Keagan Smith details his best NBA player prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook for Wednesday’s game between the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.
We get the battle of Florida tonight in the early portion of the NBA slate. The Orlando Magic are looking to shake off a four-game losing streak on Wednesday night as they head to South Beach for a matchup with in-state rivals, the Miami Heat. These are typically some fun battles and there’s plenty of betting appeal for this one.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Miami is a -3.5 favorite with -155 odds to win on the Moneyline. The game total is set at 231.5 combined points.
Here’s the top Magic vs. Heat prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook for Wednesday’s game.
Best Magic vs. Heat player prop bet
Wendell Carter Jr. under 7.5 rebounds (+105)
There are a litany of prop bet options on the market for this meeting between the Magic and Heat, but this is one that stood out among the rest. Wendell Carter Jr. has served as a quality role player for years now in the NBA, and he’s producing well this season with 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The uptick in counting stats is admittedly nice to see after a bit of a down campaign last year. However, he’ll be tested tonight in this battle against a Heat team with plenty of talent in its own frontcourt.
Miami ranks seventh in the NBA in rebounding, pulling down 55.1 boards per contest. While the Heat are just 17th in REB% as a team, the matchup on the glass does appear difficult thanks to a big man rotation that includes Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware, who average a combined 19.5 rebounds per contest. Factor in Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s contributions as well, and you get a pretty formidable group of talent on the boards.
The Magic will be challenged on the glass tonight, and they’re not without their own standout rebounders. Paolo Banchero leads the team with 8.7 boards per game and Carter Jr. himself is second with his 7.5. However, they do seemed outmatched at center, and the recent track record for Orlando’s starting center doesn’t exactly strike confidence in his recent play.
Over his 10 appearances so far in January, Carter Jr. averages 7.1 rebounds per game, down slightly from his season-long number. The big man has also stayed under tonight’s line of 7.5 boards in five consecutive matchups, including seven of his last eight outings at that. The only other times he went over the 7.5-rebound line came in the first two games of the month, so the recent form isn’t the most encouraging when it comes to the over. With that in mind, I’m comfortable taking Carter Jr. to go under his rebounds prop tonight at plus odds.