NBA Rivals Week rolls on tonight with a seven-game slate. We will look to finish the workweek on a high note with a profitable night. To do so, I will be backing three big men, beginning with Alperen Sengun as his Rockets head to Charlotte to take on the Hornets.
Read on for my NBA player props tonight, including picks for Victor Wembanyama and Wendell Carter Jr. on Jan. 26.
Let's dive in.
Sengun comes into tonight's action, averaging 22.1 points per game. He has scored 20 points in seven of his last 10 games overall. More recently, he has hit this line in each of his last three games. That includes games of 37 and 30 points.
Another 30-point game may be in the cards for Sengun considering his matchup tonight. Per FantasyPros, Charlotte is allowing the second-most points (26.1) per game to center. This month alone, Andre Drummond, Nikola Vucevic, Domantas Sabonis, Bam Adebayo, Zach Collins and Joel Embiid cleared their points lines against the Hornets. Sabonis, Adebayo and Embiid all scored at least 24 points.
Sengun leads the Rockets in field goal attempts (16.2) per game. Shooting 54.1% from the field, he is their most efficient scorer as well. Additionally, he is playing 33 minutes a night. With a great matchup, Sengun should have volume and opportunity to score 24 points. If he goes for 30 again, you can back at +260 on FanDuel.
Carter Jr. has scored in double figures in five consecutive games. In those games, he nearly hit this line with just points, scoring 17, 18 and 17 points. He also surpassed it with a 25-point performance on Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia Sixers. If you want to back him just for points, the line is just 11.5 points. He also presents for 15 (+185) and 20 (+700).
However, Carter Jr. has had at least nine rebounds in each of his last three games. He had 11 against Philadelphia to cap the double-double. Tonight, Carter Jr. has a great matchup against the Grizzlies. They are 27th in rebounds allowed per game and 24th in rebounds allowed to centers.
When Carter Jr. is healthy, you can typically expect eight to nine rebounds from him and he is averaging 8.7 per game for his career. He has started to get a normal workload once again he has played 25 minutes in his last three games, including 34 minutes against Miami. That is the most minutes he has played since October.
If he gets 25 to 30 minutes tonight, I like his chances of getting 21 points and rebounds. He may get another double-double as well.
On Wednesday night, Wembyanama went against Chet Holmgren as a part of Rivals Week. Their budding rivalry goes back to the FIBA U19 World Cup. Tonight, he goes against Scoot Henderson, who was taken after him with the second pick in last June's NBA Draft.
Wembyanama played in one of the first two meetings against Portland last month as they came on a back-to-back. He scored 30 points in that game and needed just 24 minutes to do so. His minutes are a key consideration to keep in mind when backing him as the Spurs remain cautious with their young star. However, that has not slowed his production.
In January, Wembyanama is averaging 24.7 points per game in just 25.5 minutes. He has scored 24 points in six straight games and eight of his last nine games. The one game that he did not hit this line, he just happened to drop a triple-double. Wembyanama's efficiency has helped him on his recent run.
He is shooting 52.3% from the field on over 17 field goal attempts per game in January, up from 46.5% for the season. He is also getting to the foul line 6.3 times per game this month, 1.5 more than his season average. Portland is middle of the pack defending centers. However, it is 26th in field goal percentage allowed and 22nd in free throws allowed per game.
As Wembyanama continues to assert himself as the No. 1 option in San Antonio, he should get the touches and opportunities to score 24 points tonight. You can also back him for 30 points at +235 on DraftKings.
