After an action-packed day on Sunday, the NBA decided to ease us into the new week with a small 3-game slate. Among the teams in action are the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, plus the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. That should mean that while the quantity is not there, the league has still delivered us plenty of quality. You can find our expert NBA picks for each of tonight’s matchups, but first, let’s break down my 2 best NBA player prop bets for Monday, February 23.
Best NBA player prop bet: GG Jackson (MEM) over 15.5 points (-120)
Odds available at Caesars Sportsbook at time of publishing.
The Memphis Grizzlies are now turning to their young players to close out the season and one player who has taken full advantage is GG Jackson. He is averaging 16.3 points per game so far this month and has managed 20 or more points in 3 straight games. He has taken on the Kings this month already, dropping 16 points in that contest. Over the last 10 games, the Kings are dead last in defensive rating, so should have issues putting up more resistance against Jackson here.
He has been hot from beyond the arc this month too. The Grizzlies forward was knocking down 45.5% from deep during that stretch. With tonight’s opponents allowing teams to shoot 41% from deep against them in the last 10 games, it is no surprise that they rank 25th in opponent makes per game from there. It’s one of the avenues Jackson will use to put together another strong scoring performance on Monday.
Check out our expert’s NBA best bets for each of tonight’s 3 games, targeting Spurs vs Pistons, Kings vs Grizzlies and Jazz vs Rockets
NBA player prop pick: Dorian Finney-Smith (HOU) under 5.5 points (-110)
One player who has really struggled this season is Dorian Finney-Smith. The Rockets forward has been incredibly inefficient. He is knocking down just 30.8% of his field goal attempts this season and 24.6% from deep. Considering he has taken only 5 total free throws this season, do not expect him to be able to use that to pad his stats here. So far in February, he has actually seen a further drop in his efficiency from beyond the arc, too.
With all of that in mind, it is no surprise that he averages just 16.4 minutes per night, the lowest number of any season in his career so far. As a result, in limited playing time, he has managed to record 6 or more points in just 4 of the 22 games he has appeared in. Over the last 10 games, the Jazz have been knocking on the doors of the top 10 in defensive rating, ranking 11th. This is not a game I expect Finney-Smith to come to life in offensively.
Read our full Jazz vs Rockets prediction
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