There are two NBA games tonight, as the quarter-finals of the NBA Cup continue. First, the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Phoenix Suns. Can Collin Gillespie help lead his Suns to the upset victory, or will Luguentz Dort and the Thunder continue their historic start? Then, the Los Angeles Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs, as Keldon Johnson looks to have a much better rebounding performance than he did the first time he faced the Lakers this season. Here are the best NBA player props & picks for Wednesday, December 10th.
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Wednesday’s Best NBA Player Props & Picks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Collin Gillespie Under 4.5 Assists (-108)
Collin Gillespie is averaging 4.8 assists per game, but he's only topped four assists in one of his last five games. When he faced the Thunder at the end of November, he scored 24 points but dished out only four assists.
The Thunder are allowing the second-fewest assists per game this season. Additionally, they have the best scoring defense, and they're holding opponents to just 42.8% from the field, which is the lowest percentage in the NBA. The only true weakness that the Thunder have is their ability to defend the three-point line. With Gillespie being the best three-point shooter on the Suns, I expect him to spend more time shooting and less time looking for teammates in this game. After all, he was 6-of-11 from deep the first time these teams met.
Luguentz Dort Under 1.5 Made Three-Pointers (+104)
Luguentz Dort is averaging 1.6 made three-pointers per game. He's made at least one shot from deep in every game since his first game of the season, so he enters this contest essentially halfway to hitting this over. However, Dort has played in 15 games this season, and he's made exactly one three-pointer nine times.
The Suns are allowing the seventh-fewest three-pointers per game. Opponents are making 35.9% of their three-point attempts (13th-worst in the league), but Dort needs really good matchups to excel from deep. He's made at least three three-pointers in three contests this season, but two of those performances came against the two teams ranked 29th or worse in three-pointers allowed per game. Dort was just 1-of-4 against the Suns earlier this season, and I expect a similar performance tonight.
Keldon Johnson 7+ Rebounds (+138)
With Victor Wembanyama out, Keldon Johnson leads the Spurs with 6.5 rebounds per game. Johnson is coming off a six-rebound performance against the Pelicans, and he has six or fewer rebounds in three of his last four games. Despite the slump, Johnson has performed quite well on the glass since mid-November. He has at least seven rebounds in 10 of his last 15 games.
The Lakers are allowing the second-fewest rebounds per game. The first time Johnson faced them, he grabbed just one rebound in 24 minutes. While that performance is certainly alarming, Johnson hasn't recorded fewer than four rebounds in any of his 16 games since then. Asking Johnson to go over his season average against a team great at preventing rebounds may seem ambitious, but Johnson has been very consistent of late. At this price, there is a lot of upside in taking this alternative line.
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Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.