inconsistent role; however, I'd be on the lookout for an rebounds + assists line on Monday night.
