Best NBA Player Prop Bets Today (2/24): Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham headline basketball props for Saturday
Most NBA teams have 28 or fewer games remaining in the regular season, so the home stretch has already begun. It's a great time to find betting value on the player prop market, which we do almost daily and will once again do for you today.
Saturday's slate is much leaner than what we saw on Thursday and Friday, with just three games lined up on the schedule as opposed to 10-plus contests. However, plenty of value betting opportunities exist within those three games. Our keys to betting success: researching stats and trends, finding odds within games that yield value, and attacking angles with smart wagers.
Here's our three-game lineup for Saturday evening, with odds from BetMGM:
- Pistons vs. Magic
- Knicks vs. Celtics
- Timberwolves vs. Nets
Like we said, light load. But we get to see four teams that range from good to very good (Orlando, New York, Minnesota, and Boston), a handful of offensive stars including Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, and Anthony Edwards, and some defensive studs like Rudy Gobert, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White.
We also hope to make some money, a fate we've enjoyed nearly every day with our NBA betting since Christmastime. Our success rate on best bets and top props sits at well over 60 percent, a number that has been steadily climbing as the regular season progresses.
Let's keep the momentum going and highlight our top NBA player props of the night from BetMGM for the Saturday slate. Good luck and enjoy your weekend!
Best NBA Player Prop Bets Today (2/24)
Jalen Brunson points (Knicks vs. Celtics) — UNDER 27.5 (+100)
Brunson, who has flashed as a dark-horse MVP candidate and just made his first All-Star Game, has been truly incredible. However, strong opposing defenses like the Celtics, Wolves, Cavs, and Clippers have been able to contain him enough so that he doesn't singlehandedly burn them.
That sometimes means throwing a late double-team on Brunson, or collapsing on his dribble-penetrations while also neutralizing his outside shooters to prevent the drive-and-kick. Limiting the damage the Brunson Burner can inflict on your defense — especially with Julius Randle sidelined — gives you a massive advantage when facing New York.
In three games against Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and the Celtics, Brunson has averaged just 21.3 points per game on shooting splits of 40.7/30.0/66.7. Boston has also held him to under five dimes per game, a distinction that only three other teams can claim this season (Denver, Indy and Cleveland).
The Celtics have won seven games in a row and nine of their past 10, so they must be licking their chops heading into Madison Square Garden to face a New York squad that has limped to a 5-5 record over its past 10 contests. We expect Brunson to try to do too much tonight and wind up getting as frustrated as ever by the C's perimeter D.
Cade Cunningham assists (Pistons vs. Magic) — OVER 7.5 (-120)
The Pistons were so unbelievably bad earlier in the season that everyone in NBA media stopped talking about them completely. Well, they're still bad, but they've at least rattled off five wins in their 16 games since mid-January (a pretty good run, considering it took Detroit 40 games to get to four wins).
One of the reasons why the Pistons have stepped out of the total suck-tank has been Cunningham's improved play, especially as a playmaker. We're noticing that he's taking far fewer shots per game over his past 10 contests (15.2) than he did over his first 35 games (19.4). He's also taking better shots, as evidenced by his 13-of-21 performance against Indiana on Thursday.
MotorCade finished with 30 points, five rebounds, and eight assists in Detroit's loss to Indy, but that's what every coach in America would call a productive loss. Cunningham is starting to look confident again, and he's contributing across the board like the Pistons expected him to when they selected him No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
We're not chasing the points with Cade, because he hasn't put together back-to-back 30-pieces since early January. We will, however, smash the OVER on his projected assist total. Orlando just let the Cavaliers rack up 31 dimes on Thursday, and the Magic should be a bit tired from hitting two Central Division cities in three nights. Bet on MotorCade's engine staying hot at home, where he averages 8.3 assists per game this season.
Rudy Gobert blocks (Wolves vs. Nets) — OVER 1.5 (-150)
The Nets got swatted by the Raptors six times on Thursday, and Toronto isn't even a big shot-blocking team. When they enter the Wolves' den to face Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Rudy Gobert, they might get gobbled up at the rim even more.
The Nets turned the ball over 19 times against the Raps, shot just 41 percent from the field, and totaled just 19 assists. The West-leading Wolves are going to smack this bumbling squad around, and Gobert should cruise to his 36th game with multiple blocks.
