Bill Yin details his best NBA player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for Thursday’s game between the Hawks and the Rockets.
The Hawks are hosting the Rockets on Thursday. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Houston is favored by 3.5 points and this game carries a total of 223.5 points. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite player prop bets for this game.
Best Hawks vs. Rockets Player Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jalen Johnson U 22.5 Points
Jalen Johnson has broken out this season and has forced the Hawks’ hand into dealing away Trae Young to rebuild around Johnson instead. He’s pumping out production that has expanded upon his trajectory from last season before his season-ending injury. He’s currently averaging 22.9 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 7.9 APG. He’s leading the league in defensive rebounding with 9 DRB per game, and is shooting 50.3% from the floor and 35.6% from three. He’s also pulled up his FT% to a career-high 78%. Despite Johnson’s growth in all statistical categories, his scoring still has some room for improvement. Not that it also hasn’t happened there; his 22.9 PPG is a career-high as well.
But tonight likely won’t be the spot in which he’ll be able to juice his scoring numbers. The Rockets are stingy on defense, posting the league’s eighth best defensive rating, allowing just 112.3 points per 48 minutes. They’re only allowing 110.5 OPPG as well, and thus, even with Onyeka Okongwu’s absence leaving some extra shots up for grabs, it’ll be tough for Johnson to crack through Houston’s defense.
Alperen Sengun O 6.5 Assists
We’re seeing another strong season from star big man Alperen Sengun, whose game seems almost unaffected by Kevin Durant’s addition to the lineup. He’s averaging 21.4 PPG, 9 RPG, and 6.4 APG. Both his point and assist averages are career-highs. He’s also recently stated that he’s now fully recovered from a nagging injury, as evidenced by his recent 33 point dismantling of Memphis with 15-17 shooting.
If Sengun can shed his Questionable tag, he’ll get a chance to continue flexing his playmaking chops against an Atlanta defense that’s conceding the ninth most assists to opponents this season.
H2H Player Props for Kevin Durant vs. Jalen Johnson: Kevin Durant -190
Due to Durant’s consistency as a scorer – not uncommon to blink and suddenly Durant has the quietest 25 you’ve ever seen – I’m backing him to outscore Jalen Johnson tonight. Again, the Rockets’ defense will make it tough for Johnson to get going tonight, and if we factor in the fact that Durant’s still miles ahead of Johnson in terms of scoring, I actually think these are pretty favorable odds to take KD here.
Atlanta also has a much softer defense than Houston does, so I’d be surprised to see Johnson edging out more points in this one. Johnson’s also coming off two consecutive performances in which he scored under 20 points, one of which came just last night. KD has scored under 20 points just seven times this season in 43 games played. Johnson has scored under 20 points 16 times in 45 games.