We are already 5 days into February and the NBA All-Star break is right around the corner. Before the mid-season intermission, there is still plenty of basketball left to be played and Thursday brings us a few intriguing matchups. Prime Video will have a double-header starting at 7:30 pm ET between the Bulls and Raptors, followed by a classic between the Philadelphia 76ers and LA Lakers at 10:00 pm ET.
I’ve picked out my 2 favorite NBA Player Prop Bets from Thursday’s 8-game slate, involving a pair of familiar names. Let’s take a closer look at my bets for Thursday, February 5, while you can also find our expert NBA picks for every game throughout the NBA regular season.
Best NBA player prop bet: Austin Reaves (LAL) Over 3.5 Rebounds (+142)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook at the time of publication.
Austin Reaves coming back from injury is the best news possible for head coach JJ Redick and his Lakers. The 26.1 point-per-game scorer gives LA another high-octane scoring threat, which should alleviate some of the load off of Luka Doncic and LeBron James. However, I am looking for Reaves to have an impact on Thursday’s game against Philadelphia in the rebounding department. With him slowly returning from injury and catching his form, the oddsmakers are very generous with their odds, as they do not expect him to play big minutes.
Regardless of that, he was still able to grab 4 rebounds in the win over the Nets on Tuesday, doing so for the 20th time in 24 games played, which is an insane success rate of 83%. Philadelphia ranks 6th for rebounds allowed to shooting guards this season, and I like how Reaves matches up with Maxey at that position going into this game. Let’s also not forget that the Lakers will be without Jaxson Hayes, who is an important figure off the bench for them at the center spot. I am confident Reaves will continue being productive in this area.
Check our our Philadelphia 76ers vs LA Lakers Predictions
Best NBA player prop bet: Kevin Durant (HOU) Over 22.5 Points (-130)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publication.
KD had a game to forget last night against the Celtics — scoring just 15 points — but thankfully for him, he gets a chance to redeem himself less than 24 hours later when his Rockets take on the Charlotte Hornets. As good as Charlotte has been lately, they still lack the necessary quality on the defensive end in my opinion, so Durant should be able to sort himself out offensively.
He’s averaging 24.4 points per game over his last 9 outings, which is pretty much in line with what he’s been averaging this season at Toyota Center (24.5 pts per game). Backing the over on him has yielded a profit in 33 of 46 games played, which is a success rate of 72%. The last 2 meetings with the Hornets saw him score 27 and 26 points as a member of the Phoenix Suns last season. Expect a high scoring game here with Durant hopefully leading the Rockets offensively.
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