Ahaan Rungta
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After a small but eventful Thursday slate in the NBA, we have a jam-packed 10-game slate on Friday and a few spots of value in the player prop betting department. I have a 31-19 record on NBA player prop bets this season for a +18.3% ROI. Let’s try and add another couple of winners tonight! Let’s dive into my 2 favorite NBA player prop bets for Friday, February 2, and make sure you also read our experts’ NBA picks for today’s big games.
Jonathan Kuminga (GSW) under 20.5 points (-113)
Line available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Recommended 1u wager.
Jonathan Kuminga, a former first-round draft pick for the Warriors, has caught fire in the new calendar year. It may seem scary to fade him as he has gone over this line in 7 straight games; however, a closer look into this run showed unsustainable production. In Golden State’s last game, they were with Klay Thompson in a nailbiter, and an uptick in minutes and usage saw Kuminga find his way to the 20s late in the 4th quarter. Before that contest, he was on an unsustainably efficient 6-game stretch, going 63% from the field and 58% from deep in that span. Now, Klay Thompson is back and overall this season, Kuminga averages 21.6 points per 30 minutes with Draymond Green in and Chris Paul out.
As for Kuminga’s opponent, the Grizzlies are banged up but are still no easy draw, as they have been one of the best defenses in the paint and in the midrange area, thanks largely to the Jaren Jackson Jr. defensive matchup that Kuminga should draw. Add in all this information as well as the blowout potential with the Warriors as heavy favorites, and we have ourselves the perfect sell-high on the young slasher.
Read our NBA mega parlay at +1074 odds, which features a pick from Warriors vs Grizzlies!
Fred VanVleet (HOU) 3+ threes (-125)
Line available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Recommended 1u wager.
We’ve got the converse situation as the one above; a buy-low on a veteran and this time we have the bonus of a “revenge” narrative. Fred VanVleet is set to face the franchise where he won an NBA championship and this prop should realistically be more heavily juiced.
For starters, books think this game should be a competitive one (4.5-point spread). That is perfect for the leader of the locker room who usually steps it up in intense games. VanVleet has at least 7 attempts from deep in 23 of 25 games and at least 35 minutes in at least 23 of 25 games where Houston is involved in a single-digit margin. Overall, he averages 2.5 makes on 7.0 attempts from deep per 35 minutes this season when Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green are active.
To cap it all off, since the trade of defensive star OG Anunoby, the Raptors are a bottom-10 defense in the NBA against above-the-break threes, where VanVleet is by far the team leader in volume. In this spot, we have the guard projected for 3.0 makes on 8.0 attempts from deep.
