On Sunday, Trae Young returned to the Atlanta Hawks' lineup. They were able to pull out a dramatic win on a putback slam by Saddiq Bey. Tonight, they take on the Lakers, who are coming off a loss to the Houston Rockets. It might be an opportunity for Dejounte Murray, Young's backcourt partner, to shine.
The New York Knicks are rarely without Julius Randle, but game one went well, as they earned a comfortable victory in Charlotte last night. Tonight, they face the Utah Jazz back at Madison Square Garden. Josh Hart will look to continue to fill the void.
The Toronto Raptors were on the losing end in Atlanta on Sunday night. They were shorthanded in that game, and will be again tonight against the Chicago Bulls. Containing Nikola Vucevic will be a challenge.
Let's dive into my top three NBA player props for Tuesday, January 30.
NBA Player Props
Murray has been a scoring machine of late. He's scored at least 22 points in six straight games, eight of his last 10 games and in 12 of his last 15 games. Part of that has to do with Young being of the lineup for three games. However, Murray scored 22 points when Young returned against Dallas. He may hit this line with a little more cushion tonight.
The Lakers have allowed at least 127 points in each of their last four games. In those games, they have allowed 17 points apiece to Terance Mann, Norman Powell and Alex Caruso, 18 to Ayo Dosunmu, 25 to Coby White, 24 to Klay Thompson and 34 to Jalen Green. Mann, Caruso, and Dosunmu exceeded their averages by at least seven points. The common denominator in those performances was 3-point shooting.
The Lakers allow the most 3s per game (14.4) and rank 22nd in 3-point percentage defense (37.7%). Murray has made at least two 3s in 10 of his last 15 games. He is also shooting 38.8% on 6.2 attempts from deep per game this season. Murray also operates well in the midrange area. He may have extra room to operate if Anthony Davis is out tonight. Davis is enjoying one of the healthiest seasons of his career, but he suffered a groin on Saturday night. He battled through it last night, but it would not be a surprise if he is held out in the second game of the Lakers' back-to-back.
Murray is questionable with a hamstring injury tonight, but with the trade deadline just nine days away, he may be incentivized to play tonight, as the Lakers have been one of the primary teams linked to him. It would be no surprise if Murray tried to put on a show tonight in an effort to close the deal.
Hart is one of the league's most valuable role players because he can contribute in so many areas. Although he is a 6-foot-4 guard, one of those areas is the glass. Hart has had nine rebounds or more in four of his last six games. That includes a 14-rebound performance against Houston on the Jan. 17 and a 12-rebound game last night in New York's first without Randle.
Hart's rebounds line is 8.5 tonight. I lean towards the over there. He nearly hit that line last night, but he also had seven assists. Hart is averaging five assists per game over his last three games.
The Knicks were also missing OG Anunoby last night, which led to 39 minutes for Hart. Anunoby was a late scratch with right elbow inflammation. If he is out again, Hart will receive a particularly heavy workload. However, I like this play regardless. Anunoby is a floor spacer and a 39% 3-point shooter, so he will help Hart rack up assists.
Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo, Hart's college teammates at Villanova, will also help in that regard. Brunson scored 32 points last night, and DiVincenzo had 28 points while knocking down five of 14 3-point attempts. These three have great chemistry from playing together for so long. That may help Hart get 13 rebounds and assists tonight.
Over his last 10 games, Vucevic is averaging 18.2 points and 11.5 rebounds. He has hit this line in half of them and finished with 27 and 28 points and rebounds in two others. However, in his last matchup against the Raptors, he shattered this line with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
In that game, Toronto's center Jakob Poeltl didn't play. He practiced yesterday and is close to returning, but head coach Darko Rajakovic said he needs to work on his conditioning and would play limited minutes.
Vucevic has held his own against Poeltl, averaging 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in 11 career games. If Poeltl doesn't play, Toronto will be severely undersized again.
Against Atlanta, the Raptors started Thaddeus Young, Scottie Barnes and Bruce Brown in the frontcourt. As a result, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson and Clint Capela all posted double-doubles, with Capela notching 19 points and 14 rebounds at center. Vucevic is much more dangerous offensively than Capela and has been very efficient in January.
Vucevic is shooting 53.6% on 15.5 field goal attempts per game this month. He has taken 17 or more shots in six games, as the Bulls have been without Zach LaVine at times. As a result, Vucevic should have the volume to get over this line and 20 points and 11 rebounds would do it.
