NBA Player Prop Bets, Picks & Predictions: Wednesday (Hornets vs. Lakers)
Welcome to another day of basketball as we are deep into the NBA season with the All-Star break behind us. If you're joining us for the first time, welcome. It's been a great year, and I hope we continue that trend as we look to the playoffs.
We have a single game tonight, so I'll keep my picks short and sweet. As always, monitor injury news and lineup announcements. The best way to stay sharp regarding NBA player props is by staying on top of the news. The second-best way is to shop around at different sportsbooks. Player props rarely have identical odds across platforms, so ensure you get the best value. Let's get to it.
Unless specified otherwise, each bet will be for a single unit.
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Wednesday’s Best NBA Player Prop Bets
Last Time: 3-0 | Season: 100-77
Nick Smith Jr. Under 18.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds (-120 BetRivers)
Oh, man, it is good to be back. Our first bet of the day is on Nick Smith Jr. and his points + assists + rebounds under. What else would it be? This line is juiced, but, again, I emphasize shopping around because it's 17.5 (-110) to the under elsewhere, so I will buy extra points.
With the Hornets’ roster rested and back to regularly scheduled programming, I'm surprised at how high this line is as the Hornets shooting guard has only covered it in 26% of games all season. The Lakers have also recently stepped up in class, ranking as the third-best defense throughout their last 15 games with a bottom-10-ranked pace of play.
Despite all the minutes the Charlotte guard has been playing, he hasn't been scoring and playing as well in his most recent games. Considering the Lakers have an improved defense in the first game back at home after the All-Star break as a 12-point favorite with full rest in a slow game, I am fully diving in on this under.
Austin Reaves Under 22.5 Points (-120 BetMGM)
I hate to start the second half of the season with two unders but it had to be done. No team has allowed fewer points to opposing shooting guards than the Charlotte Hornets. Despite their middle-of-the-pack ranked defense, Charlotte should keep Austin Reaves out of the scoring lanes.
With Luka Doncic in the fold and LeBron James (I assume) starting, it will be tough to keep everyone fed on the Lakers. Reaves has averaged 19 points a game and has failed to reach the 23-point threshold in both games Doncic has played for the purple and gold. This will be quite a slow-paced game with blowout potential, so Reaves might not even get full minutes and will see a decrease in possession rate.
The BettingPros Prop Bet Cheat Sheet is my Holy Grail and it projects Reaves for closer to 16 points tonight. I would not be so successful this season with the sheet, so I highly recommend adding it to your betting toolbelt. I agree with the projection here, as I expect Reaves to struggle with high-scoring output in the first game back.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday:
Ryan Coleman is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @ryancoleman_98. For more from Ryan, check out his archive.