Today, we have another five-game slate in the NBA, beginning with the Cavaliers taking on the Nets in Paris. There is also the big matchup between the Celtics and Bucks in Milwaukee. However, with a bit of lineup uncertainty following the Celtics overtime win over the Timberwolves, I'll be turning my attention towards the last three games instead.
Julius Randle will be back in his hometown of Dallas tonight as his Knicks are favored over the Mavericks. The Mavericks will be without Luka Doncic and it may be a long night for their offense. I'll be backing a pair of Randle's teammates on the defensive end in that one. In Los Angeles, the stars will be out both on the court and in the stands as the Lakers host the Suns. Anthony Davis usually plays well against the Suns and he may be the star that shines brightest tonight.
Let's dive into my best NBA player props tonight, including picks for OG Anunoby, Anthony Davis and Donte DiVincenzo.
Individually, OG Anunoby has a steal in nine of his last 10 games while Donte DiVincenzo has a steal in eight of his last 10 games. They each had a steal in Tuesday's game, so they now have a steal apiece in all five games as teammates. I am running it because the odds are better, but personally I believe it is more likely to happen tonight.
On Tuesday night, the Knicks were double-digit favorites at home. They ended up winning by 28 and their starters did not see much action in the fourth quarter. Tonight, while I like them to win, they are 3.5 point favorites tonight. A closer game would mean that Anunoby and DiVincenzo play their full complement of minutes.
In those minutes, I expect Anunoby to be guarding Kyrie Irving, whose turnovers line is at 2.5 tonight. Irving is averaging just 1.5 turnovers per game this season, but he has three each in each of his past two games. Without Doncic, he will be the focus of the Knicks' game plan tonight. He may be trapped at times, which could lead to a pass picked off by DiVincenzo. He could also be stripped on-ball while being defended by Anunoby.
Additionally, Anunoby and DiVincenzo could create turnovers while defending any number of the Mavericks as they are averaging 11.7 turnovers as a team this season. Anunoby is averaging 1.4 steals per game as a Knick while DiVincenzo is averaging 1.1 steals per game this season. If the trend continues, we'll cash this play at plus odds tonight.
Pick: OG Anunoby / Donte DiVincenzo One Steal Parlay (+112)
Davis is averaging 24.3 points per game in 32 career games against the Suns, including 25.5 over his last six games against them. Included in that are games of 53, 42, 37 as well as 30 points earlier this season. The Suns do not have a great matchup for Davis and they have not been playing a lot of defense lately.
They are 21st in defensive rating over their past 15 games and they are 7-8 in that span. The Lakers are just 5-10 over their past 15 games and as a result this game is a pick'em. The first three games in the season series were all decided by five points or less and it could be another tight battle tonight.
Due to the Lakers' recent struggles, Davis has had a heavy workload and he is averaging 37.4 minutes per game over his past 15 games. He has made the most of his time on the floor as he has hit this line in nine of his past 15 games, scoring 30 points in eight of them. Davis is coming off a 41-point game against the Raptors on Tuesday, with 20 points coming in the fourth quarter.
As Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic reminded all of us, Davis scored 11 of his points at the free throw line in that fourth quarter. With less free throws tonight, maybe he does not score 40 points again. However, he may hit 35, which he has done four times in the last 15 games. You can take him for 35 at +260 on FanDuel.
